Great review, I have had my M3500 walnut version for over a year. Got it for 500, it came with no box no manual so I was none the wiser to put a few drops of oil in it and go. Wouldn’t cycle anything. One of the other hunters walked over because he heard me whining and asked to see it, threw it on the tailgate, stripped it down and showed me the tar like oil they send it out with. We cleaned it with CLP, oiled it and reassembled and blasted off 50 rounds of light target loads without a hiccup, handed me my gun back and said enough whining, I was scareing ducks. 4 hunts and about 3000 rounds later it has never had any failures whatsoever with any size shells and Ricki is a very good friend now and never lets me live that incident down. Sold my a300 and my super vinci and have a m3500 in max 5, and walnut, love them both. The funny thing is on that first hunt with my Stoeger there were 11 hunters, 8 had Stoegers, 1 Mossberg, 2 Remington, all working class or better and we all brought home birds.
THIS! this is what i came to say. just fired my brand new m3500 for the first time today and it would not cycle. took the fore end off and it is coated in that tar like cosmoline you speak of. clean it off and its good to go!
Got mine for $545 from Cabela’s. I haven’t had a misfire or misdeed. I have taken it on 42 waterfowl hunts in two year and many limits. It’s amazing gun for the cost.
“Like putting your hand around a 2x4!” Funny enough, that’s how those Stoegers have always felt in the hand/ on the shoulder to me. Feels like I’m holding a 2x4 up to my shoulder
I have owned a 3500 for about 10 years and it is one of my best shotguns. It is the heaviest but not the hardest recoil shotgun I own. They do have a break in period. The first day I put 100 rounds of light loads and 20 heavy. The more you cycle it the better it shoots. I do own a franchi affinity that kicks much harder than the stoeger not sure why maybe I bought the only one that kicks like a mule. I’ve never used the recoil reducer because it causes the shotgun to fail when cycling light loads occasionally. But I’ve found that lightly lubing the bolt carrier and spring helps a lot and like I already stated the older the shotgun gets the better it cycles. I do use mine often when waterfowl hunting. I did purchase the SBE III when it came out but it also has failed on a few light loads right out of the case. I own many shotguns including franchi, benelli SBE 1, III and also the M2, and multiple brownings but no for some reason I prefer the M3500 most of the time but it is also one of the cheapest I own and I’m not hesitant to get it dirty. Everyone is different I love many different shotguns but for waterfowl especially in the southern swamps and salt marshlands it hangs with the best. Great review Steve!
@@Themuddyduckhunter I’ve never had a functioning problem with it. The only shells I’ve ever had not eject were Winchester but it spits them all out now
Going on my 6th season with mine. Issues? Extractor wore out. Cheap fix. Doesn’t shoot cheap lead but I just got a lighter recoil spring from MOA precision with a oversized charge handle. Still need to test it. Little heavy but overall happy with the purchase. I got mine on sale and before this crazy inflation happened so it wasn’t as expensive. Great first semi auto or a gun you won’t be worried about banging around in a boat or blind. Edit: light Moa spring cycled cheap lead without issues.
I’d like to see a showdown of the Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 vs. the Browning A5. I think a Benelli vs. an inertia driven Browning would be very interesting.
Having owned a stoeger and a franchi, IMO the franchi is a big step up in quality for little increased cost. That said my stoeger was very reliable with minimal cleaning.
The Franchi Affinity in 12 and 20 guage are awesome. The bolts are chrome on the Franchi vs just bluing on the Stoeger bolt. I got some killer end of the year discounts at Cabelas before they got swallowed up by Bass Pro.
@@juan_ctzzdepends on the budget. Me and my brother both had a 3500. Mine was just synthetic. Had it almost 3 years and never cleaned it one time. Ran it right out of the box with 0 issues. I was hard on that gun. Belly crawling through mud and water. Had it submerged. Lean up and dump the water out and start shooting. It was a unit. Had it stolen out of my truck and replaced it with a retay Masai Mara 3.5. I’m a huge fan of that gun. My brother has the waterfowl 3500 and his is the same way. Doesn’t get cleaned, and it just works. They’re shooters
I bought this shotgun 8 years ago. While shooting the first box of shells, my gun would fire 2 rounds when the trigger was pulled. It was so fast you could barely hear the 2nd report. I shipped the gun back to Stoeger and 3 weeks later I got it back. The repair dept said there was a burr on the trigger disconnect which they removed. The gun has run flawlessly ever since. Inertia recoil guns kick you in the face hard. If you want a soft shooting gun, get a gas recoil system liks a Beretta, Browning, or the Remington V3. The receiver is steel on this M3500 vs aluminum receiver on higher end guns. That tear down does kind of suck compared to other guns. I think I got my camo gun for $499.00. I put a new Cheek Eez recoil pad on mine. Did you happen to shoot any ducks or geese with it this season. Cold weather is the ultimate test.
I’ve had a 3500 for a few years I’ve run thousands of shells through it and never had these problems thought it was the best cheap gun I’ve had I was not expecting this
I think you need to revisit this gun. I just bought the 3500 all camo model and the ergonomics have been updated. It’s a much sweeter gun for 2023 and beyond.
I have the 828u and silver pigeon and would like to complete reviews on them but I have a crazy travel schedule the next month. We'll see what I can get done. This is why I am considering adding pro-staff to help with content creation. I am just one guy 😬 I appreciate your support 👊 Stay Target 🎯Focused (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Great review! I have always heard pretty good things about Stoeger. Even though they cut some corners on some things (like their triggers or weight), they are still in most people's budget! Great review and hope to see some more soon!
@@TargetFocusedLifethis one is better than maxus 2 because maxus 2 cripples geese and the m3500 doesn't cripple geese and they all go down on that gun
@@TargetFocusedLife There are some on line video of guys correcting or "tweeking" the gun and taking out a couple of slight imperfections . I have a 3000 and have no problems. Stoger makes a shorter stock you can order through a lot of places. Put on a heavy coat wader suspenders or a pack and you just might need one, or have baby arms. ,🇺🇸
Little late to the show but bought my M3500 before the V2 around 2018 broke it in shooting 3.5 BBB at geese. Now it cycles anything perfectly and I even put a suppressor on it and still runs the same. Love the gun and if my rough estimate is close I’m nearing the 6k shell mark. Most of its life has been clays and dove loads.
Just picked up a Retay Gordion. I have to say I am very very pleased with it. 850 out the door and it came with a nice tsa approved hard case, five choke tubes, shims, swivel d-rings for a sling, choke wrench and gun oil. Very well built and light shotgun for the money.
I have a M3500, pretty sure the manual said to clean and oil and run 200rds of high brass for break in. It has a heavy counter weight for 3.5" loads to add into the stock. I ran 1 rd of high brass and at about 150rds of target loads it has since been flawless unless I mess up. It seems to be a decent semi for the money. My other buddies were shooting SBEs and the M3500 was hanging with them just fine. I feel it shoulders almost better than a SBE...for me, I do think most people see brand names which then makes them lean towards the big names...
ive owned multiple Beretta 390 and 391 shotguns including an Xtrema 2 i use for waterfowl and a Benelli SBE and my two Stoegers have been just as reliable under fairly heavy use.
I was looking for a waterfowl gun at my local sportsman’s warehouse and I saw this gun. Thanks for making such an in-depth review of this gun so I can consider buying it.
I have both the Stoeger 3500 and 3000. I use one with an extended mag tube for the Snowgoose season out west. And the other for waterfowl hunting around my home here in my state. I have thrown them around, used one to paddle my canoe when I lost my paddle and dropped the other off the tailgate of my truck while driving 35 mph and I have never had a single malfunction with either gun, and that’s after hundreds and hundreds of rounds. The only gripe is, I wish it came with an adjustable LOP. I have had to cut my stop down to fit me and then issued a sander and dremel tool to fit the nut plate back to the Gun.
Great video! Maybe with the upcoming deer season in MN, your crew could take a look at some slug guns. You could explain the differences between a smooth and rifled barrel. Maybe even show some accuracy tests between 12 and 20 gauge options.
I purchased a new Stoeger M3500 yesterday. The trigger is very light. After break in with 2-3/4 shells I’ll install the recoil adapter and use the gun for goose season.
Just got one. Cleaned and lubed, ran 10 high brass buckshot then 20 1/18th birdshot. Failed to cycle when I didn't get fully behind the gun, but otherwise so far so good. I relaxed because of low recoil so I am blaming me not the gun so far. It also states 1 1/8 is the minimum its designed to run. Like buying a Ferrari and using the cheapest gas and expecting top performance......
I have had my stoeger for 11 years. I use it for as an all purpose shotgun. Skeets shoots, ducks, squirrels, doves etc. i have had no issues and i have thousands of rounds through it. Mainly 3 inch steel shot but have a lot of 2 3/4 low brass as well. For the price its flawless.
The Stoeger does have a break in mentioned in the manual... yeah, I actually read it lol. I don't remember how many rounds, but it's supposed to be some heavier rounds. I have the M3000. I ran (5) rds of 3 in magnums, Rio something or other thru it before I ran lighter target loads. Haven't had any cycling issues. For takedown, it definitely loosens up
Just got a v2 first i completely took it down buffed some rough spots with 00 steel wool and filed the rear slid to take off some rough machining. Took two hours and it's worked flawless for me. But i do this with every new gun.
Great Video Steve, another solid review. Question, I know you have a lot of time with the SX4, but is there any gun or brand that you have found that if you had to continuously shoot thousands of rounds over a period of about 5 days you would put your trust in? Interested to hear your thoughts.
I have the Stoeger M3500 12ga for several years now , i have the solid black version no issues at all it is extremely light to me personally that said i only hunt with it and compared to carrying my 8mm Yugo mouser up mountains this shotgun it like carrying a feather . The reload issues i have heard of is if the heavy shock absorber being installed or not , it is included when you buy it new you can install it or leave it out , personally i left it out and no issues . I hope this helps anyone on the fence looking to buy one
@@brodydykes2613 if you are lying down in a layout blind, i would go with the gas A400, it kicks a lot less. If you get the SBE, you will get kicked in the face lol. See what guns fits you best. I like my A400.
Definitely has a break in period. I had to put about 150-200 rounds through mine for it to not have a hiccup here and there. Now it functions great. It’s that gun you take when you don’t want to put that 2k dollar benelli in the mud in my opinion. Still a kick ass waterfowl gun for the price but I’m also not going to care as much if it gets beat on a little compared to my SBE3.
I had the camo version for several years no issues what so ever and it is my go to for geese. This is my go to for when the weather is bad and shooting conditions are rough, over my other waterfowl guns like my A5 wicked wings.
Did you have the stock weight in it? My dad's wouldn't cycle the light loads well when it had the stock weight for recoil reduction. Once he took it out, it worked great
Cant speak to the M3500 but my M3000 ive put over 3k rounds through (all target load) and its NEVER once failed to eject, fire, or feed. It runs perfect. Best $479 ive spent. Trigger is pretty heavy though to be honest. You must clean out all the factory grease and you can feel how much faster it cycles! Great first gun imo!
What i encountered when I bought my m3000 was that the gun oil/lubricant that the manufacturers use when they box them up and send them to stores is thick and slow. I had issues cycling light loads at first, went home, took it apart stripped off the old product, re-oiled it and it hasnt had a misfeed or bad ejection ever since.
I've had great luck with mine. 26in barrel max 4. Took awhile to get it cycling light loads. At one point I left the bolt locked back for a few weeks it runs super easy now. The recoil reducer that goes in the butt stock seemed to cause some issues with light loads when installed. I've had mine for several years picked up from a guy for 450. He bought it as a back up gun and didn't shoot it much. The Turkey pattern in mine was amazing with the stock turkey choke and long beard xr 3.5in #6 12in circle at 40 yards with 450ish pellets in it. So tight I mount a red dot for turkey season. Put a Carlson cremator lr in it and about every duck load I patterned was inside a 30in circle at 40 yards. Old Christmas paper and a pallet works great. I put some rubber grip tape on mine on the forearm and grip. To me it makes it look great and functions awesome with wet, dirty or gloved hands plus I think it makes it look great. Had that on through a few hunting seasons with no issues. The trigger is heavy and so is the gun. That's the crappy part. I've had mine dirty as heck and in water in nasty weather, it just runs. I use it as a tool. Last year I picked up a magazine tube extension from Carlson and got to test it on some snows. First day shot I know over 100 shells the second day about half in freezing temps without a hiccup. I have been looking at the girsan mc312 some. The stoeger m3020 is freaking awesome too. I have some pattern pictures on Instagram if anyone wants to see those. Not trying to self promote just wanted to share. Mabey help someone out or mabey I'll even learn something.
@@blakebarnett5078 I have the Tri-Star and other than some nit -picky finishing issues it's a reliable and solidly built shotgun. Out -of-the-box awesome.
Love your videos, but I will say I've owned the turkey edition m3500 and only ever had 1 miss feed in multiple seasons I've hunted with light loads for squirrels and many upland game bird species along with clay targets. I also waterfowl hunt with it and have no trouble with the recoil, it also comes with a recoil reducing lug you can put in it will not cycle light loads with it in but will heavily reduce the felt recoil
I own a M3500 it defiantly has a break in period, had a few ejection issues second season but got them worked out,it been great for four seasons now, I shoot cheap bird shot and 3” and 3.5 waterfowl load no issues
I'm looking to get my first shotgun. I was recommended to get one of the following depending on my budget Mossberg 500 Benelli Nova Stoeger m3500 I'm looking for a well rounded gun for waterfowl, and deer hunting. I'm a complete beginner. These review videos really help. Unfortunately I still don't know what makes one gun better than the other and what to look for as a beginner.. part of me thinks if I go more expensive it's got to be a better gun but then I hear that isn't always the case.
So if you didn’t take the recoil reducer out, it won’t cycle the lighter stuff well. If you lock the bolt back for a couple weeks when storing and remove the recoil reducer, gun works well.
I've had the m3000 for around 5-6 years now. Very minimal issues ever. The manual states that the gun should be broke in with heavy loads. I did that with mine and never have an issue with target loads. From what I've heard the 3500 can have issues with cycling heavier loads, but to be fair they may be because people don't break them in properly. I've only found a few shells that the gun didn't like and typically it's because it's a very cheap shell and will not eject.
The manual notes a break in period, and any of them I have used of had students used required a break in. I have folks shoot two boxes of 3.5 inch BB magnums, then a couple boxes of 3 inch. Then never have a problem after that.
I’m curious with how you said it wasn’t the best on recoil did you have the recoil reduced installed in the stock or did you run without it for the video?
Please do a review on the Impala Plus shotguns it’s even more budget friendly than the stoger and is supposed to be the best budget inertia gun out there right. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the reliability of it but everyone who has made a video on it is sponsored by them. So need an honest review. Thanks!
Mine does the same thing it doesn’t cycle anything smaller then 6 shot and my stock gets loose every 2-3 hunts which makes me mad a little bit while I’m in a good hunt and it starts moving all over the place but other then that it’s not a bad shotgun if you don’t hunt with it every weekend
I have the camo m3500 which I love. Shoots anything i put it in. I put the m3000 smaller stock on it because the length of pull was too much for me and it fit great.
My m3500 wont cycle 1oz shot... by design. Also, be careful to make sure the bolt fully closes when replacing a manually ejected shell for 'quiet mode'. I missed out on a 6inch beard this year on a misfire because the bolt was not fully closed since i was trying to replace the shell quietly....
First time hearing about you...on doing a review about this gun..so super excited to have this gun..have u had any problems with this gun with it jamming or anything
I have the 20GA V2 and I absolutely love it and recommend it I’m gonna get the M3000 next or a Franchi Affinity 3. Theirs a couple videos of me shooting it and showing it in my channel if you’re interested
I would like to see you do a review on a over under 28 gauge. I really want a 28 gauge for upland hunting. I shoot left handing and the price for left handed simi auto can get $$ compared if I shot right handed so thats why im leaning to over under.
I don’t know what was wrong with Steve on this video. I recently bought a m3000 and it’s very light (lighter than the a400) and it’s trigger is super light. Very slim and reliable gun. I do understand that the 3.5 might be different and that it will have trouble shooting target loads. My m3000 had no trouble cycling anything I’ve put through it
Great review, i have the same gun, and it took a break in period To cycle lighter loads, i now use this gun for most of my hunts, just have To play with the choke tubes ,
Stoeger says in the manual that it needs to be broken in. But after you break it in IT Works Amazing. On light loads it seems to have problems. That's why you need to buy faster shooting loads for this gun. When you use faster loads you'll Love the Result It Shoots Amazing.
Maybe if he didn’t limp wrist it and held the gun and shot it like a gun is made to be shot, then maybe the inertia system would work properly, I’ve also read that there is a break in period where you should use heavier loads or 3 1/2 loads before using those target loads, also the factory oil thickens up like tar, it’s in one of the containers with a choke tube I got with the gun, I’ve heard of you clean this thick oil out and oil it again, it’ll function flawlessly, but anyway, I just picked this gun up, once I get a chance to shoot it and test these theories, I’ll be sure to report back. Also I wouldn’t consider this video a review, more of a first impressions because a review would only be good after lots of time and use with this.
You missed important keys to the gun the weight in the stock that can be removed and added which affects cycling! And there is a break in period the manual states that and it’s also says to fully clean the gun and remove the factory grease/oil which cause it to not cycle. Bad review since proper steps weren’t followed!
I had my stoeger for 6 years shot more box’s through it than I can count it would not eject light bird shot too it apart cleaned it and put new oil is ejected one then went right back to not ejecting them
Yes I have a M3500 ! Once I removed the recoil reducer it cycled the light loads just fine. I will agree on the trigger. But for the price it’s a great shotgun
It should run out of the box, I agree you SHOULD clean it before using it though. My friend has one that has been pretty reliable, I’ve only seen it it fail to function once, and it didn’t cycle, first time out and wasn’t cleaned when out away from the year before was fixed by a few drops of Lucas.
You said its heavy You probably have the weight in the stock. It won't cycle 2 3/4 shells reliability with the weight in. Mine was 50/50 when I tried 2 3/4. I mainly shoot 3 1/2 for waterfowl and turkey. Sometimes 3" for duck. 100% with those.
I love the gun. Lots. Of rounds tru the gun. Have cleaned it many times rem oil Ed jamming on 3.5 inch and sometimes on 3 inch steel shot. At a loss what to look for.3.5 don't come all the way out. Put 2 3inch followed by 3.5 it will jam sometimes 3inch will jam or stay empty in gun?????
A friend of mine told me to buy this gun he said this gun doesn't cripple geese instead they go down, but if you buy browning maxus 2 you will cripple alot of geese he said.
I love my 3500. I don't have a trigger pull scale but I would say mine is about 5 lbs. Though I've put some rounds through it. Love it more than my remington 11-87 and benelli super black eagle
I own a stoeger m3500 never had any issues I agree its a bit on the heavier side it cycles real good and the trigger is very soft I think steve was having a bad day or just don't like stoeger
I really enjoy your reviews!!! Did you or will you be reviewing the Browning A5? This gun, as I understand, had some issues early on, but wondering how it is running now? Thanks!
Maybe it's just me, but my Stoeger's trigger doesn't feel heavy. Granted I have not compared triggers of other shotguns, but it just doesn't feel that heavy. Moving on my Stoeger m3000 has run flawlessly with everything I've run thru it so far. I have had no problems with light field loads going down to 1200 fps.
I noticed that you were using number 8 shot I use number 7 1/2 shot 1 1/8 ounces of shot and have very few jams put 100 rounds through my stoeger and only one jam
Didn’t know stoeger had a one piece for bolt/gas piston. Interesting. IMO this gun is acceptable. I am wondering if 3 drops of oil would speed up the function. Wish I lived closer. I’d like to see what you think of the SX2. It’s stupid fast to me.
More than likely, you didn't properly oil it before using it. Oil everything, even the bolt top (receiver drag) and bottom (hammer drag), especially in the tracks of the receiver. Mine shoots 2-3/4 just fine, but many M3500's won't. They are designed for 3" and 3-1/2, not 2-3/4. Shooting 2-3/4" in them is a bonus.
could you review the girsan mc312? Its supposedly made in a beretta built factory, it's more of a benelli m2 copy/sbe copy than franchi and is quite cheap!
