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Thread: Vetting a shotgun

  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by GearFondler View Post
    Maybe, maybe not. Isn't the Serpa just a bad idea vs a poorly made product?
    If it holds up to duty use and does what it's intended to do then their only fault is failing to realize the product has a design flaw, not a construction flaw.
    The Serpa is both. It's not uncommon for the mechanism to fail and lock the pistol in the holster. Plus the finger release method problems in general.

    I usually run a few boxes of light target loads, a handful or 10ish of heavier shot (turkey loads or 00), and a handful of slugs. Another way to vet is using hunting. If the shot doesn't break it's not the end of the world, but you can get excited and the gun needs to be reliable. If you do a decent amount of shooting and a hunt or two then I'd be comfortable enough for my personal defensive needs.

  2. #12
    Member GearFondler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cory View Post
    The Serpa is both. It's not uncommon for the mechanism to fail and lock the pistol in the holster. Plus the finger release method problems in general.
    Gotcha... I don't realize they would also lock up, I just knew the release mechanism was bad ju-ju.

  3. #13
    Site Supporter Lon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GearFondler View Post
    Gotcha... I don't realize they would also lock up, I just knew the release mechanism was bad ju-ju.
    Don’t forget the bad habit they have of being ripped right off the belt shank during weapon retention drills.
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  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheeler View Post
    The USMC also vetted the Serpa holster… I don’t know that I’d feel too warm and fuzzy about that particular appeal to authority.
    Has it performed great for them for the last 20 years? The M1014 has...
    I don't just mean "Its issued gear." I mean, it's actually gone to war and the marines havent been able to break it regularly, and noone has any functional issues with it. In 20 years.

  5. #15
    Member Wheeler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Unobtanium View Post
    Has it performed great for them for the last 20 years? The M1014 has...
    I don't just mean "Its issued gear." I mean, it's actually gone to war and the marines havent been able to break it regularly, and noone has any functional issues with it. In 20 years.
    How does one access that data?
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  6. #16
    Murder Machine, Harmless Fuzzball TCinVA's Avatar
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    Pump guns are a little simpler because they typically run as well as you run them. Occasionally you find a load that doesn't work well in your gun (especially if it's made by Rio) but generally if the gun itself is in proper working order you'll be able to tell by how it works. I can usually feel an 870 that's got something wrong with it by just using dummy shells.

    Semis are more complicated. You have to run a decent amount of rounds you intend to use in the gun through it to ensure they cycle the action and feed properly. When I got the 1301 I fired a few hundred heavy birdshot rounds through the gun just to break in all the springs, then I put a couple of sleeves (50 rounds per sleeve) of FFC LE133 through it to ensure it would function with those. Followed that up with a couple of sleeves of Federal Tru-Ball slugs. That's an expensive and probably unrealistic proposition today, but luckily if you buy a 1301 you can be pretty sure it will run that ammunition without trouble just because of Beretta's solid QC and the accumulated round count of those types of ammo through the guns in other people's hands. So if you just run a few hundred shells through the 1301 of whatever birdshot you can find (including some lighter loads if you can find them, but not break-action-only light) it should be enough to tell you if the gun is working properly.
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  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheeler View Post
    How does one access that data?
    I spoke to a bunch of end users. I also spoke to Benelli. They have not delivered M1014s to the usmc for half a decade or more, which tells me that obviously the guns hold up. End users report zero issues, although some do not like shotguns. Aberdeen reported over 20k full power rounds between major parts failures or replacement. LAPD has had no issues.

    Let me propose to ask how you would know a Serpa is bad? How did you access that information?

    See what I mean there?

  8. #18
    Abducted by Aliens Borderland's Avatar
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    Buy a Benelli. You won't need to vet it.

    Everyone wants to save a few bucks buying a Turkish shotgun. I wouldn't have one on a bet. Are you going to bet your life on a shotgun built by a guy that makes 3 bucks an hour?
    Last edited by Borderland; 11-27-2021 at 09:28 PM.
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  9. #19
    Member TGS's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Unobtanium View Post
    I spoke to a bunch of end users. I also spoke to Benelli. They have not delivered M1014s to the usmc for half a decade or more, which tells me that obviously the guns hold up. End users report zero issues, although some do not like shotguns. Aberdeen reported over 20k full power rounds between major parts failures or replacement. LAPD has had no issues.
    Quote Originally Posted by Borderland View Post
    Buy a Benelli. You won't need to vet it.

    Everyone wants to save a few bucks buying a Turkish shotgun. I wouldn't have one on a bet. Are you going to bet your life on a shotgun built by a guy that makes 3 bucks an hour?

    All weapons used for serious purposes should be vetted, regardless of manufacturer. Nobody is saying Benellis have had problems over GWOT, or that Turkish guns are just as good as XYZ favorite brand.

    It's a simple matter of fact that a single example can suffer from a manufacturing, assembly, or materiel defect that inhibits proper function....hence why it's best to vet. This doesn't take a "bazillion rounds of ammunition", either.
    Last edited by TGS; 11-27-2021 at 09:39 PM.
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  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by TGS View Post
    All weapons used for serious purposes should be vetted, regardless of manufacturer. Nobody is saying Benellis have had problems over GWOT, or that Turkish guns are just as good as XYZ favorite brand.

    It's a simple matter of fact that a single example can suffer from a manufacturing, assembly, or materiel defect that inhibits proper function....hence why it's best to vet. This doesn't take a "bazillion rounds of ammunition", either.
    I agree and posted as much. By the time Im done patterning buck, and zeroing slug, I'll have vetted it.

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