Jump to content
Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

Best kept secret on budget great shotgun.


gunfighteruk

Recommended Posts

Less stuff, I know no one wants for the article where I lay it all out...

Bottom line,

Mod the loading port.

Add a tube.

Round the toe of the recoil pad.

Add sights if you wish ( I do)

Go shoot!

What about the carrier release...do I have to bend or cut or polish it? No, it is not like a benelli in that area.

If you shop a bit you could assemble this gun for about $525.

Thanks very much for this info. I dislike shotgun, but love the other two guns so much I've been trying to figure out a way to get a halfway-decent shotgun for 3gun at a minimum price.

Is that work you list so common that a wide range of smiths can do it, or is it very technical and specialized?

This is stuff you can do at home at the kitchen table. David shot his gun with NO loading port mods. Planned to do that on a milling machine, but there are quite a few threads on how to do that with hand tools. The tube takes a little bit of fitting, but that is something you can do as well. Dremel helped with that one.....took about an hour. If you have a local smith that can do it then just print pictures off of here of what you want. If not.....send it to Guncat (Steve Rose) on here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 73
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Just Game loads?....the critical elements are shot amount. 1 1/8 ounce minimum and velocity 1200 fps, sometimes expressed as 3 dram eq. These would be the minimum I would expect to function an inertia gun. Well broken in guns some often run with lesser loads, but ammo at the threshold listed are better bets.

Knowing this and offering this information helps others to help diagnose cycling issues.

Just a friendly FYI moment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reading the M3000 user manual ( http://www.stoegerindustries.com/sites/default/files/originals/product-manuals/m3000_owners_manual.pdf ), it says 1 oz minimum, which makes me think it should handle 1 oz in certain situations, but certainly 1.125 oz stuff just fine. I may have missed it, but I don't see any other details about minimum load requirements.

Some hopefully meaningful excerpts from the manual:

"The gun is designed to fire a minimum of 1 ounce 3 dram loads.

(28 grams)."

"It has been designed to fire 2 3/4" (3 dram 1 oz) to 3 " magnum (76mm) length with lead or steel shot."

"Note: Due to precision-machined tolerances on your shotgun,

some break-in period may be required before your new gun

will function reliably with 1 oz target loads. If you

experience initial functioning problems with 1 oz loads,

we recommend firing three or four boxes of standard hunting

loads to allow for this break-in period."

"Note: always use ammunition that is powerful enough to fully

cycle the action. Minimum recommended load 1 oz shot / 3

drams of powder."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just Game loads?....the critical elements are shot amount. 1 1/8 ounce minimum and velocity 1200 fps, sometimes expressed as 3 dram eq. These would be the minimum I would expect to function an inertia gun. Well broken in guns some often run with lesser loads, but ammo at the threshold listed are better bets.

Knowing this and offering this information helps others to help diagnose cycling issues.

Just a friendly FYI moment.

I don't have the Federal box. The Remingtons that worked are 1 oz (1200fps).

I was just using it today to try and get a "feel" for the gun. I will probably only use it for 3 gun and waterfowl from here on out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The rounds I always use in 3 gun are Remington STS or Nitros and also Winchester AA. Outside of a match I will run anything and expect a hiccup or two now and then due to cheaper shells. Now as far as the Stoeger I built.....I have tried just about every brand and style of shell on the market and they all functioned without question. The loads I typically use are 1 1/8oz at 1300fps or 1oz at 1350pfs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, still inching closer to one of these guns, but one more question for a shotgun newbie: what exactly is the mod to the loading port? Just a bevel and flare?

+1, in addition, can anyone give some pointers. How much beveling, how deep? How much is too much to where it can mess up the function?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, still inching closer to one of these guns, but one more question for a shotgun newbie: what exactly is the mod to the loading port? Just a bevel and flare?

I have zero patience and I learned how to open my guns up. It just takes some files and a few different grits if sand paper.

First remove the barrel, tube, trigger group and mask off the area you want to keep. You can leave the shell catch installed but you need to blow it out with an air compressor really well afterwards. It's better to remove it. Then clean all of the oils out of the gun so the aluminum shavings don't stick. When masking make sure you cover up the serial number so you don't accidentally remove like I almost did.

BlackTapeonReciever-1.jpg

BlackTapeonReciever-2.jpg

BlackTapeonReciever.jpg

Edited by Jesse Tischauser
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I only use one of the big files for the course work of removing a large amount of material. I use the small files for rounding the edges and getting into the corners and to remove the deep grooves left from the course big file. I actually only use one large file and 2-3 of the small files. I like a round file for the corners up near the follower.

Files.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thus was about as deep as I would go when I was doing the traditional weakhand loading.

This is the rough pass with a course file where I simply removed an equal amount from both sides keeping the file flat running equally across both sides.

RoughFile-2.jpg

RoughFile-1.jpg

Edited by Jesse Tischauser
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that I drop the duece and toss the quad (DDTQ) I take it way deeper and further forward. You will be limited by the shell catch roll pin on how far up the receiver you can go on the shell catch side. On the other side you can get as close as you feel comfortable to the rails that the bolt rides in. I'd suggest playing it safe. Up front towards the followers you're limited by the ridges that hold your follower in. Stay clear of those!!!

QuadLoadPort-1_zpsccbb8a55.jpg

QuadLoadPort-3_zps782112b3.jpg

Edited by Jesse Tischauser
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Won an auction last night on a black 26". Northern Firearms has sporadic one day auctions on Gunbroker for the black 26" with free shipping, $429. It's the lowest price I've seen.

Also, I contacted Nordic to see if they would make a tube for the Stoeger 3000's in the future, the answer was No.

Does anyone know which Nordic extended bolt handle with fit the 3000's? http://nordiccomp.com/retail/shop/product-category/shotgun/bolt-handles/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Won an auction last night on a black 26". Northern Firearms has sporadic one day auctions on Gunbroker for the black 26" with free shipping, $429. It's the lowest price I've seen.

Also, I contacted Nordic to see if they would make a tube for the Stoeger 3000's in the future, the answer was No.

Does anyone know which Nordic extended bolt handle with fit the 3000's? http://nordiccomp.com/retail/shop/product-category/shotgun/bolt-handles/

Answer is technically none.......I made the Benelli handle fit. The overall outside diameter is larger.....then you have to flatten a spot along the top side to not interfere with the workings of the bolt. It can be done with a dremel, but up to you if you want to take the time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great info guys. I'm semi-auto shopping.

Currently using a Winchester 1200 pump purchased for the low, low price of $120.

I bought it to canabalize it for parts for my 1300 and its so much smoother I love shooting it despite the long barrel.

I'm curious how the Stoeger will hold up to 3 gun abuse or should I just save my pennies and get the M2 I've been dreaming about?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...