Posted: 11/1/2012 4:07:31 PM EDT
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I had been looking at a Remington 870 for 3 gun as it was hard to find a nice semi in my price range. A local guy I found has a Stoeger M2000 that he is willing to trade for my Mossberg 500 Tactical Persuader, with him adding some cash. The Mossberg is nice, but definitely not ideal for 3 gun since it only holds 5+1 and can't take an extended mag tube. The extra cash he is willing to add would be enough to pay for a Nordic Components magazine extension for the Stoeger.
How is the quality of the Stoeger? From what I am finding online, it is similar to the Benelli M2, and they are really nice. I'm not finding much in the mod department, but I don't want to do to much to it anyways, other than maybe a bigger bolt handle, which I have found that the larger bolt handle from a Benelli M1 works for it. Any input on the Stoeger? |
| I looked at the Stoeger 2000 when I was searching for a shotgun for 3-gun. While I didn't get to shoot it, to me it felt more like a toy gun than a quality shotgun. I compared it to a Mossberg JM 930 (which I ultimately purchased) and the difference was quite stark. As for modifiying the Stoeger, I don't know. |
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I'm finding a lot of conflicting thread on the BrianEnos forums and shotgunworld forums. Problem is, most people seemed to have little first hand experience with them. Or didn't break them in properly.
I fired it today and went ahead and picked it up. Fired flawlessly for me. Put some bird shot, buckshot, and some slugs through it. For the price I paid, I just couldn't pass it up. The bolt release was a little stiff, but I found a fix for that on the ShotgunWorld forums. I ordered an mag tube extension for it today. I'll check back in once I get a chance to really put it through it's paces. One of the complaints I did hear was it was heavy, but it didn't seem that way to me. Of course I don't have string bean arms either. |
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Once Stoeger was aquired by Benelli, the quality went up. Essentially, the M2000 is an M2 with the recoil spring system removed from the stock and placed over the mag tube, under the handguard. The advantage there is it allows for a wider range of stock designs, but you loose the "inertia" recoil reduction.
The design was so close to Benelli's design that Benelli sued and the settlement allowed the owners of Stoeger to keep the money they made in exchange for turning Stoeger over to Benelli. Stoeger then became the budget brand for Benelli's portfolio. If you are considering one, look at a newer production model. Wes Edit: Just saw you mentioned a mag tube extension. Since it's a semi auto made in Turkey, you may want to look into 922r compliance requirements before you stick the extension on there. |
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Once Stoeger was aquired by Benelli, the quality went up. Essentially, the M2000 is an M2 with the recoil spring system removed from the stock and placed over the mag tube, under the handguard. The advantage there is it allows for a wider range of stock designs, but you loose the "inertia" recoil reduction. The design was so close to Benelli's design that Benelli sued and the settlement allowed the owners of Stoeger to keep the money they made in exchange for turning Stoeger over to Benelli. Stoeger then became the budget brand for Benelli's portfolio. If you are considering one, look at a newer production model. Wes Edit: Just saw you mentioned a mag tube extension. Since it's a semi auto made in Turkey, you may want to look into 922r compliance requirements before you stick the extension on there. The one I got is newer production, since they were bought out by Benelli. I did check the 922r compliance. I could add either a pistol grip stock, or an extension, but not both. I also have to change out a couple of other parts for American made ones, which I planned to do anyways. I had talked to a gunsmith friend who was more familiar with that law than me before buying. He just was sure of the Stoeger quality, he mostly deals with Saiga Shotguns that are built up for competition. He is going to change out a few parts for me before I install the extension. And he was very adamant about me not installing the extension prior to his mods due to the law. |
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I think you are going to be spending a lot of time and a littel money and you are going to end up with a problem. Id rather see you buy a used Benelli nova pump and shoot it until you can find a used Benelli M1. Next option woudl be the JM Mossberg.
I have never shot a stoeger nor have i seen one at a match which tells me there is a reason nobody uses them. |
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I think you are going to be spending a lot of time and a littel money and you are going to end up with a problem. Id rather see you buy a used Benelli nova pump and shoot it until you can find a used Benelli M1. Next option woudl be the JM Mossberg. I have never shot a stoeger nor have i seen one at a match which tells me there is a reason nobody uses them. Seems everyone who has something bad to say about Stoeger quality, has never shot one. Those who have had good things to say, have shot one. Stoeger and Benelli are also both owned by Beretta. Once I have a chance to use it a few times I'll report back. I will say that I have talked to guys that own them and have thousands of rounds through them. And what I am being told, is that as long as you keep up with maintenance, it will eat anything you feed it. There is apparently a known break in period. Most people I have seen complain about issues are still in that 200 rnd break in period. And have come back to the threads after the break in period to say the issues are fixed. |
| As a gunsmith I have worked on several of these. The only consistant concern I find is that the ejector screw will loosen and the ejector will fall out. Just check the screw for tightness periodically and it will be fine. If it does fall out Benelli will send a replacement free of charge. |
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As a gunsmith I have worked on several of these. The only consistant concern I find is that the ejector screw will loosen and the ejector will fall out. Just check the screw for tightness periodically and it will be fine. If it does fall out Benelli will send a replacement free of charge. That's good to know. I will make sure to check that. BTW, here's a pic of the Stoeger I got. http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy179/tuflehundon/20121107_142448_zpsdc001c3e.jpg |
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What parts did you change out to USA made? It had 11 922r parts, So i swapped out the magazine follower for a Nordic one, and I had a Gunsmith swap out the trigger parts with American made one. I only needed to do one of the other, but I fugured why not play it safe. Trigger is nice to, it has a clean crisp break now, very smooth. |
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I've had a chance to use it in a couple of 2 gun events (pistol / shotgun) and a couple of action shotgun events. 1st time out, I was using to tight of a choke, and was aiming to high. Bout 1/2 way through my 1st stage figured out the aiming point on it and started doing better. After the 1st stage one of the club guys started asking me what choke I was using, and then said to try a different one. Went from an Improved Modified, down to an Skeet. 2nd stage was so much better.
Once I got all the little stuff figured out, she ran like a dream. Let a couple of the guys with Benelli's shot mine, and they let me use there's. while shooting, it was had to tell much difference between mine and the Benelli's. The Benelli does have more aftermarket parts though. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. She was even eating the cheap Walmart shells like it was nothing. Not a single hiccup. A lot of the Benelli guys were surprised that mine ate the cheaper shells so well. Never realized how many Benelli's are used at these events until yesterday. I'd say more than 1/2 of the shotguns used were Benelli. |