A Shotgun Story, Dealer Review

[BirdHntr]

Greetings fellow bird hunters and shotgun enthusiasts. Recently my wife and I were pheasant hunting when one of my worst fears was realized. We stopped to rest and water the dogs, while doing so she set the beautiful little 20 ga Browning Citori I let her use up against an unsteady bench. I love her dearly but she is accident prone and sometimes careless. Next thing I hear is the sound of the Citori clattering off the gravel. She quickly grabbed it saying there was nothing wrong with it but I could see a chip in the forearm and later on found a worse one on the stock. That's not the first time something like this has happened. It's really my bad, I should have found a more durable gun of less value than the Browning years ago. Better late than never, I guess.

What to do? I love that she hunts with me and has her own German Shorthaired Pointer 'Annie'. The solution was obvious - find something with a composite stock and durable finish, a gun I wouldn't agonize about if it were dropped or scratched. I didn't want her to have an autoloader or really even a pump gun and she shoots from the left side so something ambidextrous was in order. The list of possibilities was quickly growing short. In the end I figured it had to be another breech loader and really an over/under since that is what she is used to. I started searching the web and discovered the Mossberg Silver Reserve 20 ga Eventide.

I've never owned a Mossberg, only Brownings, Berettas, Benellis, and some vintage Ithacas. But I know people who have and although not fancy, have never heard complaints about function. I figured, what the hell, at least if she beats it up it won't be a great loss. And they are half the price of one of the 'B' makes. We don't buy things like guns or cars or farm animals sight unseen so we set out to find an Eventide in a local store. That proved to be difficult, no one we visited or called in the central Willamette valley had one or even knew what they were. Including Sportsman's Warehouse who Mossberg lists as their area dealer.

Meanwhile we continued hunting, her with no gun. Actually, it wasn't bad, I did the shooting and she focused on our young pointers getting them to Whoa better, back each other's points and so on. They've made remarkable progress although my wife's big female doesn't like getting the fine feathers in her mouth on retrieves. We're working on that.

Dealer Review

Week before last we were in our local BiMart store. Most of you in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho are probably familiar with BiMart, a friend of mine calls it the 'store of the apocalypse' since you can buy almost any basic needs there. Including guns and ammo. We were at the sporting goods counter and on impulse my wife asked what they had in 20 ga on the rack. There wasn't much and nothing that would work for her. But they did have some Mossberg 12 ga pumps so we asked Chris at the counter if they could order any of the Mossberg offerings. He said he didn't know but offered to show us what BiMart had access to on their corporate web app. Together we paged through the listings and lo and behold, there was the 20 ga Eventide complete with 26" barrels and black composite stock! We verified the SKU number and asked if they could order one. He said he would ask BiMart's corporate firearms buyer to contact Mossberg and see if they could get it. And ask the store manager if prior to inspection, would we be forced to take it if we didn't like it?

Chris said he would check and call with the results. A couple days later he called and said everything was a go, they could get the Eventide and the store manager was willing to put it on the rack if we didn't take it. Perfect! A week later it arrived, yesterday we went in to see it. We checked it out and my wife said she was good with it. She filled out the paper work and was instantly approved, we were able to take it with us. She was the proud owner of a new over/under, her own gun that she can do whatever she wants with. I must mention here how helpful Chris at the Corvallis BiMart store was, this wouldn't have happened without him willing to go the extra mile. Our thanks to him.

A word about the 20 ga Eventide. It's a bit on the heavy side for a 20 ga at 6.75 lbs but not bad. The gun is Turkish made and although it does not have the fit and finish of a Browning or a Beretta, is pretty decent. Much better than other 'economical' over/unders I've seen. All of the exposed metal is Parkerized, we'll see how that works out. It's built like a tank, the action is very tight, hopefully it will loosen up a bit. It has extractors instead of ejectors but that's OK, easier to collect the empties. It comes with 5 flush mount choke tubes and is chambered for 3" shells, our favorite pheasant load is the Winchester Xpert 3" with #4 steel shot. The stock has multiple adjustments, we have yet to play with those. It has double vent ribs, should have no trouble cycling rounds at the trap range. Top tang safety with barrel selector. The only complaint we have so far is Mossberg could have installed a front sling mount on the lower barrel as they did on the shorter barreled Turkey version of this gun. Which would make sling mounting much easier. In case no one noticed, upland bird hunters cover some ground. Slings are truly helpful, they save your back on long return walks to the truck. Other than that, we are pleased so far. Now I need to figure out how to put a sling on the Eventide and find a shop to replace the furniture on the Citori.

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[Nosferatu]

Don't take anything in the field you don't want getting some character marks.

Meanwhile we continued hunting, her with no gun.

Because of a scratch? Geebus, it's just stuff. My wife would have left my a$$ out there and taken the dogs with her if I tried that over-controlling bullbubblegum.

 

[GrayGoose]

Poor gal.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Greetings fellow bird hunters and shotgun enthusiasts. Recently my wife and I were pheasant hunting when one of my worst fears was realized. We stopped to rest and water the dogs, while doing so she set the beautiful little 20 ga Browning Citori I let her use up against an unsteady bench. I love her dearly but she is accident prone and sometimes careless. Next thing I hear is the sound of the Citori clattering off the gravel. She quickly grabbed it saying there was nothing wrong with it but I could see a chip in the forearm and later on found a worse one on the stock. That's not the first time something like this has happened. It's really my bad, I should have found a more durable gun of less value than the Browning years ago. Better late than never, I guess.

What to do? I love that she hunts with me and has her own German Shorthaired Pointer 'Annie'. The solution was obvious - find something with a composite stock and durable finish, a gun I wouldn't agonize about if it were dropped or scratched. I didn't want her to have an autoloader or really even a pump gun and she shoots from the left side so something ambidextrous was in order. The list of possibilities was quickly growing short. In the end I figured it had to be another breech loader and really an over/under since that is what she is used to. I started searching the web and discovered the Mossberg Silver Reserve 20 ga Eventide.

I've never owned a Mossberg, only Brownings, Berettas, Benellis, and some vintage Ithacas. But I know people who have and although not fancy, have never heard complaints about function. I figured, what the hell, at least if she beats it up it won't be a great loss. And they are half the price of one of the 'B' makes. We don't buy things like guns or cars or farm animals sight unseen so we set out to find an Eventide in a local store. That proved to be difficult, no one we visited or called in the central Willamette valley had one or even knew what they were. Including Sportsman's Warehouse who Mossberg lists as their area dealer.

Meanwhile we continued hunting, her with no gun. Actually, it wasn't bad, I did the shooting and she focused on our young pointers getting them to Whoa better, back each other's points and so on. They've made remarkable progress although my wife's big female doesn't like getting the fine feathers in her mouth on retrieves. We're working on that.

Dealer Review

Week before last we were in our local BiMart store. Most of you in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho are probably familiar with BiMart, a friend of mine calls it the 'store of the apocalypse' since you can buy almost any basic needs there. Including guns and ammo. We were at the sporting goods counter and on impulse my wife asked what they had in 20 ga on the rack. There wasn't much and nothing that would work for her. But they did have some Mossberg 12 ga pumps so we asked Chris at the counter if they could order any of the Mossberg offerings. He said he didn't know but offered to show us what BiMart had access to on their corporate web app. Together we paged through the listings and lo and behold, there was the 20 ga Eventide complete with 26" barrels and black composite stock! We verified the SKU number and asked if they could order one. He said he would ask BiMart's corporate firearms buyer to contact Mossberg and see if they could get it. And ask the store manager if prior to inspection, would we be forced to take it if we didn't like it?

Chris said he would check and call with the results. A couple days later he called and said everything was a go, they could get the Eventide and the store manager was willing to put it on the rack if we didn't take it. Perfect! A week later it arrived, yesterday we went in to see it. We checked it out and my wife said she was good with it. She filled out the paper work and was instantly approved, we were able to take it with us. She was the proud owner of a new over/under, her own gun that she can do whatever she wants with. I must mention here how helpful Chris at the Corvallis BiMart store was, this wouldn't have happened without him willing to go the extra mile. Our thanks to him.

A word about the 20 ga Eventide. It's a bit on the heavy side for a 20 ga at 6.75 lbs but not bad. The gun is Turkish made and although it does not have the fit and finish of a Browning or a Beretta, is pretty decent. Much better than other 'economical' over/unders I've seen. All of the exposed metal is Parkerized, we'll see how that works out. It's built like a tank, the action is very tight, hopefully it will loosen up a bit. It has extractors instead of ejectors but that's OK, easier to collect the empties. It comes with 5 flush mount choke tubes and is chambered for 3" shells, our favorite pheasant load is the Winchester Xpert 3" with #4 steel shot. The stock has multiple adjustments, we have yet to play with those. It has double vent ribs, should have no trouble cycling rounds at the trap range. Top tang safety with barrel selector. The only complaint we have so far is Mossberg could have installed a front sling mount on the lower barrel as they did on the shorter barreled Turkey version of this gun. Which would make sling mounting much easier. In case no one noticed, upland bird hunters cover some ground. Slings are truly helpful, they save your back on long return walks to the truck. Other than that, we are pleased so far. Now I need to figure out how to put a sling on the Eventide and find a shop to replace the furniture on the Citori.

Too long didn't read, but sounds like you took a gun hunting that you probably shouldn't be hunting with if you're afraid of getting any scratches.

Also don't let your new to driving teenager drive an expensive, fancy spotless car. You won't be happy.

 

[Joe13]

I have hunting guns that work just fine but aren't super pretty - I don't even CC my favorite guns….

I'd love it if my wife took any interest in hunting with me and that would be worth way more then any shotgun, regardless of it's blue book value.

Hell, my guns are some of my most cherished items I own and I would drive over one if the result was my wife hunting with me.

Best of luck to you though - I didn't get thru the whole post but I think you bought a Mossberg which is much more appropriate for a new person hunting. IMO

 

[WAYNO]

...




.

 

[Tlock]

$#it happens....it's just a gun and ment to be used. I prioritize my relationship with my wife over an object. I would have said "Oh well, let's go kill some birds". That was a d!ck move in my opinion

 

[arakboss]

$#it happens....it's just a gun and ment to be used. I prioritize my relationship with my wife over an object. I would have said "Oh well, let's go kill some birds". That was a d!ck move in my opinion

I am still trying to figure why she didn't have a shotgun for the remainder of the hunt? Did the chip make the shotgun she started with not function?

 

[Tlock]

I think she was in time out....

 

[CabbageMan]

OP, take the L and apologize to your wife for treating her like a child.

 

[osprey]

You would have hated to see what happened to our duck guns on the salt marshes. I would give her the Citori and move on.

 

[titsonritz]

It's already been said, scratches on hunting shotgun, whoops-do go put some more on it.

BTW, I'm left handed and have put plenty of rounds through right handed pump and automatic shotguns, not to mention rifles. A Mossberg with its tang safety is pushing the easy button.

 

[Hemlock]

"A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that."
Alan Ladd - Shane