I grew up shooting pump shotguns and used them throughout my whole law enforcement career. My house gun has been a Mossberg 590A1 for the past 30 or so years. That was until I started having shoulder problems that made working a pump painful. I hadn’t used a semi auto shotgun much, but thought it might be a solution to the shoulder problem. At the time I reached out to Mossberg and ended up with a 930 SPX semi-automatic shotgun.
It was similar in size to my familiar 590, and the safety worked the same. Not having to work the pump spared my shoulder from the bone on bone grating that occurred when I did. The gun was reliable with everything I ever ran through it and really changed my mind about the value of semi auto shotguns. I had no intention of replacing it, and wasn’t even looking at options. That was until I saw the Mossberg 940 SPX at 2025 SHOT Show.
The 940 Pro Tactical SPX
The 940 Pro Tactical SPX is everything my 930 was, and then some. The 930 SPX is a great gun and I have few, if any, complaints about it. With that said, the new 940 keeps all of the good and refines it with some well thought out tweaks to both ergonomics and performance.
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The Mossberg 940 Pro Tactical SPX is a 12-gauge shotgun has an 18.5 inch barrel and either a 7 or 5 shot magazine tube. I had the 7 shot model for review, giving it an 8 round capacity with 2 ¾ inch shells and one round in the chamber. Its optic ready receiver supports direct mounting of micro dots with an RMSc footprint and includes adapter plates for RMR, Docter, and Leupold optics, in addition to being drilled and tapped. The shotgun features rear ghost ring and front fiber optic sights protected by low profile wings.
The new forend is a big step up from my 930’s functional, but Spartan forend. It includes an integrated heat shield, two QD sling swivel cups, and three M-Lok mounting slots at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions. It’s finished with Mossberg’s signature texturing for improved handling in adverse weather or when under stress. A Vang Comp 6-shotshell carrier with a hook-and-loop card attachment system adds handy ammo accessibility, without having to add any aftermarket parts or cost.
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Gas Operating System
Internally, the 940 SPX uses a cleaner-running gas vent system, extending the intervals between cleanings. Which is good, because I hate cleaning guns. The shotgun’s durable gas system ensures fast, consistent cycling and long-term reliability. That’s aided by corrosion-resistant internal components and nickel boron coatings on critical parts like the gas piston, magazine tube, hammer, and sear.
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The 940 SPX comes standard with a stock spacer system that allows the length of pull to be adjusted from 12.5 inches to 14.25 inches. If you love the long length of pull, you can still have it. If not though, you can adjust it so that the gun will fit just about anyone. Kudos to Mossberg.I’m hoping to see that spacer system spread across the board on their shotguns
An enlarged and beveled loading port, anodized bright orange follower, and elongated, pinch-free elevator all contribute to smooth, efficient loading. The shotgun also includes a redesigned oversized safety, knurled charging handle, and an ergonomic bolt release for improved handling.
My review gun was basic black, but Mossberg does make the 940 SPX in a variety of finishes in both the 5 and 7 shot versions. There’s also a model available with a Holosun HS407K optic available from the factory. MSRP on my gun as tested is $1,190.00.
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Range Time With The 940 Pro Tactical SPX
Since I planned on using the 940 as my house gun I needed to make sure that it was reliable and that I was comfortable with it. I did a few range sessions over the summer with a variety of ammunition. On my first trip I took my ammo can of junk 12 gauge. It’s basically mixed 2 ¾” rounds left over from various boxes over the years. I used #8 skeet loads, #6 game loads, 00 Buck, and slugs. The 940 ran all of it without a hitch, even with mixed loads in the mag tube.
Loading the 940 is fast and simple. Rounds fed easily into the mag tube through the enlarged and beveled loading port. The big, extended bolt release and big oversized charging handle made chambering a round simple. The bolt release on the 930 SPX was better than most factory ones I’d used, but the 940 SPX is even better.
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The Vang Comp shell carrier was a nice touch. It saves you having to buy one, and it works well. I was able to keep the gun on my shoulder and pull rounds from the shell carrier and chamber load them with a minimum of expended motion.
The ghost ring sights on the 940 are excellent. They’re precise enough for slug use, but quick enough to pick up that I never felt handicapped when shooting shot loads. The fiber optic frontsight helps, as it’s easy to pick up, even in dim light.
Adding Optics
After using the ghost rings for a while I decided to take advantage of the incorporated mount and add an optic. I went with a Gideon Optics Judge that uses the RMSc footprint. The Judge has an easy to pick up a 3 MOA green dot. Mounting involves removing the rear ghost ring and using one of the provided optic plates to mount the sight.
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With the optic on I headed back to the range with a mix of buck and slugs. I did my pattern testing and groups with slugs using the optic. After a quick sight in, I ran some multi target drills using Caldwell reactive targets. The 940 shoulders quickly and it was easy to rapidly move between targets using the Gideon sight. I could easily keep the Caldwell targets rolling with the fast semi auto action and easy to see dot sight.
Running & Gunning
I set up a half sized silhouette target at 25 yards for pattern testing. I used Remington, Speer, and Federal Force X2 buck shot, and Remington, Speer, and Hornady slugs for testing. With buck shot, most of my shots I could easily cover the spread with the palm of my hand. By far the tightest patterns were from Speer’s low recoil law enforcement buck. Those consistently printed a 3 inch or smaller group.
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When I switched to slugs I found the 940 SPX to be a great shooter. I was clover leafing most groups, but the big surprise was with some old Remington slugs from my junk box. I have no idea how old these things are. At least 30 years old, probably a fair bit older than that. The 940 loved them though. I would get one ragged hole with 3 shot groups that was barely bigger than a single slug. Everything shot well through it, but it’s nice to know that it loves the plain old cheap pumpkin ball slugs that go on sale every hunting season.
A Perfect House Gun
I had no plans on replacing my 930 SPX, but the 940 SPX is a worthy successor. It has enough updates that it’s worth moving to the new platform. The integrated optics mount, MLOK slots for light mounting, and QD slots for a sling make it easy to configure. The fact that it comes with a shell carrier makes it ready to go out of the box too. I really appreciate the stock spacers that let you adjust the stock to arm length, or for the use of body armor.
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The Mossberg 940 SPX functioned perfectly with every load I ran through it. It also grouped slugs and patterned buck superbly. The improved controls make it easy to load and operate as well. Those are all traits that make it a perfect gun to rely on it to protect the home and family.
After shoulder surgery a few years back I can work a pump again without pain, so my old 590A1 isn’t going anywhere. It served well in the 80’s and 90’s of the last Century, and well into this one. With that said, the 940 Pro Tactical SPX with the Gideon optic, a Streamlight TLR1, and a Magpul sling should carry me far into the current century. If something goes bump in the night, that’s the gun I’ll be reaching for first. Although I will miss the bayonet lug on my 590.
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