Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Stoeger Uplander 20 gauge

They are giving these things away now at around $300 something, with choke tubes yet.

The ones I've handled felt light and quick, to me at least. And they ain't Chinese.

OTOH we're talking a $350 sxs here, I mean, how good can they be?

Whats the buzz on these things, are they any good?

Thanks,

Birdwatcher

Quality seems to have risen during the last several years. A cousin of mine had one in the 70s and the sears were soft. The cowboy action shooters swear by them, so I would not be afraid at all. I recently hefted one for the first time in a long time and it seemed to be a solid gun at a very good price. The catalogued weight is a bit high for a 20 gauge, but the 20 I picked up felt pretty good.

Thanks Leon,

Been browsing around.

Reading great things about Academy's (chain store here) Yildiz shotguns, for about $500.

Birdwatcher

I think Boito made them on contract. With the Boito guns brittle wood was a big problem, at least for a while.

I really like the Yildiz line of O/U and SxS shotguns. We got an Academy in chattanooga a couple of years ago and I have purchased a couple of guns there. When they have a sale, their prices are hard to beat. Academy closed out the Stevens 200s for $180. Wow!

If I were looking for a double trigger double barrel, I would consider the Uplander. If I were more interested in an O/U, I would think Yildiz for the money. From what I have seen, the Yildiz compares well with the CZs.

I spoke with a gunsmith friend who informed me that the recent Stevens offerings are essentially "throw away" guns, meaning once the lockwork breaks they ain't worth repairing. A pity on account of among this mix these are the only "Made in America" offerings (IIRC).

But... great minds must think alike....

I was in Academy looking at their Yildiz doubles and walked out with an O/U...

Much as I wanted a double, the O/U's just offered for me a better sighting plane.

I got the "youth" model... 13" LOP and 26" rather than the reg'lar 28" barrels. The 15" LOP on regular Yildiz O/U's and SxS's is too long for me, and this way my wife can use it too.

I can always add a recoil pad to add length if I need to.

Speaking of which, that Yildiz weighs in at a whopping 5lbs....

Bought some heavy 3" waterfowl loads, gonna try 'em at the range this weekend

Birdwatcher

anybody take an uplander to a patterning board? I get skittish on cheap doubles- whenever I try one the barrels don't point in the same direction-I don't think fast enough to remember "second barel shoots low" when I need to.

If you haven't done so already, check the Yildiz forum on Shotgunworld. I would supply a link, but I am at school and the site is blocked. The folks there seem to love the Y guns. I looked at a 28 gauge, but it was built on a 20 gauge frame. That wouldn't give any weight drop from my 20 O/U.

I just up-inherited a 20ga Ithica featherlight I bought to teach my pistol packing daughter to shotgun- she hated it. Now I see why- I don't think it breaks 5 lbs and it kicks like my 12. some weight is good- also makes you remember not to stop the gun

I have been using an Ithaca 37 in 20 gauge for 40 years. It is my absolute favorite shotgun. Being light and handy can increase recoil, but I fire mine as a winter time rabbit gun and am well clothed. Any time my son goes skeet shooting that old Ithaca becomes the favorite weapon for all his buddies. The first time he took it he outshoot all his buddies with their guns. Soon they were using the 37 for their turn. It just naturally points on target.

Does your 37 have a recoil pad? Many of the older guns had the plastic putt plate. My 20 gauge has a thick factory pad which greatly softens the recoil, but my 16 gauge Ithaca has the plastic butt plate. It will get your attention. After the season ends, I will fit a pad to it. I bought the 16 gauge a 18 months ago, but didn't hunt with it last season. This year we have enough rabbits to hunt for the first time in several years, so it is getting a workout.

BTW, my son liked my 20 gauge model 37 that he bought a 12 gauge model 37. Now if I could afford the new 28 gauge we would have a set.

It's a plastic butt plate. After season I'm going to put a pad on it. I've shot regulation skeet with it and did OK-- even on the doubles. It is quick!

I came on that site when I googled "Yildiz review" and it was a major factor in my decision.

The UK mag Shooting Times had three reviews, both 20 gauge and .410 sxs reviews were favorable, in particular giving details of the solidly engineered lockwork...

http://www.shootingtimes.co.uk/guns/143894/Yildiz_20bore_shotgun_review.html

The O/U review was mixed, but mostly on account of the guy didn't like the fit of the stock.

Seems like with modern CNC machinery it shouldn't be that hard to build a functional sxs with barrels that point in the same direction, gonna pattern mine tomorrow.

Birdwatcher

I'll check that out- let us know how the patterning goes

I've owned and shot a couple of Uplander doubles (still have a .410 Uplander). I never saw a problem with barrel regulation and patterns were within a few inches of each other at 30 yards.

To me, the Uplanders are solid and useful, but sort of ugly. The stocks are Ok, but have no "grace" like better doubles and the actions are solid and rliable, but not sculpted or shaped. I also hate those "slots" cut into the under-rib. Seems a great place for trash, dirt and water (rust) to gather.

However, they also seem to be very well built and will likely give years of service for a lower price. Kind of like the old Stevens 311.....ugly, but tough.

A quick trip to the range today, forgot the camera.

I was on a pistol range shooting at combat silhouettes so first firing was at just fifteen yards.

First load tested... 3" Winchester "Dry Steel" No 2 steel shot. The hottest load I was willing to spend money on.

Full choke tube in top barrel patterns centered on the bull, full choke tube in bottom barrel patterns centered 2" below the bull.

This is my first shotgun with choke tubes and I shoulda brung the Yildiz manual. I had wanted to test "full" vs "modified" but instead find I tested their "full" versus "improved modified".

Anyhow, running the tighter choke in the bottom barrel closed up pattern centers at 15 yards to about 1" at 15 yards (easy to see on side by side combat silhouettes).

From there on in I ran the tighter choke in the bottom barrel.

Ended up testing "heavy dove" 2 3/4" no 7 1/2 loads out of "modified" up top over "improved modified" below.
(I had intended to test "improved cylinder" over "modified".)

With the 7 1/2 shot dove load at 15 yards patterns from the lower barrel centered about an inch lower, moving back to 25 yards with those same "modified" over "improved modfied" chokes gave a considerable degree of overlap with both no 7 1/2 lead and no 2 steel shot, bottom barrel groups still somewhat lower.

Recoil with the 3" steel shot loads in this light gun was sharp but not troublesome. The barrel selector mechanism on the safety was easy and natural to operate. Empties were tossed neatly out upon opening, unfired shells left resting on the ejector still chambered. So reloading one fired barrel oughta be a cinch.

Point of interest, standing offhand with slugs; the lower barrel with open choke tube installed put three slugs into one ragged hole at 15 yards. Only fifteen yards I know, but I've seen shotgun slugs do worse. Worth pursuing when I get the time.

Birdwatcher

Thanks for the report- sounds like pleasing results!