Mossberg 940 Pro Turkey & Tactical Review: Shotgun Shangri-La

Mossberg offers a 12-gauge shotgun that is perfect for hunting and home defense. A body never knows where his lead will fly, when he pulls the trigger of one of them uncertain firearms.” These words were spoken by James Fenimore Cooper’s fictional character Natty Bumppo, aka Hawkeye, from the Leatherstocking Tales.For those who do not completely understand the shotgun, let me educate you: Shotguns throw a pattern of bullets–pellets–and those individual pellets never land in the same place. Shotgun shooters spend hours “patterning” which is when they try to predict the unexpected. I learned this from my father, who took me squirrel hunting at age 5. I was given a break-action shotgun by my father. One morning, I fired a few shells at squirrels. I asked Grandpa if I could borrow his pump.22LR rifle for our next squirrel hunt. I agreed, and I haven’t looked at a shotgun again since. Ironically, during my time in law enforcement, I was exposed to a lot tactical shotgun training. While I believe there are many excellent uses for a shotgun both in law enforcement and combat, those days are long gone. I don’t wing-shoot. I don’t wing shoot. I hunt turkeys in West Virginia, where I can use whatever I want. For home defense, the carbine is better. I have never seen a shotgun I like. I have two shotguns that I love. They are the same shotgun, but they have a different uniform. Before I get into details, let me clarify that this is not a typical “they sent me the shotgun to test it, it’s great, you should buy it!” story. It all started when my son was diagnosed with the disease of turkey hunting. He is an accomplished videographer and decided with a friend to record their passion and share it on social media. As with many endeavors, work and life get in the way of grandiose plans. My son ended up with so many clients that he couldn’t even afford to go turkey hunting. To make their endeavor more appealing, they reached out Mossberg to borrow one of their new 940 Pro Turkey shotguns. My son unboxed the box when it arrived. Its light weight and compactness immediately impressed me. This shotgun was also shipped from the factory with a small space at the top of its receiver that could be used to mount a reflex sight. This is a great idea, and you have to wonder why it took so much time. (Yes, I am friends with some Yankees, even if they don’t plan to stay when they visit. My son took his friend turkey hunting with him. He used the Mossberg to catch a large gobbler at 35 yards. (My son got that on film. A few days later, my boy convinced me to go turkey hunting with him, and after way more walking than I thought was necessary, he snuck up on a big 3-year-old tom and shot him in the face with the Mossberg.Though I had little interest in turkey hunting with this shotgun, I began to lust for it as a home defense–tactical–weapon. It was a small, lightweight, semi-automatic that came out the box ready for use as a reflex sight. Mossberg also offers a 940 Pro Tactical model of this shotgun. It accepts interchangeable choke tubes, which is unusual for tactical shotguns. Mossberg’s media relations representative was aware of my dislike for scatterguns, and requested that I try one. The DetailsBoth shotguns come with the Mossberg self draining stock. It comes with inserts that allow you to adjust the stock length, drop, and cast. The receivers can also be machined to accept any compact reflex sights that fit the J-point footprint. Standard equipment includes a fiber-optic front view, as well as drilling and tapping the receivers. Both shotguns are marked “Pro” for their updated gas system that is corrosion-resistant and clean-running. The standard features include an enlarged and beveled loading portal, a quick-empty magazine launch button, interchangeable chokes and an oversized operating handle. The 940 Pro Turkey has a 18.5-inch barrel. However, a 24-inch barreled model is also available. The 940 Pro Tactical is available in flat black, while the 940 Pro Turkey shotguns come in a Mossy Oak Greenleaf camo. The Turkey models have a ventilated barrel rib and a 4+1 capacity. The 940 Pro Tactical is 7+1 in capacity and has a barrel/magazine tub clamp that’s M -Lok compatible. On the Tactical model, the front stud is integrated to the barrel clamp. The magazine tube cap is also fitted with the Turkey version’s front stud. The Tactical version weighs 7.5 pounds and has a larger action release button. The 24-inch Turkey version is the same weight, but the 18.5 inch 940 Pro Turkey is noticeably lighter. We’ve fired both shotguns many times over several months, with many different loads. Both shotguns ate everything we gave them. We tested a wide range 2 3/4 inch and 3 inch loads. We also did a lot more patterning with five choke tubes. The 940 Pro Tactical shotguns and the 18.5-inch 940 Pro Turkey shotguns were both tested with four Mossberg Accu-Chokes as well as a Carlson Turkey choke. (Left-to-right: X-Factor XX Full and Modified Cylinder. Front: Carlson Long BeardXR choke. The performance of both shotguns on target was identical because they had the same length barrels. I don’t count pellets, but it’s easy to look at the patterns and draw a reasonable conclusion about the in-field performance. Federal’s Home Defense 00-buck load printed at 25 yards a pattern from the 940 Pro Tactical using the cylinder bore choke. It was approximately fist-sized. Similar groups were found for rifled slugs. Federal’s Force X2 00 buck load patterned at approximately 12 inches from the same distance. Left: Federal’s Home Defense buckshot loads produced a stunning pattern using the cylinder bore choke tube of the Mossberg 940Pro Tactical. (Middle). The Federal Force X2 buckshot loads doesn’t pattern as tightly because they use a different wad. Force X2 pellets are able to break in half, causing twice the damage and limiting over penetration. (Right) This three shot group was fired offhand with Federal rifled slugs from a distance of 25 meters out of the 940 Pro Tactical. I used a Federal #5 shot loads to test the Mossberg full, modified, and improved cylinder Accu–Choke tubes in my 940 Pro Tactical. At 25 yards, I measured the choke pattern at 10 inches. The modified choke pattern measured 14 inches. The improved cylinder choke was patterned at 16 inches. This is all done with an 18.5-inch barrel. Left: A 2 3/4 inch load of #5 shot, fired from the 940 Pro Tactical at 25 yards. (Middle). The Carlson Long Beard XR choke produced a dense pattern at 25 meters. The choke also produced two spring gobblers at 35 yards. (Right) Federal’s #7-9 SS load was used to test the Mossberg X-Factor XX’s full choke. A Carlson Long Beard XR choke and a 940 Pro Turkey shotgun were used to test the choke tubes at 25 yards. Both patterns measured 8 inches in length and had good coverage. However, the Carlson choke made the pattern a bit more dense in the center. True shotgunners will have a shotgun for every need. I am not a true shotgunner. I am more interested in shotguns from a general-purpose angle. I want to have a shotgun that can do everything. The 940 Pro Tactical is my favorite general-purpose shotgun. Although it’s best used for self-defense, the interchangeable choke system allows you to use it for almost any purpose. The 940 Pro Turkey, on the other side, is the best choice if you are looking for the ultimate lightweight, compact, and versatile turkey shotgun. The 940 Pro Turkey seems to be doing a great job for my son. 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