Thecelt

mark, glad to hear that. and i just read that article. im anxious to read more about it, and eventually get one to add to the collection (ive become a shotgun addict recently ). it looks like a solid piece of machinery. my only concern with the vm is the parts used in the trigger group (soft hammers made from mim).

i would have liked to have kept my 930 just to see if it would have been one of the good ones or a lemon (i tend to think it was a good one), but with only being able to afford one sasg for now i had to let it go. but i really think with the 10/22 hammer spring, and a little polishing on the 930 that its a gem of a gas operated sasg for the money.

so many nice guns so little money.. just got my m2 and already cant wait to get a vm.

id send the barrel back. polishing would probably work but if you polish it and it doesnt work then mossberg might not take the barrel back. i agree with you that the design is solid, but mossbergs quality control is lacking. jmost 930's run great and reliable with simple cleaning of the piston system. but there are some that just have continual problems which is entirely related to quality control.

If anything the larger loading port may ease loading 2 3/4" shells.

Is there any lost reliabilty with a lightened bolt? Would the recoil and inertia springs also have to be changed to compensate for the lightened bolt? Or any other required work?

Seems reasonable that someone could make a plastic sleeve that could snuggly slip over the lifter as an inexpensive way to have it extended while being able to remove it. Although I could see the bolt carrier catching it as it goes into battery...

I'm all about the 21

excellent info to know. i was aware that the barrel length didnt offer much more velocity to speak of, but the patterning is important. i appreciate the info kurt.

btw, just to educate myself i ran a quick search and found this.... "The difference is the additives. Cutting oil is sulpherised. the sulpher acts as a lube. Home depot was closing it out a month or so ago. Check your local store. The local plumbing supply will also have it. Also Cutting oil is somtimes lard based instead of petroleum. You need to match your cutting fluid with the metal you are cutting. kero or Isoprople alchohol for aluminum. minral oil for brass , cast iron is cut dry. Or better yet use the shop vac for CI .Sulpherised oi for steel. Both aluminum and brass can be cut dry if you are not too agressive. I have also use cooking oil for brass, olive and corn. Therre are lots of comercial products available all claiming to be the best. Like I mentions before get you hands on some basic books and read them they will anser lots of the basics. "

cutting oil is special like mentioned above. if working on a critical part of a firearm i would use the recommended oil (perhaps it helps keep lower temperatures or keeps lower stress in the metail). however, i have done a ton of cutting, drilling, tapping on metals for years and i use good ole motor oil with no issues.

i did a ton of research on semi auto shotguns.. and i have been for over the past year. i originally went with the jm because it was 95% as reliable as the benelli's and the versamax at half the cost. i figured i could squeeze out the extra 5% reliability (theoretical reliability based on design) with some minor tuning/polishing that gunsmiths do to fine tune race guns... but, what i learned afterwards that the gas piston design (while it is a very good system in the 930, and the jm has hard chromed internals which increases reliability) is just inherently not as reliable as the inertia system or the versaport system on the versamax. and im the kind of person who expects SHTF kind of reliability out of every firearm i own, and the simple fact of knowing there was a more reliable type of operating system out there for a semi auto sg, i couldnt "relax" until i had one. not that there is anything wrong with the jm because it does what its supposed to do, and it does it good. it was noticeably softer shooting than the M2 as well, but i just needed (what i believe is) the most reliable operating system available. what drove me to the m2 over the vm is a couple of factors. the weight on the m2 is about a lb lighter; even though at 6' and 200lbs and fit i didnt need it to be lighter, i just wanted it. but more importantly were the complaints about soft hammers on the vm and the occasional bent barrel. guns/shooting are a way of life for me, and it are a huge part of it (all disciplines) so i do plan to own a vm because its an excellent system and with a different hammer i think it would be near indestructible. even though this discussion has gone off topic its a good discussion Solvability. btw, a reputable gunsmith did help shed some light on how he tunes extractors for optimal performance but i wouldnt feel right giving out what he gets paid to know/do. what i can say to anyone is that simply polishing up the plunger, and extractor where it rides in the bolt carrier will always help improve performance and nothing bad can happen (unless you actually remove material instead of polish). its the same for polishing up the chamber, bolt carrier and guide rails, etc... polishing up these areas is essentially what happens after thousands of rounds but polishing them up speeds up this process (and is more refined) for smoother operation.

did you check out the places i listed, and did you get one?

I ran 100 rounds through her this weekend. Some slugs, and shooting offhand at 50 yards it was dead center and about 4"high but that is easily adjusted by bead placement. I was covering the target with the bead so if I expose the center with bead below she should be right on. At any rate I ran bulk target loads from rem, win, and fed with no issues. Definitely need a better fo sight. Already know the one just gotta order it up.

i sold the 930 because i really couldnt get the m2 out of my head. the m2 is the "ultimate" in terms of semi auto reliability and im "obsessed" (for lack of a better word) with having ultimate reliability from any firearm i own. not that i didnt like the 930 because i did, but the reputation of the m2 is far better than that of the 930, but thats what can be expected from a gun that costs twice as much.

That makes logical sense. I wonder why itsnot more widely used?

Vht makes a sraycan epoxy paint that is fairly durable.

Appreciate the replies. Sold the 930 and bought a m2 instead.

alot of good posts in this thread. i dont shoot organized 3 gun, but i have my own range where i shoot my own version of it. i also shoot ALOT (at least what i consider alot) at around 1000 rounds a month of multiple calibers. i typically shoot around 250 rounds of 12ga a month. after reading the very large jm pro thread about how everyone couldnt wait to get one i ordered one up. it took probably 6 months until it came in.. i was overall impressed with the gun, and ran 180 rounds through it (just sold it this week). but i kept reading this forum on a regular basis and i decided that id be better served with the benelli M2 (tracking number has it coming this friday). i dont own any guns that i wouldnt trust my life with, and with so many threads about the 930 being hit or miss i didnt want to take a chance that i had one that "missed" and i figured i would sell it while it was still nearly new and allow someone else to finish up the breakin on it and enjoy it who isnt as concerned with ultimate reliability as i am. i am a bit of a reliability nut, as anything i own must be ultra reliable, or as reliable as mechanically possible. i felt the benelli fit my needs better. the cost was about $500 more than the 930 but as many people say (buy once cry once), and in a couple months you wont even feel the extra 500 spent and you will still be left with the better gun. the jm may suit many peoples needs just fine, and many of them run like hot shit, but i just didnt want to take the chance of having a bad one so i made the decision to move up to the benelli. i was considering the vm but due to the issues of out of spec hammers, and hammers "mushrooming" i decided i wasnt ready for one of them yet and i stuck with what is tried and true for now. eventually id like to have a vm just to have one though. so if i were to make a recommendation, id say if you want something that you can trust your life with then spend the extra money, if you dont care about potential failures because you are only shooting this gun for fun and a few failures here and there dont bother you then a less expensive gun would do just fine. for me, ultra reliable means i can trust my life with it and i need all my firearms to fit this role.

no idea wth a slug button is....

How long are you holding the bolt release? If your just just giving it a quick press then I'd certainly suggest polishing it up and go from there.

It would be great to here a side by side review of all three. I just sold my jm and bought an m2. This thread helped me decide between the m2 and vm.. the lighter weight of the m2 and several reports of soft hammers in the vm getting deformed were the deciding factors.

Just type in google "benelli 11026" I saw 3 places that had the 21".. Eurooptic I think it is.. then opticauthority.com and budsgunshop

well i pulled the trigger and ordered the 21" M2 today. now the hard part is the wait... ordered up a nordic extension, light weight charging handle , and oversized bolt release for now. i blame it all on this forum for getting bit by the benelli bug.

So I'm thinking ghost load mod, out of battery mod (can these be self performed? I'm quite mechanically inclined) and where would one order the reduced power recoil spring?