Weatherby PA-08 thoughts/reviews?

Power Pill said:
Guys im not really interested in reading about the quality of the 870 express.....looking for info on the Weatherby.
Click to expand...

I think you are actually getting what you asked for. People can talk about brand X, but the reality is that there are three pumps still made today that are the gold standard against which people draw comparisons so that when you go to the gun store, you can pick up brand X, then pick up one of the "standards" and draw your own direct comparisons.

The big three pumps that are currently made are:

-Wingmaster 870
-Ithaca 37
-Browning BPS

Everything else gets compared to them for good reason. These designs have been the top shelf guns for decades and will still be so for decades more unless the companies go under with all the "buy turkish" and "buy chinese" compromisers out there who don't need buttery smooth actions that withstand 50,000+ rounds.

There are some good Italian and Japanese guns out there as well, I own some, but their plastic stocked models burn bright for maybe 5 years, then the company comes out with a new model and the old model becomes hard to support. In 10 years, if I break a part on my $2000 beretta A391, I'm expecting I'll have to toss it in the junk heap to be recycled into razor blades. The Turkish guns you are asking about? 10 years is optimistic for factory after-sales support in my view. Their product cycles are half again worse than the Italian guns.

So to summarize:

The PA-08 is attractively stocked in nice walnut. It has an aluminum receiver and the barrels are well blued with a nice rib. They are known for heavy triggers, poor balance, and rough-cycling actions. About what you'd expect for a gun that can be had new under $400 and is made with "emerging economy labour" which is a nice way of saying "by workers earning a few dollars a day". They are not known for getting high round counts and parts are an issue. My local gun store is a weatherby service centre and despite what some are claiming, they say they have a hard time getting parts. I've heard they often scrap a new gun to get the parts to keep people's guns running. To me that does NOT bode well for long term serviceability. I'm truly not kidding when I say that I consider them disposable.

If you want a gun that gets you out for grouse hunting 3 or 4 times a season, it will probably be just fine. If you are a waterfowl shooter or a clay buster, I cannot recommend one in good conscience. I don't believe they will hold up to that kind of round count over time.

Does that help clarify what people are hinting at?
 
madtrapper143 said:
Right on! I tricked mine up a bit with a 23" youth barrel and Wing Master wood. Tru Lock extended choke tubes. Love It.
Darryl
Click to expand...

To OP - sorry for the hijack :(

Cool that you found a 23" youth bbl in 16. Nowadays that would be tough to locate.

I'd have rather bought a Wingmaster (my other 16 is a 1950's WM, but with a field barrel and fixed MOD), but I was surprised to see a recent production 870 in 16 turn up in the EE at all, even an express. I jumped on it, but realistically, nobody wants these in 16 apart from eccentric guys like me, so it was probably not in danger of getting away.

I got pics, the gun is a 26" version with a J-lock trigger plate (which I may have to replace). Synthetic express stocks. I just ordered Trulock extended chokes in IC and Mod to go with the factory Flush full choke the seller says it has installed. Nobody else sells the Rem Chokes in 16 any longer that I can find. I guess these did not sell well when Remington re-introduced them between, I think, 2002 and 2006.

Too bad Federal doesn't put out a 3" mag version of the 16 to revive the sweet 16. The introduction of the 3" mag in 20 gauge is what basically relegated the 16 to a niche offering, but a 3" 16 would let it compete with mid-range 12 gauge loads. I'd be game for it. In theory existing 870's would be convertible by extending the throat with a reamer if a 3" shell is ever manufactured.
 
madtrapper143 said:
Right on! I tricked mine up a bit with a 23" youth barrel and Wing Master wood. Tru Lock extended choke tubes. Love It.
Darryl
Click to expand...

Did yours have the youth barrel and youth stock factory??
That is a special barrel on the youth version in 23" and is actually a wingmaster light contour barrel c/w one mod choke
Pretty sweet set up on a adult stocked gun and the barrel is worth almost what a complete gun is
Cheers
 
Claven2 said:
To OP - sorry for the hijack :(

Cool that you found a 23" youth bbl in 16. Nowadays that would be tough to locate.

I'd have rather bought a Wingmaster (my other 16 is a 1950's WM, but with a field barrel and fixed MOD), but I was surprised to see a recent production 870 in 16 turn up in the EE at all, even an express. I jumped on it, but realistically, nobody wants these in 16 apart from eccentric guys like me, so it was probably not in danger of getting away.

I got pics, the gun is a 26" version with a J-lock trigger plate (which I may have to replace). Synthetic express stocks. I just ordered Trulock extended chokes in IC and Mod to go with the factory Flush full choke the seller says it has installed. Nobody else sells the Rem Chokes in 16 any longer that I can find. I guess these did not sell well when Remington re-introduced them between, I think, 2002 and 2006.

Too bad Federal doesn't put out a 3" mag version of the 16 to revive the sweet 16. The introduction of the 3" mag in 20 gauge is what basically relegated the 16 to a niche offering, but a 3" 16 would let it compete with mid-range 12 gauge loads. I'd be game for it. In theory existing 870's would be convertible by extending the throat with a reamer if a 3" shell is ever manufactured.
Click to expand...

Don't bet on that. If the price was within range they sell real quick. The rem chokes for the 16ga were impossible to find when the guns came out even in 2002 and I ended up buying them through the remington warranty group??? so I was told and they came out of the US. I could not find them in canada. I think it was gravel that ordered them in
Cheers
 
Last edited:
Claven2 said:
Honestly, I am not in the camp that an older 870 is necessarily better. The express models have a cheaper finish. They come off the machines, go into a parts tumbler to remove burrs, then are sandblasted, hot dip blued, and assembled. The stocks are either laminate or synthetic these days, which is functional and works well.

The difference between an express and a Wingmaster are (generally):

Wingmaster guns come off the machines, then get an extra machining operation along the top to put in a recess for the sighting line. Then they get a sighting line roll-pressed into the steel. The guns are then power-sanded and polished (by skilled labourers) on metal sanding machines and buffing wheels in varying grits to get them smooth. Finally, a nice Wingmaster roll-stamp is applied.

Internally the receivers of both variants are identical. On the slide/action bar assemblies, the Wingmaster versions are polished, while the Express ones are not. Express guns will smooth out to equal a Wingmaster in feel, given enough use.

Wingmaster AND Express guns nowadays both get divots in the mag tube. The Wingmaster guns get a chrome plated bolt, the Express gets a blued one. They are both the same part though, jus a different finish applied. The express guns get a cheaper MIM extractor that everyone on CGN hates, but I've never seen one break in use.

Express trigger groups can be either plastic or sintered aluminum, depending on the version and year. Ringmaster guns also use sintered (MIM) aluminum TG's now too. You have to go back to the 80's or earlier to get a cast aluminum trigger plate (trigger guard). I have not data to prove this, but I'd lay money on the plastic polymer units being more resilient under hard use than the aluminum ones that are brittle and can break. I've replaced several for people who have broken them in the field. I've yet to see a plastic one broken.

The Wingmaster barrels are finely polished and get a nicer rib. Functionally the Express guns work just as well, but less effort is put into making them look nice. The barrel blanks for both models come out of the same bin.

As for an older Wingmaster, yes, it will be hand fitted and nice, but if you want a modern 3" version that takes choke tubes, you could sink a lot of $ into an older Wingmaster to get there. I ought to know, I have converted many to modern specs for people and it is not cheap to do (plus I'm an expensive SOB to hire).

I would still take a new express and polish it up where it matters over a $200 Uzkon re-branded as a "Weatherby". YMMV.
Click to expand...

How would you recommend polishing it up? I was about to go out and get a Winchester SXP Black Shadow because I heard of so many failures and rust issues with 870 Express'. Should I reconsider this heavily?
 
Claven2 said:
The SXP is also made in turkey and also hard to get parts for.

Beretta is made in Italy, not turkey, and Mossberg is made in either USA or Mexico depending on model, not turkey.

The only beretta product I know of made in turkey is the barrels (only) on the low end 3091 that Stoeger specs for low end retailers.

The closest thing to turkey on a Mossberg is that they make a turkey gun for gobblers.
Click to expand...

The Mossberg 20ga semi autos are made in turkey
 
Beazer14 said:
How would you recommend polishing it up? I was about to go out and get a Winchester SXP Black Shadow because I heard of so many failures and rust issues with 870 Express'. Should I reconsider this heavily?
Click to expand...

Having bought 2 new 870 Express', I can tell you Remington finally resolved their quality control issues on the Express for 2016. After 20 years since I last owned a 870 Wingmaster(it was the worst POS I ever owned), I had a new Express passed to me at the Club(new member wanted to try my Nova), was surprised by it, the action was a smooth as my Benelli, it handled well, and bigger surprise it digest and ejected the Winchester Universals the new guy was shooting. I was in the market for a new upland gun, so I bought one on sale at Bass Pro. After shooting a dozen or so rounds of skeet with it, I decided to pick-up one as a clays gun after I sold my Winchester Model 12(didn't fit). 2016 was Remingtons 200 year anniversary, all their guns have a lifetime warranty bought during 2016, figured I couldn't go wrong, add another $50 to get a Skeet, Imp.Skeet, I/C and a Full choke tubes and I was off to the races. No rust issues, no FTE or FTF, good warranty. Too Remington didn't fix the quality issues years ago.
 
A friend bought a pao8. I tried it and didn't like it at all. 3x out 50 a shell didn't eject properly. Rough action and shoulder poorly. It looked pretty but overall function compared to my wingmaster that we also had with us was night and day. Yes they are reasonably priced and good looking....And that's the only pros of the PA-08
 
Check with Gravel(site sponsor) they would be the ones to answer that question, I suspect it was by calendar year.

h ttp://remingtoncanada.com/en/news/66-remington-arms-company-announces-limited-lifetime-firearm-warranty
 
Bought a new one for my niece and was playing with it ( cycling the pump ) amd I happed to have short stroked it and pulled the trigger before it was in lock up , and the hammer fell ! Now I don't know if it would have struck the firering pin but I wasn't going to give that to anyone ! Not being impressed and lost all confidence I returned it and got something else . Out of battery discharge isn't fun expressly for a new hunter .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom