CoryTheCowboy
CGN Regular
Hey everyone,
I acquired one of these shotguns, and after shooting ~250 shells through it I thought I'd give my thoughts as I haven't seen many posts on them here. To keep in mind, most of my other shotgun experience has been with a Remington 870 and 11-87, Ithaca 37, Stevens 311, Mossberg 500, Winchester 97 and Stoeger P-350. Also note, I'm a hunter at heart, not a trap shooter...although I do enjoy shooting trap once every couple weeks in the local gravel pit.
Initial Impressions
I'm not sure what one of these retails for as I traded in my Stoeger P-350 for it along with some cash ($150). I was looking for a 26" barreled synthetic, but my dealer had a 28" in stock, and I was eager to deal
I had no problems with my P-350, it was just physically too big of a gun for me. In my opinion a shotgun that doesn't fit isn't much good, especially in a wing shooting scenario.
Instantly out of the box it seemed like a solidly manufactured gun. The checkering is crisp and classy. It has a nice, dark matte finish on all of the metal. It also has a chrome lined barrel and chrome lined barrel bolt.
After assembly it came up to my shoulder much better than the P-350 did, though not as well as a 311 or 97. It reminds me of an 870 in this regard (fit will obviously depend on the person). It also came with a cable lock, 3 chokes (IC, M, F), a wrench and manuals. With a quick read through you can see the chokes also interchange with WinChoke and Invectors, which would be handy for someone with aftermarket choke tubes in those threads. The sling studs were a nice touch in my opinion. I find a sling invaluable for waterfowl hunting.
I do like how easy it is to dis/reassemble for cleaning. Take the barrel off, pull the fore-end and you have easy access to everything you need for everyday cleaning.
Shooting
I've put a wide variety of shells (about a case)through it ranging from reloaded 2 3/4" AA 7/8oz reloads, 1 1/8oz 3" Kent Steel, 1 1/4oz 2 3/4" Federal Lead, 2 3/4" 1oz Rio Target Loads, 1oz 2 3/4" Winchester Universals and 2 3/4" 1 1/8 Federal Top Gun. It's been flawless through them all, in any combination of the above. Due to the light weight (6.5 pounds on my scale), 25 rounds of 3" 1 1/8oz Kent Steel starts to wear on you when shooting at clays. I'm sure in a hunting situation you won't even feel it, again, just my opinion.
It's shot everything I've put through it to P.O.A and patterns Kent Faststeel and a handloaded AA 1oz Steel load beautifully through the factory Mod.
Thoughts
I think for someone looking for a good solid pump for hunting under $400 ($329.99 MSRP) should definitely consider this. It may not have the track record of either the 500 or 870, but it's only been on the market for about 3 years. I fully expected to be buying an after market choke tube for this after never being able to get a satisfactory pattern out of either the P-350 or 500 with factory tubes, so I'm pleasantly pleased that the MOD will do just fine.
If anyone has any questions on it, I can do my best to answer them.
Happy Shooting!
Cory
I acquired one of these shotguns, and after shooting ~250 shells through it I thought I'd give my thoughts as I haven't seen many posts on them here. To keep in mind, most of my other shotgun experience has been with a Remington 870 and 11-87, Ithaca 37, Stevens 311, Mossberg 500, Winchester 97 and Stoeger P-350. Also note, I'm a hunter at heart, not a trap shooter...although I do enjoy shooting trap once every couple weeks in the local gravel pit.
Initial Impressions
I'm not sure what one of these retails for as I traded in my Stoeger P-350 for it along with some cash ($150). I was looking for a 26" barreled synthetic, but my dealer had a 28" in stock, and I was eager to deal
I had no problems with my P-350, it was just physically too big of a gun for me. In my opinion a shotgun that doesn't fit isn't much good, especially in a wing shooting scenario. Instantly out of the box it seemed like a solidly manufactured gun. The checkering is crisp and classy. It has a nice, dark matte finish on all of the metal. It also has a chrome lined barrel and chrome lined barrel bolt.
After assembly it came up to my shoulder much better than the P-350 did, though not as well as a 311 or 97. It reminds me of an 870 in this regard (fit will obviously depend on the person). It also came with a cable lock, 3 chokes (IC, M, F), a wrench and manuals. With a quick read through you can see the chokes also interchange with WinChoke and Invectors, which would be handy for someone with aftermarket choke tubes in those threads. The sling studs were a nice touch in my opinion. I find a sling invaluable for waterfowl hunting.
I do like how easy it is to dis/reassemble for cleaning. Take the barrel off, pull the fore-end and you have easy access to everything you need for everyday cleaning.
Shooting
I've put a wide variety of shells (about a case)through it ranging from reloaded 2 3/4" AA 7/8oz reloads, 1 1/8oz 3" Kent Steel, 1 1/4oz 2 3/4" Federal Lead, 2 3/4" 1oz Rio Target Loads, 1oz 2 3/4" Winchester Universals and 2 3/4" 1 1/8 Federal Top Gun. It's been flawless through them all, in any combination of the above. Due to the light weight (6.5 pounds on my scale), 25 rounds of 3" 1 1/8oz Kent Steel starts to wear on you when shooting at clays. I'm sure in a hunting situation you won't even feel it, again, just my opinion.
It's shot everything I've put through it to P.O.A and patterns Kent Faststeel and a handloaded AA 1oz Steel load beautifully through the factory Mod.
Thoughts
I think for someone looking for a good solid pump for hunting under $400 ($329.99 MSRP) should definitely consider this. It may not have the track record of either the 500 or 870, but it's only been on the market for about 3 years. I fully expected to be buying an after market choke tube for this after never being able to get a satisfactory pattern out of either the P-350 or 500 with factory tubes, so I'm pleasantly pleased that the MOD will do just fine.
If anyone has any questions on it, I can do my best to answer them.
Happy Shooting!
Cory
