Sharp as a Marble - Something better for sporting clays

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So… anyone have any thoughts on Stoeger? I was looking at their Condor Competition Over Under for sporting clays. $600 isn't ridiculous, especially considering the costs of many other shotguns, but I know nothing of Stoeger.

Stoeger Condor Competition

If I were to get an O/U, I'm not looking at getting the top of the line model. My main concern is utility. I want to pull the trigger, have it go boom, pull the trigger again, and have another boom.

Anyone have any experience with Stoeger or other suggestions?

posted @ 8/15/2009 9:49:49 AM

Comments

Bobby from USF says:

on 8/15/2009 11:32:05 AM

I had looked at some of their guns last week and I thought they felt blocky. Also, the hinge felt a bit stiff.
That may just be the ones I was looking at though.

Bobby from USF says:

on 8/15/2009 11:32:08 AM

I had looked at some of their guns last week and I thought they felt blocky. Also, the hinge felt a bit stiff.
That may just be the ones I was looking at though.

AughtSix says:

on 8/15/2009 12:00:32 PM

I'd stay away. I bought one for my wife a while back, and while it shoots reasonably well, the fit and finish sucks to the point that the latch on the wooden forend comes loose, and if you don't reset it after every pair, before long the forend will come off in your hand, and the gun will disassemble itself when you open it to reload. I think there are some Rugers in the $600 range I would take ahead of the Stoeger.

Of course, the Stoeger I got was the $300 version, so maybe this one is better, but I'd advise against it.

Mike says:

on 8/15/2009 12:00:52 PM

Stoeger shotguns are made in Turkey. Fit and finish are not the best, but they are decent guns for the money.

Gregory Morris says:

on 8/15/2009 12:17:29 PM

For as much sporting clays as you shoot stoeger might be the best option. I have been very tempted to get o e of their intro models. I have seen them at gun shows for 400 used

Billll says:

on 8/15/2009 1:47:38 PM

I heard some sporting clays shooters suggest that using your coach gun for sporting clays actually gets you more birds than the expensive, long clays guns.

The short, light coach guns swing from bird to bird faster than the longer guns, and the spread will be slightly larger.

You'll get looked at funny though.

TBG says:

on 8/15/2009 8:58:34 PM

I got a Stoeger semiauto 12ga. as a spare for when I take the guys from the office to the skeet/trap range...
I picked it up at a pawn shop in Deland...
It's been a great spare gun- the hardware is firm, the action is clean.
Never tried their O/U though.

TBG

Red says:

on 8/16/2009 7:50:41 AM

I had one off these, Stoeger stands behind them well for the warranty, but will warn you if you shoot trap, The barrel banding will come loose, They will replace your gun but still a hassle. The trigger frees up with use.

This model is made in Brazil

The Freeholder says:

on 8/16/2009 6:38:02 PM

A buddy of mine got either this one or one very close to it and is quite happy with it a couple of months and a fair number of rounds later.

pdb says:

on 8/16/2009 8:12:42 PM

For high volume clays games, save up for a Browning or a Beretta. It's almost impossible to get parts for Stoegers or the other Turk/Spanish/Chinese/Cheap Italian gun of the month, and they just don't hold up as well.

Laughingdog says:

on 8/16/2009 10:23:02 PM

When I was buying my skeet gun (a Franchi), it was suggested to me that the Stoeger might not be the best idea because of the inertial trigger. If the shells you use don't have enough umph, the trigger doesn't reset for the second shot.

If you really want an over-and-under, I'd suggest waiting until until you can afford something that mechanically resets the trigger for the next shot. In my case, it was a $900 Franchi instead of a $600 Stoeger.

Rex says:

on 8/17/2009 7:45:41 AM

I have some experience with Stoeger shotguns, as I am a cheap bastard and so are all my friends. A shootin' buddy had the exact same issue as AughtSix had, (with the same model, I suspect) but bubba'd it up somehow to remedy the problem. His barrel bands came loose also, and he had a gunsmith repair them. Now that he's worked out all the bugs, it's a decent gun.

When I first started shooting clays (my wife and I regularly shoot trap and skeet) I bought a cheap Turkish (sarsilmaz) auto shotgun. It was nice enough, I guess, until the firing pin began to wear a dimple in the hammer and light strike every other round. Very embarrassing and when I tried to get a new hammer, I might as well have been trying to get Obama's birth certificate (I keed, I keed) because nobody I contacted was able to get me any parts at all. My shotgun might as well have not existed. I got rid of it, bought a Franchi Diamond I-12 and never looked back.

I liked the Franchi SO much, that when my wife wanted to move to a 12 gauge, I decided that she needed an "inertia driven" auto as well, and she agreed, so we bought a Stoeger M2000. This has been a great gun, and the operating system is identical. For the price, I don't think I could beat it. BUT, if you compare my Franchi to her Stoeger, I wish we'd spent the extra money (it wasn't much). While the guns, mechanically, might as well be twins, the Franchi is tighter, sharper looking, and smoother all around. All the wood is fitted better (the Stoeger forearm is a little loose), the operations are smoother (the Franchi bolt release operates with about half the pressure) and while the Stoeger will occasionally refuse to light off a shell (Record for light strikes on one shell: 3) I can take her dimpled shell, throw it in my Franchi, and it'll go "bang!" every time.

I realize I'm getting into tl;dr territory here, so I'll summarize: If you're even halfway serious about shooting whatever clay sport you have in mind, save your bucks and buy something nice. My "sporting" shotgun is by far the prettiest gun I own (all the rest are ugly and black), and I constantly get compliments on it. Though I am a Cheap Bastard (as I mentioned) I am really glad the I spent the extra couple of bucks on a really nice boomstick, and I think you will be too.

Robb Allen says:

on 8/17/2009 8:20:33 AM

Thanks to all. Definitely sounds like the extra money spent on something a little better made is a better idea.

P. Gonzales says:

on 9/2/2009 8:08:21 PM

I bought a Stoeger Outback recently and must have gotten one of a kind from what you guys say. The wood is beautiful and the overall fit of the metal is perfect. I have been trying to destroy it ever since I got it and haven't yet. I have put over 200 rounds of 3" magnum buckshot through it and it is slick as a button.

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