"...You will probably notice, when pumping the shotgun, that a tad more effort is required to close the action than to open it. The fact that a shell is being chambered on the closing stoke has little to do with this. Rather, it is because the breech bolt, in being returned to battery position, must pass between the two arms of the forked shell carrier and spread them apart. This extra drag begins shortly after the bolt starts to move forward and is limited to about 1/2" of travel, at which point the carrier arms are snugged up against the receiver walls. This bolt/carrier drag becomes much less noticeable, of course, if the forearm is moved forward very smartly.
"Yet even when this bolt/carrier friction is totally discounted, the shotgun still doesn't measure up as the slickest-operating pump gun to come down the pike-at least my test gun doesn't. This is not to imply that the action stroke is actually rough, nor that it calls for an extra amount of muscle. What seems to be missing is a certain 'freeness', and maybe it's entirely a matter of (the manufacturer) holding the parts relationship to very close tolerances. At any rate, I do look for some improvement as the various working surfaces 'wear in' with continued use. In fact, my test gun is already showing promise of this."
The gun being evaluated was the subject of a test being conducted by shotgun expert Wallace Labisky. Personally, because I place a high priority on smoothness of action on any firearm but especially on a pump gun, I would be disappointed with the as reported performance of this pump shotgun; a Browning BPS, by the way, not a Mossberg. But the evaluation was conducted in 1980, not long after the BPS was introduced, and I suspect, based on the performance of my BPS purchased in 2007, the Browning test gun was experiencing some "teething" problems that were later rectified.
The op's reported shortcomings of his Mossberg pump gun, however, has no such excuse; having being manufactured for over half a century and any early production gremlins having had ample time to be found out and eliminated. Given the long history of successful sales and on my own good experiences with the Mossberg pump gun, any design defect and material deficiency suspicions regarding unacceptable pump-action performance can be put to rest; the real apparent problem being poor quality control.
However, if Mossberg has any hope of surviving in a highly competitive market environ, they'd be well advised to address the problem of poor quality control. No pandemic repercussions, manufacturing shortcuts, problems in the workforce or any other excuse, no matter how valid or well-intended, will be sufficient in restoring any loss of confidence in their products essential to insuring their continued viability in the marketplace.
