Mossberg 930 Tactical Shotgun Review
Part 3 - External & Operational Features
February 2,2013*

Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

In this part of the review, I cover all of the external and operation features of the Mossberg 930 Tactical 5-Shot Shotgun.  These next several photos give you some overall views of the 930 Tactical Shotgun.  Other than the short barrel with integral breacher and oversized charging handle, this automatic shotgun has a traditional styling with its polymer buttstock and forearm.

 

Figure 1
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Figure 2
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Figure 3
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Figure 4
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

These next four photos are the same as shown in Part 2 of this review and give direct views of the Mossberg 930 Tactical Shotgun.  The shotgun has a total overall length of 39" which matched the specification length.

Figure 5
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Figure 6
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Figure 7
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Figure 8
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The shotgun weighed in at 7.37 pounds empty and 7.80 pounds with 5 rounds of Hornady Zombie Z-Max 2.75" 00 Buckshot.

Figure 9
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Figure 10
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The CG (center of gravity) of this shotgun was about 20" forward of the buttpad unloaded and about 20.4" loaded.  The photos below show the balance point (CG) of the shotgun. 

"Point-ability" is related to the weight and center of gravity (CG) of the shotgun and is the "mass moment of inertia" (MMI) about your shoulder.  The MMI (or point-ability) is basically the weight x (distance to CG)2 and represents the resistance to movement of the shotgun as it pivots about your shoulder.  The 930 Tactical has point-ability numbers of 2948 lbs-in2 unloaded and 3246 lbs-in2 loaded.  Based on comparing this semi-automatic shotgun against several other pump shotguns, there is no real penalty in weight or point-ability of the semi-automatic shotgun compared to similar home defense style pump shotguns.

Figure 11
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Figure 12
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

One feature that sets the Mossberg 930 Tactical 5-Shot Shotgun from the rest is its integral breacher that is machined with the barrel.  This is not a removable tactical choke.  By the breacher being integral (not removable) with the barrel, the length of the breacher is included in the barrel length of the shotgun.  This gives the 930 Tactical a total barrel length of 18.5" including the breacher.

Figure 13
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

You can see below that there is a slight undercut where the breacher tapers into the barrel and may give the initial appearance that it is removable, but if you look closer, you will see there in no interface line between these parts.

Figure 14
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

This next photo shows looking down the breacher at the bore of the barrel.  You can see how the breacher has a larger internal diameter than the barrel.  This means that the true effective barrel length is 1.75" shorter than the total barrel length.  Essentially you are getting a 16.75" barrel with a beefy breaching device on the end.  The barrel comes with no constriction which means it has a cylinder bore choke.  This will allow you to shoot rifled slugs along with buckshot or any other type of shot loads.

Figure 15
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

I'm sure there are strong opinions for and against the need for a breacher on a home defense shotgun.  Either way, there is no doubt that this vented area and aggressive saw tooth front face add an interesting look to the shotgun and I wouldn't want that barrel thrust into my ribs.

The front sight seems to be made from aluminum and has a highly visible white dot on both the front and rear surfaces.

Figure 16
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The magazine cap is aluminum and includes a steel sling swivel stud.

Figure 17
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The total barrel length measures 18.5" including the breacher and the barrel has a black matte finish.

Figure 18
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The forearm is made from some type of polymer (synthetic) material and includes a checkered area on each side on the lower portion of the forearm.  The magazine tube measured about 12" in length and holds four 2.75" shells.  I was barely able to get four 3" shells in the tube, but the first shell would not feed properly.

Figure 19
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

On the right side of the barrel (about 1/3 of the way down the forearm) is stamped the warning statement shown below.

Figure 20
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Figure 21
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The forearm had a very tight feel on the forward end, but at the rear end I was able to flex it slightly so that it would push against the lower portion of the receiver and then flex back out slightly.  I wouldn't consider this an issue, but instead an observation.

Figure 22
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

On the left side of the barrel (about 1/3 of the way down the forearm) is stamped the manufacturer "MOSSBERG®", model "MODEL 930TM", chamber size "CHAMBERED FOR 2 3/4 AND 3 IN SHELLS", gauge "12 GA, barrel length "18 1/2 IN" and choke "CYLINDER BORE".

Figure 23
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The top of the barrel near the receiver had a proof mark as shown below.

Figure 24
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The Mossberg 930 Tactical Shotgun has an aluminum black anodized receiver and comes drilled and tapped for mounting a rail if desired.  It also comes with an upper mounted safety button on the rear of the receiver.

Figure 25
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Another non-standard feature included with the 930 Tactical is the oversized operating handle.  The handle is knurled and .63" in diameter and sticks out about 1" from the side of the receiver.

Figure 26
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The bolt release is located on the right side of the receiver.  Also, the the lettering "MOSSBERG 930" appears to be machined into the right side of the receiver.

Figure 27
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

This next photo shows the receiver with the bolt locked open in the rear position.  Pushing in on the bolt release will cause the spring loaded bolt to slam forward.  The action had a typical semi-automatic feel and didn't seem overly smooth or rough.

Figure 28
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The marks on the side of the receiver were there when I purchased this shotgun and are due to this shotgun being the Wal-Mart display model and being handled many times in the store.

Figure 29
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The bottom of the receiver houses the aluminum trigger housing.  The trigger housing seemed to have some freeplay (rattle) inside receiver.  You can see in the photo how the trigger housing is resting on the bottom of the slot in the receiver and there is a slight gap at the top of the housing.

Figure 30
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

At first glance, it would appear that there are no markings on the lower receiver, but if you take a close look under the end of the forearm, you will see the marking shown below.

Figure 31
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The 930 also includes an aluminum magazine tube follower.

Figure 32
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The only marking on the left side of the receiver is the serial number located between the two trigger housing pins.

Figure 33
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

This shotgun has an aluminum polished trigger.  The trigger pull on this shotgun averaged 4.8 pounds based on 5 pulls using a Lyman Digital Trigger Pull Gauge.  The trigger seemed to have a little creep, then broke fairly crisp and had very little over-travel.  Overall, I think most people would be pleased with this trigger pull on a shotgun.

Figure 34
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The 930 includes a "cocking indicator" located on the front of the trigger guard.  When the hammer is cocked and ready to fire, the indicator protrudes out of the trigger guard as shown below.

Figure 35
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

When the hammer is released, the indicator is no longer visible as shown below.

Figure 36
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Like most Mossberg shotguns, the safety is located on the rear upper portion of the receiver.  The safety button is a polymer part that is held in place by a screw with a head designed to allow you to tighten the screw and not loosen it.  Mossberg seems to have done a good job at minimizing polymer components on this shotgun and I'm surprised they chose to include the synthetic safety button as part of this "tactical" package, especially when you consider there are many aftermarket aluminum safety buttons available.

Figure 37
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The photos above and below show the safety button in each position and the red showing (button forward) indicates the safety is in the "fire" position.

Figure 38
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

These next two photos give you a view looking down the sight plane of the receiver at the highly visible front white dot sight.  You can also see that the barrel and receiver had good alignment.

Figure 39
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Figure 40
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The Mossberg 930 Tactical comes with a polymer (synthetic) buttstock.  The length of pull measured 14" as advertised.

Figure 41
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The drop at the comb measured 1.40" and the drop at the heal measured 2.20".  The shotgun comes with a shim set which allows adjustments in heal to a rise of .125", .250" or 0.375"  or to a drop of 0.250".

Figure 42
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The bottom of the stock has a molded sling swivel mount and the bottom of the grip has the Mossberg name and logo molded into the grip cap.

Figure 43
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Figure 44
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

Each side of the grip area has a checkering similar to that on the forearm and this checkering gives you a good anti-slip texture for using the shotgun.

Figure 45
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

The buttpad is ventilated and has a soft spongy feel which should be very effective in reducing felt recoil.

Figure 46
Mossberg 930 Tactical Review

 

Thoughts

The Mossberg 930 Tactical Shotgun generally seems like a well built and quality product.  The one area I feel could be improved upon was the looseness of the trigger housing inside the receiver.  I did a little research on the web and this seems to be a problem that has been seen on other shotguns.  Also, three upgrades that immediately come to mind are a magazine tube extension, rail for a flashlight, and swapping the polymer safety button for a metallic tactical style safety button.  My guess is that adding these upgrades may have pushed the price point above their target.

For more detailed photos and commentary, make sure you check out the other parts of this review and feel free to leave comments on my Reader's Comments page.  The following links are provided to help you see other parts of this review. 


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