Mine's a 20-ga. based on the Stoeger. Love it!

No, actually I inherited it. It is called Bear's Bark No. 1. A good friend, Nick Ward, had Lee Minor build it for him and named it after his Rottie, Bear, whose bark was worse than his bite.

LRM subcontracted much of the work to Paladin Armory, who in turn used it as the prototype of their "Bear Claw" shorty SBS. And Southeast Arms is doing a continuation Bear's Bark series right now in 20-ga. Paladin will build them on most any host; SEA builds them on Stoegers. Either will build one on your host; if you have an approved Form 1 and a hacksaw to do the initial barrel cut, SEA and other 07/02s will do the finishing work.

As far as engraving ... some of the hosts do not have perfectly level receiver surfaces, which makes engraving the maker's marks a PITA to get uniform depth. Best to talk to the engraver first.

The hardest part is the pistol grip: You have to shorten the buttstock bolt, round the butt, and plug the hole after attaching it with the shortened bolt. If you want to shoot it much, that must be smooth enough to not rip up the palm of your hand.



If you go for it, I strongly suggest you get a good holster for it. This is the one I use right now, though I'm working on a plan for an over-the-shoulder, back-mount holster:

And just for a little size perspective, here's Bear's Bark (9.75" barrels, 17.75" overall) next to my Mossy 590A1:



I've been shooting the heck out of it regularly since I inherited it in 2005, and the action is still as tight as the day it was made.

9.75" barrels, 17.75" overall

The 12-ga. host shotguns are built on a different receiver that is both wider and heavier. It's not an issue on a long gun, but you really do notice the difference when you whack it back into a pistol. I find the 20-ga. frame much better-handling, particularly when shooting one-handed ... and the recoil is much more comfortable.

YMMV.

Nice video!

My hand hurts, just watch' it.