# Stoeger M2000 Patterning



## rutandstrut (May 27, 2008)

I looked at several Different Guns and asked a lot of questions before deciding to go with a Stoeger M2000. After Hunting with this Gun for most of the season, I am really glad that I made this choice. Low Recoil, Lightweight, Accurate, Deadly out to 50+ Yards. 

This Gun was used to harvest harvest 2 Rios in Kansas (2 by me and 1 by the Land Owner) and 1 Eastern in New York. 

I sent this Gun to Rob Roberts of GobblerGuns http://www.gobblerguns.com after talking to him on the phone several times. He lengthened the Forcing Cones (to reduce recoil, increases velocity, improves pattern), made a Custom Made .655 17-4 Stainless Extended Turkey Choke Tube (provides Dense Consistent Patterns at all Ranges) for this Gun. The Gun was then shot and optimized using Doug Ashby's "Lucky Weasel" Shotgun Patterning Computer System. This System is also available for Ducks, Pheasant, and Target Shooters.   

Here are the Targets! I am shooting the 3" Winchester Extended Range, 1.75 Oz Load that is pictured in the second Picture. Notice how close the Aim Point is to the Center of the Pattern with all these loads.


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## Nitro (May 27, 2008)

I reckon that will smash one's noggin...........how bout a 20 yard pattern???


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## rutandstrut (May 27, 2008)

Andrew the Pattern on this Gun is good from 10 to 50+ (Not to tight up close and not too spread out at 50 Yards). I shot one Gobbler at 10 Yards, another at 34 Yards and another at 20 Yards. The Landowner in Kansas wanted to borrow this Gun after he saw what it did to the first two Rio's. I called one in and he shot it at 28 Yards. All 4 Gobblers went straight down with no flop. Three of them flopped after we got up and went to the Birds and started looking at the Beards and Spurs. They went down like someone hit on them on top of the head with a Hammer!


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## ABBYS DAD (May 30, 2008)

I Am Looking At Getting One Myself. I Have Found A Used One For 269 Bucks Its A 24 Inch Composite Stock Model.
I Have Heard Some Problems Out Of Them Like The Firing Pin Not Hitting The Primers On Shells. But For 269 It Looked Like A Real Nice Gun. Can You Get Aftermarket Turkey Chokes For It?


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## trkyhntr70 (May 30, 2008)

*...*



ABBYS DAD said:


> I Am Looking At Getting One Myself. I Have Found A Used One For 269 Bucks Its A 24 Inch Composite Stock Model.
> I Have Heard Some Problems Out Of Them Like The Firing Pin Not Hitting The Primers On Shells. But For 269 It Looked Like A Real Nice Gun. Can You Get Aftermarket Turkey Chokes For It?



The proble with the firing pin is common from not completely cleaning the packing grease out of it, The Stoeger 2000 shoots the same choke as the Benelli.


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## Public Land Prowler (May 30, 2008)

Looks like a winner to me.My friend Robbie had a stoeger,and he was using a kicks choke with #5's.Awesome pattern out to 55yds.He traded it,and got a winchester SX2 3 1/2"...He wishes he had that stoeger back.It was probably the best patterning 3" gun I have ever seen.


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## rutandstrut (May 31, 2008)

ABBYS DAD said:


> I Am Looking At Getting One Myself. I Have Found A Used One For 269 Bucks Its A 24 Inch Composite Stock Model.
> I Have Heard Some Problems Out Of Them Like The Firing Pin Not Hitting The Primers On Shells. But For 269 It Looked Like A Real Nice Gun. Can You Get Aftermarket Turkey Chokes For It?



They had problems with the Original Stoeger M2000 when it came out. Most of it was caused by poor workmanship and assembly. Screw were not loctited and rough machining that wasn't polished out. They did a redesign and came out with a modified gun that has a Single Red Fiber Pin for a front sight and a slightly higher raised Rib in the back. I was told to shoot two boxes of heavy loads through this Gun and then strip it down. Use Break Cleaner or a similar Solvent to clean out all the shipping grease and residue and then apply Rem Oil with Teflon to all moving parts and reassemble. This Gun is a pleasure to shoot, it is as light as a 20, shoots great and has very little recoil with even the heaviest 12 Guage Loads that I have shot through it! It has harvested 4 Gobblers already and I am sure it will harvest many more in the future! Let me know if you don't buy that Gun, I may add another one to my Arsenal! This Gun uses the same Chokes that a Benelli, Beretta or Franchi uses. I am using a Gobbler Guns Last Strut .655 17-4 Stainless Shoe Tube in it. It comes with a Turkey Choke that is pretty good, but the GG Choke shoots better.


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## ABBYS DAD (Jun 2, 2008)

I Was A Little Cautious Reading The Benelli Forums About What Some 2000 Owners Have Said. There Were Alot Of Nightmare Stories About How The Gun Was Basically Crap. I Was Also Shocked To Read That They Dont Test Fire The Completed Gun At The Factory. I'm Not Too Sure I Want To Drop The Money On A Lemon.


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## Gadget (Jun 2, 2008)

So what shell did you decide to shoot Tim?


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## rutandstrut (Jun 3, 2008)

I am shooting the 3" Winchester Extended Range #6's. So far I have shot 3 and killed 3 and the land owner where I hunt in Kansas used this Gun While I called one in for him to shoot! 4 for 4 and I still have 6 shells left!


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## rutandstrut (Jun 3, 2008)

ABBYS DAD said:


> I Was A Little Cautious Reading The Benelli Forums About What Some 2000 Owners Have Said. There Were Alot Of Nightmare Stories About How The Gun Was Basically Crap. I Was Also Shocked To Read That They Dont Test Fire The Completed Gun At The Factory. I'm Not Too Sure I Want To Drop The Money On A Lemon.



I read a lot of that stuff also and did some research and asking around about this Gun. I would caution you to do your own research and then make a decision. They did have problems with workmanship and malfunctions. Some of this was cause by poor workmanship or assembly pratices. 

Most of what I read was a small screw that came out on the Bolt because it wasn't loc-tited in. If this screw comes out the Gun is unuseable until you get a replacement that people were having a hard time getting from Benelli.

From what I understand they have done a redesign and reworked their assembly process and the Guns that they are putting out now are being praised. I am totally happy with the one that I have and will continue to use it as much as possible. It has performed flawlessly since I purchased it. It will shoot anything from light dove loads to heavy Turkey loads and everything inbetween. 

The way to tell if you are looking at a new production Gun is to look for the Single Red Fiber Dot Sight on the Front of the Barrel and the Raised Rib in the back. If I could get another one for $269 I would be all over it!


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## Covehnter (Jun 3, 2008)

I was thinking of setting up a 20 gauge Stoeger for younger and smaller hunters that i've been wanting to take out this year, maybe even use it myself. Do you think the difference in recoil b/t a 12 and a 20 would be drastic enough to make a positive efffect on these younger/smaller hunters? Sorry, hope i am not highjacking. Awesome patterns!


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## rutandstrut (Jun 3, 2008)

Covehnter said:


> I was thinking of setting up a 20 gauge Stoeger for younger and smaller hunters that i've been wanting to take out this year, maybe even use it myself. Do you think the difference in recoil b/t a 12 and a 20 would be drastic enough to make a positive efffect on these younger/smaller hunters? Sorry, hope i am not highjacking. Awesome patterns!



I may not be a good judge of recoil since I was shooting and still shoot a Modified 835 to Turkey Hunt. Since having the 835 worked on it still has some recoil but is still very manageable with 3.5" Turkey Rounds. 

After shooting the Stoeger I was surprise to see that others said it had a hard recoil due to the lightweight. The recoil of this Gun is very comfortable (this is in part due to the Forcing Cones being lengthened). I do not think I would step down to a 20 Gauge. I would either use the 13 Oz. Mercury Damper that is available for this Gun or use a lighter Turkey Round to reduce the recoil.


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## ABBYS DAD (Jun 3, 2008)

Rutandstrut, It Does Have The Single Red Front Sight. So I Guess It Is A Newer Production Gun. It Might Be Going Home With Me Soon.


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## rutandstrut (Jun 18, 2008)

If you don't buy it let me know and I may just be adding another one to my Arsenal!


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## georgiabuckbuster (Mar 9, 2009)

i have the same gun and i love it.  It busted some but during deer season and killed its share of dove and rabbits also.  Im looking for  a choke now but the full that came with the gun does a pretty dandy job.


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## Ol' Dixie (Mar 9, 2009)

Bought one last spring and am real happy with it.  It has the white dot front sight.  What do you know about that model.  It was new last year but not sure when it was manufactured.


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## rutandstrut (Mar 9, 2009)

Ol' Dixie said:


> Bought one last spring and am real happy with it.  It has the white dot front sight.  What do you know about that model.  It was new last year but not sure when it was manufactured.



I am not sure. The one I bought last year has a single Red Dot on the front of it. I was told to shoot two boxes of heavy loads through the gun. Then break it down and use Gun Scrubber on everything to remove the heavy grease they use when they are assembled. When you are reassembling the gun, use a good lightweight gun oil and you shouldn't have any problems with it. I love the one I have!


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## ExpressHunter (Mar 10, 2009)

Mine has a white dot too.  Never had a problem!  Actually the butt stock did loosen up once, but I fixed that with a flat head. My 870 kicks alot less than the stoeger.  The 870 is my dedicated duck gun though, and it doesn't throw near the pattern that stoeger does with lead anyway.  How ever it seems to throw a better pattern than lead


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