Outwrite Outdoors

A few years back, I was hunting geese with my tried and true Mossberg® 835 that I bought back close to when they first came out. It was, and is a great gun that rarely failed me, and then due only to my abuse. My hunting buddies all carried semi-auto shotguns and liked to rub it in my face that they did. I knew one thing; I wanted an auto. When Mossberg released the 935 semi-auto shotgun, I was pumped. A lower-cost alternative to the big-buck Italian shotguns that taunted me from the racks at the dealer. It had what I wanted: reliability, the ability to shoot 3-1/2” shells, and a price tag I could swing.

But I ended up waiting a little while. Little things kept getting in the way of buying it. Car repairs, moves across the country, oh, and the birth of my son. When Mossberg released the Flyway edition of the 935, I went for the checkbook though. Here's why.

All choked up
One of the things I never cared for with my 835 was the choke tubes, or lack there of. My gun came with one tube, a full choke that never patterned worth a hoot. I had to go out and buy chokes. The 935 Flyway scattergun comes with the ported X-Factor choke that offers a great pattern for both close and longer shots. Rather than take a hit-and-miss approach to buying chokes, it was nice to have them come with the gun, designed specifically for waterfowl hunting.

The Duck Commander says that “The three most important things in a shotgun are Boom, Boom, Boom.” The Duckman is a wise man. The Mossberg does go “triple boom” as long as you use the right ammo. Light field loads will jam, but anything bigger/heavier works just fine. For me, I was looking to shoot 3-1/2” stuff and the 935 gobbles these loads as good as any gun out there.

The nitty gritty
I am not kind to my waterfowl guns. I am even meaner to those I get for testing. I mean, if they want me to be honest, they have to let me be mean, right? I had this gun along when I was testing a few other guns that had bigger price points. I planned to rotate guns as I rotated fields during a three-day goose hunting trip.

After the first morning, one of those higher priced deals went back in the case. It was nice on the range, but would jam like no other when in hunting conditions. The others saw some use and were all they were hyped to be. Here’s the thing. My wife was using the 935 Flyway the whole time. We’d switch back and forth so I could get some shoulder comparison. The Mossberg shot as good as the other guns. We were feeding all with Kent Fasteel and Winchester Extended Range, all in 3-1/2” BB and the Mossy was as good as any with the recoil.

I also greatly appreciated the top-mounted safety. Perhaps it was because I was used to it from my other Mossbergs, but it was nice to be able to visually verify the safety of the gun without having to take my eye off the bead.

The Outwrite Truth
What we have here is a shotgun that handles well, mounts on your shoulder quickly and is as reliable as a Mossberg should be. The 935 Flyway comes with a great set of choke tubes designed for shooting waterfowl, Advantage® Max-4 HD™ camo, a fiber-optic front bead, a neoprene sling and a price tag that won’t force most of us to have to sleep in the garage. For some of us, there is no stopping that… It shoots anything but the lightest field loads and goes “boom” times three all day long without killing your shoulder. What more could a waterfowler ask for?