[nicksterdemus]

To say the action on the pump was tight would be an understatement. If you point the gun to the ground and push the slide release nothing happens. If you do that w/gun pointing straight up the slide will fall 3/8-7/16 of an inch. The next 5/8" is silky smooth. At this point you are 1 1/8" total movement on the forestock and everything tightens up/hits the wall for the rest of the way.

There's 3 5/8" of travel and last 2 1/2" is agonizing.coming and going.

I oiled the slide bars so the lube would ease down into the runners. After thirty or so slide racks I'm smelling burned oil. After one hundred or so the new oil has turned black on the bars. That tells me that the slide bars and runners are a little snug.

Figured out how to take the brl off and quickly disposed of the mag plug. Now it will hold 5-2 3/4" high brass in the tube & one up the snout. I'm guessing 4-3" though I'm not sure I want to buy any 3" to find out.

Oiled the runners and reassembled and cycled 5 shells through twice w/o a hitch. At first it took a little ump to take a shell into battery, yet seemed to either smooth out or I became more forceful.

Unloaded and right out of the box the gun doesn't feel like it weighs the claimed 6 lbs. Matte Nickel looks good and for the slugger the cylinder choke brl has an elevation & windage adjustable sight.

Plastic stocks are ok, but I wish they offered a youth butt stock on this model. I pushed w/my thumb and it tells me the butt is hollow so I can forget about taking the rubber recoil pad off and trimming it down. Unless of course I'm wrong.

It comes w/plastic trigger guard that I think bites and the release is on the left side which I'm not used to are all.

I know it'll loosen up. I'm just not sure how many times I'll have to rack the slide to get her where I want her.

The 60+ year old Ithaca 37 has me spoiled on a silky smooth pump action.

I prefer the spent shell to be ejected from the bottom like the mod 37 instead of the side and maybe I'll find one like that in a nickel finish someday.

Until then I think this little Turkish queen will serve my needs.

She's a tight, flashy tart that didn't make me dig deep for a good time.

What's not to like about that ho, ho, ho?

[AcceptableUserName]

as long as you like it, that's what matters. Personally, I picked one up and was revolted...however, a poor workman blames his tools. They don't exactly have a bad name, really. Keep us posted on how it goes. I'm sure you'll be able to get it fit for fighting shape in time.

[Jorg]

Thanks for the feedback. I saw those for $200 in CDNN's last catalog and have been tempted.

[nicksterdemus]

Well, the plot thickens as I purchased three. The sister to this one, that is one number away, doesn't seize-up w/near the voracity. Part of tension exhibited, on both, appears to be the spring loaded catch holding the shells in the mag until the left side of the bar trips/pushes the spring loaded lever into the cut-out in the receiver.
The last of the triplets is 75 digits off. Must've been a second cousin. I've yet to rack the slide or run shells through her.

In defense I've noticed that both have come out of battery easily when the release button is depressed and for that short stretch slides smooth in the runner. I'm nowhere near an expert in anything, but it appears to me that the spring tension on the catch/release lever is the main culprit at this time.

The spring loaded lift/carrier works great and functions smooth w/o a hitch. I've also had no problem feeding 2 3/4 high brass shells and it doesn't matter if it's all one fluid motion or if I rack back, stop and restart.

As well, once I disassembled the brl, slide bars w/bolt & forestock I could oil the runners on both sides well. Otherwise it's hard especially on the right side.

I had to take it down to pull the mag plug anyway so going further wasn't a problem. The bolt just sits on the rails, for all practical purposes, and I didn't pull the trigger assembly yet. Later I'll strip it down and take the bolt out to see if it is contributing in any way to the drag on the problem child.

I'd like to grease the runners, but I can't in good faith until it reaches a point where it stops burning bearing oil black. You'll never forget the smell and as it waifs to your nose. The trigger isn't the greatest, however that can be worked over as well. Long pull in three stages (slow pull, creep/stop/creep/stop/creep/boom!) spells long & creepy trigger.

Also for the price at CDNN, Nickel coat, light weight and potential I don't mind some breaking in of new parts. Two hundred clams is not going to buy a polished anything. Budget lever guns from Rossi are right at four hundred bucks and an affordable handgun is gonna be right there in the same neck of the woods.

So, inexpensive, Nickel finish, 5 rnd 2 3/4 hi brass or 4, 3" capacity, fully adjustable rifle sights for the weekend slugger, lightweight w/rubber recoil pad & 18.5" brl makes for some handy swinging.

A tad too tight (some worse/better than others/potluck), cylinder choke w/no threads or hope of using a tube for a different choke (to my knowledge), synthetic stock that once again appears to me that I can't cut it down due to a honeycomb/hollow style construction (maybe there's enough at the butt to allow some trimming, but I'm not sure), fixed non-dovetail front sight (hope you like it) & I'm guessing you're "stuck" w/rear sight as well. Hey, it is adjustable and this is a short brl scattergun. Last but not least the plastic trigger guard.

As it stands right now, w/o looking at the cousin twice removed, taking price, features and function into account, for the two I've inspected, I'd go 3.75 outa 5 or round it up to 8 outa 10 overall. I know w/time & effort the action will smooth out. So, an all weather, shiny finish for a couple of C-notes to tote six 2 3/4 rounds around is more than worth the price to me.

In spite of it's faults, some I'm hard pressed to be critical of for an el budgeto scattergun, in light of its overall value I would take a chance and take the plunge again.

If you want a cheap, silky smooth HD gun in Nickel then might I suggest you walk the beat, prepare to rack many slides in the search and buy the one in your hands when you find it.

I don't mind breaking mine down, getting my hands dirty and smelling a little burning oil to help expedite the break in process. YMMV...

[CapnTrainwreck]

I think I'm officially an idiot. I just spent half an hour trying to find a "Chuck D" brand of shotgun. I've been looking for a nickle 12ga for a range toy.

On a related note I've never understood why Chuck was short for Charles...

[nicksterdemus]

Sorry trainwreck. The price is still right though...

Well, I had to call CDNN about shipping #3 back to them.

What was that Meatloaf song from the 70's?

Don't feel bad, two outa three ain't bad....
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I opened up the third scattergun.

Surprisingly this seemed smooth right out of the box and I was excited thinking this was a real winner. Wrong, I was temporarily bamboozled. I noticed a black substance on the rails. I also noticed the release button didn't function like the other two. The spring inside the bolt that allows the initial 1/2" or so movement must be malfunctioning.(I oiled this and it worked when the bolt was taken out, but I guess it's in too much of a bind when assembled to operate.

(As I understand this is the action listed by CD as helping to come out of battery. There's a flat plate riding beneath the bolt that is spring loaded w/about 1/2" of movement. When you go into full battery this provides a little bit of tension that is claimed to help when coming out of battery. A spring assist. You might not notice after firing, but if you use the manually release you should be able to notice. At least that is my understanding.)

You have to slam the action hard forward so the bolt will lock in a full battery position. It's easy to think you've went far enough though as it tightens up. When you use the release button you can't feel the release. It's as if you're pushing against a wall. It does release action though, but you have to yank hard.

I pulled the trigger assembly and the bottom of the bolt, where the hammer drags looks like it has some kind of graphite grease and shows quite a bit of wear from someone racking the slide a whole bunch. Compared to the other two that I've racked a couple of hundred times they wouldn't be a drop in the bucket compared to this one. There I also quite a bit of wear from the release rubbing on the bottom of the bolt next to the rubbing marks of the hammer.

It gives me the impression of a used/returned/refurbished. Both of the others were dry w/no lube and I've only used electric motor bearing oil on the two previous, consecutive number shotguns while breaking them in. There was also oil on one side of the trigger assembly on the third gun where it had migrated due to gravity.

I have no need for a gun in this condition and can't believe it was sold to me after someone else lubed and racked it countless times trying to make it work. If they had half a brain they would've looked and could've told the spring loaded bolt was the problem. either the spring is weak, too short, broke or the bolt assembly is out of tolerance causing it to bind or some type of foreign object is preventing the bolt from properly going through its sliding action.(It's in a bind when assembled.)

Anywho, I've tried my best to be objective and fair in relating my experience w/Charles Daly AW 18.5" scattergun.
I have no axes to grind and one can slip through the cracks on occasions.

However, there's no excuse in tearing one down, lubing it and racking the slide countless times trying to fix a problem and then passing it off as a new, functional firearm. The firearm should've passed some type of minimal quality control at the factory. Barring that faux pas, it should've been fixed by a compotent individual instead of slapping on some lube and calling it up to snuff.