Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Any experience with a Tristart Viper 2, Mossberg SA28 or Weatherby SA-08

I'm going to hopefully be picking up a new 28 gauge for grouse and ptarmigan hunting when I return home this fall. Does anyone have any experience with either of these shotguns, I know they are made in Turkey and for the most part, they are the same gun. I can pick up the Tristar a little cheaper, just wanting some opinions from people that actually own one or the other of these shotguns.

My son has a Tristar viper in 12 gauge.
For the price it’s a nice shotgun, he’s left handed and it’s hard to find a cheaper entry level shotgun with paying an arm and a leg for one.
It has never once failed to fire or get jammed ever.
It feels a little awkward for me but he’s used to it.
I got it for $225 totally camouflaged from the factory.

I just picked up a used weatherby SA-08 in 20ga last year. I carried it for bird season and it was a joy. I have put 3” steel and 2 3/4 light loads through it and have had no problems.

I’ve got a 20 guage Viper G2 Bronze. Only put a few hundred shells through it. No issues. I screwed up and bought some low recoil loads. It wouldn’t eject those. 7/8 ounce normal AA’s we’re fine.

I bought mine as an experiment of sorts. Buds Gunshop gives a lifetime warranty for $29 (factory warranty is 5 years) If they can’t fix it, they’ll allow the price on anything they carry.

The trigger sucks. 7.5 lbs. I bought the mcarbo.com spring for the Mossberg that supposedly drops weight by a few pounds, it did nothing. Going to need to do some stoning.

I have a Tristar 12ga purchased a while ago. I’m not sure what model it is, but the gas system looks like a copy of a Baretta. It’s been flawless, but has probably only been shot less than a thousand times.

Sounds like all of you are happy overall with the shotguns. The trigger seems to be the biggest issue on everything I’ve read. It seems MCarbo springs in these shotguns are hit or miss as well. As of today I have just a hair over three months and then I’ll be home. I want a small gauge shotgun that won’t break the bank, and these guns fit that category. Depending on how soon I can secure a job leaving this [bleep] hole, I may or may not have plenty of time to break it in.

The SA-20 and TriStar are made by the same company and are pretty much the same gun. The SA-08 is made by a different company. We have three SA-08’s in the family and have had zero issues. If I were to purchase another it would be a SA-20.

A great shotgun based on a Beretta design. A sleeper for sure.

It’s my understanding that the Weatherby is the same as the TriStar and Mossberg in 28ga only. I bought the Weatherby because I thought it had better fit and finish and just didn’t like the colored receiver on the TriStar. It’s a nice little shotgun that in my opinion balances and swings better than the 28ga Franchi 48AL. Ive shot a couple rounds of skeet with mine and hunted with it twice and it seems to shoot where I point and cycles perfectly. My only complaint is that Im so used to break action guns that I just can’t warm up to carrying a semi in the field. The Weatherby is actually lighter than my 28ga o/u and it swings and balances fine, but the break action gun over my shoulder just carries better. If that doesn’t bother you, I say go for it.