Masai Mara anyone heard of them?

G

Grendeb

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So my hunting partners we kind of had a really big waterfowl this fall at lease for us I don't know what it looks like on the western side of Canada we're in Quebec.
We shot 462 birds (ducks/geeses) and from all the shotguns we had we all had issues at some point. One had a year old winchester SX4, another one browning maxus, I personally shot a weatherby SA-08 which never had any failure up until this season, it passed all tests for the 5 years I've had it but I also knew it wasn't going to last a life time and I see wear some places.

I came across the brand Masai Mara which are made in Turkey and imported by Retay USA.
The company was founded I believe in 2006-2007 i.e. a year after the Benelli inertia patent expired and they started making copies but now they came up with an inertia design that supposedly works and isn't making the benelli click where the bolt doesn't cycle completely and you miss opportunities. Not to bash on this company (Benelli) but I've handled and shot 4 different shotguns and I was not impressed. I do like the inertia concept (less cleaning) and their price point, I know Odells apparently is their distributor. They also have a quick removable trigger group, I don't know why you'd need to remove this often (since we clean our guns once a year) and overall seems like a really nice design.

They are introducing this year a new model with an oversize bolt handle and oversize bolt release which I find very interesting since I did those mods on mine.
All videos I see are people unboxing it saying yeah I like it but never fires it, we do use our shotguns bellow 0°C, often guns fall in dirt, swamp and water so I have seen all brands not working at some point.
Did anyone actually used them?
 
Call O'Dell, they are in Cambridge. They are very nice folks and will give you the straight goods on all the firearms they distribute. The MM is awesome, right up there with much higher priced guns.
 
Handled them at Shotshow last year, probably will again this year. They're incredibly well made and finished shotguns. I think Turkey sometimes has the reputation of only producing the lower-end of the spectrum with a lot of their shotguns... but I'd put the Masai Mara up against Beretta/Benelli in a heartbeat.

EDIT: Retay is the Manufacturer, in Turkey. Retay also has Retay USA for that side of the business - you'd have to talk to ODell as the post above mentions, but if they are the distributor they would be getting them directly from Retay in Turkey.
 
Grendeb said:
So my hunting partners we kind of had a really big waterfowl this fall at lease for us I don't know what it looks like on the western side of Canada we're in Quebec.
We shot 462 birds (ducks/geeses) and from all the shotguns we had we all had issues at some point. One had a year old winchester SX4, another one browning maxus, I personally shot a weatherby SA-08 which never had any failure up until this season, it passed all tests for the 5 years I've had it but I also knew it wasn't going to last a life time and I see wear some places.

I came across the brand Masai Mara which are made in Turkey and imported by Retay USA.
The company was founded I believe in 2006-2007 i.e. a year after the Benelli inertia patent expired and they started making copies but now they came up with an inertia design that supposedly works and isn't making the benelli click where the bolt doesn't cycle completely and you miss opportunities. Not to bash on this company (Benelli) but I've handled and shot 4 different shotguns and I was not impressed. I do like the inertia concept (less cleaning) and their price point, I know Odells apparently is their distributor. They also have a quick removable trigger group, I don't know why you'd need to remove this often (since we clean our guns once a year) and overall seems like a really nice design.

They are introducing this year a new model with an oversize bolt handle and oversize bolt release which I find very interesting since I did those mods on mine.
All videos I see are people unboxing it saying yeah I like it but never fires it, we do use our shotguns bellow 0°C, often guns fall in dirt, swamp and water so I have seen all brands not working at some point.
Did anyone actually used them?
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Have not seen that in any of my B waterfowl semi guns and some are now 27 years old
Can I ask why someone that shoots hundreds of birds a year would even consider buying something new out and not putting out the cash for a well proven B gun
Cheers
 
I came across the same gun in an article by Randy Wakeman I think. He was really impressed with it. I sent a FB message to O'Dell to find out if they have any retailers carrying it but it's been 3 days and I haven't heard anything back yet. I'd love to handle one as I'm presently in the market for a semi.
 
3macs1 said:
Can I ask why someone that shoots hundreds of birds a year would even consider buying something new out and not putting out the cash for a well proven B gun
Cheers
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Granted I don't shoot hundreds of birds a year, but in my case it's price that has me looking at options other than the B guns. I'm sure lots of people would prefer to spend $1000 for a well reviewed, good looking walnut gun vs $1500 for a plastic one.
 
dmcdam said:
Granted I don't shoot hundreds of birds a year, but in my case it's price that has me looking at options other than the B guns. I'm sure lots of people would prefer to spend $1000 for a well reviewed, good looking walnut gun vs $1500 for a plastic one.
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No goose or duck hunter I know
Black or camo only
Cheers
 
3macs1 said:
Yes and some day you will see life is too short to own cheap ugly guns and I love wood stocks but not for waterfowl hunting any more
To each their own
Cheers
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There's also a lot more than 3 companies out there that make good guns. Sometimes budget has to be a consideration when you have multiple hobbies and a young family. I could wait to drop $2k on a Beretta but in the meantime, I'd like to get shooting.
 
dmcdam said:
There's also a lot more than 3 companies out there that make good guns. Sometimes budget has to be a consideration when you have multiple hobbies and a young family. I could wait to drop $2k on a Beretta but in the meantime, I'd like to get shooting.
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Semi waterfowl guns ?? not that many make good ones and we all have multiple hobbies and bills
I thought you were still shooting with the sa08??? so where is the rush
Nothing wrong with a good used b gun either
Here is my issue with all the economical turkey made shotguns. Where do you get parts if they break in canada
Cheers
 
3macs1 said:
Semi waterfowl guns ?? not that many make good ones and we all have multiple hobbies and bills
I thought you were still shooting with the sa08??? so where is the rush
Nothing wrong with a good used b gun either
Here is my issue with all the economical turkey made shotguns. Where do you get parts if they break in canada
Cheers
Cheers
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Sorry - the OP was the one with the sa08 - I don't currently have a semi. Used are okay but I also don't want to inherit someone else's problems without a warranty.

Turkish made guns get a bad rap but they seem to know what they're doing. ATA has made the Weatherby shotguns for years, and they seem pretty well regarded. As for parts, they're all handled through Canadian distributors and service centres just like any gun made any place else.

Edit - it's a bit like cars - it would be nice to have a Benz but sometimes you just need a minivan
 
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dmcdam said:
Sorry - the OP was the one with the sa08 - I don't currently have a semi. Used are okay but I also don't want to inherit someone else's problems without a warranty.

Turkish made guns get a bad rap but they seem to know what they're doing. ATA has made the Weatherby shotguns for years, and they seem pretty well regarded. As for parts, they're all handled through Canadian distributors and service centres just like any gun made any place else.

Edit - it's a bit like cars - it would be nice to have a Benz but sometimes you just need a minivan
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Sorry I missed that on the sa08
I guess for me warranty was never a consideration since I have always fixed my own but have heard some real night mare stories when guys who need parts in canada for these Turkey made shotguns or repairs done. I have one turkey made 08 semi but only because it was a 28ga and I collect those 28 gauges
Like I say to each their own but I like to try to buy the best quality I can once and try to have it for life. Must be why I am still shooting semi's bought in the 60's and 70's
I have a superx3 here that I paid like 800 bucks for and it will out perform or out last any turkey made semi I have seen IMO but my go to waterfowl semi's are browning golds
take care
 
I normally don't bother any longer with these threads as I usually found it to be a waste of my time. Usually, the OP is looking for people to confirm that these inexpensive new guns are a good buy.

Today we had this discussion with a group of us over lunch. One fellow was new to shotguns and the other five us basically told him the same thing that I will relate here. If you are going to shoot any volume of clay targets with these inexpensive guns they will not stand up. They will break and you may or may not get service and parts. Then they will likely break the same parts again. Once you get it fixed again, you will probably try and trade it in on a "B" gun and you will find out it is worthless. With some luck, you may be able to sell it to someone that doesn't know any better. Some folks have the ability, skills and equipment to make their own parts and will get some value out of them.

From my perspective, if you only plan to shoot a few boxes of shells per year, then they will likely last you many years. If you want to buy one and shoot a fair bit, then, you should be prepared to throw it away in a couple of years. Why do they keep bringing out new guns every few years? Because the ones that have been available for the last five or so, have a bad reputation and don't sell any longer.

A fine example is the TriStar ... go on Trapshooters,com and read some of the information there.

I just hate to see people basically throw away a bunch of money that they could use to pay 50% or more of a good used "B" gun that with some care and lubrication will last them a lifetime or at least be worth what they paid for it in a few years.
 
dmcdam said:
Sorry - the OP was the one with the sa08 - I don't currently have a semi. Used are okay but I also don't want to inherit someone else's problems without a warranty.

Turkish made guns get a bad rap but they seem to know what they're doing. ATA has made the Weatherby shotguns for years, and they seem pretty well regarded. As for parts, they're all handled through Canadian distributors and service centres just like any gun made any place else.

Edit - it's a bit like cars - it would be nice to have a Benz but sometimes you just need a minivan
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The ATA's are not well regarded, at least not by me. The last 686 clone wearing Wby markings that I saw had a broken top lever spring when it was brand new in the box!
 
Falconflyer said:
The ATA's are not well regarded, at least not by me. The last 686 clone wearing Wby markings that I saw had a broken top lever spring when it was brand new in the box!
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Yours is one of the few negatives I've heard about any Weatherby shotgun. That is certainly a problem that should have been caught, but QC issues aren't specific to any one country.
 
dmcdam said:
Yours is one of the few negatives I've heard about any Weatherby shotgun. That is certainly a problem that should have been caught, but QC issues aren't specific to any one country.
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No but it is related to the factory AND to the reservoir of manufacturing knowledge that does reside in the country. This is true no matter the product and we often see products being produced in new countries because of cheaper labour costs and it takes some number of years for them to work the bugs out. Cheap labout still has to be trained to do the job. I started having shoes made in China in the late 1980's when they could hardly put them together. Today they can make the most technically sophisticated athletic shoe the industry can conceive. The same process played out in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. We've seen it in automobiles, with the most obvious example for those of us who can remember, being Japan, once well known as a place that made crap....until they didn't.

Turkey was pretty terrible 20 years ago for gunmaking. It is much, much better today. Some guns they are making today are fantastic and great value, some not so much. And 20 years from now, it will be much, much better than it is today.

Having said all that, to the OP....go buy a used B gun. It will most likely give you years of trouble free use if you care for it properly and if you ever have to sell it, you'll get your money back.
 
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