Just think about it for a minute - if one is really going to trust one’s life with a weapon of any kind, one should spend enough time with that weapon to know its every-thing. How that weapon is supposed to feel, sound, react, when fired. What that weapons internal parts look like before and after a long range session. Where that weapon requires “special care” (grease, oil, dry lube, extra cleaning, and/or an extra blast of canned air).

And so it begins for me - My home shotgun weapon of choice for 20+ years has been a Benelli Nova Tactical and it has preformed flawless. It sits bedside with a 1000 lumen Fenix light mounted and with its extended tube has a total of eight + one rounds if called on for use. My wife of 39 years who is not afraid to shoot a shotgun and has made several trips to the range with me to “practice” her ability to not only manage but successfully shoot our Nova mentioned about a year ago that since we are getting older (and sometimes forgetful) we should consider maybe going to a semi-auto shotgun so that we do not need to “think” or “remember” to pump the Nova in the event either of us had to use it.

I was fortunate to have an opportunity to purchase from a forum member (Thanks Again Dzozer for a perfect transaction and providing all of the extra goodies) about 6 weeks ago a NIB Mossberg JP 930Semi-Auto Tactical shotgun. When it arrived at my FFL I completed the required paperwork and brought this Brand New in the Box shotgun home. My first handling of the shotgun really got me excited and my wife said it felt comfortable to her so to the shop I went to give this new shotgun a proper cleaning and lubing. Much to my surprise when I took this shotgun apart, it was BONE DRY, so much so that there were two areas INSIDE the shotgun that had surface RUST. Dang - not so impressed with Mossberg now - but I was able to get the rust removed, the gun cleaned up, lubed, and ready for a range trip.

Range Trip One - Me alone on this trip and the rounds shot consisted of 50 rounds of bird shot (one box of low brass Federal and one box of low brass Winchester), five rounds of 00 buckshot and five rounds of rifled slugs. 100% functionality with everything I fed it…..Now I am starting to “like” this new shotgun.

Back home for a complete tear down and cleaning - WOW - gas operated shotguns get dirty fast. Thats ok because it allows me to identify those parts that need a little extra attention when cleaning, and reminded me to not forget to blow out those vent holes when cleaning that barrel.

At this point I am still refusing to order the GGG flashlight mount or any of the other “enhancements” that make this shotgun “better”, but I have made my wish list and will have to see what range trip two and three hold.

Range Trip Two - Me alone again and on this trip I shot another 50 rounds of bird shot (AA and Remington this time) and one 10 round box of Winchester PDX1 Home Defense rounds. 100% functionality - zero issues other than a sore shoulder.

Back home for another tear down and cleaning (not because it needed it but because I wanted to seem how clean/dirty the shotgun was and if anything showed unnecessary wear). So far everything is still looking good so I gave her a good cleaning and decided to order the flashlight mount.

Range Trip Three will occur in the next two weeks, after the light mount comes in and it and my Fenix light is mounted. This will also be my wife’s first of many trips to allow her some practice with this new family member (the shotgun). The next range trip will consist of 50 more rounds of bird/rabbit shot and at least 10 rounds of some high brass buckshot and/or slug combo. If the light mount and light hold up and the shotgun functions like it has thus far, the wife and I will make two/three more trips to the range over the next two months to allow her several sessions to load and shoot this shotgun, clear purpose jams, and one being at night (we are allowed to shoot after dark only on Thursday's until 9:00 pm at our club) using the light to acquire our targets.

Time will tell if we become intimate with this new Mossberg Semi-Auto shotgun and make it a permanent family member. If something happens and it is not meant to be, the Nova will remain as our primary until I can purchase a Benelli M2…..

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigarmsp226,

I have a couple Mossberg pumps and really like them.
I have heard and handled the superNova. Liked it and would have one no issue it I felt I needed another shotty.

I scratch my head when people talk about moving to a semi auto from a pump for a HD weapon. To me a pump is so intuitive that in a stressful situation firing and rechambering for another shot should happen without a thought. I am guessing this is more because of the thought that a spouse would have an issue with a pump under stress. Again, I get it, sort of.

Btw, I am a huge fan of a shotgun for primary HD.

We have several HD options if pressed to select a shotgun for that duty. I had one at the range yesterday for a pretty good workout. While we don’t have a HD Nova we have SuperNova that is used for some bird hunting. Haven’t shot the Mossberg auto but have heard good things. Good luck on your HD shotgun journey.

I have a Scattergun Technologies 870 from the early ‘90s, a Remington 11-87 Police from the mid ‘90s, and a Benelli M4 from a few years ago. The Scattergun tech is the only one with a light right now. The M4 does have an RMR mounted on a Scalerworks dedicated top rail. The M4 has eaten every shell I have put into it including light target loads. My next upgrade on the M4 may be a new forward hand guard and a mounted light. I could see the M4 serving as my HD long gun, though I currently leave that duty to one of my AR carbines.

No question they work very well but firing a shotgun inside a house would likely cause a hearing loss. Layman's opinion.

I don’t really have one behind the door, but a youth type 20 gage pump could be handy. I have older 12 ga pumps with short barrels also.

I like the Benelli M2, but the simplicity of a pump is enough for around the house.

My German Shepherd is the early warning system, shouldn’t be to many surprises.

quote:

Originally posted by abnmacv:
No question they work very well but firing a shotgun inside a house would likely cause a hearing loss. Layman's opinion.

A number of people have ARs for HD, and that’s probably going to mess up your hearing as much, or even more.

I am an armorer on the 870, the 500, and the Benelli, although I have very little experience with the last one. I am happy with my 870. It's simple, easy to maintain, feeds anything, and is very reliable. I'd also be ok with a 500/590, but I'm more used to the manual of arms of the 870 as it's what I've always owned and what we use at work. Neither is infallible, but mechanical failures are extremely rare.

I have a buddy with a 930. Based on what I saw, I would not trust one for defensive use. Lots of cheap-feeling plastic in critical places, and the shell latch pin is a significant failure point. His gun wasn't feeding from the magazine, and I did a little research online before tearing into it, which quickly identified the pin as a common problem. It's tiny, brittle, and can't be seen/inspected without disassembling the entire latch assembly. I made a pin out of an old drill bit to replace his broken one, which solved the problem, and will likely outperform the junk that Mossberg put in there, so there is a pretty easy solution but it's definitely something to be aware of.

Swapped my 870 for the Super Nova Tactical years ago. The magazine cutoff feature of the Nova is +++.

92fstech - I value your professional knowledge and experience related to defense shotguns, and I appreciate you feedback on this specific shotgun. I want and need to learn more about this specific pin and if changing it out eliminates this possible failure mode. I will get a detailed drawing of this shotgun and email it to you to ask if you could point out this specific pin.

As part of my possible future upgrades for this shotgun, I had planned on replacing several other identified related plastic parts an/or failure components.

When I received the shotgun it came with an aluminum replacement Forearm Retainer from OR3Gun and it has already been installed on this shotgun (was installed beforemthe first range trip). My plan was to also purchase the “Multi-Use Internal Combo” upgrade kit of aluminum parts to replace the current factory parts.

http://www.or3gun.com/OR3GUN/about_or3gun_combo.htm

One might ask - Why spend $100 to replace possible substandard factory parts - well I was able to get into this shotgun for just over $400.00 with the above mentioned $40.00 new aluminum replacement Forearm Retainer so if this shotgun continues to perform well my plan was to order this set of parts.

So far I (we) are still working towards transitioning to this shotgun but we still have a lot of required range time as well as addressing this pin issue and anything else that surfaces. Until then our Nova continues to be our HD shotgun. If we have even a thought that this 930 could fail us, it will go into the vault for one of the grandkids to use in the future for dove hunting.

Again, thank you for your feedback and comments. I will reach out to you by email to ask for your help on this weak pin issue. Mark

quote:

92fstech - I value your professional knowledge and experience related to defense shotguns, and I appreciate you feedback on this specific shotgun. I want and need to learn more about this specific pin and if changing it out eliminates this possible failure mode. I will get a detailed drawing of this shotgun and email it to you to ask if you could point out this specific pin.

Got your email and responded. To be clear, I have no formal training on the 930, nor am I a certified armorer on that platform or an engineer. My experience is limited to one example, and other info I gained from internet research. As to the outcome of the pin I replaced...I fired a box of shells through the gun after replacing it with no issues, and then gave it back to my friend. Last I knew it was holding up, but I'm not sure how much he uses it as he's older and his arthritis has reached a point where he doesn't enjoy recoil as much as he once did.

It's a very small pin that's subject to a good amount of pressure, so the quality of the steel is important, but I'm not sure a.) if even tool steel will be enough to hold up to extended heavy use or b.) What impact a harder pin material will have long-term on the surrounding parts that may have been engineered with a certain wear pattern in mind.

In my friend's particular case this fix seemed to be an appropriate solution as the part had failed and the gun was down, and it's also not a gun that he is heavily dependent on. It doesn't get shot much, and when it does it's just a range toy. I'm also not sure if Mossberg has identified this problem as an issue, or addressed it in later models. I can't really offer a recommendation as to whether or not you should preemptively replace the pin...just be aware that it is a weak point in the design.

ETA: I guess my general answer to your question would be keep using your Benelli as your HD gun, put a bird barrel on the 930 and use it to shoot clays or something that doesn't require putting your life in its hands.

Understood and I appreciate your time on this specific topic. I received your email and will take a deeper dive on this when I get home on Friday evening.

Thanks again to everyone for your comments and feedback. Mark

The 940 is a legitimate upgrade to the 930 which did have some problems. If you could find a used Remington Versa Max Tactical or their new V3 Tactical, I'd look at them over the 930. I know you got a deal, but I'd flip the 930 and either upgrade to the 940 or look at another platform all together.

BB61 - Thanks for your post. You guys really have me rethinking my long range plans for this specific shotgun. With six grandkids that all love the outdoors, I may just finish my planned upgrades and after that final range trip, give this one a good cleaning and put it up to be passed down and stay with our tried and true Nova that Ms. Sigarmsp226 and I both are very comfortable with using. If I go to a semi-auto I think it will be an Benelli M2. I say that because between my two sons and my two Daughter-in-Laws we have four semi-auto Benelli’s that we use for bird hunting that have run flawlessly for over 20+ years.

Thanks again for your comments. Mark

quote:

Originally posted by sigarmsp226:
... go to a semi-auto I think it will be an Benelli M2.

I think that's a capital idea.

IMO anyone who is retired and planning on using a Shotgun for Home Defense should really start shooting the Shotgun Sports. Specifically start shooting at little orange disks moving at anywhere from 15 to 80 MPH. Because Shotguns are intended to be a Point Shooting weapon. The shotgun Sports all teach you how to Point Shoot well. In addition once you start hitting it can be a lot of fun.

5 shotguns between the house and shop,

High Standard Riot and a Winchester Defender , one of each floor of the house,

shop has 3, and one of each above and another Winchester as well,


all Riot configuration, all concealed, and readily assessable if needed (and hopefully never will be)

I have spent a fair amount of time hunting pheasants with a Benelli. They are a great platform. A little pricey to get properly equipped under 922r but very nice reliable guns. I mentioned the Remington as you have no 922r issues and they are very reliable but the Benelli M2 is top notch.

quote:

I scratch my head when people talk about moving to a semi auto from a pump for a HD weapon.

The semi-auto has less felt recoil. That’s why people switch

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:

quote:

I scratch my head when people talk about moving to a semi auto from a pump for a HD weapon.

The semi-auto has less felt recoil. That’s why people switch

Thanks Mike for your feedback on this comment as I decided to ignore it and not respond. With age and body frame size also being factored in my wife and I have several reasons to consider a semi-auto shotgun over our current pump.

There are advantages to both the pump and the self-loading shotgun for home defense.

Leaving a shell in the chamber of a shotgun has its risk, since the shotgun is cocked; there's no 'hammer down' unless you're using a Winchester 1897 or clone.

Chambering a shell in either pump or auto is noisy, and making your shotgun ready quietly is to your advantage, all 'chack-chack' nonsense aside.

The pump shotgun has the advantage in this respect. Chamber a shell then press the slide latch and open the action about halfway, so that you can see the shell being held onto by the extractor. This renders the shotgun safe. When you want to make the shotgun ready, you can close the action quietly. Also, after you chamber that first round, you can top off the magazine tube,, and when we're talking about four shot tubes, that's a 25% increase in firepower. This, as opposed to chambering your first round from the magazine.

The advantage of the self-loading shotgun is faster followup shots, but perhaps more importantly for inexperienced shooters, there's no danger of short-stroking the action. This is something that can get a shooter killed. The semi-auto shotgun, on the other hand, will function smoothly with the press of the trigger. Yes, semi-auto shotguns can malfunction, but when we're talking about quality hardware like a Benelli or similar quality shotgun (and assuming quality ammunition), the novice shooter is going to be better off with the semi-auto.