Stoeger M3000 Scattergun?

[hsac]

For y'all running stage savers/match savers/ whatever. Are you using chicago screws? Any interference issues to worry about on the action bars or spring or anything?

[12Bravo]

Just installed mine last night. No issues using the included Matchsaverz hardware.

[DHwreckage]

just picked up a 1st gen M3K from cabelas here in denver for 499, took it out to Kiowa for some sporting clays and man was it a great investment!

got a benelli extractor/spring, a hi-vis front sight and a cheek ezz in the mail. cant wait to start tickering! already trimmed the butt pad and it shoulders MUCH better, shot it better than my buddies benelli ethos, but that gun is on a totally different level.

Edited July 25, 2016 by DHwreckage

[DHwreckage]

anyone have any issues getting their extractor pin out? im not sure it would be a good idea to add heat to the bolt head to try and remove it.

Edited July 27, 2016 by DHwreckage

[notfast]

'anyone have any issues getting their extractor pin out? im not sure it would be a good idea to add heat to the bolt head to try and remove it.'

Hello DH,

Are you sure you have the punch in contact with the top extractor pin and not the extractor itself? Only about 1/3 of the DIA of the pin is exposed in the pin access channel.

I thought I was having issues with a stuck pin when I swapped my Stoeger extractor for a Benelli, but I was actually trying to push out the extractor itself instead of the pin.

There's not much pin exposed in the channel and it is easy for the punch to slip off of the head of the pin and onto the extractor while tapping the punch.

[busdriver02]

the internal work that makes the loading fast and easy.

That was very helpful, thank you. Not sure I'm quite done with it, but I'll leave it alone for a bit and see how it goes.

[bsweatt]

Recently my Stoeger M3000 has been failing to fire the round in the chamber. The hammer drops, but nothing happens. I eject the shell and the primer hasn't been touched. This problem is intermittent. Usually occurring once every 25 rounds. It has always occurred on my first shot except for once when it occurred on the second. I have disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled the bolt, firing pin and trigger group. Nothing looks broken, stressed, or out of place. I've been shooting factory loads, federal field and target multi purpose load to be exact. If anyone has any knowledge on what is causing this to happen I would love to know because it has befuddled me, but I am new to shotguns. I've really gotten frustrated with this occurring during 5 stand rounds and appreciate any help and advice.

[Vlad]

You are probably not fully into battery. If you close the bolt slowly you will notice that it may stop when the extractor touches the barrel and not actually rotate into battery. If that happens during the normal feeding cycle the hammer is probably just driving the bolt forward into full battery instead of hitting the firing pin

Just my guess. I've had this happen on my recently with a new-ish batch of federal bulk shells which I'm not convinced are as reliable as the older ones.

[BOOM]

beweatt; call Tom MOA precision expert gun smith on MK3

[Vespid_Wasp]

On 8/11/2016 at 10:30 PM, bsweatt said:

Recently my Stoeger M3000 has been failing to fire the round in the chamber. The hammer drops, but nothing happens. I eject the shell and the primer hasn't been touched. This problem is intermittent. Usually occurring once every 25 rounds. It has always occurred on my first shot except for once when it occurred on the second. I have disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled the bolt, firing pin and trigger group. Nothing looks broken, stressed, or out of place. I've been shooting factory loads, federal field and target multi purpose load to be exact. If anyone has any knowledge on what is causing this to happen I would love to know because it has befuddled me, but I am new to shotguns. I've really gotten frustrated with this occurring during 5 stand rounds and appreciate any help and advice.

Those new federal cartridges are far inferior to the old ones.  I would try new ammo first.  Very good chance you are out of battery because of misshapen ammo and perhaps you aren't letting the bolt slam home freely.

[koreytm]

Hey guys, brand spanking new to 3 gunning.  I've shot trap for 2 years now with a cheap O/U, hunt ducks and pheasants with a Browning Gold, and grew up hunting 20 years ago with my grandpa's 1100 28" for both birds and slugs for deer (until I bought a slug barrel 5 years ago, then switched to a .270 3 years ago) so I'm used to bead sights (my 1100 doesn't even have a vent rib, just a bead on a block at the end of the barrel).  I just picked up an M3K, and have spent the last couple days going over the last 23 pages of this thread (I started at page 100, where the M3K starts popping up...roughly a year and a half ago).  I've also spent a couple hours today reading the first 6-8 pages of threads that pop up when you search "M3K".  I still have a couple questions, forgive me if the answers reside somewhere in the last 3 years/100 pages of this thread.  I'm planning on leaving the port the way it is until I get the hang of loading.  I'm also planning on taking out the extractor and filing/sanding it down.  Probably going to get the TTI hammer and spring, too.  Anyway, here are my questions:

1.  +5 or +6 extension?  I like the physical size of the +5.  I don't want to go excessively long since I'm just getting used to the sport.  However having an odd number of rounds in the tube seems inefficient to me.  I feel like loading doubles (quads eventually) is what I should be practicing/striving for.  Having a 9 round mag seems like I'd only end up loading 8 when I reload.  Thus the +6.  I'm not crazy about how far it sticks past the barrel (based on pictures, and I know many guys run 12-16 round tubes but I'm not interested in that right now) but could live with the +6 if it will actually give me a real advantage over the +5.  It seems like just having an even number would be worth it.  Am I on the right track here?  Also, I'm not touching the port until I figure how to load the thing consistently.  Probably going to do the trigger guard though.

 

2.  It seems like now that Nordic has a Stoeger specific nut, there really is no difference in function between a tube directly from Nordic vs getting it from MOA?  I read posts about needing to cut the mag tube down with the Nordic nut...is that no longer the case since they now have a Stoeger specific nut?  Initially I was going to order from Nordic since they are "local" to me (I'm in WI, but most of the competitions closest to me are in the Twin Cities MN metro area).  However after reading all of Tom's (and well as Pat's) info and incredible willingness to help I'm probably going with MOA regardless.  Same goes for the follower.

 

3.  I know the mag tube is polished even on the Gen 1, and then coated black again.  This means I don't have to polish further/more?  Does this mean I don't need to break it in with heavy rounds first, or do you guys still recommend a break in period?  If so, how many rounds are enough to get things "loosened up"?

 

4.  When putting it together I noticed the barrel didn't seat into the receiver all the way on it's own.  Without having the gun in front of me right now, I'm guessing it took 5-8 revolutions of the barrel nut fully seat the barrel into the receiver.  I haven't cycled any rounds through it, but the bolt moved freely and smoothly with the barrel fully seated.  Is this normal?  I've never had this on any other gun.

 

5.  The safety is very stiff.  I know that MOA's safety helps this, but I've also read you can cut one or two coils off the spring?

 

6.  I saw Tom say it's a good idea to run this thing very wet until it's well broken in, maybe even after.  There is a TON of lube on it from the factory...I'm assuming this is okay to leave on, or do I need to strip it off and start with regular gun oil like Hoppe's?

 

Sorry for all the questions in one post, but it seemed more efficient than a bunch of separate posts and follow up questions.

 

If you've taken the time to read all this, THANK YOU!  I appreciate the help, I'm super excited to try this sport out!

 

- Korey

 

[Huch]

17 hours ago, koreytm said:

Hey guys, brand spanking new to 3 gunning.  I've shot trap for 2 years now with a cheap O/U, hunt ducks and pheasants with a Browning Gold, and grew up hunting 20 years ago with my grandpa's 1100 28" for both birds and slugs for deer (until I bought a slug barrel 5 years ago, then switched to a .270 3 years ago) so I'm used to bead sights (my 1100 doesn't even have a vent rib, just a bead on a block at the end of the barrel).  I just picked up an M3K, and have spent the last couple days going over the last 23 pages of this thread (I started at page 100, where the M3K starts popping up...roughly a year and a half ago).  I've also spent a couple hours today reading the first 6-8 pages of threads that pop up when you search "M3K".  I still have a couple questions, forgive me if the answers reside somewhere in the last 3 years/100 pages of this thread.  I'm planning on leaving the port the way it is until I get the hang of loading.  I'm also planning on taking out the extractor and filing/sanding it down.  Probably going to get the TTI hammer and spring, too.  Anyway, here are my questions:

1.  +5 or +6 extension?  I like the physical size of the +5.  I don't want to go excessively long since I'm just getting used to the sport.  However having an odd number of rounds in the tube seems inefficient to me.  I feel like loading doubles (quads eventually) is what I should be practicing/striving for.  Having a 9 round mag seems like I'd only end up loading 8 when I reload.  Thus the +6.  I'm not crazy about how far it sticks past the barrel (based on pictures, and I know many guys run 12-16 round tubes but I'm not interested in that right now) but could live with the +6 if it will actually give me a real advantage over the +5.  It seems like just having an even number would be worth it.  Am I on the right track here?  Also, I'm not touching the port until I figure how to load the thing consistently.  Probably going to do the trigger guard though.

What size barrel do you have? I have the 24" and a +5 tube and it works great for me. I wouldn't let your mag tube length be dictated by even or odd numbers. Your logic only really applies when you are reloading the gun from empty, which usually only happens if you've messed up. Usually the stage design (and your corresponding stage plan) dictates when you will reload so it's completely random as to how many rounds you will still have left in the gun when that happens. One advantage of the longer tubes is that you have the capacity to do a quick load 4 at the start of a stage to top the gun off (you can only have 8+1 in the gun before the timer starts). If you have a shorter tube, you have an awkward load 3 before you are maxed out. That's only useful in some stages though.

2.  It seems like now that Nordic has a Stoeger specific nut, there really is no difference in function between a tube directly from Nordic vs getting it from MOA?  I read posts about needing to cut the mag tube down with the Nordic nut...is that no longer the case since they now have a Stoeger specific nut?  Initially I was going to order from Nordic since they are "local" to me (I'm in WI, but most of the competitions closest to me are in the Twin Cities MN metro area).  However after reading all of Tom's (and well as Pat's) info and incredible willingness to help I'm probably going with MOA regardless.  Same goes for the follower. 

Get the MOA nut and follower. I started with just the Nordic nut and stock follower and it hung up on the joint between the factory and nordic tube (this was a few years ago, Nordic may have fixed it by now). Might as well grab the tube from them too while you're there.

3.  I know the mag tube is polished even on the Gen 1, and then coated black again.  This means I don't have to polish further/more?  Does this mean I don't need to break it in with heavy rounds first, or do you guys still recommend a break in period?  If so, how many rounds are enough to get things "loosened up"?

You shoot heavy loads when the gun is new to break in the recoil spring, not polish the tube. You do not need to polish the tube on the M3K, but I'd still put a few boxes of full power loads through the gun to start. It also doesn't hurt to store it with the action locked open for the first month or so. 

4.  When putting it together I noticed the barrel didn't seat into the receiver all the way on it's own.  Without having the gun in front of me right now, I'm guessing it took 5-8 revolutions of the barrel nut fully seat the barrel into the receiver.  I haven't cycled any rounds through it, but the bolt moved freely and smoothly with the barrel fully seated.  Is this normal?  I've never had this on any other gun.

Normal. If I'm holding the gun upright and there's no magazine nut on, my barrel sits out just a bit from the receiver unless I push it dow. Could be the smaller spring that operates the inertia action that's pushing it out but I'm not sure.

5.  The safety is very stiff.  I know that MOA's safety helps this, but I've also read you can cut one or two coils off the spring?

I would get the MOA one. The grooves are shallower, it's easier to reengage that the stock one and you don't have to mess with the factory springs on the safety (something I'm a little wary to do). If you want to try cutting the spring you can; if you mess it up it's a cheap part to replace. 

6.  I saw Tom say it's a good idea to run this thing very wet until it's well broken in, maybe even after.  There is a TON of lube on it from the factory...I'm assuming this is okay to leave on, or do I need to strip it off and start with regular gun oil like Hoppe's?

I don't run my M3K very wet and I've never had a problem. I lightly lube the rails and the mag tube but that's it. Sometimes I'll go 3 matches without re-lubing it (have never cleaned it). I shoot in SoCal though so it's very dry and dusty and overly wet guns tend to attract a lot of the fine desert dirt/sand. Could be different where you are.

Sorry for all the questions in one post, but it seemed more efficient than a bunch of separate posts and follow up questions.

 

If you've taken the time to read all this, THANK YOU!  I appreciate the help, I'm super excited to try this sport out!

No problem, glad you're getting into it. There's a lot of great, helpful people that shoot and most will let you try out their gear if you ask. The TTI springs are a great upgrade, you'll like them. Since the trigger guard is plastic, I also drilled and tapped it and put in a set screw. Very easy and cheap way to get rid of the overtravel. At some point you may want to upgrade to the Benelli extractor and extractor spring (M2 and Super Black Eagle both fit). One last tip: if you're going to put a recoil pad on the end of the stock, make sure you don't go too soft/spongy. The inertia system needs a reasonably abrupt stop to function correctly. I put a very soft one on my M3K and started having several malfunctions. Went back to the stock one and they never happened again. 

- Korey

 

 

[koreytm]

15 hours ago, Huch said:

What size barrel do you have? I have the 24" and a +5 tube and it works great for me. I wouldn't let your mag tube length be dictated by even or odd numbers. Your logic only really applies when you are reloading the gun from empty, which usually only happens if you've messed up. Usually the stage design (and your corresponding stage plan) dictates when you will reload so it's completely random as to how many rounds you will still have left in the gun when that happens. One advantage of the longer tubes is that you have the capacity to do a quick load 4 at the start of a stage to top the gun off (you can only have 8+1 in the gun before the timer starts). If you have a shorter tube, you have an awkward load 3 before you are maxed out. That's only useful in some stages though.

It's a 24' barrel, that's the only length the M3K comes with as far as I know.  As far as the tube length, reloading, etc...If I have a the +5 tube that gives me 9+1.  So all I could add at the buzzer is 1, which seems like kind of a waste.  A +6 (giving 10+1) would let me dump in 2 more, but since I've never done this before I'm wondering if 2 more is really even going to make a difference...If there are 16 targets I'm still going to have to reload regardless if I start with 8+1 and add 0, 1, or 2 more at the buzzer.

 

As far as loading from empty, that is my one dislike with this gun so far.  I am not a fan of the little button down by the trigger.  I am used to being able to rack the slide and have a round pop out of the mag tube on it's own without having to trip that little button first.

 

15 hours ago, Huch said:

You shoot heavy loads when the gun is new to break in the recoil spring, not polish the tube. You do not need to polish the tube on the M3K, but I'd still put a few boxes of full power loads through the gun to start. It also doesn't hurt to store it with the action locked open for the first month or so. 

Makes sense to me, but as far as storing it, we were just talking about this same thing with our AR mags and my engineer buddy said a spring at rest, regardless of being relaxed or compressed, will not weaken/wear out. The only thing that weakens/wears out/breaks in a spring is movement.  

 

Side note: I grew up "storing" (aka leaning against my dad's dresser in the basement) with the action open so we always could see they were unloaded.  I've recently learned (at 33yrs old) that most people store them with the action closed, presumably to keep dust out?

 

15 hours ago, Huch said:

Normal. If I'm holding the gun upright and there's no magazine nut on, my barrel sits out just a bit from the receiver unless I push it dow. Could be the smaller spring that operates the inertia action that's pushing it out but I'm not sure.

This is my first inertia gun, and I've never taken one apart either.  Any other gun (gas and pump) I've ever had apart the barrel slides freely in and out with no resistance and seats fully and easily with no force.  It just seemed strange to me that you need to use the nut to actually seat the barrel and not just something that goes on at the end to keep everything together.

 

Thanks for the replies!

Edited September 3, 2016 by koreytm

[uncle_walty]

On 8/24/2016 at 7:20 AM, Vespid_Wasp said:

Those new federal cartridges are far inferior to the old ones.  I would try new ammo first.  Very good chance you are out of battery because of misshapen ammo and perhaps you aren't letting the bolt slam home freely.

 

What else other than ammo can cause this out of battery issue?  I've experienced this failure a few times and it usually happens after at least a 100 or so rounds and the gun is dirty.  Clean it and no failures for awhile.  i was wondering if there was another cause because on my M3K when I ease the bolt into place until the extractor touches the barrel, without a shell,  the bolt will not rotate into action. Is this normal?  I can bump the butt stock and it'll rotate and lock up.  If  I pull the bolt handle back just enough to see the face of the bolt in the front of the port and let go, the bolt always rotates and lock up completely.  Is my return spring too weak?  Should it be strong enough to rotate and lock the bolt even if I ease the bolt handle forward until the extractor touches the barrel?  Thanks.

[Cuz]

Can someone point me to the list of what's been done to a M3000 to make it the M3K model. I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[koreytm]

6 hours ago, Cuz said:

Can someone point me to the list of what's been done to a M3000 to make it the M3K model. I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's all in this thread starting around page 100.  I'm no expert (I just bought my M3K last week and still haven't even had a chance to fire it) but here's what I learned by reading the last 23 pages of this thread:

M3K is an M3000 with this added/done to it:

Oversized charging/bolt handle

Oversized bolt release button

Mag tube polished (and then coated black again)

Loading port opened up (2 generations of this, with the second gen being more open than the first.)  Pictures here: 

http://forums.brianenos.com/index.php?/topic/173219-stoeger-m3000-scattergun/&page=113#comment-2468746

Serial number has been relocated on the receiver to allow opening the loading port even more.

Oversized safety button (right side only)

24" barrel only, fiber optic bead at end

Extended length choke tubes

And it's $100-$150 more than the M3000

 

 

Here's what I've realized since getting it:

I paid the extra money for the M3K because I thought the stock loading port would be fine for awhile until I learned what I was doing, and I like that the serial number was moved so you can really take a lot of material from that side.  I have the fist gen and already want to open it more, but it seems like the regular M3000 serial number location isn't really that bad considering (for me anyway) you don't NEED to take that much material off that side.

The stock safety is pretty stiff.  They claim the oversized safety from MOA is much better, so probably going to get that.

The stock mag follower is no good, need an MOA or Nordic when you get your tube.

Tom at MOA and some other people feel the M3K oversized bold release button is a little all the "tall" side, and I can see where over time/with more use I might agree.

I'm kind of thinking a 26" barrel and a +8 tube might not have been so bad compared to a 24" barrel and a +6 tube like I'm going to have on the M3K.

Polishing the mag tube of the M3000 is pretty simple, especially since I have access to a lathe, so I didn't need to pay extra for a gun that already had that.

A lot of people replace the stock fiber optic bead with a HiViz or something a bit smaller.

An oversized bolt handle might not be that big of a deal, and can sometimes get hung up on stuff if you're not careful.

I haven't patterned it yet, but might end up getting different chokes.

 

So basically I almost feel like I should've gotten the M3000 for $450 vs the $600 I spent on the M3K since I'm already planning on opening the loading port more, replacing the safety, getting a different follower along with the extension tube, and maybe even replacing the release button and sight, and getting different chokes sometime down the line.

Jesse Tischauser has a great video of the M3000 mods he did (before the M3K came out). He's complete for about $650.  I spent $600 on the M3K (I know some people find them for under $550) and I still have about $150 more to go in parts, plus probably porting it.

https://youtu.be/exBkOXD35tY

 

 

Edited September 7, 2016 by koreytm

[Cuz]

Thanks, that's an awesome summary.

I wonder if anyone has a pic of the 24" M3000 or M3K with a +6 tube on it?
How much does it stick out past the barrel?



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[alombardo15]

I have a +6 tube on mine and it sticks out about an 1 1/2" from end of barrel and about and 1" with the choke. I can take a pic of mine later when I get home from work but hopefully in the mean time this clarifies a few things.

 

If you go to MOA Precision website, they explain which tube sticks out "X" amount of length form barrel ends.

[koreytm]

Found this on the Google. It's a +6 on a 24" with the M3K extended choke. 

 

I still can't decide between the +5 or +6...

[alombardo15]

If you go +6, it allows you to keep 10 in magazine tube, 1 in chamber, and you can ghost load another round (if need be) giving you a total of 12 shots. If you are using this for 3gun, make sure to look at your competitions rules. Some events allow for only 8 +1, and others allows you 10 +1 so depending on what the rules states is what I would choose.

[koreytm]

14 minutes ago, alombardo15 said:

If you go +6, it allows you to keep 10 in magazine tube, 1 in chamber, and you can ghost load another round (if need be) giving you a total of 12 shots. If you are using this for 3gun, make sure to look at your competitions rules. Some events allow for only 8 +1, and others allows you 10 +1 so depending on what the rules states is what I would choose.

My impression (being brand new and haven't competed yet) is that most places make you start with 8+1, but can load as many as you want after the buzzer. That takes the ability to ghost load out of the equation. So with a +6 extension I can start with 8+1, then quick dump another 2 in.

[alombardo15]

3 minutes ago, koreytm said:

My impression (being brand new and haven't competed yet) is that most places make you start with 8+1, but can load as many as you want after the buzzer. That takes the ability to ghost load out of the equation. So with a +6 extension I can start with 8+1, then quick dump another 2 in.

Lots of guys do that when I compete, got the same rule 8 +1. Typically I try to map out the stage before I shoot to see if I need to had the +2 right away after the buzzer or if I can fire off 2 rounds first then go in with the quad load.

 

But hey every match is different which is why 3gun is so awesome. But good luck to you and enjoy your first match...hopefully soon!

[koreytm]

19 minutes ago, alombardo15 said:

Lots of guys do that when I compete, got the same rule 8 +1. Typically I try to map out the stage before I shoot to see if I need to had the +2 right away after the buzzer or if I can fire off 2 rounds first then go in with the quad load.

 

But hey every match is different which is why 3gun is so awesome. But good luck to you and enjoy your first match...hopefully soon!

So is that why you chose a +6 over a +5? Or was it a different reason?

[alombardo15]

16 minutes ago, koreytm said:

So is that why you chose a +6 over a +5? Or was it a different reason?

I chose the +6 b/c there is one range out where I live that allows 10+1 at start for their 3 gun and i go to another where its 8 +1. I figured I'd rather have the +6 tube and the ability to load all 10 rounds when need be.  If the rules call for a 8+1 then I can just load less at the start and still be withing the rules. 

[Huch]

On 9/2/2016 at 5:44 PM, koreytm said:

It's a 24' barrel, that's the only length the M3K comes with as far as I know.  As far as the tube length, reloading, etc...If I have a the +5 tube that gives me 9+1.  So all I could add at the buzzer is 1, which seems like kind of a waste.  A +6 (giving 10+1) would let me dump in 2 more, but since I've never done this before I'm wondering if 2 more is really even going to make a difference...If there are 16 targets I'm still going to have to reload regardless if I start with 8+1 and add 0, 1, or 2 more at the buzzer.

I actually have a +6 giving me 10+1 total, sorry about that. And yes the M3K only comes with a 24" barrel, I was thinking about the M3000 for some reason. I usually let the stage dictate if I'm going to immediately load 2 at the buzzer, or if I'm just going to come out shooting and reload later. If there's only 6 targets and then movement and then 8 more, there's no reason to load at the start. If there's 10 targets and then some movement before the next ones, it's definitely wise to top off at the buzzer and then reload on the move. Standing reloads are for chumps (and people like me who miss

As far as loading from empty, that is my one dislike with this gun so far.  I am not a fan of the little button down by the trigger.  I am used to being able to rack the slide and have a round pop out of the mag tube on it's own without having to trip that little button first.

I used to feel the same way, but there are actually a lot of ways to do it fast. Pulling the trigger drops a shell too, so if you're concerned about fumbling for a small button you can just do that instead. Most people toss one shell in the chamber and hit the bolt release, then load the rest normally. Another option if you run the gun dry, is to drop the bolt on an empty chamber, then load normally and pull the trigger/hit the shell release button and rack the slide. If you practice, you can actually pull the bolt back and hit the shell release with one hand in one smooth motion. Use your index finger on the bolt handle while your middle finger is on the trigger guard and as you pull the bolt handle back your middle finger slides over the shell release dropping a shell on the carrier so when you release the bolt it chambers the round. It's just as fast as simply racking the charging handle. Someone on here (I believe it was Tom at MOA) added a little more material to their shell release so it stuck out more and made this move easier. He put a video of it up somewhere in the thread but I have no idea where. 

 

btw, what I meant about rarely loading from empty is that most of the time you're mag will be partially full when you're reloading. What dictates whether you have an even or odd number of shells to load is how many shots you took, not how many your mag tube holds, so don't get too hung up on if you're total capacity is even or odd. 

Makes sense to me, but as far as storing it, we were just talking about this same thing with our AR mags and my engineer buddy said a spring at rest, regardless of being relaxed or compressed, will not weaken/wear out. The only thing that weakens/wears out/breaks in a spring is movement.  

I've heard that too (and seen a lot of evidence to back that up), but I just stored it open in case it ended up helping somewhat. If it didn't, no big deal. I've also found that shooting the full power loads at the start seems to settle everything in the gun when it comes from the factory. It's not a big issue with a high dollar gun like a Benelli, but the Stoeger is built fast for mass production. It's an amazing value and I love mine to death, but I think some things were a bit looser and having the action and inertia system get hit hard for 50 or so rounds seemed to seat everything well. That's just my experience and there are probably many people who will say that's total BS and have vlid reasons to say so, but that's how it seemed to me. My gun has run great and eats light 1145fps target load like they're nothing.

Side note: I grew up "storing" (aka leaning against my dad's dresser in the basement) with the action open so we always could see they were unloaded.  I've recently learned (at 33yrs old) that most people store them with the action closed, presumably to keep dust out?

That's why I store mine closed. I think it depends on how you store them. If they're lying against a dresser/in a gun case/not locked up I'd store them open so you can always see that they're unloaded. I store mine in a gun safe so that doesn't really matter, dust getting in the actions and mixing with gun oil is what I'm more concerned about, so I store mine closed. 

This is my first inertia gun, and I've never taken one apart either.  Any other gun (gas and pump) I've ever had apart the barrel slides freely in and out with no resistance and seats fully and easily with no force.  It just seemed strange to me that you need to use the nut to actually seat the barrel and not just something that goes on at the end to keep everything together.

 

Thanks for the replies!