Grizzly 8.5" : How are they holding up?

Boomer686

Boomer686

Northern Mod
Moderator
Rating - 100%
550   0   0
Location
The Big Land
I was considering it purely as a camp gun for the occasional black bear that may be sniffing about at night. Mainly the price point and it's compact design is what makes it attractive but I am hesitant: how do they hold up?

There is lots of talk of people buying them and said people post pictures of it on arrival but there is not much after that.

I'd like to know how they hold up after a few thousand rounds? Reliable with all loads? Are there issues with the barrel or receiver? The action still ok or do the rails bend / misalign over time? Do the extractor and ejector last or are they prone to failure? What about the finish: durable or succeptible to rust?

FYI: before the 870 crowd starts in on me.. I have a 12.5" Rem 870, Armacoated in green that I bought from a supporting dealer: lets just leave it at the fact that I am done with Remmy shotguns: not impressed especially for the price I paid for it and it's performance at the range means I can't trust it as my camp gun.

Thanks,
 
I've got my 8.5" DA last year and I love it! Not even one malfunction. Whatever I feed im, it shoot. Finish hold up great. Better than my Norinco HP-9 in every aspect.
 
reliability of a pump has a lot to do with the chamber. Does your 12.5 870 have a Remington barrel?
 
J.P. said:
reliability of a pump has a lot to do with the chamber. Does your 12.5 870 have a Remington barrel?
Click to expand...

Yes and there have been several issues with it. I'd like to keep this thread on track with feedback from the Grizzly shorty owners though. You can pm me for more details if you want.

Regards,
 
Boomer686 said:
Yes and there have been several issues with it. I'd like to keep this thread on track with feedback from the Grizzly shorty owners though. You can pm me for more details if you want.

Regards,
Click to expand...

Sure man, I'm just trying to make sure you don't get into the same problem again.

The chinese barrels can be rough and out of round sometimes. The ones I've seen look fine though. Kind of a hit and miss proposition I suppose. For the price of them you kinda just have to take the plunge and buy one. Actions can be smoothed and barrels can be polished. However, those same tuning techniques could also be used on the gun you have.
 
So am I to take the lack of response as meaning owners are unhappy and just don't want to talk about it??? I am certain there are more than two 8.5" Grizzly owners out there.

Regards,
 
None here either. I shoot other calibers a lot more so I think the 8.5" has seen two flats of target loads split between it and two other shotguns, but it's always worked fine. Quite unlike the mag-fed Grizzly I had...

In fact I am considering selling the 8.5" due to the fact I never really use it, been more of a safe queen. Let me know if you're interested.
 
Indeed. I've had a lot of different guns pass through my hands and it takes something special to make me smile, but the 8.5" Grizzly had me grinning ear to ear. Maybe I shouldn't let it go after all. It's just that the UTS-15 has caught my eye, and for the amount of 12 gauge I shoot I don't really need three in the safe.
 
Holding up really well! I had one problem with action very early in my ownership where one of the levers that pushed the slide release down got on the wrong side of another lever shortly after I got it, but that was really obvious once I disassembled and was an easy permanent fix with a pair of pliers.

The coating doesn't wear well either. But it's a gun to use, not wall hang, eh?

I am never selling it, it's a great gun. So non-annoying in the bush with the short barrel and will definitely stop a bear, although I haven't tried (yet) although I did take it for grouse a couple times (didn't see any though). Aside from that issue I mentioned to begin with, I have never had a problem since, that's a few hundred rounds and a lot of banging around vehicles and the bush.
 
OK, I'll play...

No where near the thousand rds mark (living/working in the city sometime s#ck)... Once the ejector rivet was re-staked and the ejector spring changed... it's been reliable.

Never really noticed the ever so slightly crooked front bead until people started to talk about it... no biggy, as I want to replace it by a trigicon big dot.

p_006000160_1.jpg


The parkarizing seems kind of thin... again, no biggy... when it gets too bad (or I find the time) it will be getting the Armacoat finish. I think it would look good in battleship grey.

:cheers:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom