Stoeger Coach Gun useful?

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

This45Colt

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2011
Messages
32
Location
Good Old USA
Hey all, I am looking for a good shotgun to just use around the place; for plinking, defense, woods walking etc.

I have heard pretty much all good things about the stoeger coach gun, and I find a double gun appealing, but after you get by the 25 yard, blow stuff up with 00buck type range, are these guns useful for much else?

How about use with slugs? if I got the more expensive model with interchangeable chokes would slugs be practical?

I guess what I mean is for a short(ish) shotgun that would be used for just shooting and possible slug stuff, would the coach gun work or would I be better served getting a Rem 870?
 
I use my coach for upland birds. Works great. I have screw in chokes. The first shot is the lightest choke out of the 4 that came with the gun. The second shot is full choke.
It is my HD gun as well. I bought a stretchy 5 round stock band for it.
5 rounds of military buck shot are always right there, strapped to the shot gun.
 
With 18 in clyn.
With buckshot its for shooting things that walk on two legs (like the chupacabra) and if these things are outside of coach range then you need a rifle anyway. Slugs should be good out to 100 yards just like any other shotgun.
 
Last edited:
Kids got me one for Christmas and I consider it the best "house clearing gun" I've ever seen. Mine is choked imp. and mod. Should be good for doves and quail and possibly for rabbits and squirrels. It's easy to carry and just plain fun to shoot.
 
How do you guys like the looks of those oddball tactical Stoegers?

I think they're kind of neat, though they look way worse than your typical blued and wood version.
 
Stoeger Coach Gun useful?
Click to expand...
In a word - NO! Not if it's under 20". Get a 12 or 20 gage pump with at least a 24" barrel instead for a utility gun like you described. Since 1970, I've owned probably 4, 18" coach guns (including a Stoeger - it might have been a 20") and was disappointed with them all. They work ok for Cowboy Action shooting, but that's about it.

I see some "should be" statements on this thread that state that they "should be" good for doves, rabbits, house clearing, etc. Have you ever seen a SWAT team clearing a house with a coach gun? Or, a dedicated upland bird hunter using one?
 
Last edited:
Yeah but I wouldn't describe a dedicated upland bird hunter or SWAT team's requirements for a shotgun include it being good for "plinking, defense, and woods walking".

He's not looking for a full-time gun for anything in particular, he's looking for a fun gun that works for defense and isn't too heavy or big to carry around while going on walks. Sounds like a hit for the coach to me.
 
Im a dedicated upland bird hunter Big Bill. With well over 200 hundred pheasant kills with my coach,countless quail & rabbits have fallen to this side by side.
It is a Rem SPR220. I have had it around a decade now. Its never failed me. Unlike my Mossberg 835 that jammed up on 3-1/2 inch shells all last weekend. While out hunting snow geese. This pile of 40 snows ,shot over decoys ,should be a pile of 90 to a 100 snows. But no!! My pump crapped on me time & time again with follow up shots on second & third birds.
199521_1595803738595_1341005971_1287956_7161113_s.jpg

Try fumbling rounds into you pump when your 1/2 asleep & some one is in your house.
 
Last edited:
husker, next time you shop for a shotgun, I suggest you buy a Benelli. BTW, I have also been a dedicated upland game hunter since I was 12. I'm 61 now. A 20" coach gun may be passible where you live. But, I personally wouldn't have one. I've used a regular Remington 870 Wingmaster and/or Benelli Nova for years and have never had a problem. Also, you might re-read my original post. I was talking about guns with barrels under 20". What is the barrel length of your SPR220?

I do have two pump self defense 12 gage "tactical" shotguns. One is a Remington 870 tactical and the other is a Winchester 1200 Defender. Both, 20" guns.
 
Last edited:
The 100 yards for slugs is not a guarantee, at least with both barrels.
Inexpensive doubles are frequently regulated close enough for shot use at closer distances, but not for slugs farther out.
One barrel will go here, the other may go anywhere but here.
Denis
 
To each his own. I use a Mossberg 500 in 410 on opening day & last day of pheasant season
I only bought the SPR cause fricken 410 shells were getting way to expensive. I dont know what got into the 835. I have never had a prob with it & 3-1/2 inch shells.
Next shotgun purchase will be a early as i can find Remington model 11
PS i will trade a new unfired Taurus PT-92 AFS for a rem 11
 
Anybody ever put extended chokes on a shortish double? I figured they may restore some classic shotgun balance, at least a little.
 
Since the whole idea of a coachgun is to have SHORTER barrels, what would be the point in extended chokes?
Denis
 
My "Coach" gun is 20" double hammer gun. I can keep both holes filled with Number 1 Buck and there are no springs under any stress. That's for any "in house" adventures.

If I should "need" slugs, that's why God invented rifles. Rifles do everything a shotgun slug can do "better" in every sense of the word. So right next to my Double Hammer gun is my FN SCAR MK 16s with an Aimpoint T-1 turned on 24/7, (because I am conservative, I change the batteries out every 3 years, although I could let it go for 5 years.) and it has a Surefire X-400 attached to light up my life and offer an X-treme adventure for others that might chose to "visit" me.

All my shotgun hunting since the 1950's has been with a side by side. I prefer them. Just my way.

No wrong answer here.

Good luck.

Fred
 
looks like + votes from all all but big bill
might be not his cup of tea. i think they are great and if you like collecting guns you would be amiss if you never had a short SxS. Slugs you may be better with either 2 cyl. bore barrels or screw in chokes so you could get both barrels to match. I dunno. Either way it would be fun to try it out. I like old stevens 311's if you can find one. They make for a solid coach gun. The stoegers chambers 3in though which is nice.
 
Have you ever seen a SWAT team clearing a house with a coach gun?
Click to expand...

No but the New York Stake Out Squad used them with great effect till they took them away from the squad, seems not enough bad guys were surviving their exits from the bodegas they just robbed.

Barrel length can make a gun swing smoother but doesn't make it more accurate, that is up to the shooter. I have seen some old farts with various riot guns absolutely embarrass a squad of young studs who where using competition O/U's on the skeet field. It isn't what you shoot as much as how good you are with it.
 
No but the New York Stake Out Squad used them with great effect till they took them away from the squad, seems not enough bad guys were surviving their exits from the bodegas they just robbed.

Barrel length can make a gun swing smoother but doesn't make it more accurate, that is up to the shooter. I have seen some old farts with various riot guns absolutely embarrass a squad of young studs who where using competition O/U's on the skeet field. It isn't what you shoot as much as how good you are with it.
Click to expand...

Yup!

It's the Indian, not the Arrow.

Go figure.

Fred
 
I have the 12ga, imp cyl r/bbl, mod/l bbl chokes.
really handy as far as I'm concerned. good for quail and grouse, rabbits, deer in the bush/thicket and around the home.
as another I have a stretchy 5 shell holder. with a handgun (Makarov or .357) tucked into waistband I feel nearly invincible.
 
Plinking/defense/wood walking, let me add fun and cheap.
I have become a senior uncle to a Navajo family by marriage. A few years back I quit hunting due to health and gave away hunting rifles to some of the boys. I got hold of an old break open 20 guage though and started to play with it. Barrel cut to 20", overall length 34", refinished stock, camoed all metal, added a limbsaver, sidesaddle shell holder and braided latigo for a sling. Had it in the back of a jeep for off road. A really cute Navajo neice saw it and fell in love with it. As I had less than $120 in it I gave it away along with a box of buckhammers, some #3buck and a couple boxes of #6 bird shot. As this little shotgun weighs less than five pounds she takes it out on the reservation when she waches grandma's sheep. It is for her the perfect thing. Light, fast, dependable covers any thing out to 75 yds, puts meat in the pot and coyotes to rest at the sheep camp. I have made three like this now for neices and another for the jeep. They work so well the boys are getting intrested, My wife says I have more fun making these little off road specials than shooting them. She's probably right but they are a lot of fun to shoot as well.
Just another old man's opinion.

blindhari
 
A coach gun is still quite a useful thing, in my opinion, despite its antique concept. It's simple to operate, easy to clean and it takes down into two short pieces for convenient and discreet transport.

Slugs...Getting best use out of slugs requires some sort of sight. How are you going to mount it? Stoeger's tacticool "Double Defense" version of their coach gun gives you a scope rail, which makes sense but doesn't look at all traditional. That's one solution, anyway.

http://www.stoegerindustries.com/firearms/stoeger_double_defense.php

If you don't want that version of the gun, I wonder how hard it would be to mount the rail on another model.

Also, you can't depend on a double shotgun to shoot slugs to the same POI from both barrels. My solution is to say, well, it's a two shot shotgun and a single shot slug thrower--just use one barrel for slugs.
 
I like the modular ability of the Moss 500's and the Rem 870's. For a minimal investment you can buy a barrel better suited for upland birding, HD, cantilevered slug etc. One shotgun, easily tailored to best fit your needs. That being said, I would absolutely love that little stoeger double! Would be a fun all around addition to any collection. I say buy it.
 
I have a Baikal coach gun which is very similar to the Stoeger. It's great for rabbits and ptarmigan, and I would assume also good for quail and pheasant.

Slugs are fine out to about 40 yards, but after that the barrels aren't really regulated well enough for extended ranges.

You couldn't ask for a better home defense gun, loaded with some buckshot.

The best thing about a coach gun is that it will fit in a back pack with the butt hanging over your shoulder. So, it's about as easy to carry and quick to employ as any handgun, but with a lot more power.

I paid $200 and change for my Baikal a dozen years ago, and I believe it's the best gun money I ever spent. It's by far the most useful firearm I own.

It's very versatile, very rugged and quite inexpensive. The Stoeger is slightly more stylish looking than the Baikal. The Baikal is more rugged. I'd be happy with either gun.

Baikal3.jpg
 
Have an old SxS 'mule ear' it'll work fine for home defense and a fun gun. But mine stays mostly in the safe. Won't ever sell, gift from a friend. That said, the 870 is always around but even handier is my single shot winchester model 37 20 guage or a single six 22 long
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

R
  • Locked
Stoeger coach gun and slugs
Replies
19
Views
14K
Ditch-Tiger
D
D
  • Locked
Stoeger coach gun & slugs?
Replies
9
Views
4K
Almond27
A
J
  • Locked
Stoeger coach gun question
Replies
7
Views
832
John79
J
D
  • Locked
Stoeger Coach Gun
Replies
13
Views
2K
OK-gobbler
O
S
  • Locked
stoeger coach gun replacment stock
Replies
6
Views
2K
shotgunmessenger96
S
Back
Top