I picked up a Mossberg 930SPX (#85360) at Vance's Outdoors in Columbus over the weekend. I have been wanting one for a while and read all the old reviews especially the following:
m24shooter's SPX review
More up-to-date reviews were harder to come by and I thought I would chime in with some updates and insights.
On initial inspection one major upgrade jumps out as well as a minor one. My gun was boxed in May of 2011, these may have been in place for a while but I wasn't aware of it. The front sight does not appear to be canted and all welds seem clean to my untrained eye.
The charging handle is much larger and is now knurled. IMHO, this eliminates the need for most people to buy an after market handle and saves the customer $30 or so.
The minor upgrade is the swivel attachment. Not a huge deal, but it still saves a couple of dollars.
Out of the box the fore-stock seemed to move quite a bit and the trigger group had a very slight amount of play to it. I broke it down and cleaned and lubed per the manual and various online sources. After securing the mag extension snugly all the play was taken out of the fore-stock.
When compared to the 930 in m24shooters review, it appears the shoulder pad has been changed as well. It strikes me as very soft and something I may consider changing out once I get some time behind the trigger.
At this point the only other upgrade I am considering is a Nordic Components barrel clamp. I considered switching the safety for a butterfly or Vang, but honestly the factory one isn't nearly as cheap as some people imply (the bathroom stall screw is annoying for those wishing to upgrade, but I guess it serves its purpose). The Choate extension on mine seems to be free of defects but the plastic end cap is annoying when it becomes dislodged with very little effort.
As a side note I wanted to included something that I never read about until I
Googled the specific issue. With
some rounds the SPX will on hold 6 in the magazine, not the advertised 7. Federal 00 buck 2.75 will only load 6, the last round ends up slightly too long where as Federal Field and Game will load 7. Once I
Googled it I found a couple of references to shot shells being longer than the advertised length. I've read that switching out with a spring from a 590 will solve the issue, but have not tried it yet.
Overall I am fairly please, the upgrades were something unexpected. I hope to get to the range later today (indoor range, so no slugs) and will back with a range report.