Had to take a look... was passing through a 'big' sporting goods store and they had three of them on the rack. The one I took a peek at was a 28" barrel 20ga. First impression was that it was a very nice gun. Nice wood, very above average fit for a $2K gun, good color case finish... closer look revealed a number of finish flaws in the barrel blue where the rib meets the barrels, including a four inch long ugly rust stain that begins at the muzzle. Salesman insured me that it would 'clean up'. Told him he better get cleaning.
If you are considering one of these gems, pay particular attention to the rib/barrel junction.
I was going to suggest a turbo cleaning until you said you already pulled the stock and did this...might not take much to gum up the little "inertia thingy". I have an older one of these as well, so I'll be watching for possible answers. If you figure it out, please post your results.
I never could see spending $2000.00 on a clunker when you can buy a nice restored Fox for the same money from Doug Turnbull. They might only be the lower grades, but he sure does a nice job and sells them in the $2000-2500 range the last time I saw him at a gun show. Good luck.
They've had a couple in the store at my range since last summer. They look nicely made externally. Fit/finish stuff looks well done. Wood is grade A fencepost but fitted well. Both guns have ejectors and single triggers. They're marked $2500 if I recall. They seem to weigh about the same as my two BSS 20g guns (about 6.5lbs). I'd rather have a BSS for less or the same money. Heck, I wouldn't pay as much for the S&W as I would for a BSS.
I hope S & W got a great deal on the dirt in Turkey where they built the factory. The guns seem to be selling like coldcakes, and Turkey just may be the next Iraq. Serves them right.
Best,
Ted
Oh, my stars! How can you possibly voice an opinion on them without buying several and trying them for 15 years?
P.S. I agree 100%
I saw some at the SHOT show that looked really nice and one had extremely nice wood.
KMM,
Yeah, their website shows some nice wood as well. The actual guns for sale at my range are mud brown stained fencepost grade.
They always look good at the gunshows. I heard someone got one (or maybe an LC) and both of the firing pins were missing. They were told that they were supposed to be finished here in the states so that was normal. Hmmmmm........
They're very nice guns and you'll get used to the 17-pound trigger pulls. And don't worry about the top rib not aligning with the standing breach. Look at the target not the rib.
I shared a field test gun with another outdoor writer. Ours didn't have any finish or rib issues, pretty nice wood, good fitting, etc. However, it did have the trigger pull problem. Other than that . . . if you want to compare it to an AyA 4/53, both new guns, that'd probably be a valid comparison. I too think there are some great deals out there in the used market, although the BSS Sporter 20ga has suffered severe inflation. But we're talking new guns here, and there ain't any new Foxes (not for under 5 figures anyhow) or BSS out there as options.
Ted, when it comes to analyzing the situation in the Middle East, you may want to stick to French guns with sliding breeches. Turkey has been a democracy longer than most of the countries in Europe. It's about as likely to become the next Iraq as, maybe, Spain? Whether they make good shotguns, however, is a totally different subject--and one more appropriate for discussion here.
Well, Larry, Iraq was a very progressive Arab nation until about 1973 or so. Yes, Turkey is a democracy, with a double edged sword of militant Muslim mullahs close to the popular elected parties and a growing problem with it's Kurdish minority that has never been addressed properly. Unfortunately, simply drawing a border somewhere in the middle east hasn't worked out for the best, and I'm not interested in investing too much of my money in the region.
You, and S & W are free to do what you want-I'm going to guess you didn't buy the Smith you tested, right?
Best,
Ted
Nope, not much of a 20ga/ST guy, Ted.
Turkey's borders haven't changed a whole bunch since the end of WWI. That's 90 years. Yes, they have an issue with the Kurds--as do both Iraq and Iran as well. And it is indeed a Muslim nation. But it's survived quite well ever since Attaturk "modernized" it after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. To compare it to Iraq, which is an artificial entity created in the wake of WWI, and which remained a British colony/protectorate for some time afterwards . . . that takes more stretching than opening the breech of a Darne.
Back sometime around Christmas at the Gander Mountain in Evansville, IN., they had one. It looked nice and i suppose it had been used little. There price 1100.00 I'm sure. Cause i was thinking about buying if it wasn't Christmas time. Oh well, i guess i missed another good deal!
