Does Anyone Know about the Legacy Arms Escort?

[Eppenetus]

I recently started shooting clays and my current shotgun is a little long in the tooth (1924 Model 11). I was browsing in BIG 5 and saw an autoloader called a "Legacy Arms, Escort Model PS12" in 12 GA. It appears to be a well made Turkish shotgun, gas operated. Does any one know much about this weapon? The one I saw was the floor sample and on sale for $299.00. I bought it and since California/DHS will not allow pickup for two weeks, thought I'd research and see if I made a good buy or pounded $300 into a rat hole.

 

[oletymer]

Not the best if you are going to put a lot of rounds through it at sporting clays. If you are an occasional shooter it may be ok.

 

[Dave McCracken]

IMO, they're too new to know what kind of longevity to expect.

OTOH,if you put new springs and rings on your Model 11 and shoot the heck out of it, it may still outlast all of us.

Far be it from me to discourage buying a new shotgun, but I'd fix up that JMB classic first....

 

[The Scandinavian]

If you search, you will find I asked the same question a short while ago I was also looking for people who had longer term experiences with these guns.

Dave seems to have hit the nail right on the head -

IMO, they're too new to know what kind of longevity to expect.

The people with the most experience of Hatsan shotguns seem to be the British - the semi-autos have been available there for a while and the reports I have found on British forums suggest that people are very happy with them.

I have also had PM's from people on this board who are very satisfied - some Brits included.

I decided to trust my instincts and buy one- they haven't been available here in Finland for long, and most of the feedback I have found locally has been of the unreliable "I know someone who knows someone who thought about buying one but didn't because of X" variety - ie not the sort of thing one can usefully base a decision on.

So far I've put 62 rounds through mine (it's a pump action Field Hunter 26") - everything I could lay my hands on, from slugs to light skeet loads. It functioned flawlessly, and for the time being anyway I'm very, very pleased indeed. Shotgunning is more fun than I could have imagined and I have been kicking myself that I have never tried it before.

Mine cost 230 Euros, a very good price here although you can get them in the US for much less. The way I look at it is this - it won't be long at all before I have had 230 euros worth of fun out of it, then it won't owe me anything

The construction is very simple and looks to me strong and reliable (I have no experience of shotguns but have been rifle and pistol shooting for over 30 years).

I have ordered Hatsan's magazine extension tube from my local gunshop, and I'm looking forward to my next range trip like a teenager looking forward to his next date

 

[Piedmont Plinker]

Scandinavian
a side thought, but am I correct in thinking Finland is the coutry with the highest number of gun owners outside of the US?

 

[The Scandinavian]

Scandinavian
a side thought, but am I correct in thinking Finland is the coutry with the highest number of gun owners outside of the US?

According to Wikipedia the ownership rate for legally held firearms here overall is 1 firearm for every 3 persons. I expect it's much more than that in rural regions like where I live.

Here's a link for you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Finland

 

[mrbambastik]

The Legacy Escort is a stripped-down version of the H&K FP6 shotgun.
Here's the Escort:

and here is the HK FP6 tacticool:

The trigger group is identical and the barrel can interchange between the Escort and the FP6. So does the stock.

The main difference is the receiver of the FP6 has "H&K" stamped on it and a picatinny rail on top, whereas the receiver of the Escort says "Hatsan" and has a dovetail rail where you can mount a ghost ring.

Both are manufactured on the same CNC machines by Hatsan of Turkey.

The H&K has enough of a good reputation that people are willing to pay $800 for it. So at $179, the Legacy Escort Aimguard is the bang for the buck of the century! (If you don't mind not having the H&K stamp and saving $621).