VictorLouis
New member
I've been eyeing this one for most of the past year. It just seemed to 'fit' me like no other SG. After reading a glowing review, and hearing it lauded by Hans Vang, I was even more jazzed. I got discouraged after I handled the gun with some snap caps, as suggested to me by another poster, and thought I had foresworn it. On Friday, one of my favorite dealers had it , and I just felt compelled to be a lab rat.
The bad news: It is awkward to top-off while maintaining a stock weld, with the muzzle downrange. This seems to be the method that is currently in-vogue. The lifter/elevator is locked unless you press in the bolt-release on the right side, just under the operating handle. That's it. I don't know if that is truly a liability in any way. If it is, I am certainly open to a discourse.
The good news: My example seems to be unaware of the myths surrounding its design. It accepts 2-3/4", OR 3" shells, it has replaceable chokes and feeds everything from trap loads to slugs w/o a care! I'm not sure, but I think it comes with an Imp. Cyl. choke, as that's what the owner's manual makes reference to for best results with the use of slugs.
I went through about 100 assorted rounds of Fiochi 1oz. #7-1/2 trap, Federal 1-5/8 oz.#5 magnum(for turkey), Fed.'s regular OO buck and HP slugs from Wally World. No malfs. I then loaded with 5rds of Win. #8 AA. I held the gun up with both hands as loosely as I could, and proceeded to empty it downrange w/o any 'limp wrist' failure. There was little in the way of much carbon to clean up, and it was simple to field strip.
This morning, I used it to shoot 3 rounds of trap, a sport that I have been wishing to try out. I used more of the Fiochi, and it locked open after each round just as it should. Oh, I pretty well bombed, with 13/25 being my best of the three. I liked it, and I'll do it again.
The bad news: It is awkward to top-off while maintaining a stock weld, with the muzzle downrange. This seems to be the method that is currently in-vogue. The lifter/elevator is locked unless you press in the bolt-release on the right side, just under the operating handle. That's it. I don't know if that is truly a liability in any way. If it is, I am certainly open to a discourse.
The good news: My example seems to be unaware of the myths surrounding its design. It accepts 2-3/4", OR 3" shells, it has replaceable chokes and feeds everything from trap loads to slugs w/o a care! I'm not sure, but I think it comes with an Imp. Cyl. choke, as that's what the owner's manual makes reference to for best results with the use of slugs.
I went through about 100 assorted rounds of Fiochi 1oz. #7-1/2 trap, Federal 1-5/8 oz.#5 magnum(for turkey), Fed.'s regular OO buck and HP slugs from Wally World. No malfs. I then loaded with 5rds of Win. #8 AA. I held the gun up with both hands as loosely as I could, and proceeded to empty it downrange w/o any 'limp wrist' failure. There was little in the way of much carbon to clean up, and it was simple to field strip.
This morning, I used it to shoot 3 rounds of trap, a sport that I have been wishing to try out. I used more of the Fiochi, and it locked open after each round just as it should. Oh, I pretty well bombed, with 13/25 being my best of the three. I liked it, and I'll do it again.