Your thoughts on a Hatsan OPTIMA MARINEGUARD

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neetan

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Between Shelbourne and Alliston in Ontario
Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this shotgun?
The Marine seems like a good choice since I am a beginner and want something that requires less cleaning or looking after. Also wondering if one can increase capacity to hold 6 or more but not able to determine that as of yet. The look of NICKEL PLATED FINISH has me liking it more, is there a good or bad to this finish? Pricing seems within budget at $230, or is it that I will get a pice of crap?
I have tried the Action Shotgun at our club and has me very interested, since when it was my first time out, I was in the middle of the pack in scores. Do not know if that was beginners luck or not.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

Neetan
 
I have the optima/escort marine pump as well. Very smooth action and no problems so far. I like the finish on it, the main reason I bought it. If you can get a brand new one for $230 then I'd be all over that. Mine has 7+1 capacity with 20" barrel. I doubt you'll be disappointed!
 
I have it and its one of my favorites.
For some reason the recoil feels stronger on this one than the other shotguns I have fired. A full sized recoil pad took care of it.
 
Hatsan make a good product for the money but keep in mind a few things; 1, the Optima is intended to be an entry level shotgun, hense the price point. If you plan to compete, hunt or shoot more than once a month, you will quickly out grow the gun. If you are more of a pistol or rifle type of guy and you just want to own any shotgun just to say you own one with out spending a lot, a Hatsan is pretty hard to beat. At that price point, the competition is a Maverick 88 or Stevens and I feel that the Hatsan just edges them out.

2. On an entry level shotgun, if you plan to upgrade and sell, don't expect the resale value to be high. For a Hatsan Optima expect a 35-45% drop in value. At that price point, most people would buy new than used.

3. Hatsan is a Company based in Turkey. If that doesn't matter to you, then on to the next point. I personally like to buy Canadian first and U.S second. Not too many Canadian firearm companies but there they do exist such as Savage and Colt manufacturing plants. It is nice to know that, even though it is a small percentage, some of my money is still going to Canadian workers and back into our country's tax base. I would buy American over European and Asian because there are many more American tourist visiting and spending money in Canada then there are from Turkey.

4. Quality control. I looked at a Hatsan shotgun two week ago at a local dealer and pointed out that it was in safe to shoot b/c the barrel was off centre and one of the walls was too thin and would rupture if shot. The dealer was beside himself, but to Hatsan's credit, they sent a new shotgun up to the dealer within a few days. I wish I could say that this was a one time quality control or fit and finish thing but I have seen a few brand new Hatsan shotguns which were questionable but safe to shoot, that is to be expected at this price point.

5. If you like the look of the Marine guard... Cool but the reality is that it only offers a slight advantage over blued steel. There are countless arguments about that subject on google and youtube. Keep in mind that the marine guard will rust and corrode just like any other shotgun if not taken care of.

Hope that helps with your choice. Cheers
 
Handled one... felt like a cheap rough piece of plastic junk. The stocks they use handle like that of those chinese 870 clones.
 
Winchested said:
Handled one... felt like a cheap rough piece of plastic junk. The stocks they use handle like that of those chinese 870 clones.
Click to expand...

Wow, I own multiple examples of both mentioned shotguns and they are not similar at all. Hatsans are anything but rough and the stocks are vastly different in feel from Norincos.
 
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