Mossberg 930JM Pro/Salvo12 combo review

[SwissyJim]

ok, so up for your viewing pleasure is my half-assed review of both the Mossberg 930JM Pro semi auto shotgun as well as the SilencerCo Salvo12 suppressor.

Before I go any further, I am not a professional reviewer! Hell, I'm not even an Amateur reviewer... but rather just some dork with a camera, some toys and needing a reason to hit the range.



So... the Mossie 930JM. I picked this up a couple of weeks ago simply for the reason of attaching my incoming Salvo12 to it. I had a Mossie 500 Mariner that had a cylinder bore - no choke tubes used. Since the Salvo12 uses a choke tube for attachment, it was out. So I sold it to a co-worker that was looking for something to 'discourage' the bears at his place in the wilderness. My only other shotgun is a Saiga12, that unfortunatley when I had Tony Rumore @ Tromix work on it, I had him chop the barrel below 18" then pin on his comp device to get over 18". So the threads were removed! unless I have him SBR it (which he offered) there will be no attaching the Salvo12 to it either.

I knew the Salvo12 was big... 12" big. So the thought of putting it on a 28" or longer barrel was not enticing, so I was looking for something shorter. Since everything I found to read said that a shotgun will pretty much pattern the same from 20" on up, choke for choke, with about a 10-15fps loss per inch of barrel lost. So I started looking for anything from 20" on, yet all I could find was 24" and 26". Enter the 930JM Pro... available in 22" and 24". And, I found the 22" for cheap online, for not much more than the next candidate, the Benelli Nova in 24". And I got the fun of the Semi over the reliability of the pump. (I like Semi's!)

While I waited for the Mossie to arrive I did more reading on it specifically. There were a few known issues with it, like a small bolt release button, and not 100% reliable operation with low velocity/low recoil ammo. However, as usual, there are fixes found online! I found a place call Oregon 3Gun that made parts for the 930 that assisted with the issues. I ordered them and had them in hand when the gun showed up... I ended up putting in their spacer tube for the gas system, competition follower, the recoil spring plunger and the Enhanced Bolt Release. However, I cannot attest to how well they parts worked as I never shot the gun BEFORE I installed them. However, with the parts in, I can tell you that even the low recoil, subsonic (980fps) Winchester AA target ammo cycled damn well, nearly 100% without the suppressor attached. WITH the can on the end, it has worked 100% of the time. That said, I've run 100 rounds of 1300fps ammo and 50 rounds of 980fps ammo thru the gun, total. My hope is that as I use it more and it breaks in, it will only improve from there.

As far as the gun itself... well, it's fun to shoot. The features of the JM Pro are a tweaked trigger (REALLY nice for a shotgun!), smoothed out action/gas system, and some other small stuff. The trigger is really nice - nice crisp break, light weight and a great reset... all things I like in my triggers. The gas system seems to run smoothly - I tore it apart and cleaned/lubed it well when I got it, and just running the AA 1300fps ammo it was smooth, flawless and reliable. but, as I mentioned, I have no more than 150 rounds thru it at this point. Time will tell. The polished lifter gate is nice, but a lot of people complain that in 3gun matches they get a bloody thumb from loading this gun due to the half moon cutout in the lifter. Most have it welded flat to remove the half moon, but we'll see how it works with me. I don't 3 gun (yet?) but I'm looking for for bird and rabbit hunting... quietly. And, the gun has an 8 round magazine tube (extension tube and stabilizing clamp standard!) so I can load 8+1. And the sight picture is nice... not what I'm accustomed to, but actually pretty natural feeling. It only has a front sight, which is a red fiber optic one. It is drilled/tapped for a read sight, but non is included. However, sighting with it is a snap - as I slap it to my shoulder the red sight aligns down the top of the rib super easy and clean... very quick and smooth. But you never know... I might get crazy and do something about a rear sight or a red dot!

All in all, I'm really happy with the gun. Easy to tear down, lots of knowledge out there for help, and smooth shooting. Time to get into clay shooting with my nephew, and hunt them pesky rabbits and ptarmigans!



Now... the Salvo12. Man, is that thing big. Your first clue is the box it comes in. Not some ordinary cardboard box. Oh no... she gets a wooden box with a slide top. Fancy fancy! And opening it up, she shows her size. Big and bold!! To be honest, I actually thought it would be heavier. I knew it was big... 12" in length and 34oz in weight. But holding it, it just seemed to be lighter than I expected. Maybe just the giddiness... after all, that's a bunch of weight out at the end of the barrel. One thing to note about the Salvo12 - no mount comes with it. It uses a choke tube mount, so you have to pick the right threaded mount for both your gun, and your shooting. You can get them in numerous different threading options as WELL as chokes... full, modified, improved this and that. I didn't see a need for more than one fo rmy use, but I got lucky and found a place that had the 3 tube kit for the Mossberg for not much more than the price of a single mount so I now have the Full, Modifyed and Improved Cylinder mounts for my Mossie.

So... attaching. Easy peasy. Screw in the choke mount, tighten good, place Salvo on the end of the choke tube until the threaded ring of the mount can touch the Salvo and then tighten said ring until tight. Pretty damn easy. There are a few warnings in the manual so heed them, but otherwise it's easy. If I can do it, anyone can!

And one cool feature about the Salvo12... you can shorten it as needed. You can get rod kits in 6", 8", and 10" in addition to the standard 12". It details that in the directions and tells you how. There are limitations, like 10" is the shortest barrel recommended. And for up to 16" barrels, no more than 1350fps ammo. For 16" and longer barrels, no more than 1550fps so I'll have to check my case of 00buck... it may be more than that.

So how does it suppress? HOLY SHIT. No, really... HOLY SHIT! I was not sure what to expect to be honest but man I was surprised. My nephew and I went to the range to try it. He's a bigger shotgun geek than I am, shooting Trap, skeet and birds much more than I. He was impressed... both with the gun and the suppressor. Shooting the higher powered stuff with the suppressor was still hearing safe for the most part. I don't think I'd do it in a competition with lots of shooting going on. But, for hunting birds and rabbit, hell yes it's hearing safe. While shooting some pics and videos I took off my muffs and had no issues at all. I did not try it when actually shooting the gun, but then even with my 300BLK and .22 I still wear foam plugs if I am the shooter.

The difference between the 1350 and the 980fps ammo was noticeable, both in noise and in recoil. Both were manageable and fun to shoot, but the 980 rocked! It was stupid quiet. Shooting the 980fps ammo WITHOUT the suppressor was not totally reliable - I'd say maybe 90% so? But throw on the can and we never had a problem due to the extra backpressure. I was so happy with the results that tomorrow I am heading to Sportsmans warehouse to buy a case of the sub ammo (10% firefighter discount PLUS a 5% case discount)

Is the Salvo12 practical? Is it cost effective? WHO CARES! I got one (wife approved) and plan on using the hell out of it in the woods. You never know... with my recent connection for Florida hog hunts... muhahahahahahahahaha!

Oh yeah.. the video. As you know, video never shows the sound to be as it really is.

[alamo5000]

That looks pretty awesome. In videos is sometimes hard to tell, but how much does the Salvo 12 tame the noise unsuppressed vs suppressed? It seemed noticeable on the video but in person would be a lot more reliable.

[Dstrbdmedic167]

That's pretty awesome Jim! Great write up! And the video... Very very nice. The sub rounds sounded about like my 22 suppressed. I don't have much of a use for one since I don't do a lot of hunting with a shotgun but man that makes me want one.

[SwissyJim]

That's pretty awesome Jim! Great write up! And the video... Very very nice. The sub rounds sounded about like my 22 suppressed. I don't have much of a use for one since I don't do a lot of hunting with a shotgun but man that makes me want one.

In all honesty, do I need one? No. But damn it, it so cool! LOL!! I have not hunted much in the last few years due to the wifes health, but she's improving so I hope to get out more. but hell, if nothing else I can run some 3gun fun up here and take the sting out of sucking by being the quietest thru all the matches

That looks pretty awesome. In videos is sometimes hard to tell, but how much does the Salvo 12 tame the noise unsuppressed vs suppressed? It seemed noticeable on the video but in person would be a lot more reliable.

Well, I wished that sound meters were cheaper or the ones on phones/tablets worked for gunshots better.All I can say is the difference you notice on the video is MUCH more pronounced in person. It's not as quiet as my 300BLK shooting my 190g subs, but it is more quiet by a bit than standard 55g 5.56 rounds thru my Specwar.

[Cotton68spc]

Thats awesome now that I have the X sight and can only use a shotty at night I think I need a salvo and maybe a ksg


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[DutyUse]

That's one hell of a rig you've got there! That salvo looks amazing. Did you notice in reduction in recoil with the suppressor on?

[SwissyJim]

That's one hell of a rig you've got there! That salvo looks amazing. Did you notice in reduction in recoil with the suppressor on?

I did actually. Quite a bit less with the can on. On the video, you can see it too. Both sections are the same ammo loads... just with and without the can. The big benefit was the sub loads cycled better with the can.

[toolboxluis00200]

OK that is bad asscongrats

[GOST]

Great write up Jim.

Thats awesome now that I have the X sight and can only use a shotty at night I think I need a salvo and maybe a ksg

That would be an interesting setup.

[Jerry R]

Very Nice Jim !!

Did you do any patterning with the suppressor mounted? Would be curious as to effective range for birdshot, or if the can has any effect on pattern.

[schambers]

good write up. nice video!

[SwissyJim]

Very Nice Jim !!

Did you do any patterning with the suppressor mounted? Would be curious as to effective range for birdshot, or if the can has any effect on pattern.

I have not patterned it yet, but I plan to. As I mentioned, I have the choke kit that includes the 3 most common chokes so I am hoping the Salvo makes no big difference. Otherwise, I guess why would they offer all the different chokes? I guess maybe to dupe morons like me to buy more! LOL

The range I use has a large shotgun side to it, complete with a grease board for patterning but I wanted to run some more ammo thru it then I plan to see what difference the Salvo makes.

[UWone77]

Great write up Jim.

I was waiting for you to call him a Shill for Silencerco.

[SwissyJim]

I was waiting for you to call him a Shill for Silencerco.

If the show fits...

True that I have mostly all SilencerCo - but I LOVE their customer service, let alone their products. Of the bigger silencer companies, SilencerCo was the ONLY one that wrote me back promptly and courteously, every time I asked something (and I asked a lot). That goes a long ways in my book. Hell, I never even got a reply back initially from AAC about one of their cans.

Now if I could just get a discount for every good review I do for them...

[UWone77]

If the show fits...

True that I have mostly all SilencerCo - but I LOVE their customer service, let alone their products. Of the bigger silencer companies, SilencerCo was the ONLY one that wrote me back promptly and courteously, every time I asked something (and I asked a lot). That goes a long ways in my book. Hell, I never even got a reply back initially from AAC about one of their cans.

Now if I could just get a discount for every good review I do for them...

Yeah I've started the process on a Form 3 transfer for a Silencerco Saker K and Omega, just based on the recommendations from the guys on the forum here.