The retailer would have benefitted with a serious sit down with a few end users. Anyone who pops a 3”er in this gun deserves what he gets.
I suppose I got lucky it didn’t have 26” tubes, as all the gun writers at the time were convinced that is what everyone should buy. The gun was built to a price point, the fitting of the stock to the action could have been a bit better, but, then I wouldn’t use it in the rain. The recoil with regular hunting loads is pretty fierce, of late, I have taken to using 2 1/2” 7/8ths loads in it.
Ted, I've fired some 3" magnum shells in my Ugartechea Falcon and it really rattles you. Mine is also under 6 1/2 lbs. and has the standard hard rubber buttplate. The worst part for me is the sharp belt in the cheek because it has a relatively sharp comb. The same can be said of 1 1/4 oz. 2 3/4" baby mags. I feed it any shells I find on sale. I never used it with steel shot because I never bought into the non-lead shot bullshit .
But as I said earlier, I use it quite often with loads I wouldn't ever use in my old vintage Syracuse Lefevers, or even my fairly stout Ithaca Nitro Specials or NID's. I'd expect a bruised shoulder if I ever used those heavier loads in it for a round of skeet, but it's quite tolerable for a few shots at starlings... which is its' major function.
