Input on DA Grizzly magazine fed?

timandkimandshea

timandkimandshea

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Hi, just wondering if anyone had some first hand experience with the mag fed 18.5" Grizzly currently sold by CanAmmo?
I guess fit/finish, reliability, function, ease of magazine change, weight, anything helpful you care to offer.
Thx in advance
 
I got one for Father's Day. I love it. I actually took it out today clay shooting. No problems at all. For 200 bucks you can't go wrong.
 
Fit and finish varies, but on average - decent for a $200-300 shotgun. I've owned 3 or 4 of them, down to two now. I use one fairly consistently for protection when out in the bush. Mostly reliable, one issue I've experienced is an occasional failiure to feed (The shell cocks sideways slightly when feeding and gets stuck on the ejection port). It gets my recommendation as an inexpensive truck gun, and haven't found a better magazine fed for the price. It's also nice having the 870's lineup of accessories.

Oh, and the 12.5" makes some pretty cool fireballs. ;)
 
The mag catch is on the stiff side, I wedge in a shim to reduce the travel. The "Aftermarket" mags simply don't work on my 2 guns without modification, use the more expensive ones.
Some brands of ammo feed better than others. Decent mags and suitable ammo, no problems.
It is on the heavy side, the magwell probably weighs half a pound.
 
Juster said:
The $199.99 Grizzly is a fantastic deal. You can usually get the folding stock separately for 19.99, it is about an inch shorter, and you can tape foam pipe insulation onto the stock for a comfy cheek weld. Confirm that a fully load magazine cycles with your ammo in a safe place and enjoy.
Click to expand...

Oh man, stop tempting, lol!!! It's true it's only $200 and a sweet deal.... :d

Seriously though, personally I think the bulk of the magazine would be a bit of a PITA on a shotgun, given the size of ammo. The practical thing about tubular magazines is that they can typically fit a lot of ammo in a compact package (as opposed to box mags), mag extensions are simple/cheap to install, adding a round in a pinch is simpler/quicker and the whole shotgun can be stored or transported a lot easier in confined spaces, such as backpacks or what not.

Reliability issues aside, I think the bulk of the whole unit is a major factor, especially since the mag-fed version of the grizzly still retains the mag tube. As such, if CanAm would order these with a kit that would allow you (the owner) to revert the mag-fed setup back to tubular magazine, they would be the best of both worlds and would certainly fly off the shelves! I'd buy two of them right now without wasting a minute, lol!


This being said, I've read some online reviews of DA grizzlies and, although they are generally pretty good, most reviewers have a tendency to recommend the standard (non-mag fed) grizzly if you don't absolutely have to be "the guy with the meanest-looking shotgun in camp". The situation gets even more complicated when you have a bunch of Turkish 870 clones on the market these days for very competitive prices too... in the $200-300 range. Some dealers on here seem to praise the Turkish guns for having much smoother actions and being more refined vs. the Norinco/DA offerings.

Decisions, decisions... ;)
 
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I've had one since the summer, shoots great, never had problems with it. I've put about 500 rounds through it give or take a box.

It is parts compatible with the Rem 870 for the most part, the forestock is a bit shorter so if you want to put one from an 870 on it you have to cut it down a bit so it cycles properly.

Tried trap with it, hard to hit clays with an 18.5" barrel but again, compatible with the 870 and it's not too hard to find a long vented barrel for sale out there on the used market.

If you are shooting 3-gun in the open class, you want to go mag fed all the way.
 
No feeding issues whatsoever for me with the two mags it came with. Fit and finish was ok for something under $300. Deburring on the receiver was terrible. I deburred it before I ever fired it. The ejection port would have worked great for peeling potatoes.

I bought it for carrying in my quad for bears/cougars. Keep the mag loaded but detached. I figured it's quicker to load a full mag than to load 5 rounds into a tube. It is heavier and a little more cumbersome than a tube fed of the same length but I'm not carrying on my back either. But the quick loading when transporting is what sells it.
 
I'm happy with my 12.5" mag fed but I have spent the time to debur and polish the areas that needed it and tweak the aftermarket mags to feed reliably, mine wears a 870 synthetic police forend and a Mesa tactical collapsing stock. Ditch the boat anchor of a factory stock, it weighs a ton.
 
I had a 12.5 inch, the mags were unreliable at best. Maybe it was just mine but they required a LOT of modification, and never truly worked 100%. I sold it and never looked back.

I loved the idea of the short mag fed shotgun, but meh, just wasn't meant to be I guess.
 
I had the 12.5" mag fed, which (as mentioned) needed some deburring/polishing in a couple areas. Honestly it ran better than my 870, no problems at all with cheap low-brass. Magazine interface was a little clunky at times. In the end I sold the DA and my 870, with the plan of building up a Mossberg 14" for the woods. Is it worth $200? Sure. Will it be the last shotgun your ever own? No. Will the fact that it's a Chinese knockoff of inferior quality ultimately turn you away from it? Only you can answer that. You'll also find the action bar slider tube to be bigger than the 870's, and the buttstock threads to be metric. Both of these can be remedied, but parts are not as easily directly swapped on.
 
I have one of the first production batch and love it , its almost 9yo! No feeding issues whatsoever of any brand of ammunition, mag release is stiff as all hell. Its a bit heavy but i like it , i have one with the ghost ring but i dont like them its just personal preference. I hated the finish on it scratched just by looking at it so i cleaned it and painted it black. You cant go wrong with it imho.
 
Ive had a dozen of them in various forms including 2 I got from Can Am for $200. They have all run great for me. ALL of them. Ive had only one mag give me trouble and it was the mag, not the gun.

The gun is NO where near as refined as others. Its gritty and the finish isnt a smooth or nice to look at. BUT... its a $200 shotgun. What other shotgun can you buy for $200? Even a Maverick 88 is pushing $300.

You need to run the grizzly mag like you mean it. Pump it with authority and it will work fine. Mine only every cycled 2 3/4 with %100 reliability. So thats what I stuck with. And I wasn't disappointed at all.

One thing to note, the 8.5 grizzly mag fed is a bad choice because your hand will hit the magwell. A 12.5 inch mag fed grizz with a Mesa adapter and adjustable stock. Thats like the perfect "at the ready" gun I can think of.

The 18 inch guns are equally as good, just a bit longer.

If your expecting $800 finish quality from a $200 gun, your not going to be happy. If you expect $300 finish quality from a $200 gun, your going to be pleasantly surprised.
 
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