Sunday, September 18, 2011

Stoeger Coach Gun Range Report

I have a brief range report on the Stoeger 20 gauge Coach Gun that I bought earlier this month.

I was able to put about 10 rounds through the gun today.  I patterned both barrels with Remington 2-3/4" No.3 buckshot, and the equivalent from Federal. At 10 yards both loads and barrels will pretty evenly saturate the -1 zone of an IDPA target.

I also fired some Remington 2-3/4" "Slugger" slugs from 25 yards. At that range the right barrel seems to shoot to point of aim, while the left barrel is high and right.

Recoil was noticeable but not too heavy. Even though the Stoeger lacks a recoil pad, it was more pleasant to shoot than my H&R 158 Topper 20 gauge, which is about a pound lighter but has a factory recoil pad. With a good pad like a Pachmayr Decelerator or a Limbsaver, the Stoeger should be downright nice to shoot with defensive ammo.

I had one light primer strike which resulted in a failure to fire. I think it's because I failed to fully disengage the safety for that shot, and there was enough drag on the hammer to cause it to give light primer strike. Until I have the safety modified so it's manual-only, I need to make sure that I'm mashing it into the fire position.

1 comment:

johnbeck007 said...

Great review. I've had my eyes on the Stoeger Coach Gun or the Stoeger Double Defense Shotgun. Good info, thanks for the write up!