I love the golds. In fact I have three of them. I also love the mag cut off and the quick load feature for duck. With steel shot these days, we need all the power we can get. Yesterday we limited out in duck, and we had some geese come in real low, and one broke off, we called him in, and I used the mag cutoff to throw in a 3" bb, and the goose litterly landed right on the blind. Never seen the bolt break you are referring too. I like matte black anyway.

Not sure where this hump came in. All three of mine have a smooth back on them.

I understand why you want 3" and screwable choke. Back in the day of lead, it wasnt' a big deal, but with steel, a good uniform pattern is a must.

My brother got a new silver a month ago, and its a different bolt design than all my golds. But seems smooth as silk.