Shotgun for Goose Hunting?

Stoeger M3000. I’ve had mine for 6 years now, and I’ve killed a pile of ducks & geese with it. Thousands of rounds run through it and the only thing I’ve done to it was replace the extractor with a benelli extractor, which was cheap. I’m actually going to sell it to get something left handed since I’m sick of shooting right handed guns as a lefty. All my rifles are left handed, time for my shotguns to match!

Don’t fall for the people who think you need 3.5″ shells to kill a goose. I’ve killed 100s of geese with 3″ and even a bunch with 2 3/4″ shells! If your semi auto can shoot 3.5″ shells, there’s a healthy chance it won’t like cycling light trap loads.

rjthehunter wrote:

Don’t fall for the people who think you need 3.5″ shells to kill a goose. I’ve killed 100s of geese with 3″ and even a bunch with 2 3/4″ shells! If your semi auto can shoot 3.5″ shells, there’s a healthy chance it won’t like cycling light trap loads.

Agreed! I even bring my wife’s youth 20 gauge sometimes. It’s fun because your buddies will put you on every single loner thinking the 20 gauge can’t kill a goose at 15 yards just because there’s a few less BBs.

tswoboda wrote:

Agreed! I even bring my wife’s youth 20 gauge sometimes. It’s fun because your buddies will put you on every single loner thinking the 20 gauge can’t kill a goose at 15 yards just because there’s a few less BBs.

My uncle shot more geese with a 20 gauge 2-3/4 Mossberg than I could count. Knowing your gun and how it shoots means far more than having more BBs 100%. I was shocked when I watched him drop 3 geese in 3 shots out of 1 flock.

rjthehunter wrote:

Stoeger M3000. I’ve had mine for 6 years now, and I’ve killed a pile of ducks & geese with it. Thousands of rounds run through it and the only thing I’ve done to it was replace the extractor with a benelli extractor, which was cheap. I’m actually going to sell it to get something left handed since I’m sick of shooting right handed guns as a lefty. All my rifles are left handed, time for my shotguns to match!

Don’t fall for the people who think you need 3.5″ shells to kill a goose. I’ve killed 100s of geese with 3″ and even a bunch with 2 3/4″ shells! If your semi auto can shoot 3.5″ shells, there’s a healthy chance it won’t like cycling light trap loads.

I agree completely about the 3″ shells being fine for most applications. We will be shooting geese that are landing in the decoys at close ranges 90% of the time. It’s nice to be able to load 3.5″ shells if the need arises down the road though.

As far as the cycling shells goes, that’s what had me initially leaning towards the Tristar. On a few gun forums they say that their changeable gas piston sizes for heavier/lighter loads that come with the gun are right on and work well for a cheap shotgun. Again, that’s a handful of peoples’ experiences but seems noteworthy.

I appreciate all the sound advice here. I’m going to take him to a Dr. Apt next week and after we are going to stop and handle a few different models at Scheels to see what fits him.

Feathers wrote:

Grouse how muzzle heavy are those tristars? I’ve never held one. I love how beretta’s shoot but the muzzle weight gets to my head. Probably just takes getting used to.

I’ve never noticed either my Beretta or the Tristars being muzzle-heavy. I don’t thing the balance point varies an inch or two between the TriStar 12 gauge I have (gas-operated) and the Stoeger 3000 (recoil operated).

buckybadger wrote:

On a few gun forums they say that their changeable gas piston sizes for heavier/lighter loads that come with the gun are right on and work well for a cheap shotgun.

Only the Tristar Viper MAX requires a different gas piston be in place for 3.5 inch loads.

I bought the Viper G2 and it is self-regulating, so it shoots everything from light target loads to 3-inch mags with no changes to the gun.

This shotgun has never had the slightest issue with cycling or ejecting. By my count my son has shot between 5 and 6 flats of shells through it since getting it in May.

One note about TriStar Viper G2 shotguns. The chokes appear to me to pattern very, very, very tight. At the patterning board, I would consider the modified to be patterning at least at what would normally be a full. The full choke looks like a super-full or Turkey choke. We changed my son to a IC for trap.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
On a few gun forums they say that their changeable gas piston sizes for heavier/lighter loads that come with the gun are right on and work well for a cheap shotgun.

Only the Tristar Viper MAX requires a different gas piston be in place for 3.5 inch loads.

I bought the Viper G2 and it is self-regulating, so it shoots everything from light target loads to 3-inch mags with no changes to the gun.

This shotgun has never had the slightest issue with cycling or ejecting. By my count my son has shot between 5 and 6 flats of shells through it since getting it in May.

One note about TriStar Viper G2 shotguns. The chokes appear to me to pattern very, very, very tight. At the patterning board, I would consider the modified to be patterning at least at what would normally be a full. The full choke looks like a super-full or Turkey choke. We changed my son to a IC for trap.

Glad to hear more real life input. Would the Viper Max be worth another ~$250 for the 3.5” shells and the changeable gas piston?

buckybadger wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>rjthehunter wrote:</div>
Stoeger M3000. I’ve had mine for 6 years now, and I’ve killed a pile of ducks & geese with it. Thousands of rounds run through it and the only thing I’ve done to it was replace the extractor with a benelli extractor, which was cheap. I’m actually going to sell it to get something left handed since I’m sick of shooting right handed guns as a lefty. All my rifles are left handed, time for my shotguns to match!

Don’t fall for the people who think you need 3.5″ shells to kill a goose. I’ve killed 100s of geese with 3″ and even a bunch with 2 3/4″ shells! If your semi auto can shoot 3.5″ shells, there’s a healthy chance it won’t like cycling light trap loads.

I agree completely about the 3″ shells being fine for most applications. We will be shooting geese that are landing in the decoys at close ranges 90% of the time. It’s nice to be able to load 3.5″ shells if the need arises down the road though.

As far as the cycling shells goes, that’s what had me initially leaning towards the Tristar. On a few gun forums they say that their changeable gas piston sizes for heavier/lighter loads that come with the gun are right on and work well for a cheap shotgun. Again, that’s a handful of peoples’ experiences but seems noteworthy.

I appreciate all the sound advice here. I’m going to take him to a Dr. Apt next week and after we are going to stop and handle a few different models at Scheels to see what fits him.

FWIW, Grouse has me sold on the Tristar. I’ve heard nothing but good things. I wish Stoeger would make a left handed model since I’ve had nothing but good things to say about it!

Also, in my opinion, it’s not worth the extra $ to have 3.5″ option. I’d guess you could always get it in the future if you needed it, but I’ve never thought man I wish I had the ability to shoot 3.5″ shells. Not even for turkeys!

rjthehunter wrote:

Not even for turkeys!

That’s the one situation when I feel like I need a 3.5 inch load. I generally only get one shot at a turkey during the season (if that) and its not always very close. I want raw power and a 3.5 inch load provides the most of that. Winchester Longbeard XR in a 3.5 inch load has killed turkeys for me out to 62 yards.

Buddy just clued me in to the Girsan MC312. Looks like an amazing gun and SUPER cheap. They are under $500 and will shoot 3.5″ loads. Seem to be hard to find though with Sportsmans Warehouse being about the only big retailer carrying them. I think you can order online and have it shipped to a local gun shop from guns.com. Anyone have any experience with them? Watch a youtube video from a bigtime waterfowler who used it for a season in all conditions and no issues with over 200 rounds fired.

gim wrote:

I want raw power and a 3.5 inch load provides the most of that.

In this case raw power = an extra 1/4 oz of BBs. But yeah raw power definitely sounds more fun.

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CaptainMusky wrote:

Watch a youtube video from a bigtime waterfowler who used it for a season in all conditions and no issues with over 200 rounds fired.

Big timer you say? 200 rounds in an entire season? That’s a slow week in Saskatchewan for a lot of amateurs

tswoboda wrote:

Big timer you say? 200 rounds in an entire season? That’s a slow week in Saskatchewan for a lot of amateurs

He didnt have it the entire season. The start of the season he was using a beretta A300 but it was causing him tons of problems and someone sent him this gun.

buckybadger wrote:

Glad to hear more real life input. Would the Viper Max be worth another ~$250 for the 3.5” shells and the changeable gas piston?

Personally, I wouldn’t want the extra weight of the Max model.

Maybe it’s just me, but let’s put it this way: Having birds “slip through the pattern” isn’t a problem that I have. With a shooting coach looking over my shoulder, my misses are generally best stated in feet. Or yards. Rarely am I missing anything by such a small margin that choke or a quarter ounce of extra pellets would mean anything. You can shoot at them with an 8 gauge, but you’re still going to miss them by the same margin if you’re not shooting them right.

If you guys ever get the chance, use the Gramin doppler system. This is a system that shows you where you’re actually shooting on a given target. Very enlightening. But again, unfortunately, I cannot blame my misses on ammo, pattern, or choke.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
Glad to hear more real life input. Would the Viper Max be worth another ~$250 for the 3.5” shells and the changeable gas piston?

Personally, I wouldn’t want the extra weight of the Max model.

Maybe it’s just me, but let’s put it this way: Having birds “slip through the pattern” isn’t a problem that I have. With a shooting coach looking over my shoulder, my misses are generally best stated in feet. Or yards. Rarely am I missing anything by such a small margin that choke or a quarter ounce of extra pellets would mean anything. You can shoot at them with an 8 gauge, but you’re still going to miss them by the same margin if you’re not shooting them right.

If you guys ever get the chance, use the Gramin doppler system. This is a system that shows you where you’re actually shooting on a given target. Very enlightening. But again, unfortunately, I cannot blame my misses on ammo, pattern, or choke.

Never used anything as fancy as a doppler system, but I had a really good trap coach in highschool that helped dial me in. A lot of missing is due to missing behind the clay/bird. He would call those a bad miss, and he engrained into my head that if you’re going to miss, miss in front of the bird/clay. Something about it just works for humans, 95% of misses with a shotgun are because the shooter didn’t lead enough. Once you start trying to miss in front of the target, you start breaking everything. Then if you do miss, you can easily slow your lead down just a bit. That combined with following through makes a sub par shooter a really good shot in no time.

I’ve hunted with lots of guys who thought they needed 3.5″ shells. Me being the only left handed shooter was cleanup on the right side of the line of blinds. People couldn’t believe how I could hit most my shots and usually killed the birds dead instead of sailing them. I’ve got plenty of video of goose hunts with myself shooting doubles and triples as cleanup!

If you feel the need to have a 3.5″ shell, I would recommend you go to the trap range and practice. Even better yet, get ahold of Joe Opitz. He spends a lot of time at Del-Tone and I bet he would gladly give some pointers or watch you shoot!

Get a 10 gauge and be done.

a 15 yr old who’s goose hunted with us shoots my browning bps 12 ga. he has also shot my beretta 391 urika. hes a bigger kid too probably 6′ 180.

i bought both used for around $500.

we too have a pretty easy time of it. surrounded by lots of old JD combines that are not efficient and a farm test facility that keeps ponds open all year round.

I just ordered the Girsan MC312 which will be delivered to the nearest to me Sportsmans Warehouse sometime next week. It was $438 with tax included. Cannot beat that price for a 3.5″ gun. Excited to try it out. From the reviews I have read its basically a Benelli SBE clone. I dont need a 3.5″ but they dont make a 3″ model which allows them to keep pricing down.

CaptainMusky wrote:

I just ordered the Girsan MC312 which will be delivered to the nearest to me Sportsmans Warehouse sometime next week. It was $438 with tax included. Cannot beat that price for a 3.5″ gun. Excited to try it out. From the reviews I have read its basically a Benelli SBE clone. I dont need a 3.5″ but they dont make a 3″ model which allows them to keep pricing down.

That’s crazy cheap and got my attention enough to watch a video of it. Looks more like a 3.5″ M2 than a SBE. The SBE is unique how the top half of the receiver is part of the barrel.

tswoboda wrote:

That’s crazy cheap and got my attention enough to watch a video of it. Looks more like a 3.5″ M2 than a SBE. The SBE is unique how the top half of the receiver is part of the barrel.

Yeah, saw a video that stated this today too about it being more similar to the M2. Seems like a lot of people have great luck with them. With 3 growing boys I cannot afford to buy each of them a $800 plus shotgun. I will probably use this myself since my middle one uses my beretta for trap and I’d like to have him keep shooting that to remain consistent.

^Let us know how it shoots.

I am leaning towards the Tristar with it being gas and maybe having less felt recoil for my nephew with heavier loads. Even though the model you listed is inertia, that price point is attractive for a goose gun and will be something I’ll check out with him too.

Will do! I’ve seen reports that recoil isnt that bad with the design they use. Will report back after a few rounds. It’s nice they use the same mobilchoke thread so choke options are out there. I’ve heard the stock ones may not be the best.

Picked up my Girsan MC312 today. Funny thing is for some reason the price DROPPED and it was now only $401 with tax. Unreal. It comes with 5 choke tubes, a cable lock, but no shims (no big deal if I need them they are cheap).
First impressions are I like it a lot. Havent shot it yet, but I am very impressed with the action, the fit and finish, etc especially at that price. I am not sure, but I think it is lighter than my Beretta A390 and shoulders just as well as it does which is why I bought that one in the first place. I am going to pattern it once to see how the chokes work as I have heard mixed reviews on the factory ones. Some said they are better than aftermarket while others said they were trash.
Its even got a spot machined into the top of the receiver for a red dot sight. Pretty sweet if someone wanted to do that.
Edit, just looked up the specs and its a half pound lighter than my A390, but that is a wood stock.

I discovered something about this gun that isn’t right. So I mentioned it is machined out to mount a red dot sight which I thought was cool but the model I purchased I don’t think should have that. They have 2 other models a goose and turkey model both come with a red dot sight. Mine should not. The receivers are different. Those are machined and mine shouldn’t be based on what I can see. The only problem I could envision is a lot of crud getting in there but I’ve contacted them to see what I should do. I am sure this was a manufacturing mix up because the models with the sight are camo while mine is not. I honestly don’t think it will be an issue for me since I won’t waterfowl hunt. Could be the reason the price dropped when I picked it up. I do think I will need to shim it though as length of pull is a little short for me but not bad.

The boys and Mom just got me a new Winchester SX4 for my 40th birthday

Super excited to take it out this weekend. It fits and feels awesome.

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CaptainMusky wrote:

I discovered something about this gun that isn’t right. So I mentioned it is machined out to mount a red dot sight which I thought was cool but the model I purchased I don’t think should have that. They have 2 other models a goose and turkey model both come with a red dot sight. Mine should not.

I actually reached out to Grisan questioning my receiver since its made to accomodate a reddot sight. They responded this morning that ALL models have the receiver that is machined for a piccatilly rail. So its correct. Apparently there is some cover I can get for it, but I am having trouble finding it. I wont worry about it.

B-man wrote:

The boys and Mom just got me a new Winchester SX4 for my 40th birthday
Super excited to take it out this weekend. It fits and feels awesome.

Looks like a nice gun!

Awfully nice of them to get you a nice shotgun for a b-day gift!

Happy Birthday and a great choice! Best auto-loader design on the market, IMO.

Wow, 3 pages of goose gun talk and not a single mention of barrel length. I always grab a 30″ for a goose blind.