Mossberg 930 Semi Automatic Shotgun Review

The Mossberg 930 is a gas operated semi automatic (autoloading) shotgun.  My review of this shotgun is below:

Basics
The Mossberg 930 is gas operated, which means that some of the hot gases from the burning gun powder are used to push a piston that operates the action, ejecting the spent hull and chambering a fresh shell.  This gas action reduces the recoil felt by the shooter, making this shotgun a good choice for the recoil sensitive.  In my (purely subjective) tests, the recoil from the Mossberg 930 is a bit harder than the Remington 11-87 (and Beretta’s gas operated shotguns recoil softer than either the Mossberg or Remington offerings).  Like other Mossberg shotguns, such as the Mossberg 500, this shotgun has an ambidextrous safety that is located on the rear of the receiver.  The Mossberg 930 (and the Mossberg 935, which takes 3.5″ Magnum shells) come in a variety of models suitable for home defense, hunting, trapshooting, etc.  The 930 is available in the usual gauges, but I’m only concerned with 12 gauge.  One thing I’ve noticed is that the Mossberg 930 seems to eject spent shells a few yards further than my Remington 11-87.  This doesn’t really matter to me, as I use a shell catcher, but I found it to be interesting.

Build Quality
The Mossberg 930 is well known for its low price, which is achieved without sacrificing quality or safety.  On thing that I dislike is the aluminum receiver, as I prefer steel, however I can’t honestly say that the choice of metals has made any noticeable difference for me. I also wish that the safety were made of metal, rather than plastic, however I have not experienced any durability issues with the safety.  Given the fact that one could practically buy two of the Mossberg 930 for the price of a single Remington 11-87, the aluminum receiver and plastic safety seem quite forgivable.

Reliability
I have had no issues with the Mossberg 930 failing to feed, failing to fire, or otherwise malfunctioning.  That said, keeping any gas operated shotgun well cleaned is essential to reliable operation.  Since I keep my shotguns well cleaned and lubricated, I don’t anticipate problems.  At the same time, prefer pump action shotguns for home defense, as the pump action is inherently more reliable.

Accessories
The Mossberg 930 is quite popular, due in no small part to its low price. There is a wide variety of accessories available for the 930, in stores and online. Barrels can be purchased for just about every shotgunning discipline imaginable, including trapshooting, hunting, and home defense. Scopes, laser sights, ghost ring sights, pistol grips, stocks, and more are available too. There is even the 930 SPX model, which comes with pretty much all the tactical accessories one would want, right from the factory.

Conclusion
Those looking for an inexpensive yet good quality semi auto shotgun may want to consider the Mossberg 930.  I prefer my Remington 11-87, however the Mossberg 930’s price just can’t be beaten.

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Comments (17)

  1. Thank You for that information. Written true and neutral, it is a very helpful information for me, a not so expierenced user of shotguns. For to buy one, you have to rely to other people, who already have done their "homework" before. This article helped me to make my decision clear, buying one of those Mossberg 930 series. Thank´s again for Your fair written opinion, sharing your knowledge to other who need it.

  2. I purchased this gun new. The first shot at the skeet range was fine, from there after the gun would not feed a round. I sent the gun back to Texas (at a cost of $80 to me) as was instructed by customer service. Weeks went by, I emailed several times and got no response. Finally after an email stating I was going to report the gun stolen did I get a response from Mossberg. The gun was finally shipped back after 2 months. I finally got the chance to shoot the gun at the the range again several months later. First round stove piped. The next 75 rounds went without incident. From that point on, the 930 refused to pull the spent shell from the chamber and eject. Mossberg once again has instructed me to send the gun back to Texas, this time at their expense. I've owned a 500 for 15 years and love it. The 930 is a huge dissapointment as well as the customer service I've received from Mossberg.

  3. I purchased a 930 SPX pistol-grip off of Gunbroker. As a lifelong hunter, I am well-versed with firearms. When following the instruction manual on loading, manually loading the chamber, it functioned flawlessly. I intentionally fired every configuration of 12ga shells I could through it. I did this because some autoloaders are tempermental with low base, low power rounds. It had issues with old style waxed paper rounds. They were a bit sticky. That didn't bother me much because they are going the way of the dinosaur. Other than that, it ate everything. It shoots just as fast as Benelli's autoloaders. I had an issue extracting the first round from the mag. When fully loaded with an empty chamber, it would not consistently load the first round. It would hang up most times. I dealt with Mossberg's factory authorized service center, AIMPRO, in Colorado. Mossberg was aware of the issue and within a few weeks, I was sent a new magazine spring. Happy, flawless shooting since then. IMO, this is a great shotgun, very fairly priced, and my go to home defense shotgun.

    1. Hi Mike, I often have the same problem extracting the first round from a fully-loaded mag. You said Mossberg sent you a new spring that solved the problem – what was different about the new spring? Was it shorter? I imagine this is the case if the root problem is too much pressure on the shell stop. If so, perhaps I could just cut my spring down a bit to solve the problem. Hopefully you can let me know. Thanks!

  4. so, where are these accessories(specifically stocks) for the 930?? i can't find anything..

  5. Is there a video that shows how to load shells and how to clean the Mossberg 930tm autoloader ?

    Thank you all

  6. Do not waste your money. The 930 has had problems since its introduction and continues to this day. The follower often sticks and will not auto-load the next round, often hanging the next round. I tried 7 different loads and never did get to shoot successive rounds from my brand new $609 shotgun. I will certainly buy only Remington shotguns from this point forward.

    1. Most people with 930’s will tell you if you keep your gun clean you can depend on it for whatever. I won’t insult your intelligence, but I will say that I’ve put my 930 and remington 1100 through weekly sporting clays for 2+ years and have not had a significant problem with either shotgun.

    2. Hey, Jason, most of us have been around the net enough to know a Flamer when we see their posts. Bugger off.

  7. Not having handled one, I can't be certain, but the concept of commonality of parts is strong in Mossberg's history. That being said, a replacement metal safety is available for the 500 from Brownells's for a modest fee; I purchased several of the some years ago to replace all the plastic and aluminum ones I had in my various 500's. Having another pair of hands around is a good idea when putting one in, as the ball detent is a bit of a hassle. hope this helps.

  9. I am trying to change the stock on my mossberg 930, I am stuck. Can someone share the step by step process on how to do this thank you.

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