IHMSA15151

I'm one of the "unlucky ones" even with a good cleaning the choke tubes won't fit. It's only in one small area where a couple of the vent slots are, but it's enough to not let them through. I've heard reports of the newer ones having more clearance. I'm just going to wait for the Taccom comp to come out.

They have a comp in the works, supposed to be about a month. I was told it will have a large enough inside diameter to actually allow the choke tubes to come through.

It works to get the choke unscrewed but then the choke tube won't fit through the comp.

I pre-ordered a trigger but haven't gotten anything yet. Did the get the email as to why the delay. I'd rather wait and get something that works well than get it quickly only to have to return it. As for comps. I have the short one and it helps noticeably. Problem is, it isn't open enough in the inside diameter to allow for choke tube removal. Taccom has one in the works that will solve all the issues of the one sold by Advanced Tactical.

I did it because I already had a milspec stock I liked. Cheaper to get a new tube than a new stock.

I swapped mine to a mil spec because I had a mil spec stock already that I wanted to use. It didn't fit the commercial size tube and a new tube was cheaper than a new stock. Plus like you said, a lot more options.

I used the "heavy load" piston for breaking in. 80+ rounds of high base 6's and about 15 rds. of 3" magnum 4's. After that switched to the "light load" one and it runs great.

Last time I looked Advanced Tactical had them in stock.

Are they "in stock"? Website says pre-order only. Will they fit a VR80 with a Advanced Tactical mag well?

Has anyone actually seen or tested one of these unicorns? I did the "pre-order" thing. When it comes I'll add to the write up.

My .02 worth. Blockader is pretty much correct. That being said, a lot comes down to your expectations. If you're not too serious about your placings and just want to have some fun in Open class or give it a try without going with a mag fed shotgun, the tube fed guns will work well for you. It also depends on where you shoot and the stages they run. I have run a Win. SX3 with the Arrendondo speed loader for about 3 years now. I have both the 4 & 6 round tubes. I already had a shotgun that could be converted so that was one of the reasons I went that route as apposed to buying a whole new gun. I put an extension tube (12+1) and for a while a tube holder with a few tubes would be fine for most 3gun stages. As the mag fed guns became more popular it seemed that stage designers started increasing the amount of rounds required. I think the biggest advantage of the mags over the tubes is the round capacity and ease of loading. The mags can hold 10 or 19 where the tubes are limited to 4 and 6. It is also much easier to reload with a mag than the tube unless you practice a lot. If you are off a little bit on the alignment of the tube you get the "popcorn effect" where a couple shells go in the gun and the rest pop out onto the ground. There are some down sides to the mag guns also. The mags are HUGE and a pain in the butt to carry on your belt. Most folks have some type of jamming issues at least once in a while and they take some tweeking to make them run well. They can also be expensive, but the new VR80 that Rock Island Armory has come out with has helped somewhat with the price point. I just bought one a little while ago and have been going through it a doing some mods. (See the posts about the VR80 in the Shotgun Technical thread). One other plus will be as more folks transition to mag fed guns, more used speed loaders and tubes will come up for sale and you can probably get a good deal. Mine will be hitting the classifieds shortly.

I use some soft rubber rail covers. I'm thinking of putting on a hand stop also. My first match with it is next week so I may be changing things up after a real day of shooting it.

I was able to find a VR80 a couple of weeks ago and while I was awaiting shipment I started sorting through the 30+ pages in the Enos posts about the gun and researching online for all the options, mods and problems that have been associated with this shotgun. So I have finally settled on my configuration (at least for now) I thought I would list some things pro and con as to help anyone else making some decisions. The folks that posted in the earlier post were a great help, Thanks! 1) The shotgun: Overall I am very pleased with it for the price. Mine was $599 before tax. You do have to break it in and it took about 80 rds of highbase 6's and some 3" magnums. After that it runs pretty much flawless with the 5 rd and 9 rd mags using the cheap bulk Federal from Walmart. I did take it apart and cleaned it a couple of times during break in and found some minor rough edges to smooth and oiled the bolt. I also rotated the right side safety lever 180 deg. because it ripped a hole in my index finger after the first 10 rds. of break in. 2) Mags: The 5 & 9 rd mags functioned fine right out of the box (after break in) but I still took them apart and deburred the follower a bit. They are showing wear signs on the paint in some areas so I will probably buff the paint down or off, to smooth things up a bit. One of the 9 rd ones I chopped the base plate off to hold 10. It runs fine like that also. I highly recommend getting the Amarok mag loader, it really makes things easy. I bought a 19 rd mag also and had a few issues with it not feeding well when it gets down to the last 5 or 6 shells. They were jamming into the top of the chamber. I thought it was a case of less spring pressure and allowing the shells to be at a steeper angle to the bore. I later noticed that some of my older shells were flat or almost flared out at the end. The newer boxes of the same brand has a better rolled edge and when I loaded those the jams were minimal. (see photo) More testing is needed with the 19 rd. None of my mags will drop free when empty. Not sure if the paint removal will help or just because they curve so much and are pretty light. Something to work on later. 3) Handguard: The handguard was a bit sharp up in the front so I put some rail covers on the sides. Helped a lot and I might add a hand stop to the bottom later. You do get a small amount of gas out the sides where the gas piston sits so getting your grip forward is helpful. 4) Buffer, tube & spring: I replaced the buffer tube with a mil-spec carbine one so I could use a carbine stock I had. The stock spacer ring doesn't fit a mil-spec tube so I used a Dremel tool and opened it up. I also ground off the sling tab. I installed a Taccom buffer with a cut carbine spring and it does reduce felt recoil. The issue with the Taccom buffer is that the secondary spring makes it difficult to pull the bolt back the last 1/2 inch or so needed to engage the bolt stop. Not a big issue but a pain in the butt if you need to lock the bolt back quickly. 5) Magwell: I got a RIA factory magwell and it is pretty nice. Looks good, mounted up easily and does help with getting those awkwardly large mags in the gun. 6) Muzzle break: I decided on the RIA small break. It came with the short lock ring that replaces the barrel shroud. I actually like the look better without the shroud. It does reduce felt recoil and I am thinking about taking out the Taccom buffer to see if the break works well enough and then not have the issue with locking the bolt back. Still a work in progress. The break did change the point of impact for the gun but didn't effect the actual pattern. It patterned the same with or without the break just more to the left, so I adjusted my dot. It does make it difficult to replace choke tubes but there are extended wrenches on the market that will work. 7) Trigger: So the trigger on these guns is HEAVY. Some folks are reporting 9-10 lb. or that their gauge doesn't go high enough. Mine actually breaks pretty clean without a lot of creep but is heavy. I have seen some improvement in mine with use, not a huge improvement but it is obviously wearing in some. I have a JP spring to try and there is always the option of a Tooth & Nail trigger but they are pricey and not in stock. I need to run a couple of matches with the JP spring first. All in all it's been a fun build and gets me into a mag fed shotgun for a lot less money than the current offerings. The biggest question is how it will run in a match. So the next 3 Gun match should be interesting.

Thanks for the info, I think I have a JP spring set in my junk box. I'll give it a try. The complete trigger sets are $120 and out of stock, so if this helps a little that would be great.

Is it a JP spring kit? Where did you get it?