Looking for first hand opinions on Weatherby PA-08 shotguns

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galamb

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As the title says I'm looking for opinions from owners of Wby PA-08's.

Not looking for suggestions of other shotguns etc, already have an Rem 870, H&R Single and an old Winchester Featherweight.

I have read that the PA-08 and SA-08 are made by different mfg's for Weatherby. I am familiar with the SA models but have never even held a PA.

I have also read that the one (issue) with the pump models is a rather heavy trigger. Now I realize that "heavy" is somewhat subjective so would like first hand opinions of the trigger and the gun overall.

I have a chance to pick-up a brand new one at a somewhat discounted price in 20 gauge (wood/26" bbl) and want to know if it's worth putting in the gun safe/taking partridge hunting, or not.
 
I bought a pa-08 in a local deal...fit and finish wasn't bad, wood finish was great, action was ok, got better after a few hundred rounds...swung well enough, blueing was standard stuff, trigger wasn't too heavy on mine, can't remember the pull weight...but all in all...a decent shotgun for the money..traded it in for what I paid for it....hope this helps.....
 
my friend has one, functioned flawlessly except for the cheap Winchester target #### that jams in my Mossberg, which otherwise functions flawlessly...
 
Thanks Cory.

I went ahead a bought one - a 20 gauge, Upland model (wood stocked), with 26" barrel.

They have gone up a bit in price since introduced a couple years back, but you can take one home in most provinces for about $550 (including taxes - 2015 prices) - so "competitive" with the 870 Express, 500 Mossberg's in either the wood or plastic stocked versions.

The fit/finish is very nice - considerably better than the 870 Express and 500/535 Mossbergs that I assemble regularly for the showcase at work (and anything is better than the plastic stocked Rem 887's which are "proof" that you can get warped plastic stocks - those are terrible).

The initial assembly, as far as ease of everything going where it should without having to force/contort etc is on par with the 870 Wingmasters which are a nicely finished shotgun (in the sub-1K price range).

The high gloss coating on these "looks good" but is not super well bonded and may have been put on hastily (on one edge on the fore-end there is a (raw) piece of wood that never got coated), but at this price I wasn't expecting a whole lot. After a few years of banging it around, stripping the top coat and applying a few coats of Tru-oil will probably do the trick.

The checkering is well done and looks sharp.

It came with three chokes (I/C, Mod, Full), a choke wrench and lock - same deal as Mossberg's but "add-on's" for Rem 870 Express (I have no first hand knowledge of the Win SXP's and the BPS is not in the same price class)

I just recently got mine out and put a couple boxes of shells through it.

She is shooting fine, cycles well, no ejection issues and while the trigger is a little heavy (if you pay close attention or measure it - mine is just on 9 lbs), I find it "usable" and have to admit, I really didn't notice how heavy it is when you pull the trigger.

The action was "stiff" when I got the gun but I cycled it about 300 times or so (just sitting on the couch) and it worked in nicely.

The factory bead sight "sucked" - was small and difficult to see (but my vision is getting worse to be fair). I swapped it out with a fiber optic front pipe and added the rear sight (attached to the rib) to set it up for Turkey hunting.

At 25 and 30 yards the full choke (as supplied) patterns well enough with #6 shot that at least for now I will not go the cost of a Turkey choke.

In the next couple of weeks I will try some #4 and #5 shot to see which ultimately patterns the best (where I hunt turkey the 25 yard shot would be "long", but nice to know it reaches 30 "tight enough").

I find the gun well balanced, carries well in hand and barely notice it there when slung. The specs say it's 6 1/2 pounds (so call it 6 3/4 lbs with a shell down the spout and a couple in the tube) but it didn't "feel" that heavy during a 2 kilometer trek in and out of where I shot her.

I have yet to see how it patterns with the Mod and I/C chokes - Turkey starts in a few weeks, so first things first. I typically shoot a Modified choke with 6 or 7 1/2 for Partridge, so pattern target checks will be the next set of (tests) I run her through.

All in all I am well pleased with the gun.

The fit/finish/machine work (the way it goes together) is "superior" to other shotguns in this price range.

And so far (ok, only 60 or so shots) there have been no "initial" issues.
 
I have the 20 gauge Uplands model too. My first gun, so my comparisons aren't worth much, but I like it so far. Only put a few boxes through it so far, chasing partridge. I patterned it for turkey this past week and with the factory full choke I'm good at 30 yards and probably a little more, but I stopped there. I was using Remington Nitro, Winchester High velocity turkey and hornady Magnum Turkey, all in #5. The Remington looked the best, the Winchester was the worst, but all of them were acceptable IMO. Sighting in with 2 3/4"Winchester Super X, 7/8 o of #6 was getting a really nice pattern at 25 yards. My first year hunting turkeys so I'm excited to get out there.

galamb, what turkey sight did you put on it? I have the Beard Buster on mine, but I am aiming high right now because I am as far back on the rib as I can get to raise the elevation. There isn't much info out there on the different sights on this gun. We are both in eastern ontario, I'm about 45 minutes from pembroke, if you had any interest in showing someone new how things work send me a PM.
 
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My advice to you is this:
Remove the but stock from the gun and put some gun wax on the exposed wood at both end.
Where the but stock attaches to the frame and to the but end where the pad goes or is there a plastic cap there?
Resemble when dry and have fun.
Seen on that was dropped in the marsh and recovered a few hours later when the tide receded and the wood was swelling up and continued till it started to split.
Shoot it and enjoy your new to you gun.
Rob
 
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