Rossi or Stoeger SxS

[Squint]

LGS has a Rossi Overland (used) and a Stoeger Coach (new). I’m new to CAS and trying not to wear out my old ‘97. My only other shotgun experience is a Winchester Model 24 SxS, but that was a gift from my late grandfather and I’d hate to run it too hard. Right now, the Rossi is about $150 more than the Stoeger. I like the look and feel of the exposed hammers, but I’ve seen that repair parts may be hard to come by. Can anyone weigh in with their own experiences, opinions, or alternative recommendations? Thanks for your time!

[High Spade Mikey Wilson]

I can only speak for the Stoeger SxS. I have three, two in 20 ga., and one in 12 ga. I've had them all for over 10 years, and never had a problem with any of them. The only thing I ever did to them was install stainless steel firing pins.

[Texas Maverick]

I started in 2018 and bought a Stoeger SxS and shot it for 5 years without any issues and just this past year upgraded to the CZ Sharptail. I think the Stoeger is a great first gun to get started with. You will need to do some tuning but there are articles out there that describe how to do that.

 

TM

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

It is easier to learn how to shoot a self-cocking SxS fast than an external hammer SxS where you must cock the hammers manually.  I have both kinds of SxS shotguns and shoot the ones that self-cock the fastest.  I shoot my external hammer shotgun in Plainsman side matches where style is more important to me than speed.  Regarding the availability of parts, I defer to our gunsmiths.

[Squint]

3 hours ago, High Spade Mikey Wilson said:

The only thing I ever did to them was install stainless steel firing pins.

Thank you for the anecdote. Was the installation due to a broken pin or did you install them as an upgrade?

 

 Thanks for the advice, all. I think I’ll keep an eye out for a used Stoeger to pop up somewhere. 

[Crisco]

I’ve had several Stoegers over the years, shot them a lot, and been really happy with them.  I have heard of occasional mushroomed firing pins and broken locking lugs, but never seen either personally.

I had a Rossi 20ga Overland Coach gun for a few years and enjoyed shooting it, but it had the stiffest hammers I’ve ever dealt with.  Left a good bit of skin on them when I tried to slap them to full cock with my off hand.  Like the comment in another response above, I shot it for style, not speed.

[Sagebrush Burns, SASS # 14226]

I've been running a Rossi for 35 years now (got it at a gun show for $175 in 1989) and never needed any parts for it.

[High Spade Mikey Wilson]

12 hours ago, Squint said:

Thank you for the anecdote. Was the installation due to a broken pin or did you install them as an upgrade?

 

 Thanks for the advice, all. I think I’ll keep an eye out for a used Stoeger to pop up somewhere. 

I just installed the firing pins as an upgrade after reading on a few posts that it was recommeded to do so.

[Captain Bill Burt]

I started with a Stoeger. They are a good starter shotgun and pretty durable. 
 

Once I started getting more competitive I switched to SKB’s which in my opinion are a superior gun for our game.

[Tyrel Cody]

@bgavin

[bgavin]

[Tennessee River]

I have a Rossi. It’s good but not easy to improve the ease of cocking the hammers and hard to find parts.  My match gun is now a CZ Sharptail. Get the Stoeger. 

[Doc Moses]

Stoeger. Cheap and they just work. Easy to mod, even I did my own. Then IF you get fast enough to want a 'better' sxs u keep your Stoeger as a back up and loaner. I have 2 and loan the extra to friends when they come with me. No regrets.

[Wild Eagle]

I would go with the Stoeger.  They are very common in our game and if you ever need a part, they are very easy to find.  Started with a double trigger Stoeger and put about 4,000 rounds through it with no problem.  I sold it to a friend, and bought a single trigger recently.  Got the single trigger as a back up for a SKB that also has single trigger.  I did all of the "slicking up" on both of mine.  They are easy to work on.

[Reverend P. Babcock Chase]

Howdy Squint,

 

I have both a Rossi Hammer gun and a Stoeger. I shoot classic cowboy mostly so I shoot the Rossi a lot. I like it. Bought it used, Cheap and redid the wood to look more correct to the era. Hammer guns take some practice to get some speed and will never be as fast as hammerless. If I have a complaint about the Rossi it's that mine is very light now that I have whittled a bunch of the bulbous stock off, so it can kick with factory loads. I have a Liberty II for back up (heavy hammers). By the way there is something gratifying about opening a hammer gun as the barrels drop down since they don't have to cock the hammers (you have to do that).

 

If you're not going to shoot CC, the Stoeger is a good start. They can be slicked up and are very popular. I think the conventional wisdom is that with really light loads you are better served with a double trigger gun. I think that the single trigger may use the recoil to reset the trigger for the second barrel. That said, I think some gunsmiths have a fix for that problem.

 

That's all I understand about what I know about that,

Rev. Chase

[Rance - SASS # 54090]

I’ve been shooting a Stoeger Coach gun fer 20 years..

My wife Lacey has one too.. 

They are both double triggers..

and I also have replaced the firing pins..

never had a misfire with them but was just upgrading instead of worrying..

My recommendation.. Stoeger..

[bgavin]

Tyrel is nudging me...

 

I bought a brand new Coach Supreme after waiting nearly half a year for it to be available in stock.
I took it to my shotgun range, and it died after a few rounds.
The barrel hinge broke which destroyed the gun.

The Stoeger warranty works like this:
1) Buy the gun
2) Have it shipped over X shipping days.
3) Wait X days for FFL to put the gun on the books
4) Start background check, wait for result
5) Start 10 day CA waiting period delay

Take gun to range where it dies.

1) Contact Stoeger for warranty
2) Gun cannot be repaired, only replaced.
3) Ship gun to Stoeger over X shipping days
4) Wait X days for Stoeger to "Examine" the destroyed gun
5) Stoeger ships new gun and serial over X shipping days

6) Wait X days for FFL to put the gun on the books
7) Start background check, wait for result
8) Start 10 day CA waiting period delay

Take deliver of the new gun, with same same metallurgy and poor internal finish.
Rinse and Repeat.

Hell will become exothermic before I EVER buy another Stoeger.

I called Stoeger and shamed them into a refund because they make lemons.
I was fortunate to grab a 1970s era Charles Daly (Winchester), which is an order of magnitude better quality gun.

YMMV.
Mine sucked.
 

[Brimstone Bill Willson]

Does anyone know anything about the new Badlander by Heritage?  I didn't know anything about it until I was browsing their website.:

https://heritagemfg.com/shotguns/badlander-series/421-badlander-18-5inch-barrel-12ga-2rds

[Squint]

4 hours ago, bgavin said:

YMMV.
Mine sucked.
 

Thank you for the anecdote; I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. Do you have an alternative recommendation for a starter sxs? I see a modern Charles Daly 500 MSRP: $650. Would that be your first choice?

[bgavin]

No.

I understand the CZ has promise, but I have no knowledge, pro or con.

 

Ask here.
There are many experienced hands here.

[Texas Maverick]

I think we have beaten the dead horse on this. The CZ is a great upgrade to the Stoeger and Ken Griner sells a tuned one that is the way to go. I have two of them and don't see me ever buying another shotgun while playing this game. You will be spending around $1400 for it tuned.

 

TM

[Griff]

I've used a couple of Stoegers over 37 years in this game.  Only one has seen the inside of a gunsmith's shop (to have as extra set of barrels fitted).  The only thing I did was polish the chambers for easy shucking and disabling the "auto" safety feature.  The safety is still there, but must be manually pushed to engage.  There are many who think that there are better shotguns for this game, but the Stoeger is adequate at its price point, if not stellar in the right hands.