Stoeger Coach Gun Question....Help?

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Nalapombu

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Hey all,

I am looking to pick up a Stoeger Coach gun for both range/fun shooting and shop protection. My local gun store only has one on his shelves, it's the PLAIN blued version with FIXED choke barrels. Of course it is the 12 gauge with 20 inch barrels and twin triggers. I like the looks and the feel of the gun and the person I am getting it for likes it too. There's only one thing that is a negative and I want to ask you all about it. It is the FIXED choke barrels that come in IC and M.

Do you all think it is possible to have those barrels fit with choke tubes? Would there be any down side to it if it is possible?

Stoeger does have a fancier and prettier Coach gun that DOES come with choke tubes called the Coach Gun Supreme, but my dealer doesn't have one of them and since the one I am looking at and asking you all about has been in his shop for a while and handled quite a few times he is willing to give me a pretty darn good deal. That's why I am not just having him get me one of the Supreme models.

What do you think? Any suggestions?

If you have any other thoughts on other possible Coach Gun choices I should check out, feel free to let me know. I want 12 gauge, 3 inch shells, choke tubes and NO HAMMERS, I love 'em but the older hands that will be using this gun might have a hard time working them.

Thank you for your help and time, I appreciate it.

Nala
 
You can do it, but cost wise you would be far better off buying one that way if you have to have it. I have a 20 gauge Uplander - same gun with 26" barrels - and I think that version if far more flexible/useful, especially if you plan to shoot any clay pigeons. Only 'game' I can think of you need a full choke for is trap, and I dont think that is going to great a fit with a 20" side by side.
 
Fixed chokes of IC and Mod on a 12 gauge are far from useless.

There's a reason lots of shotguns are thus choked.

They work well at typical ranges with lots of loads. Even non tox, though I've no idea if the Stoegers are OK with steel.

Lessee....

Birds. For smaller ones, cheap 8s in the open barrel, trap 7.5s in the left one. Larger birds, up the shot size and hardness, even the payload. Wild ringnecks fall to well placed loads of 5s, even way out dere.

Same with ground game, though the smallest shot I recommend for squirrels is 6s. Big tough jack rabbits needs 5s or 4s.

Deer, find a slug the open barrel likes. Maybe the other one will also, though it can be chancy. Or, if you hunt the thick stuff and it's legal, try some 00. Or one of each. Stick to 2 3/4" loads.

Defense, 00.

Trap, 7.5s or 8s. 9s for skeet, both for SC and so on.
 
I love my Stoeger Coach gun, I really do. However, CAS is the only thing I can really use it for. It's too short for upland bird hunting, and my local trap range doesn't allow barrels below 23 inches. However, it's had hundreds of BP and normal rounds fired through it and it hasn't missed a beat. I don't think you can go wrong with it.
 
I don't currently have a Stoeger and only half-remember what the owner's manual said about steel, but the Stoeger web-site says in the FAQ that they do not recommend steel in anything tighter than modified, so you should be fine with steel. For shop protection, I can't see the IC/Mod fixed combination to be any disadvantage at all.
 
tinygnat219 - don't currently have a Stoeger but have a Spartan coachgun and based upon some experimenting shooting clays, you may be right about it being too short for upland shooting. I was successful, sort of, with a Stoeger coachgun a few years ago and do plan on at least trying my current coachgun this fall in some wooded areas. Then again, a lot of guys here are more accomplished shotgunners than I, anyway. It'll be fun to try. I'll take another, longer gun along for the ride. Just in case. :)
 
With Modified and IC chokes you should have a good solution for short shooting fun. It would be a perfect brush shotgun for Grouse hunting where you might have to brush wack through stuff.

I'm planning on getting one to go with my 1930 Western Arms SXS with 28" barrel with Modified and Full choke barrels.

SXS1.JPG


SXS2.JPG


SXS6.JPG
 
Short barreled shotguns designed as "riot" guns have cylinder bore fixed chokes because you want a lot of spread for work against people at relatively close range and the type of shot that typically will be fired in them is buck shot or slugs and the large buckshot works best with no choke.

Most hunting guns you currently buy have changeable chokes because they are designed for hunting mostly birds. If you get a short riot barrel or slug barrel for the gun it will usually be cylinder only, the exception is the relatively new rifled choke tubes that some slug guns use.

FWIW, the cylinder bore will work fine for shooting birds at closer range but the patterns open up so long shots will be more difficult to make.
 
I want 12 gauge, 3 inch shells,
Click to expand...
What in the world for?
The only thing 3" is needed for is steel-shot waterfowl hunting.

If a 2 3/4" 1 1/2 oz Mag load won't kill it, you probably shouldn't shoot it with a shotgun anyway.

Regardless, go through a box of those "little" 2 3/4"- 1 1/2 oz Mags in a double coach-gun, and you will need a dental appointment to have your fillings reset. :eek:

rcmodel
 
I have owned a Stoeger Coach gun exactly like the one mentioned for three years now. It has done everything I've wanted it to do. I've hunted deer, duck, dove, quail, and rabbit with it as well as playing around with a few different loads. The chokes work very nicely with the gun. Don't let them stop you from getting it.

Many people will tell you that it's too short for some hunting application. Well they are wrong, and a few hundred dove over the past few years will attest to that. :)
 
I will not argue based on my shooting prowess. But, how many world class skeet, sporting clays, live bird, or trap shooters use 20" barrels? See a trend maybe? There is usually a reason for things.
 
I rarely use a full choke anyway, so I'd say go for it. Even for doves, I stick with an IC and let them get close, because I usually just waste shells on the long shots. You may disappointed with the whippyness of the short barrels.

HB
 
I think it'd work just great for your intended uses, fixed chokes or not. I don't really know shotguns, but I'm guessing the chokes will be just fine for fun shooting, and won't make much difference at defense ranges, especially in a shop. Not sure where all these doves are coming from though.
 
The IC and MOD chokes should throw the same patterns that a longer barrel would.
I'm pretty sure you could have chokes installed, but probablt at a cost of $80 PER barrel (roughly)

I think you would find that the gun choked as is will be quite usefull. Much more so than one choked Cyl/Cyl as most Coach Guns are.
I noticed that the "Supreme" only comes with the IC and MOD choke tubes, so you would have to buy extras.

I don't think the gun would be too "whippy" feeling. You've got 2 short barrels out there, not just 1.

How good of a deal are we talking?
 
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