Review of Armsan A612 - left hand

1963beretta

1963beretta

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Location
Vaughan, Ontario
I thought I'd do a review of a new Armsan A612. This gun is obviously made in right hand configuration, but I purchased a left hand version as an xmas gift for my nephew. Left handed shotguns aren't so common unless your looking to spend a nice sum of cash. Given that this gun is for a new 14 year old shooter, a large sum of cash for a shotgun wasn't on the menu. On with the review...

I wasn't really expecting much from a Turkish made semi, but my first impressions were favourable. First off, the gun comes in a nice hard case and comes equipped with 3 Beretta Mobile chokes, 5 stock shims to adjust for drop and cast, fibre optic front sight and the receiver is grooved for weaver scope mount.
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I got a base model so the gun has fairly standard walnut stocks. The satin finish is nice and the laser cut checkering is very well done: sharp and crisp. Wood to metal finish is also very well done. A tasteful recoil pad with hard plastic heel finishes off the butt stock.
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The barrel has a very deep polished bluing. The finish is impeccable and on par with the blueing on any of my Brownings and Franchi's. The bore is chrome lined. There are zero tooling or machine marks anywhere. The ventilated rib is tastefully designed and the fibre optic sight isn't overpowering. As mentioned, the barrel is threaded for Beretta Mobil chokes and three stainless chokes are included: F, M, IC
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On to what impressed me the most. The alloy receiver has an excellent oxide finish on it. And the internals are very precisely machined. I don't care for the fact thats its grooved for a scope mount but the grooved receiver is not visible when the gun is shouldered. The mag tube is polished stainless steel and has a very nice red oxide alloy follower.
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The gas system is a very simple design and very conducive to fast cleaning. The bolt, pusher assembly and action rods all lock into each other for easy installation. The gas piston appears to be a highly polished billet alloy piston that slides very smoothly on the stainless mag tube. There is absolutely zero tooling or machining marks on any of the internal components and it is very apparent that these components have been machined to very tight tolerances. Absolutely zero plastic or composite components in the gas system. The bolt is chrome plated and the firing pin is very solidly built with a reinforced striking surface for the hammer. The magazine plug is the only plastic component on the mag tube and its designed to conveniently be removed if desired. The magazine end cap is also alloy and is stylishly designed with a built in sling swivel.
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Now the trigger assembly is really the only component that is made of some form of composite. Not my first choice of material to make a trigger out of, but certainly not the first manufacturer to do so. The trigger does break crisply and while I did not measure what the trigger pull is, it certainly seems adequate and on par with the other shotguns I own. While the trigger housing and safety button is composite, the internals appear to be stainless steel. All in all, not the best but certainly not the worst
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At about $600, Im very pleased with the quality of this firearm. If the gun proves to be as reliable as the reviews suggest, this is certainly a budget semi worth considering. Its easy on the eyes both inside and out and at 6.5lbs, its also easy to carry. Tastefully designed and extremely well built. With the exception of the trigger assembly, I would dare suggest that the manufacturing quality is on par or better then my Browning Silver and definitely better then my trustworthy Mossberg 935. Once my nephew puts it through its paces, I'll report back to comment on its performance and reliability.
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Very good review. I have the right hand model and would agree with your assessment. This is the gun I give friends to use when out with a group.

I believe this is basically a Weatherby SA 08 also made in turkey. The A612 ships with only one piston but cycles target loads just fine.

My wife has used it for informal clays and her only complaint was the amount of force required for the bolt release compared to her Winchester SX3.
 
I had a 612L. I had no problems with the gun. I hunted with it and used it for sporting clays. It cycled fine with the light loads, I am somewhat compulsive about cleaning guns after I use them. So that probably helps with reliability , I can't say it will run for x number of rounds before you have to clean it. I do know that 150 at a time is no problem for them.
I only sold mine to free up some money to buy a beretta but that was more of a want than a need. The armsan is a good gun.
 
Amazing review, thanks! Seems like you get a whole lot of gun for a low price, very nice looking wood and finish. Hope your nephew enjoys it for many years to come!

Glad to see all the different low and high priced options for leftie shotguns these last few years. When I was starting up in hunting you had the option of a LH 1100 or a LH 1100. A few years later, and assuming you could safely part with a kidney, Benelli entered the market, with the M2 IIRC.
 
I have two 612 Armsans, a pump and auto. Mine have synthetic stocks, and camo pattern. Both have no problems handling anything from target load to turkey loads. Both well made and reasonably priced. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone.
 
yorgi said:
Amazing review, thanks! Seems like you get a whole lot of gun for a low price, very nice looking wood and finish. Hope your nephew enjoys it for many years to come!

Glad to see all the different low and high priced options for leftie shotguns these last few years. When I was starting up in hunting you had the option of a LH 1100 or a LH 1100. A few years later, and assuming you could safely part with a kidney, Benelli entered the market, with the M2 IIRC.
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My nephew crapped his pants when he saw that he got a shotgun for xmas....then he crapped himself again when he saw that it was left handed. I thought a review was warranted because I was very pleased with the purchase and thought other left handed shooters (and by default, right handed shooters as well) could benefit from knowing that there is a quality alternative to more expensive autoloaders. Would I sell off my other guns to purchase an Armsan for myself...no. But if I was in the market for an inexpensive autoloader and didnt own the guns I own, I would definitely make the purchase for myself as well. I also recognize that there is a market for inexpensive autoloaders so why not help others figure out whats inexpensive and whats plain cheap.
 
Great review. I bought the 20g model and I was also impressed with what I got in a "budget shotgun"
 
This has been soo useful. I'm new to shooting sports and really pleased there are ppl at CGN who have experience with left handed firearms. I've only shot right handed firearms so far (however, I'm a lefty).

Follow-up question:

Would you recommend this shotgun to a first time buyer, over other affordable models, like the Mossberg 930, or Hatsan Escort.

A local shop offered me a left handed Hatsan Escort Semi in camo for 995$. Comes with 5 chocked and (what felt like) good rubberized grip pads. About the pads, wonder how long they'd last. Don't know enough about it to say if it's a good deal or a firearm that would last a few years.

Wonder if any of you have any insight.
 
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Unfortunately it's taken a bit longer than anticipated to follow up on this thread. The Armsan doesn’t have that many rounds through it to declare it a budget success just yet, but my initial experience has been what I expected. There have been zero issues feeding heavy 2.75 & 3" loads, however, it initially struggled with low brass and target loads. Based on a slow motion video recording, the low power shells did not have enough inertia to force the bolt back far enough to eject spent shell, so the bolt rechambered the fired hull. As the break in continued, the bolt began moving more freely and it became more reliable. I believe the stiffness of the action spring was the main culprit, but the tight tolerances of the bolt and carrier may have contributed. With more rounds down the pipe, the bolt and carrier are wearing into each other and the action has become much smoother. Until more powder is burned, stay tuned…
 
I have a lefty Armsan A612. Haven't shot it a lot, but I did take it on a goose hunting trip to PEI this past fall and there were no problems. So far, so good.
 
CV32 said:
I have a lefty Armsan A612. Haven't shot it a lot, but I did take it on a goose hunting trip to PEI this past fall and there were no problems. So far, so good.
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Have you try using target loads? If so, how did the gun perform? As I mentioned, heavy loads worked very well with my gun...but target loads were hit and miss.
 
1963beretta said:
Have you try using target loads? If so, how did the gun perform? As I mentioned, heavy loads worked very well with my gun...but target loads were hit and miss.
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Being that I'm the original owner of the afore mentioned 612. I can say that it ran light target loads with great reliability. super targets, top guns, challengers and what ever else I could find to feed it. I did zero break in with it. in fact my A400 seems to be a little more picky over ammo than the armsan. the beretta is not fond of the challengers.
 
I just got the a620 and it as issue running target load.

Slugs brass where ejected 15 feet away! I also noticed more bolt movement at my last shoots. I fired around 25 rounds of winchester game and clay.
 
The break in period for my A612 was very quick. It swallows up pretty much anything at this time. Im very happy with it as a budget semi. The only thing I think may be in order is an upgraded recoil pad. The factory pad is adequate, but the gun is very light. I think once waterfowl season starts and the youngster starts running heavier loads through it, recoil may become a factor to consider.
 
Bulriver said:
Very good review. I have the right hand model and would agree with your assessment. This is the gun I give friends to use when out with a group.

I believe this is basically a Weatherby SA 08 also made in turkey. The A612 ships with only one piston but cycles target loads just fine.

My wife has used it for informal clays and her only complaint was the amount of force required for the bolt release compared to her Winchester SX3.
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I have an asena zr7 (bought from Corwin arms) and it appears to be the same or very similar to this. Mine also has a very stiff bolt release button. Otherwise, for the $350 I paid it runs great!
 
It’s interesting that a lot of new guns recommend a break-in period. I don’t recall seeing that in manuals of old. Regardless, that is a very nice looking, apparently well-made guns.
 
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