Any Feedback on Stoeger shotguns?

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Since I am almost ready to accept that the Baikal Bounty Hunter I have will never get repaired, I have been shopping for a new gun ...

I have become found of the 28" Barrel/12ga Stoeger Uplander.

Any thoughts pro or con on the Stoeger SXS shotguns ... particularly the Uplander?

Thanks!

[Danny Bear Claw]

Mine is a 20 ga. "Coach Gun", which means it's the shorter one.  I've owned it around 10 years and it's still a little stiff but I have grown to love it.  It shoots well, patterns well and generally puts the shot load where I point it.  I've shot only factory loads in it of low brass target type shells.  Knowing I'll never be a top ten shooter, I do sometimes wish I'd bought a double gun with the external hammers...  just for style points.  I have no complaints regarding my Stoeger.   

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Danny Bear,

I still have hopes of being invited out with some guys I know for a little duck hunting ... so the Uplander looks like it might be the ticket .... and, haveing shot most of the stages in the Sacramento area, I have not found anyones that the 28" barrels would create a problem ... even then, if I needed something REALLY short, I could use my Model 87 with the 18" barrel ... *S*

[Pettifogger]

Depends on what you are going to do with it.  I look at CAS guns from a competition standpoint.  If you take a stock Chevy and try to go NASCAR racing it will fall apart very quickly.  On the other hand if you take a NASCAR prepped car out on the streets it will drive terrible.  If you want to hunt ducks, it's fine.  If you want to compete and do the typical CAS mods then it will suck for duck hunting.  Right now the Stoeger is basically the only game in town as far as economical side-by-sides are concerned.  It's Stoeger or spend thousands on a custom built one or look to the used market.  The SKB and Browning BSS are very popular CAS guns, but cost 3 to 4 times what a Stoeger costs.  The Stoeger is very popular for CAS and most people will deactivate the auto safety (this does NOT deactivate the safety, it just makes it manual) and lighten the lever opening spring.  Unfortunately, on the Stoeger design the only thing that locks the gun shut is that same spring.  With feather lights and other light CAS loads that will work.  With heavy game loads you need the heavy stock spring or the barrels will pop open when the gun is fired.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Pettifogger,

Thanks for the head's up .... So here is the plan, and I am open to any suggestions.

I am getting the parts to fix my Baikal single trigger Bounty Hunter 12 ga, and am going to send the replacement seers as well as some Dave Breuschi cocking levers to Nate 'Kiowa' Jones at Steve's guns and have him 'slick' it up. He is saying that an optimal turn-around time would be six months.

I figure that I will use the Stoeger for pop-ups and the rest will be the responsibility of my Model 87.

So by the time I get the Baikal back all slicked up, I will know if it will be time to do the same for the Stoeger, or if it will be fine just as it is ... but either way, I think it will be wise to leave the spring just as it is .....

I was also looking at Maurader's thread on the Stoegers, and would enjoy your thoughts on both my plans and Marauders suggestions ... and if you feel uncomfortable in a public forum, please feel free to send me a PM

http://marauder.homestead.com/files/Stoeger.html

[Shotgun Franklin]

I used a little nickel Stoeger Coach Gun for about 10 years. It was used in at least 2 matches a month, Dove Hunting, Squirrel Hunting, I also carried it on off-duty jobs. When I first got it I used some grinding compound to slick it up a bit. The barrels would open and stay opened enough to load. At the end of 10 years the barrels sepetared from the chambers. It never failed me in the field or at a match but when it broke it was not worth repairing.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

It almost seems like Stoeger finishing is a cottage industry ... where some shotguns are champions and shoot fine, giving yeoman like work to their owners.

And then there ase some that seem as if they were made just fo fill a quota ...

I am hoping mine is from the first type of 'cottage'.

With the 10 day wait law, I pick it up just in time for the June Club shoot (River City Regulators, listed on the website below). Can't wait to try it out

http://californiagunslingers.com/

[TomBullweed]

My Stoeger points well and is stocked for an average sized man.  I replaced the front sight with a larger fuax-ivory bead.  I left the safety as-factory and simply knock it off before trying to fire the shots; it does not seem to be a problem.  This gun doubles as home-protection; I knew better than modifiying a gun that would be used for defense.

The best feature of the Stoeger over the Baikals, TTN's, AWA's and Stevens that I have shot is the closeness of the chambers.  The Stoeger is .125-.250" closer and much easier to load. 

[WaddWatsonEllis]

TomBullweed,

The Uplander felt so much like the Baikal that the feel was one of its major pro considerations ...

What is interesteing but I didn't realize it until I brought it home is the intermediate sight that is  the middle of the barrel ...

This Sunday is the River City Regulators shoot, so I will find out alot more about it ...

I do have a question, though.  I would like to shoot my Model 87 for everything but popups so I can continue to familiarize myself with it.

So I am asking; is it legal to shoot two shotguns in one shoot?

I kinda read through the rules and did not see anything against it .....

[RidinForTheBrand]

 Can anyone tell me what the line between the chamber and barrel is? I've seen it on baikals, Stoegers, rossi, ruger red lable, and so on.

is it a weak point?

is it just intentional tool marks?

[Shotgun Franklin]

On my Stoeger it was the joint where the chamber section is connect to the barrel. It's 2 seperate parts. That's where mine came apart.

[TomBullweed]

I typically carry two shotguns to local monthly matches.  I practice at an indoor range (not scatterguns allowed).   As long as I do not make a deal of using one gun over the other to gain an advantage over someone with one scattergun, it does not seem to be a problem.  I would not do this at a state, regional or large match.

I have just picked up an original 87 and will be carrying it to monthly matches to shoot a stage or two until I can nail down my BP loads.  I figure that this why most carts have more than two long gun slots.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

The breach is milled in one piece with two holes drilled.  The barrels are sleeved into the breach and then finished.  The line is there because these are working guns and not hand fitted.

[BlueSteelDuke]

We have a 12 & 20 gauge at our ranch, had them for about 3 years. A very reliable gun, the only thing we've found is that they don't like the cheaper shells and don't always shuck them. Some folks will bore the barrel, but we just by the Remmington shells and they work fine. 

BSD

[WaddWatsonEllis]

I bpught an Uplander to replace the Baikal some time ago ... but the Baikal is being reworked by Nate Kiowa Jones, and will probably have the Uplander reworked when the Baikal comes back ...

Comparing the two is like apples and oranges ... but I like the heavier feel of the Baikal, and the Stoeger is so new that just getting the thing to open is not a good thing to try to do on a timer ....

So time will tell ....

[Max Morgan]

regarding the issue of using two types of shotgun at a match.   there is nothing but one pocket book that determines how many shotguns one can use.  some folks regularly carry a 97 and a SXS.   using one over the other is no one's concern as to any advange it provides.   take what you like, use em both, and enjoy !

i used to carry both types and the stage design would tell me which type would be best for me.

while the 97 seems to be faster and more fun to shoot, when the two are tested with a timer, i found there was no significant time differential.  however the SXS are MUCH easier and faster to clean. 

max morgan