Gear Review: The Mesa Truckee 940 JM Handguard

The Mossberg 940 Pro Tactical is my home defense shotgun. It replaced a well-loved and much appreciated Mossberg 590A1. Since the 940 relieved the 590A1, I haven’t done much to change the gun. I added a red dot and light, but that was it until Mesa Tactical came out with a new edition of the Truckee Handguard.

There are dozens of different makers of AR accessories, but the shotgun market is more limited. For shotgun enthusiasts, Mesa Tactical is one of the big companies that keep shotguns modern and kicking. Lots of the companies selling shotgun gear just import junk. Mesa Tactical stands out as a company that has always produced high-quality gear. The Truckee forend is an all-metal, drop-in replacement handguard that’s covered in M-LOK slots on three sides for all the goodies you could ever want.

Breaking It In

The Truckee for the Mossberg 940 also works with the Mossberg 930 series and the M2. It comes with a few adapters to fit the different guns. I have a Truckee for my Benelli M4, and my main complaint about it was the instructions sucked. Thankfully, they’ve fixed that now with a full-color manual that’s easy to follow. The installation is tool-free for the most part.

If your Mossberg 940 has an M-LOK barrel clamp, then you’ll need an Allen wrench to remove it prior to installing the Truckee handguard. The handguard slides into a slotted rear cap provided by Mesa Tactical. Up front, we have a cap that secures the front of the handguard. Boom, that’s it. The Truckee is installed.

The handguard is made entirely of metal and is 10.5 inches long. We get six M-LOK slots on each side and the bottom. Which accessories do you mount to your shotguns? For home defense, I wanted a light, so I mounted a Surefire Scout Pro. I also wasn’t a big fan of the grip texture on the 940 Pro Tactical. No complaints here.

The M-LOK slots give me plenty of room to attach various M-LOK rail covers to change or improve the grip texture on the gun. A grippier texture allows for a better push/pull. The push/pull technique makes a semi-auto twelve gauge shotgun feel like a kitten.

The Truckee Effect

The Truckee provides a wider grip than the stock 940 handguard. I also found some comfort in that. The somewhat flat bottom of the Truckee really fills the hand. The 940’s handguard reminded me of a supermodel from the 1990s. Slim and not a whole lot to hold onto. Too slim, some would say. It’s slim enough that my big hands would occasionally touch the hot barrel while running drills (that’s a self-correcting problem). The Truckee fills my hand and is more like a plus-sized model from 2023.

It’s thicker and meatier. I should have tossed it on the scale before I mounted it on the gun. It does make the 940 slightly more front-heavy. The 940 is already a front-heavy gun, and now you’re tossing a 10.5-inch chunk of aluminum on the front, it’s enough to make an 80% lower, but I don’t think it’s a huge deal.

I don’t mind weight on a weapon that I might have to use for a few seconds to defend my home. The benefits of a front-heavy gun include less muzzle rise and more weight keeping the muzzle down. It’s one of the many reasons why the 590A1 sits on a throne of pump shotguns.

The Truckee is a bit on the smooth side. It has no texture, but its width makes it easy to grab, and it’s a chunk of metal in your hand. Still, I’ll add some rail covers to increase the grip texture for a better grip all around. That’s likely unnecessary for home defense, but I enjoy shooting the 940 Pro Tactical and want to handle it easily while aiming for lower and lower times on my shot timer as I run drills.

To The Range

The Truckee’s extra weight helps keep the barrel down and on target. I can feel less of a pull upward as I fire the gun and can exert more control over the gun’s muzzle. That’s not just a feeling, it’s noticeable in my split times, too. I recently got fast enough to put two shots on a target in .80 of a second, and today, I did that in an average of .75 seconds. A fraction of a second isn’t a bad trade-off for a slightly heavier shotgun.

The thickness of the handguard makes it easy to grab and hold onto. After 25 quickly fired rounds, there wasn’t a hint of heat from the barrel or gas system onto my hand. That thick aluminum does a great job dissipating it.

The Surefire Scout Pro that’s attached didn’t budge through a hundred rounds of full-powered buckshot, and I don’t know how many rounds of birdshot. It’s a tight fit, and a tight fit is what you need for a home defense light.

The handguard doesn’t budge even a bit when pressed forward using a push/pull technique. It’s big and thick with plenty to grip, but it’s also Florida in July. My hands got sweaty and started to slip. It made me want those rail covers I mentioned previously. Between drills, I had to wipe my hands off to keep a good hold on the gun.

That’s the only real downside. If you’re a professional gunslinger working in a hot environment, you’ll need to wear gloves or add rail scales.

Keep On Trucking

The Mossberg 940 Pro is one of the best new shotguns to hit the market. It’s a swing and a hit for American shotgun manufacturers. The Truckee allows it to be accessorized as you see fit and is one helluva handguard. It’s large, but sometimes size and weight are a major benefit.