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How Many Have Broken a Stoeger?


bgavin

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I"m trying to gather statistics on how many pards have broken their Stoegers.
Especially the barrel lug.

My new one died after the 12th shotshell with a broken barrel lug.
Stoeger cannot/will not repair it, but will only replace it with a new serial number gun.

This incurs another $75 to $100 in FFL fees, and two trips to the FFL for new paper work, plus another 10-day waiting period here in the PRK.
I have asked Stoeger to send me a refund and keep the broken gun because the product is a lemon.

I would like to hear from everybody who has suffered a broken Stoeger.

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Had the lug break off on two of them, the buttstock disintegrate in my hands on another.

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Not an uncommon problem on various brands of s/s. Can be carefully spot welded in place with great success. Not pretty, but invisible when covered by fore grip.

 

RR

Lug.jpg

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Seen 2 with broken locking lug   . Owner welded his up.      GW

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It's a common problem.  The Stoeger underlug is a none-too-brilliant design, compounded by poor metallurgy, and sloppy manufacturing.  It's a common problem, and there are a number of gunsmiths who make rent just welding the sheared off underlugs of Stoegers. 

 

You definitely get what you pay for; in the case of Stoeger, you pays your money and takes your chances...

 

Cheers.

FJT

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I wore out three, wife one. They would open after firing the first round, lugs came loose, both barrels would fire, neither barrel would fire, stick close, etc.. They worked good for developing SxS skills. The early guns seemed to have better metallurgy than those made in the mid 2000's.

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my thoughts are that they are a 200$ shotgun with a 500$ price tag. Cheaply made. The upside is they serve a lot of cowboys well in this game and are readily available. I would still use one if my category did not require hammers. If I buy another one it will be with double triggers....

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My buddies rib is separating from the barrels.  It has not been fixed yet.

 

I have an early Supreme Model that has 24 inch barrels.  Even though I have purchased two more that were advertised as being the Supreme, they are not the same.  But, the forearm developed a crack which allowed the hardware to shift.  This is a part of the cocking mechanism.  Stoeger said they could or would not help me.  I had to go to other vendors to purchase a new forearm.  I have bought three new forearms, but none fit correctly and reset the shotgun.  It is now in the closet.

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Starting out the Stoeger was all I could afford. Talked to many about slicking them up before trying my hand. First two lasted about 1 1/2 years, third about 2 years. Broke 2 lugs then the stock on another, kept mix and matching to keep one running. Stoeger refused all warranty work, painted one barrel as "unsafe" no love at all. Had a single trigger for a little bit that would occasionally double (pretty good otherwise) but ended up selling all of them (mostly as parts guns and really cheap) after disclosing my problems to the new owners. Was introduced to Johnny Meadows and his SKB's about 9 years ago and have never had a problem with any of those. They have run like rugers, bullet proof, reliable and consistent. Tried the BSS shotguns but at the time they did not really fit me as far as weight or balance. Nothing wrong with them just not my cup of tea. YMMV May try again someday but currently just running my SKB's.

As far as shotguns go you definitely get what you pay for.

 

Regards

 

:FlagAm: :FlagAm: :FlagAm:

 

Gateway Kid

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This topic, morphing to the quality and (non)performance of Stoeger shotguns, is very enlightening.  (Don’t ask)how could it be worse?  A weapon that bad leads to the question:  How SAFE can a shotgun of such poor quality be?  Sounds like there should be a ritual melt-down of these things at EOT.  

 

Cat Brules

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7 hours ago, bgavin said:

I"m trying to gather statistics on how many pards have broken their Stoegers.
Especially the barrel lug.

My new one died after the 12th shotshell with a broken barrel lug.
Stoeger cannot/will not repair it, but will only replace it with a new serial number gun.

This incurs another $75 to $100 in FFL fees, and two trips to the FFL for new paper work, plus another 10-day waiting period here in the PRK.
I have asked Stoeger to send me a refund and keep the broken gun because the product is a lemon.

I would like to hear from everybody who has suffered a broken Stoeger.

 

Was this a 'stock' gun?

Not try'n to pick a fight :P

OLG 

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It is difficult to ask an inexpensive tool to hold up to the riggers that we put that tool through. We yank them open and slam them shut and when we are done with that we drop them unceremoniously on a table of some sort.

We "polish" the working surfaces and grind away the chambers to look like funnels in a way that would make most gunsmiths skin crawl. THe manufactures have little wiggle room when they declare what modifications we make unsafe.

I don't expect the tools that I buy at Harbor Freight to last forever. I expect the tools I buy at high end tools stores to last significantly longer.

 

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6 minutes ago, Cat Brules said:

This topic, morphing to the quality and (non)performance of Stoeger shotguns, is very enlightening.  (Don’t ask)how could it be worse?  A weapon that bad leads to the question:  How SAFE can a shotgun of such poor quality be?  Sounds like there should be a ritual melt-down of these things at EOT.  

 

Cat Brules

that is a very good question

Bgavin is the third one I have heard of that failed on the first or second outing to the range.

I wonder how many others have gone down in that time frame (or just a little longer) that have not been reported on this forum or others.

The one I had that broke the stock did so about six or seven months after I got it. A pard had a stock from one that had a broken lug and we worked out a deal. My cousin had one that was basically unused but about 2 years old and the first time he restaged it on a table the forearm split in two. Lastly a local pard had the barrels opening up a little between shots and not firing the second barrel consistently after lightening up his spring. That was his fault and an easy fix with a stronger spring but he still got rid of it asap. Lastly the single trigger I had began doubling (my light reloads) right out of the box. Another shooter knew someone who knew how to correct that so I sold it at a discount and bought my first SKB. They have had no problems that I know of after that so they can be made to run correctly just expected better for a new gun.

Haven't looked back since I got into SKB's.

Regards

 

:FlagAm: :FlagAm: :FlagAm:

 

Gateway Kid

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25 minutes ago, Ace_of_Hearts said:

It is difficult to ask an inexpensive tool to hold up to the riggers that we put that tool through. We yank them open and slam them shut and when we are done with that we drop them unceremoniously on a table of some sort.

We "polish" the working surfaces and grind away the chambers to look like funnels in a way that would make most gunsmiths skin crawl. THe manufactures have little wiggle room when they declare what modifications we make unsafe.

I don't expect the tools that I buy at Harbor Freight to last forever. I expect the tools I buy at high end tools stores to last significantly longer.

 


I am not a competitive shooter, so I don't slam anything open.
The Stoeger was 100% factory, no slicks, no tricks.

I expected it to last a whole lot longer than 12 shots.
The fit of the lug in the receiver was wrong, bound up, and split the crappy metal they used for the lug.

My Harbor Freight tools last a very long time with adult treatment.
And I pay a lot less than $500 for them.
 

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I have been shooting a Stoger 12ga. double trigger for 15 or so years with basically no problem.   I tweeked the latch spring so that it would be fairly easy to open and  did some work on the cocking levers so that it will stay open.  No complaints at all.

Blackfoot

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I have 2 stoeger supremes with double triggers and have had to replace the firing pins in one, they are both slicked up and run smooth as silk after many hundreds of shots and hard use, no complaint here, sorry your having problems with yours.  SCJ

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Thanks to all for sharing their experiences.

I have no doubt at all that Stoeger will refuse my request for a lemon refund.
They will ship me a new gun, new serial, new FFL fee, new 10-day wait...
I have accumulated 170+ days of California wait time in 2019...

I figure I will carefully smooth that lug and perhaps test clearances with some Prussian Blue machinist's dye, etc to see if it is going to break again.
Near as I can figure, the receiver was not machined deep enough to accommodate the lug when the action opened.
Perhaps a light buffing/polishing/stoning of the lug is in order before it goes to the range the first time.

I'm not a race competitor, so I'm not at all hard on things.
With that in mind, I *do* expect them to last when used with adult supervision.

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Not bragging but having a shop and some skills sure does help. If my Stoeger breaks i can machine a part from solid 4140 prehard and tig weld or silver braze in place with proper recoil shoulders to keep the load off the weld/braze joint. and no I'm not looking for business. If it breaks I can fix it. all I need is time and motivation. 

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Side-by-side shotguns - and your shoulder - greatly benefit from running lighter loads. While there's no great financial savings in reloading your shotgun shells, even the Winchester AA Low-Recoil 980fps rounds are just too hot for our sport. These guns take a heck of a beating from factory loads, and you can extend their life, reduce your frustrations, and maybe do better with your shotgun if you run lighter loads,

RR

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I've been using Stoegers for 20+ years. The only problem I had was a firing pin had to be replaced in a gun I was using for 10+ years. I have two right now, no problems!

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47 minutes ago, Roger Rapid said:

Side-by-side shotguns - and your shoulder - greatly benefit from running lighter loads. While there's no great financial savings in reloading your shotgun shells, even the Winchester AA Low-Recoil 980fps rounds are just too hot for our sport. These guns take a heck of a beating from factory loads, and you can extend their life, reduce your frustrations, and maybe do better with your shotgun if you run lighter loads,

RR


Indeed.
I was breaking it in at the range with light AA loads.
The lug broke after the 12th shell.

I'm set up with a MEC Sizemaster to do 3/4 oz loads in CB0175-12 wads, 14.1 gr of Clays and Fed209A primers.
On paper this is about 9.6 lbs of recoil.
I hope to get this down further with a dead mule and a Kick-EEZ pad before it died.
Stoeger will void the warranty if I polish, use stainless pins, or any deviation from 100% factory stock.

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1 hour ago, Son of the Midnight Star said:

Not bragging but having a shop and some skills sure does help. If my Stoeger breaks i can machine a part from solid 4140 prehard and tig weld or silver braze in place with proper recoil shoulders to keep the load off the weld/braze joint. and no I'm not looking for business. If it breaks I can fix it. all I need is time and motivation. 


No brag, just proud of your skills.  I fully get this.
I grew up with a full shop, lathe, etc in the basement.
My dad was an eye doctor who was an excellent blacksmith and machinist.

I'm a DC decent welder but have never done TIG... I'd have to farm that out.
Best to do this with a smith experienced in barrel lug repairs.

I'm tired of fixing stuff.
It just pisses me right off when something breaks because it is of shoddy construction.
I spent my entire career fixing cars and computers... nowadays I trade computer support with my autoshop buddy.
I keep his computers running, he does the same for our Toyotas.

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Smokestack...  even a bit lighter is same #25 bushing (which should drop 395g of #8) and 14.3g of Clays.

RR

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I owned 1 stoeger double.  Bought it from another cowboy, it had been worked over.  Opened very easily.  Then it started popping open when fired - fixed that with a heavier latch spring.  When Kay Sadeeya started shooting, I gave that gun to her.  One day when cleaning it, I noticed that the barrel lug was cracked.  I took a picture of it & sent it to Stoeger, they had me send it to them for evaluation.  They sent me a new gun, which I sold at a very low price to a new shooter.  While I can't complain about the gun or the company's service, I won't ever buy another Stoeger.

 

Holler

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15 minutes ago, bgavin said:


No brag, just proud of your skills.  I fully get this.
I grew up with a full shop, lathe, etc in the basement.
My dad was an eye doctor who was an excellent blacksmith and machinist.

I'm a DC decent welder but have never done TIG... I'd have to farm that out.
Best to do this with a smith experienced in barrel lug repairs.

I'm tired of fixing stuff.
It just pisses me right off when something breaks because it is of shoddy construction.
I spent my entire career fixing cars and computers... nowadays I trade computer support with my autoshop buddy.
I keep his computers running, he does the same for our Toyotas.

I agree. the Stoeger is what it is and when I can afford it I'll be replacing my coach gun with an SKB, buy once cry once. 
That said and about fixing stuff I just shelled out $3300 to the dealer to fix a bunch of minor to significant stuff on my truck. I have no desire to drop a fuel tank or crawl under it to change fluids in all the gear boxes. I figure, yeah expensive, but I'm not beat up and sore. I have nothing to prove to anyone. 

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