Can't be much worse than my old Mossberg 835. I've also been using a Browning Gold 3 1/2 Stalker for the past several years on spring birds but I'm getting a little tired of lugging that thing around, especially with it's 28" barrel. I've also considered swapping that barrel for a 24" but the price of the TriStar Hunter is not a whole lot more than the price of a new Browning barrel.