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< 16ga. Guns ~ Another TriStar Discussion |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 22, 2017 11:13 am
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Joined: 28 Aug 2014
Posts: 924
Location: Eastern Tennessee
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I don't own one, but have considered getting one as gift. I have a source to get nib for around $400. The guy I would get it for would use it for dove, rabbit, and quail hunting with me in southern Illinois and western Kentucky. Probably won't see 500 rounds a year.
I'd get him a Marlin 90 other than he has wanted something that can handle steel shot as we do hunt on public land from time to time.
I have read the previous conversations and while I have avoided Turkish guns for myself, I notice that those who own the 16 gauge model seem to have been pleased with them.
I would prefer not to hear from those that have not used them or those that want to just beat on me for not buying my friend a Citori or Rizzini. |
_________________ 16' Brown A5
15' Brown White Light Citori
13' Brown Upland Spcl BPS
02' Rem 870 Exp
53' Rem 870 Wing
53' Mar 90 DT
50' Mar 90 DT
47' Rem 31L
46' Win 12 (2)
33' Rem 31 |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 22, 2017 12:23 pm
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Member
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Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Posts: 9472
Location: Amarillo, Texas
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Tristar does not make guns
They import guns and have them labeled.
I have numerous Tristar Brittanys and had a Derby.
They were made by Zabala and are fine guns.
The current Tristar offerings are made in Turkey, I believe.
Which manufacture are you interested in?
I am not sure that Tristar currently imports side by sides and
I think the Hunter EX is the only O/U in 16 ga.
http://www.tristararms.com/products/over-under/hunter-ex/
Mike |
_________________
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USAF RET 1971-95 |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 22, 2017 1:01 pm
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Joined: 16 Jul 2015
Posts: 2127
Location: Hudson,Wy
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Mine was cobby and unreliable. If you can find one, consider a used American Arms Silver I. It will be a better gun for a similar amount of cash. Same can be said of the cheapest model Fausti O/U. |
_________________ Only catch snowflakes on your tongue AFTER the birds fly south for the winter... |
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Posted:
Thu Feb 23, 2017 8:20 am
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Member
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Joined: 08 Jul 2013
Posts: 325
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Gotta love the TriStar...
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Posted:
Thu Feb 23, 2017 3:08 pm
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Member
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Joined: 27 Jun 2012
Posts: 1115
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I've been hunting quite a bit this year with a TriStar Brittany 16 ga SXS built by Zabala and have been well pleased with it's reliability and effectiveness. My understanding is that Zabala has closed their doors (like a lot of Spanish makers) and the current crop of SXS's imported by TriStar are built in South America and not of the quality of the Zabala built guns. Unless I could be sure I was getting a Spanish built gun, I think I'd look somewhere other than TriStar. |
_________________ An elderly gentleman, his faithful dogs, and a 16 ga SXS. All is right with the world. |
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Posted:
Thu Feb 23, 2017 4:35 pm
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Member
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Joined: 12 Mar 2005
Posts: 6535
Location: massachusetts
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16gaugeguy wrote: |
WyoChukar wrote: |
My experience with the Tristar: often only went bang once if I fired the bottom barrel first. No adjustment top the mechanism ever cured it. Both barrels also shot very low, almost and entire pattern low. Workmanship/finish was exceptionally rough on mine as well.
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You are not alone here my friend. Last year, I had the pleasure (???) of watching a fellow club member in our skeet squad literally hammering his loads into the chamber of his 28 ga. Tristar O/U, and then try to hammer them back out after he amazingly managed to close the breach and fire them.
I didn't stick around long enough to see what happened. I hustled my butt off the field, into the club house, and under a table. I Do all I can to avoid shrapnel at all times.
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The above just about says it all about the recently made TriStar O/U models. These recent O/U models have been manufactured to a low price point under a contract which went to the lowest bidder. The quality of these O/U models is not even close to the Spanish made TriStar SxS models from the 1980's and 90's. The Spanish guns were manufactured under contract to a higher price point and sold new for well over $400 as I recall. That was then. This is now.
In today's market, I don't think it's even romotely realistic to expect to get a new O/U with decent quality for $400 or less. I doubt anyone should expect to find a good used recently manufactured O/U for $400. They just don't exist. Decently made used Turkish O/U models of recent manufacture start at about $800 if we're lucky to find one. $1500 is more like it for a Browning Citori or a similar quality gun, and the prices rapidly climb from there.
And this is not to say that all guns made in Turkey are poorly made. Some are very well made. The Turkish gun manufacturers are like many other contract production gun manufacturers. They'll make whatever is contracted, but they won't produce diamonds for peanuts. Ain't gonna happen.
These recent O/U TriStar models don't have a good reputation. It's your money, so it's up to you. But it's a crap shoot pure and simple, and it's not a smart bet.
I'd look elsewhere for a decent used 16 ga repeater or plan on spending at least $1200 for a recently well made O/U. Just how it is. |
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Posted:
Thu Feb 23, 2017 8:09 pm
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Member
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Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 602
Location: western pa
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A fellow that I shoot sporting clays with had extractor breakage problems with his after 300 rounds. He sent it back in July and still hadn't had it back by the end of September. I suspect your friend might find that a gift he will never forget. But you never know maybe you'll get lucky. |
_________________ Always get get a drink upstream of the herd-Will Rogers |
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Posted:
Fri Feb 24, 2017 8:00 am
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Joined: 28 Aug 2014
Posts: 924
Location: Eastern Tennessee
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Thank you for the thoughts. He keeps hording my toys because his 12 gauge Mossberg 500 lacks the refinement and magic of our beloved 16's. I keep having to go to his house for a beer or two so that I can recover my babies. |
_________________ 16' Brown A5
15' Brown White Light Citori
13' Brown Upland Spcl BPS
02' Rem 870 Exp
53' Rem 870 Wing
53' Mar 90 DT
50' Mar 90 DT
47' Rem 31L
46' Win 12 (2)
33' Rem 31 |
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Posted:
Fri Feb 24, 2017 9:43 am
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Joined: 16 Jul 2015
Posts: 2127
Location: Hudson,Wy
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Oh, so that's the deal. Go ahead and get the Tristar for yourself; let him borrow it whenever he likes. ![Wink](images/smiles/icon_wink.gif) |
_________________ Only catch snowflakes on your tongue AFTER the birds fly south for the winter... |
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Posted:
Fri Feb 24, 2017 10:06 am
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Joined: 28 Aug 2014
Posts: 924
Location: Eastern Tennessee
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Yeah wyo, what I thought I would do is buy him a 16 gauge gun and put it in my safe. Wait for him to grab it on our first dove hunt this fall and let it sit around his house until December. Then around Christmas I would ask him how he likes his gift. When he says he doesn't understand, what gift, I would replay the one in your safe marked 16 gauge. Merry Christmas, I bought it for you! |
_________________ 16' Brown A5
15' Brown White Light Citori
13' Brown Upland Spcl BPS
02' Rem 870 Exp
53' Rem 870 Wing
53' Mar 90 DT
50' Mar 90 DT
47' Rem 31L
46' Win 12 (2)
33' Rem 31 |
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Posted:
Sat Feb 25, 2017 10:54 am
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Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Posts: 107
Location: Roseville, CA
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Which retail dealer did you folks buy your Tristar Hunter 16 gauge o/u shotgun from? I live in Northern California and was wondering how to track one down. Thanks..... |
_________________ Gary
NRA |
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Posted:
Sat Feb 25, 2017 1:59 pm
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Member
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Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Posts: 9472
Location: Amarillo, Texas
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Posted:
Sat Feb 25, 2017 6:05 pm
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Joined: 03 Feb 2014
Posts: 325
Location: West Texas
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Being the contrarian that I am, and being that the gun is a gift to a friend that can't remember to return loaners. I think I would go with the Marlin 90. It is considered reliable and the fact that the barrels are not rated for steel shot wouldn't bother me at all.
I would wager that many many old 11-48's, 1100's and you name its, have steel shot run through them every hunting season. It's not dangerous to do so. If it was, we would know about it by now. The concern is that the choke will be eroded by the hard shot. So how long before a Full choke erodes to a modified. A hundred rounds ? A thousand ? A hundred thousand ? We are not shooting bastard files here, this is round smooth shot.
That is not really your concern in this "gift" transaction and I doubt that it would present itself as a problem in a few seasons.
JMHO
OK I'll let you guys jump on me now.... |
_________________ 16 - The only "True" gauge
16 ga. Citori White Lightning
3- 16 ga. Remington M 31's
16 ga. Ithaca M 37 Featherlight |
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Posted:
Sat Feb 25, 2017 8:56 pm
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Joined: 13 Oct 2015
Posts: 348
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wellshooter wrote: |
We are not shooting bastard files here, this is round smooth shot.
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This is a great quote, I'm going to use it I may have to engineer the conversation to do so, but I will if I have to!
I'd never heard of the Marlin90 before, googled it up and had fun reading about it. Looks like a really viable 16ga O/U. |
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Posted:
Sun Feb 26, 2017 2:30 pm
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Member
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Joined: 12 Mar 2005
Posts: 6535
Location: massachusetts
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I'm going to back up a bit regarding my previous post. A few days ago, I had the chance to examine one of the newest TriStar O/U models being shot by a club member. It was a twenty gauge, and it seemed to be performing well for him.
He was kind enough to hand me the gun. I examined the fit and finish. While these new models are nothing to write home about, they certainly are an improvement over the previously imported O/U models from several years ago. The chambers were not rough and crudely bored. The barrels locked up tight w/o any issues. I also carefully eyeballed the bores. Both barrels had very minor curves to the left, but the curves were aligned to match. The bores appeared to be regulated well enough to put both pattern centers on the same approximate spot. I'd prefer to pattern the gun for accuracy to make certain, but I believe the gun is accurate enough for recreational targets and birds out to moderate distances based on what I've seen.
The owner was not having any FTF, or chambering issues with his gun. He, was breaking targets about as well as he ever did. He said the trigger pull was heavy, but he intended to have it lightened. He said he was pleased with the gun overall.
I'm still skeptical about the general quality of these newest TriStars, and I strongly advise anyone who may be considering buying one to look carefully before putting his money down. I would avoid buying one sight unseen. But if the gun looks and operates okay in hand, then a prospective buyer might have found a keeper. Just saying. It's not an endorsement, but I have backed up some based on what I've seen. |
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