Mossberg 940 Pro Tactical 12ga Autoloading Shotgun
Here at DTI we’ve conducted many Defensive Shotgun Courses over the past half century!
Years ago, the most common shotguns we would see were the Remington 870 and the Mossberg 590, both pump-guns, and both very satisfactory for our purposes. But now, most students bring autoloaders, most specifically the Beretta 1301 and the SDS/MAC 1014, both of which are nearly identical and also very satisfactory. More recently, the Mossberg 940 Pro has come on the scene.
Nearly all shotguns, even ones ostensibly marketed as “tactical,” (and all the ones mentioned above) are basically permutations of sporting shotguns that have been pressed-into service for serious purposes.
All shotguns mentioned above feature spring-loaded tube-magazines, positioned directly under the barrel. Shotguns have been designed with box magazines, but they make a maladroit arrangement, not nearly as elegant as are conventional, tube-magazine shotguns.
In any event, for our serious purposes we must be able to safely accomplish several necessary administrative routines with the shotgun, and those routines must be intuitive and teachable.
1) There must be a method for purging the magazine tube of live ammunition, all without chambering a live round. We must often perform this function when we are not on a firing range, so actually chambering a live round as an integral part of this process is not acceptable. Unlike a box magazine, the shotgun’s magazine tube is permanently attached and thus cannot be conveniently separated from the shotgun as part of any procedure
2) When the shotgun is loaded and ready to fire (we call this “Engagement Mode,” with a live round chambered, bolt forward and in battery, magazine tube charged with additional live rounds, and the manual safety in the “off” position), there must be a positive method for subsequently returning the shotgun to “Transport Mode” (sometimes called “Cruiser Ready” or “Loader’s Safe:” chamber empty, bolt forward and in battery, hammer down [dry-fired], magazine tube still charged, manual safety in the “off” position).
I’ve had a copy of Mossberg’s 940 Pro Tactical 12ga Autoloading Shotgun for most of year, and I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to develop a teachable routine for this shotgun that satisfies the foregoing requirements.
Mossberg is a fine and respected manufacturer. In fact, I carry Mossberg’s autoloading pistol, and it is wonderfully serviceable, and usable, and enjoys my recommendation. Likewise, Mossberg’s 940 Pro Shotgun is perfectly functional, but until yesterday I did not have a teaching routine that fit it comfortably into our system of serious use.
The written manual the comes with the 940 Pro does not address the foregoing issues, and consulting with colleagues, even some associated with Mossberg, has also yielded no satisfactory procedure.
Happily, my esteemed local colleagues, Brad Prough and Bob Morgan, have come to my rescue. They figured it out. I’m not at all sure I ever would have on my own.
So, we now have a useable and teachable routine for the Mossberg 940 Pro Shotgun! It is nuanced in spots, not as straight-forward as is the routine we teach for the 870 and 590, but it is doable to my satisfaction, and we’ll be teaching it from this point forward.
Difficult to explain in writing, so I will endeavor to demonstrate and publish these techniques in an instructional video.
In the works!
/John
