Weatheryby SA-08 review

[c_brutsche]

I don't do many reviews on guns in general. I figure most guns I own there are literally hundreds of different angles of reviews. I must admit a lot of times before purchasing a firearm I go through 20-30 reviews if not more before I handle the firearm and make my decision. While researching the Weatherby SA-08 however, I did not find many. I will try not to long wind you (too late) and just give you a brief overview and the pros and cons of the firearm. Hopefully this review could help you make a decision easier than I made mine since there were a lack of reviews on this firearm.

OVERVIEW:

For many years I hunted birds, and shot trap with an old mossberg 500 field model. The gun worked great, but I wanted something more and stepped it up to a semi auto shotgun. After many weeks searching I stumbled upon the Weatherby SA-08 12 gauge with a 28" barrel.What attracted me to this gun was that it uses a 2 valve system. One for heavier loads and one for lighter loads. Since I read so many stories on many semi autos not ejecting lighter loads I went with the Weatherby with lighter trap loads in mind. I will say this gun slowly became my favorite firearm since I recently shot 2 perfect games of trap and ended with a 23 average. Along with that I was able to bag 12 ducks and 3 geese with it this year. Lets move on to the pros and cons

PROS:

- Light with light recoil! This gun weighs about 6.5 pounds and is a breeze to carry around all day even for a 150 lb. guy such as myself. It also recoils smooth and more pushes the shoulder than kicks it.

- Handling/Accuracy is fantastic. This shotgun has a slender grip area which fits me like a glove. I consider myself a half decent trap shooter but am even surprising myself with my scores in trap I have been getting at the range.

- Field stripping is a breeze and is along many other semi auto takedowns. The only rough part is removing the bolt handle. To do this it is best to put a cloth over it to prevent damage and pull it out at a sweet spot with needle nose pliers.

CONS

- it is made in Turkey (might discourage some potential buyers)

- there really only is one but you must hear this out. This gun is advertised with the two valve system to be able to kick out ANY shell. I have to agree with that 85%. I use #6 shot shooting at about 1600 fps for birds with the heavy valve WITHOUT ONE PROBLEM. However with the light valve while shooting trap it is a slight different story. It WILL shoot out anything 3 dram or over and will shoot out anything 1200 fps or over. The only problem I had was with #8 shot 2 3/4 dram. It will kick them out most of the time but I would say 4 out of 25 do not. It really does not make me love this shotgun as less but think its a bit of a stretch that Weatherby claims this shotgun will shoot any shotgun load. However the tensions could loosen up over time to let it kick out the even lightest of loads. Only time and shells will tell.


OVERALL I LOVE THIS GUN. If you are in the the market for a good trap/hunting gun and are ok with staying away from super light loads I think you will love the Weatherby SA-08. I will also mention you can get this for about $550-$650 depending on shop and area. NOT BAD!

[c_brutsche]

Update to review. The weatherby now is fully broken in and runs all kinds of loads through it now without one hiccup!

[WVBob]

Good info. I'm looking at a PA-08 in 20GA and have read a lot on them.
Everyone has said they like that they are light and handle nice. I'm looking for a light "Bird" gun and this is one to try.
Now, if i can just find one in stock to see how it fits.