driftrider

Was browsing the racks yesterday and came across the Stoeger 2000 12ga with 26"bbl and 3" chamber in matte black for $389, and I like the way the gun fit and pointed, and it's pretty lightweight for a semi-auto. Supposedly it uses the same inertia system as the Benelli Super Black Eagle, but cost less than 1/3 the price. I've always been a pump shotgun guy, but I wouldn't mind having a reliable semi-auto. It would be my all-purpose field gun (turkey, waterfowl, upland and small game) and would only be shot with full-power 2 3/4 field loads and 3" turkey and waterfowl loads (no light target loads), so hopefully cycling shouldn't be a problem. $389 is an attractive price, but I also don't want to buy junk. Anyone have any experience with this shotgun, plus or minus?

Thanks,

Mike

oldelkhunter

I think initially there were some problems reported a few years back but I would imagine it is a nice lightweight semi-auto. AT least the ones I have seen and handled are pretty well made.

Colorado Luckydog

I know several guys that waterfowl with them. I've heard nothing but good things from them. You are right, it's basically a Benelli for a fraction of the cost.

statjunk

Best shotgun I've ever owned hands down. Though admittedly haven't had any high dollar shotguns. The Stoeger will cycle the lightest loads after you run a box of turkey loads through it to loosen it up. I've never had a cycling issue with it.

I hear that the new ones have a hollow spot in the stock for a mercury tube.

Tom

Hunting the North

I walked by a brand new one sitting on the rack at Gander Mountain. The barrel was starting to form rust around it. I question how it will hold up after bringing it outside in the real weather. I know it is 1/3 the cost of a Benelli, but it also looks like it has 1/3 the quality of a Benelli.

driftrider

That would make me question the quality of the Gander Mtn gun counter employees, not the gun itself. The finest $2500+ over/unders can rust on the rack if they are handled 20 times a day and never cleaned. Chances are that gun's been handled by dozens of grubby, oily and sweaty hands and never once oiled or even wiped down. My experience with my local Gander Mtn has been that they are a good place to look for scratch n dent guns on the racks because they don't do anything to maintain the rack guns. At Gander, if you want an unblemished gun, you either hope they have one in a box in back, or you special order.

Mike

oldelkhunter

I would like to comment on Gander Mountain and the way they handle sporting arms at their stores. I don't think that anyone at Gander knows what it is to wipe down a firearm or check firearms for fingerprints and such while they sit on their racks. Because of the way they do business (let people handle while attached to a cable) the shotguns and rifles in the store closest to my home have checkering damage,dings in the stock , scratches. I think this is a bad idea on their part because evidentlya lot of very STUPID customers were never taught how to treat other peoples property like it was their own. I don't think 12 year old kids should be picking up guns and putting them back on racks and the ADULTS that supposedly supervise them don't know what they are doing.


Ok now back to the shotgun I don't see any difference with the metal finish on the matteBenelli finish vs the matte Stoeger finish. I think the Stoeger has a better piece of wood on it and I bet both companies get their wood from the same place.