Fellow gunnutz;
With apologies to you all in that I'd meant to have some range time done by now, I'll begin the thread on the latest test vehicle that's wandered into the safe.
As some here might know, I had just finished putting together a bit of an old school Lakefield Mossberg 500AB bear repellent piece for our eldest daughter during which time I became familiar with the products from S&J Hardware.
In short order I'd installed 3 of their Hi-Viz, no bind followers and 2 of the HD magazine springs and was in the process of ordering another couple followers when I saw they had last year's AS-40's on sale.....
As I'd been reading and researching the various Turkish made shotguns for some time, I thought I'd take the plunge for the sake of science if nothing else, so one was quickly shipped across country via Canada Post.
My initial impression is that they are very well machined and finished - much less rough than the Baikal or Boito shotguns I've owned in the past and truly in my opinion slightly smoother than a new economy 870 or Mossberg 500.
The trigger is a bit thin for my taste and I can measure the pull if anyone is interested, but it's quite light, very crisp and certainly manageable.
As the shotgun came with a Hi-Viz, no bind follower, that got installed forthwith.
They used a good dollop of thread locker on the one I got, so I strip the rest of the parts out, put the receiver into a padded vice, push the follower all the way to the front of the magazine with a metal rod and then heat the magazine tube up to a target temp of 375°F as that's when most thread locker/epoxy gives up the ghost.
Note the hockey tape for extra grip on the mag tube and the Canadian Tire Boa Strap wrench - which worked slicker than snot on a doorknob.
They use a finer thread than a Mossberg on the mag tube, so a lot of turning to the left removes it. They also use a MIGHTY magazine spring in it - all of 27" long and quite HD compared to an 870 or Mossberg, so when it comes out, be prepared for the stock follower to go airborne.
The stock follower that Uzkon uses is plastic, but thinner than I'd be comfortable with somehow and since I've now been fully indoctrinated in the Hi-Viz, well nothing else will quite do...
All apart with parts to go in.
I chose the Type 2 I think it was - as it feels similar to the Mossberg model in my existing tenting gun, so I wanted to keep as much the same as possible - even though the slide release and safety are different than I'm used to.
Again not that it needed the Hi-Viz follower installed to run better, it now will run 4 shells out as fast as this semi-old guy can pump the action.
Here's a shot of it compared to the tenting gun we've used for 30 plus years.
It is similar to a 870 in that when the action is all the way forward the shell lifter is in the down position and it's a bit of a finger pincher when loading it - compared to the Mossberg system. It's not a deal breaker, just different.
When I get time to slide up the hill I'll try to run both some speed drills and some patterning tests with it using buckshot - just to use it up as I don't carry buckshot inside shotguns anymore and haven't for years. Again that's a personal preference and I'm not trying to start a bladder pressure contest or make converts.
Thanks for looking and all the best to you all this spring.
Dwayne
With apologies to you all in that I'd meant to have some range time done by now, I'll begin the thread on the latest test vehicle that's wandered into the safe.
As some here might know, I had just finished putting together a bit of an old school Lakefield Mossberg 500AB bear repellent piece for our eldest daughter during which time I became familiar with the products from S&J Hardware.
In short order I'd installed 3 of their Hi-Viz, no bind followers and 2 of the HD magazine springs and was in the process of ordering another couple followers when I saw they had last year's AS-40's on sale.....
As I'd been reading and researching the various Turkish made shotguns for some time, I thought I'd take the plunge for the sake of science if nothing else, so one was quickly shipped across country via Canada Post.
My initial impression is that they are very well machined and finished - much less rough than the Baikal or Boito shotguns I've owned in the past and truly in my opinion slightly smoother than a new economy 870 or Mossberg 500.
The trigger is a bit thin for my taste and I can measure the pull if anyone is interested, but it's quite light, very crisp and certainly manageable.
As the shotgun came with a Hi-Viz, no bind follower, that got installed forthwith.
They used a good dollop of thread locker on the one I got, so I strip the rest of the parts out, put the receiver into a padded vice, push the follower all the way to the front of the magazine with a metal rod and then heat the magazine tube up to a target temp of 375°F as that's when most thread locker/epoxy gives up the ghost.
Note the hockey tape for extra grip on the mag tube and the Canadian Tire Boa Strap wrench - which worked slicker than snot on a doorknob.
They use a finer thread than a Mossberg on the mag tube, so a lot of turning to the left removes it. They also use a MIGHTY magazine spring in it - all of 27" long and quite HD compared to an 870 or Mossberg, so when it comes out, be prepared for the stock follower to go airborne.
The stock follower that Uzkon uses is plastic, but thinner than I'd be comfortable with somehow and since I've now been fully indoctrinated in the Hi-Viz, well nothing else will quite do...
All apart with parts to go in.
I chose the Type 2 I think it was - as it feels similar to the Mossberg model in my existing tenting gun, so I wanted to keep as much the same as possible - even though the slide release and safety are different than I'm used to.
Again not that it needed the Hi-Viz follower installed to run better, it now will run 4 shells out as fast as this semi-old guy can pump the action.
Here's a shot of it compared to the tenting gun we've used for 30 plus years.
It is similar to a 870 in that when the action is all the way forward the shell lifter is in the down position and it's a bit of a finger pincher when loading it - compared to the Mossberg system. It's not a deal breaker, just different.
When I get time to slide up the hill I'll try to run both some speed drills and some patterning tests with it using buckshot - just to use it up as I don't carry buckshot inside shotguns anymore and haven't for years. Again that's a personal preference and I'm not trying to start a bladder pressure contest or make converts.
Thanks for looking and all the best to you all this spring.
Dwayne
