The 12GA Stoeger Coach would be a self defense weapon only, at least the way I view mine. Barrels are too short to hold any kind of pattern past 20-30 yards and that would be pushing it. Nothing wrong with a double barrel just need some length and some choke options on the barrels to shoot clays or hunt..

 

I've seen some Stoeger coach guns with screw in chokes,,,you might want to look into that option..............

 

Thanks guys. That may be the reason it's a bit cheap. As we are not allowed to have as personal defence as a reason to reason to own a firearm.

 

LOL it is all in how you word things. You CAN hunt with the coach guns you just can not shoot to far away. Now are you only allowed to own a few shot guns? If so I would look someplace else as well.

 

Not sure which kinda critters y'all hunt down under but I have successfully hunted rabbits and pheasants with mine. Anything that's gonna sit still till you get close to it before it jumps & runs/flys away. Not sure what a rifled slug would do from such a short barrel as far as accuracy goes.

 

Not sure which kinda critters y'all hunt down under but I have successfully hunted rabbits and pheasants with mine. Anything that's gonna sit still till you get close to it before it jumps & runs/flys away. Not sure what a rifled slug would do from such a short barrel as far as accuracy goes.

I have shot standard slugs, not rifled, and well, I wouldn't want to use a slug past 25 yards personally. Can't imagine rifled slugs would do any better.

Your pheasants must be more docile, as they jump early where I hunt.

Rabbit, yeah, that wouldn't be a problem with this gun.

 

I've got a Stoeger Coach gun sidebside and while I have yet to hunt with it, but I can shoot the heck out of clays/trap/skeet. I've been pondering taking it on the next hunting trip just to see how I do against real game. (and also to see the laughs I get from my buddies) I would NOT want it as my primary hunting weapon, but honestly shoot more clay with it than my hunting shotguns of late.

I don't know the distance you are facing on game in Australia, but I wouldn't take it out on open land for Pheasant or longer duck shots. Close in for something like dove here in the US where the distances are shorter you could be okay.

 

Stoeger also makes side by sides with longer barrels. This is one they call the Uplander:

http://www.stoegerindustries.com/uplander-field-shotgun

 

I have two of these, both are used as farm tools.
One is a 20 ga with choke tubes, the other is a .410 with fixed full chokes.
I like the two triggers - I can keep bird shot in one tube and buck shot in the other and have instant load selection depending on need.
They are quality firearms, excellent fit and finish, made in Brazil.

 

I have the Stoeger O/U 12 gauge with 28" (71cm) barrels. I knock the hell out of clays with it weekly, I haven't hunted with it yet but I will. You need a minimum of 26" (66cm) barrels for clays or hunting.

If you are more interested in clays buy an O/U, if more interested in hunting then get the SxS, they just look so cool!

 

I have the Stoeger O/U 12 gauge with 28" (71cm) barrels. I knock the hell out of clays with it weekly, I haven't hunted with it yet but I will. You need a minimum of 26" (66cm) barrels for clays or hunting.

If you are more interested in clays buy an O/U, if more interested in hunting then get the SxS, they just look so cool!

Pffffft, no you don't.

 

The way a shotgun patterns is due to the chock, not the barrel length. A full chock coach gun all else being equal will patern as well as a full chock gun with 32 inch barrels. Shotguns are like 22 in that they ussally attain there greatest muzzle velocity in about that 16 to 20 inch barrel length so a longer barrel is probably robing you of power, not that you would ever notice though. Longer barrel shotguns are better balanced than shorter barrel shotguns and tend to point and swing better, similar to how a tieght rope walker uses a long pole to help balance. You would be unlikely to be competitive shooting clay targets.

I got a baikial hammer coach gun with full and 1/2 chock barrels and it shoots fine.

Other options here in Australia is the leaver action shotguns and those new 3 barreled shotguns that have just come out, they look interesting, 50% more fire power than a doulble barrel.

 

The way a shotgun patterns is due to the chock, not the barrel length. A full chock coach gun all else being equal will patern as well as a full chock gun with 32 inch barrels. Shotguns are like 22 in that they ussally attain there greatest muzzle velocity in about that 16 to 20 inch barrel length so a longer barrel is probably robing you of power, not that you would ever notice though. Longer barrel shotguns are better balanced than shorter barrel shotguns and tend to point and swing better, similar to how a tieght rope walker uses a long pole to help balance. You would be unlikely to be competitive shooting clay targets.

This is my opinion as well, short barrels don't affect performance much. What they do affect is your ability to hit fast moving targets because they are harder to swing smoothly.

If you are looking mostly at just self defense then short barrels may be an advantage. If you want to hunt with it too I think you will be better served with more traditional length bbls. The Savage 311 is a good basic SXS that will get the job done without breaking the bank.

 

Had a stoeger O/U 24" barrel that I've hunted and shot skeet/trap/clays for 18 years. Finally wore the damn thing out. Just got the M3000 and I've been loving this thing like no other.

 

I've got the coachgun with screw-in chokes, has a nicer wood, recoil pad. I used it for grouse and made two nice shots the first day I used it. Quick swinging, weight isn't bad with 18 inch barrels. The double trigger takes some getting used to, first gun I have owned that has that feature.

I have heard that people that travel like the easy breakdown feature of these guns, the parts fit in a suitcase and not noticeable when carrying into a motel.

 

The Stoeger Coach Gun is a short barreled (18 inches) defense/cowboy action shooting shotgun with a full choke in one barrel and a modified in the other. It was not intended for shooting clay pidgeons or any type of wing shooting. It was intended to replicate the Wells Fargo defense shotguns used on stage coaches in the old west. It is good for close range defense purposes and cowboy action shooting competitions.

 

I am going to print this off and read it to all the squirrels, dove, rabbit and quail I drop this season. Because they need to know I did it all wrong.

 

I like the mule ears.

http://www.cz-usa.com/products/view/hammer-coach-ss-case-hardened/

Heres a guy busting clays

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-7agDW7Ezw

 

I have owned a stoeger sxs in 12 flavor for years now bought BNIB. I would grab it first in case of fire just after a 45-70 from my Daddy, and a AR15 that I bought stripped and then tricked to suit my personal rules of insanity.

My "CHEAP" shotgun as described by several here already, is by far the most trustworthy of my tri-pack. I may be mistaken I can only go by what Stoeger says and my careful trial and error but my darling has at least one barrel choked. It is the UTIMATE personal and home defense firearm IMHO and that comes from 24+ years in LE and my extended search of nearly 55 years of hands on research. The only "tricking" done to this firearm is a limbsaver butt plate and a six (?) round stock sleeve.

Please don't get me wrong, I love my AR mainly because it is a new generation of a weapon that has saved my life many hundreds of times more than all my other firearms combined. I can vividly recall a heated Command Staff discussion/argument at my former agency. We were discussing a MAJOR purchase of duty firearms to replace 38 S&W and 357 S&W with mandated 38 ammo only with modern (to us) 9mm Semi-Autos. The argument as expected came down to dollars and cents for the 3 finalists. I quoted an axiom from Murphy's Rules of Combat Operation, to paraphrase "Always remember your weapon was made by the lowest bidder". As expected I was branded again as a nonteam player and the vote went to the cheapest manufacturer. But it worked for us anyway.

Mr./Mrs. minitruck83 I want the mule ears also as I feel it is a safety feature but the only make/model I have found is a communist bloc reproduction and I was warned not to buy because they would be the first broken and need to fix part and getting replacements are impossible.

YMMV

 

I would really like to have a Stoeger with the mule ears as well. I think they did make them for a while (don't know if they still do).
I have one of the com block reproductions. I was leary of it before I bought it, but a cowboy shooter friend talked me into it saying it was a really good gun for the money. I've had it for about 10 years or so. Mine HAS been a really good gun. I've killed more armadillos than I can count with it and have had zero problems with it. I figured for the price at the time, I couldn't go wrong. I think I was right. The weight is perfect for shots where you need to just rest it on your off hand while holding a spotlight. It is chambered for 3", but I've never shot it with them. That kind of abuse repeatedly might cause some breakage that people complain about. Just a guess.
I don't know where its made, but you should check out Cimarron Firearms. The SxS with hammers they have is a thing of beauty. I saw one in a shop a while ago, the fit and finish was fantastic. That one is on my short list right now. Not because my combloc is bad, but because I have two kids. They'll have to flip a coin or something.
Just noticed people claim it is made in China too. The forearm is different though from my Norinco and the fit and finish on the one I saw up close was way better than the one I have.

 

I've got a stoeger sxs and love it.It is very versatile mine has screw in chokes and really nice nickel plating......its one of the coolest guns I own

 

So what sort of effective range would a rifled slug have out of a coach gun? does barrel length have an effect on range or accuracy of rifled slugs?

 

I have double defence, I bought it as a survival gun, thought that the small size, the range of ammo, 2 firing pins would make it ideal.
Not so.
Its a short ranged, home defence gun.
Useful range is about 30m. With 00 buck at 50m, no pettets were on paper.
I fired 12 rounds of 00 at 50, 40, 25 and 15m.
I used 00 buck, #4 buck and a hybrid bird shot with #1,2 and 3 bird shot.
My mate uses #1 buck, and reckons its the best load for this gun.
Looks like I will need a longer shotty for my purpose, and keep the coach for pig hunting on a quad.

 

30 yards is about the limit of good patterns for any shotgun, barrel length has little to do with it. The choke makes a difference, but choke has varying effects on buckshot patterns. Probably the most difference in buckshot patterns can be achieved by high performance[read expensive] ammunition.

There is good evidence that #1 buckshot is THE best manstopper, but for some reason it hasn't caught on, and in the US at least it is hard to find.

 

A full choke load out of an 18" will make the same pattern as a 27" will. The only diff is the miniscule amount the shot would spread in exactly 9" more range. The only appreciable diff is as Bilmac said above....the extra barrel weight swings smoother. You can get that same effect by simply adding weight to the front as any sporting shotgun shooter can tell you. You can buy double barrel bands to fit your barrels at any distance you want and then hang the weights on the band. It's a common practice.

 

Does that apply with all chokes?
Improved choke , same pattern from 18"barrell as with 28" barrell?
Thanks.

 

There are diffs in HOW it will shoot for you....but as long as your barrel is long enough to get a stable powder burn and thus a stable velocity, the same shot exiting the same choke at the same velocity will always pattern the same.

 

I had a Baikal Russian Side by Side w 26 " bbls...had a buddy cut it down to 18 1/4...loved it..durn thing would throw a 9 pellet buckshot load 25 yds into a 1 ft circle...chew up some stuff...only shot twice before reloading so I sold it and got a FN-SLP..8 shots as fast as I can pull the trigger...I know you are limited..look into others besides Stoeger although they are a quality firearm

 

Ordered an Adler A110 lever action today.
Ordered the 20inch barrel, and a spare 28" barrel to go with it.
Pumps and semi auto, s are out for me because of our laws. The do gooders tried to demonize the adler, idiots tried to make out a 7 round magazine , fast shooting shotgun to be as leathel as a machine gun! It was almost banned, but the paper work would mean reclassifing all lever actions. They compromised by reducing the tube length to 5 rounds, plus one up the spout.....

 

We feel your pain. It is a constant fight in the US to hold off the idiots here.

 

I have used double barrel hammer guns since I could stand up behind one, and they're my favorite shotgun. I've owned more than twenty different doubles with exposed hammers, I would not own a hammerless shotgun. From the best I ever owned to a "just get by", The Stevens Stagecoach Special, about a 1920' model, The Rossi copy of the Coach gun, The Chinese double with 20" barrels. The Stevens Stagecoach Special had barrels about 18.5" long, cyl. bore for buckshot or slugs, it would take out a grizzly bear or anything else, at 40 yards, I don't remember if I ever tested the slugs for max range. The Rossi copy was a very good shotgun, but not as well made as the Stevens. The Rossi was better all around shotgun, it had 18" barrels, the left barrel was modified choke and the right barrel was cyl. bore, I could shoot clay pigeons with the best of them. I hunted everything with the Rossi, until it and the Stevens were stolen. As for the Chinese double, it works, everything is too tight when it's new, so it needs finishing. The only problem with it is both barrels is full choke. Full choke is not good for slugs, but for buckshot it works fine. With bird shot, 7.5 or smaller, the pattern is too close. The Chinese double has 20" barrels. There's plenty other's out there, and just as many different ideas as guns. Identical shotguns by the same manufacturer will sometimes shoot a little different. Looking down the business end of a double barrel will change the mind of the meanest man. The doubles was alleged to have been used a lot of times for shotgun weddings.

 

ditto post #12

right much the same as mine. a bit heavy but plenty easy handling for fella with large hands. mine is improved cylinder right barrel choke, modified right barrel choke. which makes sense for woods/brush farm field furrows hunting. taken many rabbits, quail and squirrel w/mine. corn field squirrel is mighty tasty they pack on some fat.:thumb:

 

Coach guns are great for hunting rabbits in your living room at 3 o'clock in the morning!:thumb: