I've had no problem with the front sight being too high,although I have heard a few complaints about it from other people. The primary problem with the SPX front sight has been canting to one side.Lots of complaints about this,and Mossberg has had to send out a lot of new barrels because of it.
Fortunately,mine does not have the cant as I received it.
I aquired mine in August of '09 from an individual who had only put 12 rounds through it. I have run it since then without cleaning or lubrication of any kind,and have to date had no malfunctions at all.
There are a few things I am not satisfied with that could be improved on.
One is the design of the Choate extension.I have had Choate extensions for years but none were made like this one. Experimentation with this gun as a fighting gun has revealed a few things. The end piece on the Coate extension can be bumped against something and knocked slightly out of alignment which will cause the spring to bind up and fail to feed rounds from the mag tube. This is an annoyance when it occurs and mine will be replaced with a closed end extension.
The very short cupped follower is a problem waiting to happen if the magazine tube is not kept free of grit. You will get some dirt,grit,etc.in the mag tube when loading especially loading on the move and doing drills with this weapon.The mag tube should be cleaned when the rest of the gun is cleaned.
Longer non binding aftermarket followers are available which virtually eliminate this problem but may reduce capacity by one round depending on the particular brand. When the standard follower binds up due to grit it gives the same effect as the extension problem and the rounds won't feed from the tube. A healthy bump against the ground on the buttstock will usually free it up but you may not have time for that and this should not happen.
A better designed charging handle from the factory is needed.Pretty good aftermarkets are available,but why can't (or why won't) Mossberg do it.
I love this shotgun. It feels like it was carved out especially for me as it came from the factory.It is utterly reliable,the magazine follower and extension being the only causes for concern,really. I'm talking hard use here,in training,not just shooting.
This shotgun,with just a few minor tweaks from the factory,has the potential to be one of the best autoloading combat shotguns ever made.
I like mine well enough to keep it and address and correct the potential problems,but wouldn't it be nice if Mossberg would do it for us?
