S&W 3000 made in JAPAN!?!?!?

[critterCQB]

So I was going through some pieces that I've acquired here lately from my father. I remember him having this S&W 3000 12ga w/police furniture. He loved this thing. 3" chamber, full length tube, pure Americana. OR IS IT!? I was running an oily rag over it, and I finally spotted an etching in the matte finish.

Smith & Wesson Model 3000
Mfg in Japan to S&W Standards

I was literally shocked. After some research, I discovered that scatterguns really weren't s&w's thing. So they outsourced the job to Howa of Japan. I still feel a little cheated.

 

[Owen]

why would you feel cheated? Howa makes great guns.

 

[Rollis R. Karvellis]

I, don't own any Howa's at the monument, but every one I, have seen was very nice.

 

[RhinoDefense]

Howa makes the actions for Weatherby Vanguard rifles. I wouldn't be ashamed of any firearm made by Howa.

 

[W.E.G.]

 

[critterCQB]

Ok, maybe "cheated" was a poor choice of words. More or less, I was just surprised. Further research is showing that Howa makes all sorts of things requiring machining. This pump has never had a single issue, so I really can't complain.

Wikipedia said the 3000 was designed as an "improved 870". How so?

W.E.G., great looking gun. 2 3/4? That's weird, mine's 3.

 

[natman]

Howa made Weatherby rifles for years when they were made in Japan and still makes the Weatherby Vanguard.

"Surprised" would be a better word than "cheated".

 

[joed]

In 1978 I walked into a gunshop to buy a bolt action rifle for varmint hunting. Because I had S&W revolvers and a shotgun I wanted to buy a 1500 which was their bolt action rifle.

When I found out it was made in Japan I spit on it and asked the clerk for something american made. The only other bolt actions they had were Browning and Remington. I bought the Remington. It was also at this time that I found out about the S&W shotguns being made in Japan. I did not buy another S&W product till 2002

As long as there is a decent gun made in the US I wouldn't by foreign.

 

[Bullet Bob]

Well good thing you didn't buy the Browning, then!

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

There are Japanese Brownings, too. These are made by a different company, Miroku.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Back around 1980, MD DOC bought some 3000s as a cheaper replacement for 870s. I shot a few in the course of my duties and thought them serviceable.

By 83 they were gone. I dunno what happened, but new 870s were deployed and the old 3000s went away.

My guess, they didn't hold up to the abuse and neglect common to correctional weaponry. The 870s did.

I have run across a few since, civilian arms that were maintained decently. They were OK.

As for Japanese shotguns, the little SKB here is a fine shotgun by any standard.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Howa is an very respected firearms manufacturer...they manufactured a version of the M1 Garrand. They are a lot of folks who will tell you that the best AR-18/180 manufactered were the ones by Howa in the early 70s

 

[Walking Dead]

That's such a tricky subject. Being in manufacturing I don't want to buy and will not buy certain things made outside the u.s.a. Guns seem to be a fuzzy area in that subject. I mean who don't want to own a Mauser, Hi Power, or a nice Sig? Can anybody deny the Italians make great shotguns? John Browning didn't see the problem with building guns over sees either.

 

[W.E.G.]

 

[Diggers]

Some Winchester lever guns were/are also made in Japan. (gasp!)

Lets face it, the Japanese have a long history of being good at working with metal.

 

[Grunt]

I guess I have no problem buying a shotgun made in Japan or any weapon made in any other country as long as it meets my criteria. I don't "wave the union flag" or anything and if they can't/won't make a product here that meets my needs for the price I want to pay, well, my loyality is to my own pocketbook, not theirs. A good example of this would be my list of rifles I am looking at. Sorry, but the Belgian made FN SCAR-16S is going to be bought long before I'd look at the US made Bushmaster ACR. Higher priced but the Belgian make better guns than Bushmater.

 

[critterCQB]

Well regardless, we had a bath today

 

[jojo200517]

When I found out it was made in Japan I spit on it and asked the clerk for something american made.

Things like this are the reason I don't work retail. I would have simply directed you to the door and asked you to not return until you learned how to behave in public. I'm all for buying American and if thats your thing good for you, but I also buy other stuff if I like it.

Winchester made some shotguns in japan too. Winchester 101 I have says made in japan.



(sorry if the pic is crappy, it was hard to hold gun and phone still at the same time and the light not be reflecting back at it)

 

[critterCQB]

Sorry, that last picture went badly...

 

[Walking Dead]

On second thought. Maybe you should sell that thing. im rounding up all those ugly old imports to dispose of them properly. Just trying to do my part.

 

[critterCQB]

On second thought. Maybe you should sell that thing. im rounding up all those ugly old imports to dispose of them properly. Just trying to do my part.

Ha, I'll bet you could take it off my hands. But I'll have to repectfully decline. This thing has a date with my local Cerakote rep

 

[niteowl]

I bought a Mossberg 3000 (same thing) about 2 years ago. I've been pleased with it. Here's my post about it.
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-495505.html

 

[Lord Palmerston]

My Winchester 101 Field O/U was made in Belgium and it works flawlessly.

 

[d2wing]

It could be worse. I bought a Traditions shotgun. It turned out to be made in Turkey, no parts including chokes interchanged with anything, and they were no longer sold and no more parts available. I traded it for a Remington and consider myself lucky that it still worked ok so I could get out of it.

 

[critterCQB]

Back around 1980, MD DOC bought some 3000s as a cheaper replacement for 870s. I shot a few in the course of my duties and thought them serviceable.

By 83 they were gone. I dunno what happened, but new 870s were deployed and the old 3000s went away.

My guess, they didn't hold up to the abuse and neglect common to correctional weaponry. The 870s did.

I have run across a few since, civilian arms that were maintained decently. They were OK.

As for Japanese shotguns, the little SKB here is a fine shotgun by any standard.

Sounds about right. The story my father gave for this 3000 was that he got it from a police auction somewhere in MD. Round abouts the time I was born ('83).