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Mossberg 930 JM Pro - good starter for 3 gun?


lfine

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Need to pick up a shotgun for a first try at 3gun this season. Thoughts on theJM Pro? I don't see them around that much at any stores I'm at, so I haven't been able to get my hands on one. Thanks

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This question has been asked quite a few times here over the years. It always ends up with 100 previous JM owners arguing with the 3 current JM owners. And then there's the guys like me that have no dog in the fight but have yet to see one complete a match without pooping its pants. 

In that price range I would rather buy an M3000 than take a free JM Pro.

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Had to Google it to know what you meant, the only thing the Freedom model adds is a 10 round tube. I'd buy the standard model and put the money saved towards a 12 round tube. 

Either way, I'd buy any model of Stoeger 3000, even the basic one, before I touched a JM Pro with someone else's 6 inch pole.

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The JM I have took some work to get running, and more money.  A friend getting started in 3 gun ran it for 2 years and as long as you keep it clean it always ran.  I have switched to a M3000 and he bought a M3K. The JM's are a LOT of maintenance! But I would have no problem running mine any day of the week.

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Thanks, guys. You certainly answered my question.  Feel free to throw any other pointers in while you're at it. I'll definitely check out your suggestions. Looks like a lot of people go to MOA.

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So personally I feel that a 26'' is the choice anymore. You get more velocity out of you shot which I've personally seen be an advantage time and time again vs 24'' that didn't knock targets over or had to choke up more to accomplish the same things with the same ammo. Your tube will still be longer than you barrel with a 12rd tube and a 26'' gun. 24'' is fine, but velocity. 28'' is just heavy and excessive. 

 

Also I'm not sure what it is but anymore I'd categorize the M3K and the 930JM the same, 'avoid like the plague.' Every single M3K that I've seen at a match to include the one that I owned has had a massive amount of problems. Strangely on the other hand M3000's seem to work well, I've never really seen them have ANY problems. It almost seems that in adding 'features' to the M3K while keeping the cost down it seems that some corners were cut and that gun was absolutely ruined. I've also heard some several of the top people doing work on these guns that they prefer to work on M3000's over M3K's because some of the things done to the M3K aren't exactly ideal that that they ultimately have to undo alot of the factory work which results in sub par results from them and overall just more work. 

 

I'd also tell you to take a look into the Franchi Affinity. Those have really proven to be an absolute beast of a gun for a lower price point if you decide that you're after an inertia gun. 

 

 

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I will suggest the Franchi affinity too! I just got one and I like it just about as much as my m2 I had. I went with the franchi this time over a m2 for the significant price savings. I will say, barrel length is really a moot point if your putting on a 12rd tube. I picked up a 28" affinity for a steal and those 2" of shotgun barrel you wont notice or feel being the 12rd tube is still past the end of the barrel.

Edited by jswhitesell619
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I prefer shorter barrels, 21".   Little less weight out front helps swing faster.  The shorter sight radius makes little difference when you're still talking about a 21" barrel.  Velocity difference I haven't found to be an issue.  If you're concerned about knocking over the target, run a faster load for that stage.

 

But yes, avoid JM Pro's... that should be a sticky thread.

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Need to pick up a shotgun for a first try at 3gun this season. Thoughts on theJM Pro? I don't see them around that much at any stores I'm at, so I haven't been able to get my hands on one. Thanks

I’ve have my JM Pro for two years and I haven’t had a single issue with it. It runs reliably and it runs fast. I’ve heard some of the horror stories but I haven’t had any problems or even witnessed anyone else have problems with the JM Pro.


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On 3/25/2018 at 12:20 PM, Steve RA said:

What round count extension are you running with the 21" barrel ??

12 round tube.  Using an Xrail 10 monotube with +2 extension. No clamp (pointless devices)

 

Yes not ALL JM pros are bad.  In fact, the majority probably work great.  But why buy a guy with a 30% chance of breaking when you can buy a gun with a 1% chance?  I need more than one hand to count all the JM Pro's I've seen break at matches, and I need one hand to count the sum of every other manufacturer shotguns that have broken.  Don't risk it, buy a better gun.

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On 3/24/2018 at 2:06 PM, lfine said:

Need to pick up a shotgun for a first try at 3gun this season. Thoughts on theJM Pro? I don't see them around that much at any stores I'm at, so I haven't been able to get my hands on one. Thanks

 

Like previously posted a lot of work, I have all or3gun parts in mine and it runs great ... however ..

 

You have to shoot only ammo it can handle depending on what parts you install (light, medium, heavy), no prairie storm

And it was an ongoing quest cutting the loading port

To keep everything reliable you should clean the gas rings / port every 200-300rds :angry: (got that from JMs youtube), this is definitely the most annoying parts

 

At this point I would just get the Breda that is already opened up, put a tube on it and be done, but I only use it 2-3 times a year so I just stick with it

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On 3/25/2018 at 12:20 PM, Steve RA said:

What round count extension are you running with the 21" barrel ??

 

Tube to barrel lengths is only aesthetics but more importantly feel, I had 17 round tube on the 22" for kicks at one point, no issues

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A lot of the JM Pro opinions are based on 3 year old experiences before there was any aftermarket support for the gun. Many of the 930s also escaped the factory without a few simple touches (polished chamber, de-burred spring ends) that would have made them far better guns with a matching reputation. An hour with a JM Pro spent by someone that knows what they are doing and $100 worth of competition parts and you will have a gun that I would (and have) put against anything else out there. You do have to keep it maintained. Taking the gas system down after every 300 rounds or so shouldn't be a big deal for anyone reponsible for a gun to accomplish.

 

Like every autoloading shotgun, the JM Pro requires properly manufactured ammo. People that wouldn't feed their Benelli Winchester Universal will complain all day long that a Mossberg won't run it reliably. Feed it the same 1250 FPS Winchester AAs that is suggested for every other shotgun out there when it won't feed 'crap ammo' and you'll find your Mossberg runs a lot better too. Garbage in, garbage out with a gas operated shotgun. Especially if the hulls and bases are thin and hang up on a rough chamber after they expand.

 

There's another consideration that always seems to get ignored in these equipment debates. The Mossberg JM Pro is a US built gun. Americans doing skilled labor demand higher wages than the Turkish, so a bit more American skilled labor may still need done when you first get the gun at the same price point. Mossberg is a US company that employs a lot of US workers and financially supports those fighting to keep our 2nd Amendment rights. Mossberg contributed $150,000 to the NRA's #GunVote initiative alone in 2016. They show up on a lot of prize tables too. They don't simply have a skeleton staff in the US and import guns from countries that hate us when they aren't selling us something. 

 

There are plenty of Mossberg 930s out there being used for 3-Gun. As 3-Gun whittles the role of the shotgun away with option targets, 2-Gun, and PCC it doesn't always make sense to spend $2000 on a shotgun and send it to someone to do another $1000 worth of work to it that only applies to a specific sport. When you hit the majors, you might find a $3000 shotgun worth having to make your prize table visit more productive. But, 99% of the 3-Gunners out there aren't at that level and are doing just fine with the JM Pro.

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7 minutes ago, TonytheTiger said:

Whats wrong with Winchester Universal? Even the deformed shells run fine in my gun.

 

When it's hot out, they throw magazine fed guns fits as they deform and don't feed well. They also like a glass smooth chamber or the sharp edge of their fired base tries to hang onto the chamber and plays tug of war with your extractor on the way out. The extractor often wins and the base of the shell loses. Even worse are the Super Speed. These have documented extraxction issues even on pump guns. Same hull, more powder. Worse performance.

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I don't shoot Winchester Universal because I'm not a fan of how it's loaded and I'm very particular about my ammo, but there's nothing wrong with it. I know one person in specific that has fed 5k rds of Win/Fed Walmart ammo to a Franchi Affinity without a single malfunction and that gun was literally never cleaned. It was awful. OH and thanks for bringing up Super Speeds, between myself and another friend we shot 6 flats of super speed this past year and had no issues. We're running the same shotguns.

 

And yes my shotgun has chewed up everything I've put in it. I think the point about you can't shoot too soft or hot of ammo is counter productive to your point that 930's 'just get a bad wrap.'

I shoot a gas gun, I didn't clean it once last year, shot it at least two times a week every week, never had a malfunction, fed it primarily 1145fps ammo, and it worked that way right out of the box. 

You could get a 930 and spend hours working on it and maybe get it to run right or you can get a much better gun for marginally more money that will work right out of the box and is every bit as set up as 930. 

Edited by ecn515
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11 minutes ago, ecn515 said:

 

And yes my shotgun has chewed up everything I've put in it. I think the point about you can't shoot too soft or hot of ammo is counter productive to your point that 930's 'just get a bad wrap.'

I shoot a gas gun, I didn't clean it once last year, shot it at least two times a week every week, never had a malfunction, fed it primarily 1145fps ammo, and it worked that way right out of the box. 

You could get a 930 and spend hours working on it and maybe get it to run right or you can get a much better gun for marginally more money that will work right out of the box and is every bit as set up as 930. 

Thats what I was thinking but didn't have the ambition to write...

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The 930 will run the Universal just fine, AFTER you hone and polish the factory chamber. A 10 minute job if you own the tools. The argument of whether this should be necessary can be countered by whether every shotgun should run the cheapest ammo you can find from the factory. Again, the US built guns have to be built to a price point if they are going to compete with the Turkish imports.  My wife's 22" JM Pro will now run 980 FPS, 28 gram cowboy loads, but they also say right on the box not to use in an autoloader. A chamber hone and less than $100 in competition parts. In that tune, however, Prairie Storm has no place in the gun. She takes 2 rounds for a spinner, instead of one. No other platform is asked to run 375 power factor to 1100 power factor without changing something. That doesn't make the gun defective, just not tuned for every task.

Edited by logiztix
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