Mesa Tactical pistol grip stock + VersaMax = Fail

[MickB]

I had the opportunity to test a Mesa Tactical pistol grip stock for the VersaMax. The lines of the stock were good and it fit up against the receiver nicely with no gaps.

Now for the not so good;

- the included sling plate would not fit over the Versamax recoil spring tube. Oh well, I could always call and get the right one.

- there was incomplete joining of the two halves at the toe of the stock. Not good for standing up to heavy recoil.

- length of pull was equivalent to the regular Versamax stock with the recoil pad removed. Seems a little too short. Then again, they do say it is designed for use by LEO's with body armour.

Now for the really not good;

- while test firing, we immediately noticed that bolt velocity was greatly reduced. So much so, that we could not get through 5 or 6 shells without one hanging on the extractor cut. Gun ran 100% with the OEM stock.

Putting the OEM stock back on returned the gun to 100% reliability with normal bolt velocity.

Either the stock is so short that myself and another were effectively "limp shouldering" the shotgun, or the stock did something to the recoil spring tube.

Regardless, for my purposes, the Mesa tactical stock did not work. Maybe Choate can come up with something with the right length of pull in the future?

In the mean time, if you want a pistol grip on your VersaMax, you will have to adapt the Benelli version.

Mick

[T Bacus]

Thanks for the info. Fortunately I have no desire for a pistol grip shotgun stock.

[lksyotas]

Mick, any pictures of the setup before you removed it?

[MickB]

Sorry,

I didn't bother. For pics, you could just go to Mesa Tactical's website.

It's a shame, as this is a nice looking stock, but it just didn't work....

Mick, any pictures of the setup before you removed it?