For my first trip to Thunder Ranch, Mossberg invited me to take a Defensive Shotgun Course with their 940 Pro Tactical 12-gauge shotgun. I’ve always kept a loaded shotgun in the house for self-defense, but there are very few defensive shotgun courses offered across the country. So, learning how to fight with one truly is something I’ve wanted to know for years. Learning from the best and shooting a great shotgun is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
The Thunder Ranch 940 Pro Tactical
I grew up hunting waterfowl with a pump-action 20-gauge shotgun that I still own and will forever cherish. This experience gave me a love for shotguns and made me appreciate my dad and grandfather for teaching me how to hold and shoot one properly.
The 940 Pro Tactical Thunder Ranch Edition is an 8-shot, gas-operated 12-gauge shotgun. It is optic-ready to mount a Shield RMSc pattern micro red dot optic. A Thunder Ranch edition firearm needs to be practical and have easy-to-manipulate functions. Likewise, it has to withstand all types of conditions and unconventional shooting positions since those are typically fighting positions.
The 940 Pro Tactical model shotgun has an enlarged loading port, textured and oversized bolt handle, oversized bolt release, and an anodized follower for smoother operation. It has several QD sling mounting points on the stock and forend. Likewise, it features a barrel clamp with M-LOK mounting slots. As a result, it is easy to attach a sling and set it up exactly to your preference.
The importance of this shotgun being gas-operated cannot be understated. Inertia-driven shotguns operate at the mercy of the person behind the gun. If they don’t shoulder the gun properly every time they pull the trigger, the gun can more easily malfunction.
A gas-operated shotgun cycles independently without the human factor of whether the gun is properly shouldered. Gas-operated or pump-action shotguns are the best fighting shotguns because they can be shot in unconventional shooting positions without worry of malfunctions.
Adjusting the 940 Pro Tactical for Home Defense
The Thunder Ranch team pointed out a beneficial feature of the Mossberg 940 Pro Tactical shotgun: the adjustable length of pull stock. So, I removed all the shims to make the shotgun as short as possible. This was something I’d never done to a shotgun before.
I’ve been shooting 3 Gun, skeet, and trap, and have hunted all my life with a longer stock for a better fit and cheek weld. However, on a fighting and home defense shotgun, you want the gun to be as short as possible. This allows you to maneuver easily in and out of positions.
The Thunder Ranch 940 Pro Tactical on the Range
Once we hit the Thunder Ranch range, I quickly understood how beneficial this shortened stock was for maneuverability and holding the gun up for a long time. The longer the shotgun, especially with a fully loaded tube shotgun, the more weight there is tipping the muzzle downward as your arms fatigue.
By shortening the stock, I could tuck the gun even more into my body to support the gun’s weight better. This results in keeping the gun upright for longer. For law enforcement officers who provide cover, the ability to hold the gun up for extended periods is a requirement.
The choice to use a red dot optic or iron sights is a personal preference. The 940 Pro Tactical shotgun has a front fiber optic sight but is also optic-ready. I have personally moved away from iron sights and now strictly shoot guns with a red dot optic.
For the Thunder Ranch class, our shotguns were already set up with the Holosun HS407K optic. The benefit of a red dot is being able to sight in the shotgun for shooting slugs. We zeroed our slugs at 100 yards and then confirmed where our buckshot and birdshot patterned.
The ability to zero a shotgun with iron sights is typically non-existent since most shotguns don’t have a rear sight. The final benefit of a red dot optic is seeing the sight in low light, indoors and outdoors. Seeing the front fiber optic in darker conditions can be challenging.
Overall, the Thunder Ranch 940 Pro Tactical shotgun was built for self-defense. Thunder Ranch President and Director Clint Smith provided design input to ensure this gun would be up to the task.
Necessary Accessories
Sling
A sling is a necessary accessory for a defensive shotgun, just as they are used with rifles. Because Mossberg designed the 940 Pro Tactical with multiple QD mounting points, both right-handed and left-handed shooters can set the sling up for them.
I had to use the barrel clamp M-LOK rail to attach a specific sling mount. The QD cup was too close to my fingers when gripping the shotgun. The slings we used in the Thunder Ranch class are no longer being made. However, this gun will serve you well with any good-quality two-point sling.
Shotgun Cards
Shotguns require specific gear and some setup to get them defense-ready. Before hitting the range, our instructor, Jack, cut hook-and-loop material to stick on the left side of the shotgun to support Velcro-style shot cards.
Esstac sent 6-round shotgun cards that can easily attach to or be removed from the side of the gun. This is a necessary accessory to carry spare ammunition on your gun. It allows you to reload off the card into the shotgun using either hand.
Fanny SACK
I’m a fan of tactical fanny packs that are Velcro-compatible with zippered compartments and pouches for mounting holsters and gear. I carry a concealed pistol in one when I’m too lazy to put on pants with belt loops.
A fanny pack is a necessary storage pouch for fighting with a shotgun. Specifically, because shotguns take longer and are more challenging to reload than a pistol or rifle. We used the BIG Fanny SACK from Spiritus Systems in the Defensive Shotgun course and learned how to reload loose ammunition from the fanny pack and a new shotgun card when the one on our gun was emptied.
The Big Fanny SACK can hold multiple Esstac shotgun cards and more than a handful of loose shotgun shells.
Ammunition Selection and Patterning
Most people who shoot shotguns only shoot birdshot and rarely venture into the world of slugs or buckshot. But if you plan to fight with a shotgun, you must learn to shoot various types of ammunition.
We used Federal Top Gun 8-shot, 1 1/8 ounce birdshot loads, running 1,200 FPS (feet per second) for the Defensive Shotgun Class. Before starting shotgun training, we shot the birdshot at incremental distances to see how well it patterned at each distance. While each shotgun patterned slightly differently, they passed the accuracy test.
The buckshot was Federal Power Shok 000 Buck running 1,325 FPS. We used slug ammo at the start to zero our red dot optics at a 100-yard steel target. Then, we checked our pattern with birdshot and buckshot on close-range paper.
All Federal ammunition ran well and caused no malfunctions, with eight Mossberg shotguns used over three days of class.
Testing Ammo for Home Defense
When I got home, I wanted to train even more with my shotgun and test other types of ammo. Fiocchi sent a few boxes from its Defense Dynamics line of 12-gauge ammunition.
The Breaching Slug shoots 1,045 FPS (feet per second), while the Aero Slug ammo is nine pellets moving 1,150 FPS. I wondered if the slower ammunition would feel or perform differently than what we used in class. The felt recoil improved, and the Mossberg had no issue cycling it.
The Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics 3 Gun 12-gauge ammunition is one that I have used for shooting 3 Gun. So, I wanted to pattern it through the Mossberg 940 Pro Tactical. This ammo is 7.5 shot, 1 ounce, 2 ¾ shells, running 1,170 FPS. With the cylinder bore choke, the Fiocchi birdshot patterned and spread as expected, with good accuracy on paper, out to 20 yards.
I recommend testing your shotgun with your defensive ammunition before loading it and setting it up as your defensive gun of choice. As you would test-fire a pistol with defensive ammunition before carrying it, you should do the same with your shotgun.
Ready to Fight
Thunder Ranch gave me a new appreciation for people who must use shotguns for defensive or tactical situations. I came in with experience loading, shooting, and moving with a tube shotgun. However, I hadn’t shot in many of the unconventional positions we were put in.
I was grateful for the capacity of the Mossberg 940 Pro Tactical Thunder Ranch shotgun and all the oversized controls on the gun. After getting home from Thunder Ranch and spending more time loading and firing this shotgun, I feel much more prepared to defend myself with it if I ever need to.
I want to give special thanks to Mossberg for inviting me to this event and Thunder Ranch for giving me lifelong skills to protect myself. Also, thank you, Clint Smith, for signing our shotguns.
For more information, please visit Mossberg.com and ThunderRanch.com.
Mossberg 940 Pro Tactical Thunder Ranch Edition Specs
| Gauge | 12 Gauge |
| Action | Semi-Automatic |
| Capacity | 7+1 |
| Chamber Size | 3 Inches |
| Choke | Cylinder Bore |
| Barrel Length | 18.5 inches |
| Overall Length | 37 inches |
| Length of Pull | 12.5 inches – 14.25 inches |
| Sights | Front fiber optic, optic-ready |
| Weight | 7.5 pounds |
| MSRP | $1,295.00 |
