16ga.com ~ View topic - Picked up my DeHaan 16 gauge SO SxS today...

Member Joined: 04 May 2005 Posts: 123 Location: Oregon

... and to say the least I was very disappointed. The gun looks to be well made and I like the flat black finish on the barrels and action but it is really heavy. I had called Mark and asked him if he could weigh all the SO guns he had because I wanted his lightest one. He weighed all ten he had on hand and told me one weighed about 6.6 to 6.7 lbs. depending on how he placed it on the scale which he said might not be all that accurate. Either Mark forgot he set that one aside for me like he said he would or someone else filled the order when he was gone or his scale is way off because my gun weighs 6 lbs. 15 oz. on a postal scale that's accurate to the 1/2 oz. Mark also said that one of them weighed in at 7 1/4 lbs. I looked through the brochures that came with the gun and he has the 16 gauge SO SxS listed at 7 lbs. as opposed to the 6.7 lbs. on his web site. He also lists the LOP as 14 1/2". Mine is 14 1/2" to the end of the wood and 14 7/8" to the end of the pad.

It looks like a lot of gun for the money but I personally wouldn't classify it as a light weight or even medium weight upland game gun for a 16 gauge. It would be a great gun for the duck blind or target range or for some one a whole lot younger, bigger and stronger then me for wild chukars.

Larry

So.......are you sending it back? Life is too short and the safe too small to keep things you're not happy with.

Member Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 446 Location: Wisconsin

Manufacturers, dealers and resellers have a vested interest in not being able to provide precise accurate measurement of shotgun weight. The simple fact is that individuals cannot estimate weight correctly no matter what they believe and unless Aluminum framed most shotguns are heavy for thier gauge. Of course you will have people tell you that a 28 gauge should wiegh 6 #'s or more according to some arbitray rule. BS. Carry a 6# plus shotgun all day through grouse and woodcock territory and you will scream for a true 6# gun. Postal scales are notoriously inaccurate. I have an OHAUS Digital scale with 2 kg calibration weight. The scale weighs to 5kg. I carry it to gun shows and dealerships. It stops any arguements DEAD. i request for each gun i purchase an accurate weight measurement and if my measurement does not agree, I always make sure the seller knows I reserve the right to send the gun back.
6# 15oz is TOO HEAVY for an upland 16 Gauge. Even my Win Model 21 Skeet is not that heavy. Send the gun BACK. -Dick

A friend let me shoot a couple targets with his new Remington/Spartan/Baikal today. Now that is one big heavy 16ga. Must be 7# plus. Worked fine, but pretty crude looking.

Member Joined: 04 May 2005 Posts: 123 Location: Oregon

I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet. I'll call Mark tomorrow and see if there was some kind of mix up with the gun he sent me. If he says this one IS the lightest one he has it will probably go back and not being able to supply accurate information about his guns will be filed away as poor customer service.

Larry

Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 6 Location: Green Bay WI

Man, You guys have me scared! I have an sgr deluxe in 16 ordered and so does my dad! I hope these aren't the battleaxes you guys describe!

Hey Guys,
I think you are blowing this shotgun weight thing all out of whack. I was perfectly happy w/ my 16 ga. U2 DeHaan O/U. I have carried it for hours in the Florida heat quail and snipe hunting and it never seemed to get too heavy nor was I wishing I brought my 6 1/2 pound Citori 20 gauge instead.
Then, I started reading stuff on the various shotgun forums about what an upland shotgun should weigh. Umh, I started wondering and I weighed all of my shotguns. Sometimes we just think about things too much and talk ourselves into worrying needlessly.
Well, the DeHaan wasn't the lightest gun in the safe, nor was it the heaviest. It was 7 pounds, 2 ounces. Hey, I thought, this gun is too heavy and I immediately posted a question on this forum about making it lighter.
After reading some answers, I came to my senses.
The DeHaan is a great gun. It is all steel (which I like) and no alloy or aluminum. It has nice solid wood. Its not going to be a fairy wand. It works flawlessly for me. The barrels are sleeker (if that is a word) than 12 gauge barrels and it balances very well.
Those are two reasons alone to carry it afield.
Keep the DeHaan and don't send it back. If it feels right, what the heck?
Someone on one of the forums has a signature that reads: "Don't worry about choke, just shoot the gun." I would apply this same concept to weight. Don't weigh it, just hunt w/ it.
XVI
p.s. I have a 28 gauge O/U that weighs exactly 7 pounds. I bought it from a dealer and as I was first looking at it I assumed it weighed around 6 pounds, give or take. I asked him what it weighed and he said he did not know but he would go get the scales and weigh it. Several guys in the shop hefted it and all had our opinions of what it weighed. Some guys wanted to place bets, though they got no takers. Anyway, everyone guessed between 6 and 6 1/2 pounds. When the guy put it on the scale we were all shocked. The gun balanced so well and was so lively that it just seemed lighter. I bought it!

Member Joined: 04 May 2005 Posts: 123 Location: Oregon

Gb Jack, these are very nice guns for the money, they are just a little on the heavy side for a lot of guys for upland birds. I would never call them battleaxes. Mine is nicely balanced and finished. I bought this gun because I wanted to try a straight grip gun but I wasn't prepared for a gun that's almost a full pound heavier then the guns I am currently shooting. I was thinking more like maybe a little more then a half pound from what Mark told me and from what Hal says about his gun.

I asked Mark about his custom guns and he said you couldn't specify a weight so my guess is you will be getting the same gun with better wood, better finish and more options. Did you ask him what the guns would weight?

Larry

Like I said above, weight was not an issue. I didn't even think about it and I never asked anyone at DeHaan about. I just got the gun, was happy, and started hunting w/ it. Weight only became a concern when I started thinking about it. Now, after I re-thought it, weight is no longer a concern.
XVI

I still think these guns represent a bargain. Perhaps you need review the cost benefit of a DeHaan vs. alternatives.

Remember too the density of the walnut can impact the weight. There is no reason you cannot hollow out the stock under the recoil pad to save a few ounces.

Member Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 446 Location: Wisconsin

Carrying a 7# 2oz gun in Florida where the terrain is flat and low is a lot different than in Wis/Mn where it goes UP and DOWN and is very THICK. Also, as one gets older, one begins to appreciate light upland guns. The use of light loads will help with recoil. But I certainly agree with the assessment, that if it feels ok, then it is ok. But that is not merely hefting the gun in the store, that is spending 4 hours with the gun in your hands.
What i really object to is not being supplied accurate information about weight by manufacturers and dealers. They know what they are doing and continue to do it relying on the inability of a person to accurately determine weight.-Dick

Member Joined: 04 May 2005 Posts: 123 Location: Oregon

Well the gun is on it's way back to Mark. He wasn't there when I called but Cody his assistant was.

In getting it ready to send back I was wiping down everything with a rag and looking it over a little more closely and discovered some rust on the inside where I didn't look closely before as I hastily put it together to try it out. Rust between the barrels in the area that the forend covers, rust on the little plunger that pushes out the extractors, rust on the hook piece on the forend and even some tiny rust spots starting to develop on the breach face. Not a whole lot but enough to notice here and there. I informed Cody about it and she said it was probably just the cheap oil they put on them at the factory but this was no cheap oil but maybe the result of cheap oil. It was definitely rust. When I wiped off the breach face it left some tiny dimples or marks in the steel where the little rust spots had been. Nothing major but I wouldn't expect to find ANY rust on a brand new gun. I wonder how long Mark actually had this gun?

I know Mark has given good service and stands behind his guns 100% but he seems to have been a little lax in quality control and attention to detail ( the weight he told me this gun was) in this particular instance. He gives a strong caution that the gun has to come back in mint condition to get a refund but says nothing of his responsibility to send a mint one to begin with. That's the problem with mail order guns. Someone has to eat the shipping charges when the gun goes back and that's usually the buyer no matter what.

This isn't DeHaan bashing or Huglu bashing, just reporting my experience and observations with this particular gun and transaction and even though I'm obviously not happy about it I still think these guns represent some of the best value for what you pay if you're in the market for a gun in it's weight class.

Larry

Member Joined: 04 May 2005 Posts: 123 Location: Oregon

Tony, the biggest weight difference between this particular gun and my 6 lb. Sterlingworth is in the stock/receiver. The DeHaan weighs 7.5 oz. more, the forend weighs 4.5 oz. more (almost double) and the barrels only weight 4 oz. more.

I weighed the gun by it's parts and didn't add them up correctly the first time. The gun actually weighs 7 lbs. with 3 lb. 5oz. stock/receiver, 3 lb. 1.5 oz. barrels and 9.5 oz. forend. I over looked the two 1/2 oz. weights when I added them up the first time.

Larry