Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Product Review: OR3GUN Marine Spacer Tube for Mossberg® 930/935

Living in the Pacific Northwest, one has to deal with moisture… a lot of moisture……I’m not saying we get more rain than anywhere else, but there is a reason the two Oregon college sports teams are named after web-footed animals and the two Washington teams are Cats and Dogs…..…hell in Oregon we even have a town named “Drain”.



So some die-hard 3-gunners on the Oregon Coast were having trouble with their Mossberg 930 series shotguns working when the weather gets a bit too humid (were not talking Louisiana 80 degree humid, were talking 40 degree fog humid).

So they did some troubleshooting and discovered the problem lied with the spacer tube.

From their website OR3GUN



For years, competition shooters like ourselves have battled seemingly random cycling malfunctions with the gas systems in Mossberg's 930 series. This has been a point of personal frustration for most of the OR3GUN team, as we invested heavily in the 930 platform due to the reasonable cost of running duplicates and the 'lefty friendly' nature of the guns. Our Patent Pending products are not only the solution for many of these frustrating cycling issues, they are the first to acknowledge there is a problem that needs to be addressed in the first place. 
The OR3GUN Marine Spacer Tube replaces the Mossberg OEM ‘Gas Piston Spacer Tube’ (located inside the forend) during the course of a normal shotgun cleaning. This OEM spacer is where you typically find a buildup of carbon fouling, dirt and in many environments, water. Moisture from humidity, condensation, dew point and precipitation is the often ignored component in the 'random' malfunctions experienced with the 930 platform. Most people don't think to consult their local meteorologist to help troubleshoot their shotgun. In addition to the functional issues created by the changes in weather conditions, often times the resulting moisture is only discovered hours or days later when it has also begun to corrode the magazine tube.  



A relief is incorporated within the center section of the tube in order to minimize contact between dissimilar metals, greatly reducing the amount of condensation formed. This relief also reduces contact of friction surfaces by more than 75% for smoother cycling. In addition, the over sized outside diameter of our Marine Tube is stronger and more durable while the Marine Blue Competition version is engineered to be lower in overall weight for faster cycling shot to shot. Our new Storm Gray Multi-Use version is OEM weight to stand up to a steady diet of Magnum Slugs & Buckshot.
A matrix of holes in the relieved center section of the tube allows transient gas pressure to actively expel moisture, carbon and dirt during normal cycling of the gas system. The holes also allow the part to vent while cooling, greatly reducing trapped moisture which can lead to corrosion if cleaning is delayed.



The end sections of the tube are the same inside diameter as the OEM part, creating narrow contact rings that squeegee the buildup of moisture, carbon fouling, dirt and excessive lubrication from the magazine tube. This debris would otherwise form slurry and slow the OEM part through hydraulic friction or resistance. Instead, this debris comes to rest inside the plastic forend of the shotgun where it harmlessly awaits the next regular cleaning. Each ring is designed so that it will travel further than its length during cycling for the most effective shedding of debris.  



The MST comes in three colors, the Storm Gray one has a special teflon coating that reduces friction and makes cleaning a bit easier



So these enterprising fellows contacted me via a friend and asked if I would review the product.
This is the 1st time a manufacturer has asked me to review something.

Unfortunately I do not own a Mossberg 930/935 shotgun, so I turned to my local gun community and found a willing subject.



We disassembled the gun and removed the piston spacer tube
 
When we removed the factory plastic spacer tube we found the early signs of corrosion....

The instructions call for a small amount of lube, we decided to install it dry and see how it works. The fit was perfect, it went together so easily and quickly that I forgot to snap a picture....

The owner of the gun gave it a test firing.
He found a noticeable difference in the smoothness and speed of the action, keep in mind this was with the spacer installed on a dry and fouled mag tube!

So far this looks like a great product that increases the reliability and improves performance.

The owner will continue with the testing (including some rainy day shooting) and I will continue to update this post as the information comes in.

If you have questions regarding the Or3gun Marine Spacer Tube visit their website at www.or3gun.com or send them an email here




No comments:

Post a Comment