Can't find much about these at all but the price is so right I took a chance and grabbed one for my son and myself. All I have to go on is the Turks seem to make decent shotguns & Turkish Walnut is incredible , that and the fact that Corwin Arms has glowing recommendations from previous buyers .will just be for skeet - 2 3/4" light shells so i'm not worried about Mag load resilience , would like to hear from anyone with one or any of the Asena long guns .Comes with 3 chokes - should make dialing it in fairly straight forward
Asena semi ZR7 with Turkish Wlanut
- Thread starter broadhead67
- Start date
I have to admit I'm a bit of a junkie for the budget priced shotguns Corwin-Arms has been bringing in over the past few years.
So far, I've gotten the following (not bragging, but it will become relevant in a sec as a reference point):
A Ricol 12 gauge O/U shorty, a Warrior Gen 1 Single Shot 12 gauge, a Warrior Gen 2 Single Shot 12 Gauge, a Warrior Gen 2 Single Shot .410, a Sinsinati Single Shot 12 gauge, an Asil Bulldog 12 gauge, an Asena Mag Fed 12 gauge, a Warrior Lever Action 12 gauge, and an Asena ZR7.
I think that's all of them, I might have forgotten something. Basically retail therapy - feeling a bit glum? Hey! Cheap shotgun! w00t!
Anyway, out of all of them, I have yet to get a "bad" gun - they all work, seem to be holding up Ok, and fit and finish is at or above what I would expect for guns at this price point. But I do have some favourites, and you might be surprised which ones.
#1 Favourite: Warrior Gen 2 in .410 14" BBL. I reload for .410, so can shoot it for about 12 cents a shot. And I shoot it. a lot. It goes along with me in the gopher patch, for the simple reason that when a gopher pops up right beside me when I'm toodling around in the Kubota, it's hard to get a scoped .22 on them when they're under 10 yards. I quick pop with the .410 solves them quick. Just a handy little gun that I use and use and use.
#2 Favourite: The Asena ZR7. I did a long(ish) write up on my first impressions here. It's just a nice shooting gun. It has a heavier than average bolt and carrier, which softens the felt recoil a fair bit. It has a nice balance, so it swings and points easy. And it's a sharp looking gun.
I'm only about a case and a half worth of shells through it at this point, so I will make no claims about long term reliability. But so far, it's holding up well. Unlike the Mag Fed version, which has a tendency to stovepipe from time to time, the ZR7 so far hasn't had a single FTF, FTE, or stovepipe. Just seems a step above in build quality and overall fit and finish.
Honourable Mentions:
The Ricol O/U 12 gauge shorty. What a hoot. Totally not practical.
The Sinsinati Single Shot 12 gauge. The main reason it isn a "favourite" is that it's an ejector single shot. I prefer extractors.
So far, I've gotten the following (not bragging, but it will become relevant in a sec as a reference point):
A Ricol 12 gauge O/U shorty, a Warrior Gen 1 Single Shot 12 gauge, a Warrior Gen 2 Single Shot 12 Gauge, a Warrior Gen 2 Single Shot .410, a Sinsinati Single Shot 12 gauge, an Asil Bulldog 12 gauge, an Asena Mag Fed 12 gauge, a Warrior Lever Action 12 gauge, and an Asena ZR7.
I think that's all of them, I might have forgotten something. Basically retail therapy - feeling a bit glum? Hey! Cheap shotgun! w00t!
Anyway, out of all of them, I have yet to get a "bad" gun - they all work, seem to be holding up Ok, and fit and finish is at or above what I would expect for guns at this price point. But I do have some favourites, and you might be surprised which ones.
#1 Favourite: Warrior Gen 2 in .410 14" BBL. I reload for .410, so can shoot it for about 12 cents a shot. And I shoot it. a lot. It goes along with me in the gopher patch, for the simple reason that when a gopher pops up right beside me when I'm toodling around in the Kubota, it's hard to get a scoped .22 on them when they're under 10 yards. I quick pop with the .410 solves them quick. Just a handy little gun that I use and use and use.
#2 Favourite: The Asena ZR7. I did a long(ish) write up on my first impressions here. It's just a nice shooting gun. It has a heavier than average bolt and carrier, which softens the felt recoil a fair bit. It has a nice balance, so it swings and points easy. And it's a sharp looking gun.
I'm only about a case and a half worth of shells through it at this point, so I will make no claims about long term reliability. But so far, it's holding up well. Unlike the Mag Fed version, which has a tendency to stovepipe from time to time, the ZR7 so far hasn't had a single FTF, FTE, or stovepipe. Just seems a step above in build quality and overall fit and finish.
Honourable Mentions:
The Ricol O/U 12 gauge shorty. What a hoot. Totally not practical.
The Sinsinati Single Shot 12 gauge. The main reason it isn a "favourite" is that it's an ejector single shot. I prefer extractors.
I got one recently. Took it out and shot a box of shells last weekend, not one issue. My only issue/concern is the small rubber/plastic? buffer ring. I see that part becoming brittle with age and may crack in the future with the amount of energy it is taking. Martin mentioned that Weatherby parts will fit, but the Weatherby does not have such a buffer that I can see in the drawings.
This is my first semi, one thing I noticed is you go through shells much faster with a semi ;-) Another thing I noticed was the action felt much smoother after I disassembled and cleaned and lubed it after my outing. I am looking forward to breaking this thing in and seeing how smooth it gets.
This is my first semi, one thing I noticed is you go through shells much faster with a semi ;-) Another thing I noticed was the action felt much smoother after I disassembled and cleaned and lubed it after my outing. I am looking forward to breaking this thing in and seeing how smooth it gets.
First post here:
I purchased this to try my woodworking skills, as I can't seem to buy a shotgun off the rack that will fit, and I will have a small investment to ruin if all goes wrong. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised by the fit and finish of this gun. The stock is a decent piece of walnut with a decent bit of grain to it and although well finished on my gun, would probably look great with a strip and oil job as their finish is a bit dark and hides the grain. As for function, due to short notice from a shooting friend, I took the gun out and shot it without any cleaning whatsoever. I shot of 2 boxes of 1 oz target loads without a hitch followed by 1 box of 3/4 oz, again trouble free with the exception of one shell that was slow to chamber, but it did. The slow shell could have been from a bad shell or the fact that I hadn't cleaned the mag tube of oil and it was pretty dirty and sticky when I tore it down for a cleaning after the shoot. Next trip was 2 boxes of 1 oz with no problems.
Out of the box the fore end was loose and the screws needed to be tightened on the small tin bracket that supports it at the receiver. Fit was accomplished with a touch on a faceplate sander to the fore end of the stock (after paper templates used to determine how much) to increase cast off,similar to how most of this style uses shims, and I shortened the L.O.P. 3/8" Soft shooter with target loads, I haven't used anything heavier as yet.
Bottom line: yes, I would buy again, as I am happy with the handling and balance of the gun, and it's functions. No idea how well this will last on the long term, but at it's price point and performance so far, I do not regret the purchase and would buy another. Woody-to makes a good point about the buffer, but I will not worry too much about as I think it would not be too hard to make up something in its place. Hope this is of some help to those looking for information on this gun, as I couldn't find much out there before my purchase.
I purchased this to try my woodworking skills, as I can't seem to buy a shotgun off the rack that will fit, and I will have a small investment to ruin if all goes wrong. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised by the fit and finish of this gun. The stock is a decent piece of walnut with a decent bit of grain to it and although well finished on my gun, would probably look great with a strip and oil job as their finish is a bit dark and hides the grain. As for function, due to short notice from a shooting friend, I took the gun out and shot it without any cleaning whatsoever. I shot of 2 boxes of 1 oz target loads without a hitch followed by 1 box of 3/4 oz, again trouble free with the exception of one shell that was slow to chamber, but it did. The slow shell could have been from a bad shell or the fact that I hadn't cleaned the mag tube of oil and it was pretty dirty and sticky when I tore it down for a cleaning after the shoot. Next trip was 2 boxes of 1 oz with no problems.
Out of the box the fore end was loose and the screws needed to be tightened on the small tin bracket that supports it at the receiver. Fit was accomplished with a touch on a faceplate sander to the fore end of the stock (after paper templates used to determine how much) to increase cast off,similar to how most of this style uses shims, and I shortened the L.O.P. 3/8" Soft shooter with target loads, I haven't used anything heavier as yet.
Bottom line: yes, I would buy again, as I am happy with the handling and balance of the gun, and it's functions. No idea how well this will last on the long term, but at it's price point and performance so far, I do not regret the purchase and would buy another. Woody-to makes a good point about the buffer, but I will not worry too much about as I think it would not be too hard to make up something in its place. Hope this is of some help to those looking for information on this gun, as I couldn't find much out there before my purchase.
There's quite a few pages on them on the other thread over here, http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...HOTGUN-Clearance-Price-Were-477-00-Now-317-00
For the sake of typing it all out again, I just copied/pasted my post from the other thread:
Finally had a chance to shoot the asena. Unlike some others i didn't need any break in with heavy loads, it cycled federal target load right out of the gate, which made me happy.
I shot it side by side with one of the warrior 12ga semis that martin brought in a while ago. Between them the wood on the asena is much nicer, darker colour, thicker in the forend and had a nicer recoil pad on the butt end. side by side the asena is definitely heavier, but not excessively.
The triggers on both were fine to me, i preferred the warrior trigger, but i think it's more that i'm used to it and have used it much more than the asena.
Swinging the guns onto clays i'm used to the weight of the warrior, so the heavier asena felt slow at first, but i got used to it quickly enough.
As for the recoil between the two, it's hard to compare for sure. The force against your should felt about the same, but the where the warrior was snappy, it came right when you expected it to, the asena almost seemed slightly delayed when it hit you. Just like the weight of it, once you got used to it, it felt a little lighter against your shoulder, but with the delay it almost startles you, which makes it seem worse. Any gas semi i've shot always had a similar recoil, but the asena almost reminded me more of an inertia gun where you feel the inertia mechanism slamming back after the initial recoil of the shot.
As for which got more looks at the range, i can't say for sure, once i pulled out the lever action warrior that was all anyone could talk about.
For the sake of typing it all out again, I just copied/pasted my post from the other thread:
Finally had a chance to shoot the asena. Unlike some others i didn't need any break in with heavy loads, it cycled federal target load right out of the gate, which made me happy.
I shot it side by side with one of the warrior 12ga semis that martin brought in a while ago. Between them the wood on the asena is much nicer, darker colour, thicker in the forend and had a nicer recoil pad on the butt end. side by side the asena is definitely heavier, but not excessively.
The triggers on both were fine to me, i preferred the warrior trigger, but i think it's more that i'm used to it and have used it much more than the asena.
Swinging the guns onto clays i'm used to the weight of the warrior, so the heavier asena felt slow at first, but i got used to it quickly enough.
As for the recoil between the two, it's hard to compare for sure. The force against your should felt about the same, but the where the warrior was snappy, it came right when you expected it to, the asena almost seemed slightly delayed when it hit you. Just like the weight of it, once you got used to it, it felt a little lighter against your shoulder, but with the delay it almost startles you, which makes it seem worse. Any gas semi i've shot always had a similar recoil, but the asena almost reminded me more of an inertia gun where you feel the inertia mechanism slamming back after the initial recoil of the shot.
As for which got more looks at the range, i can't say for sure, once i pulled out the lever action warrior that was all anyone could talk about.
Still no problems with mine, but I have around 20 shotguns in my rotation, so nothing really gets shot enough to claim a torture test.
There's a fellow, brybenn, in the sponsor forum thread about the gun here https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1412109-ASENA-ZR7-RC-SEMI-AUTOMATIC-SHOTGUN-Clearance-Price-Were-477-00-Now-317-00/page19, that's running a bit of a torture test on it. He seems intent on shooting the barrel off it. So far, he's over 1K rounds without cleaning it, and no problems yet.
1580 rnds I had my first stoppage today. I have yet to clean it. I've shot everything from 1/2 oz loads to 2 oz loads. Light powder puff loads to fast steel loads. If you're in a blind the guys to your right will hate you. Any heavy or fast load clears the ejection port with authority. My slug loads left the empties in the next county almost. I routinely shot 7/8 oz loads for skeet. Several of my buddies have since ordered since seeing mine run so smoothly. The bolt release was stiff but has broke in nice. The chokes are ####ty quality but i've been smoking a lot of targets and crows. I haven't bought new chokes yet.
I've now shot 1590 rounds thru it. It has earned a place in My hunting gun lineup
Something my 1100s have yet to do.
Cons. Cheap chokes. For arm is very narrow and has some flex on mine but not my buddies. However theirs arent square and thicker on one side than the other. The trigger group pin migrates out slightly. It started that at about 1300 rounds or so. Mine has seen sunny days rain snow sleet and muddy fields. Pretty long in length. Varnish is starting to flake off at wrist
Pros. Cheap price. It works. It swings nice for its length. It is long. Decent wood. My buddies has much nicer than mine figure wise. Mine is very straight grained. His has a polished bolt where as mine has a carbon fiber look. The but pad is cut so that when wearing a heavy coat it keeps it tight into th shoulder pocket
Tonight mine will get a good cleaning and polishing if any internals need it. The trigger is actually nice
They are nothing like a weatherby. More like a hatsan. Overall I'm very impressed. Wish they had shorter barrels however
I've now shot 1590 rounds thru it. It has earned a place in My hunting gun lineup
Something my 1100s have yet to do.
Cons. Cheap chokes. For arm is very narrow and has some flex on mine but not my buddies. However theirs arent square and thicker on one side than the other. The trigger group pin migrates out slightly. It started that at about 1300 rounds or so. Mine has seen sunny days rain snow sleet and muddy fields. Pretty long in length. Varnish is starting to flake off at wrist
Pros. Cheap price. It works. It swings nice for its length. It is long. Decent wood. My buddies has much nicer than mine figure wise. Mine is very straight grained. His has a polished bolt where as mine has a carbon fiber look. The but pad is cut so that when wearing a heavy coat it keeps it tight into th shoulder pocket
Tonight mine will get a good cleaning and polishing if any internals need it. The trigger is actually nice
They are nothing like a weatherby. More like a hatsan. Overall I'm very impressed. Wish they had shorter barrels however
I just picked one up a couple of weeks ago. I haven't taken it out yet, but overall I'm happy with it. I tore it down and thoroughly cleaned and reassembled it the day it arrived.
Fit and finish is good. I found no issue with the forend fit as long as the retainer ring flange is toward the magazine cap. The furniture was good, no marks of any kind and the colour between the forend and buttstock is very close. I can say the same for the metal bits, no marks of any kind. A good looking shotgun IMO.
The safety is red/red with a small black o-ring on the live side as an indicator. I'd have prefered the standard red/black and once I located a sharpie, that's what it became.
There is a subtle amount of marring on the finish in the barrel extention this is about 5mmx5mm and purely cosmetic. It appears whatever finish (I'm assuming anti corrosion) was applied did not adhere properly. Again, just a personal thing and does not extend to the blueing nor is visible when fully assembled. The supplied chokes are... chokes. Nothing special but neither poor. There were no burrs or issues on mine.
As has been noted in previous posts, this shotgun shares many similarities with the SA-08 and the YouTube assembly videos are good for any that may require them. (There are CZ vids as well that look even closer to the mark).
At this pricepoint I didn't hesitate to buy one and I'm happy I did. I have no issue recommending one based on my experience so far. Again, I have yet to put it to work but I rather expect that it will perform flawlessly.
I'd like an 18" barrel as well. I'm curious if there is one available, or if the gas ports on the Weatherby barrels match up.
Cheers,
D
Fit and finish is good. I found no issue with the forend fit as long as the retainer ring flange is toward the magazine cap. The furniture was good, no marks of any kind and the colour between the forend and buttstock is very close. I can say the same for the metal bits, no marks of any kind. A good looking shotgun IMO.
The safety is red/red with a small black o-ring on the live side as an indicator. I'd have prefered the standard red/black and once I located a sharpie, that's what it became.
There is a subtle amount of marring on the finish in the barrel extention this is about 5mmx5mm and purely cosmetic. It appears whatever finish (I'm assuming anti corrosion) was applied did not adhere properly. Again, just a personal thing and does not extend to the blueing nor is visible when fully assembled. The supplied chokes are... chokes. Nothing special but neither poor. There were no burrs or issues on mine.
As has been noted in previous posts, this shotgun shares many similarities with the SA-08 and the YouTube assembly videos are good for any that may require them. (There are CZ vids as well that look even closer to the mark).
At this pricepoint I didn't hesitate to buy one and I'm happy I did. I have no issue recommending one based on my experience so far. Again, I have yet to put it to work but I rather expect that it will perform flawlessly.
I'd like an 18" barrel as well. I'm curious if there is one available, or if the gas ports on the Weatherby barrels match up.
Cheers,
D
The barrels are not interchangeable with the sa08. They're completely different valving and pistons. The Asena has dual action bars
I took mine apart to clean it and there's no rubber O ring which surprised me. Took quite a bit of rubbing but I managed to shine it up like new again
I took mine apart to clean it and there's no rubber O ring which surprised me. Took quite a bit of rubbing but I managed to shine it up like new again
After first visual and feel inspection I didn't find the o-ring either and emailed Corwin Arms about it. Prior to their response I put on my reading glasses with a strong flashlight and was able to see the o-ring at approx mid-point recessed into the barrel lug.
I was going upload a photo but for some reason this is the only site I've been on that doesn't allow you upload a photo from your own computer. Very strange.
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