Review: Stoeger 2000 semi-auto shotgun

"Practical Tactical"

Most of people are familiar with the Benelli name. They are known worldwide as one of the best shotgun manufacturers and designs. Their unique Inertia Driven System (IDS), along with high precision manufacturing and quality control, separates them from the rest of the pack. The bolt consists only of three moving parts: The bolt body, the inertia spring and the rotating bolt head. Super simple and ultra reliable. They also had another unique feature. Lets say you've got your shotty loaded up with 00-buck and its chambered ready to shoot. All of the sudden you need find the need to use a slug instead. No worries. Press the Cartridge Drop lever, pull the bolt back to eject the current 00-buck round, insert the slug round, and press the bolt release button. Simple and quick!

▶ YouTube video

Benelli semi-auto shotguns start around $1000 and are worth every penny. But this review isn't about Benelli shotguns. It's about the Stoeger 2000. So why the Benelli info? Well, Benelli is owned by Beretta Holdings (aka Beretta USA). They also own Franchi, SAKO, Tikka, Uberti, and Burris Optics. Beretta is best known for their Model 92 pistol or M9 for the military version.

Source: Olive-Drab.Com

Once Beretta purchased Benelli, they quickly turned to the IDS as the basis for most of their semi-auto shotguns. The first to adopt it was the Beretta 1201 shotgun. The last/current is the Stoeger 2000.

Unlike the Benelli, the Stoeger 2000 has the recoil spring coiled around the magazine tube. Benelli has it imbedded into the stock. The placement of the recoil spring isn't important. What is important is that the IDS is also in the Stoeger 2000. Especially since the Stoeger 2000 starts around $400. Yup... Benelli performance from a $400 shotgun.

The Stoeger 2000 is made in Turkey. Turkey has been turning out firearms for many companies. Their quality control is pretty good. The Turks know how to build guns! What the stoeger lacks (compared to the Benelli) is beauty. You won't find polished or laquered wood with inlaids. You won't find a high polished blue finish. You definitely won't find silver or gold inlaids on the receiver. Nope. What you get is a workhorse of a shotgun that is budget friendly and sports the Benelli Inertia Driven System (IDS).

The earlier Stoeger 2000s had their share of problems. Mainly design problems. Quite frankly, they were garbage. Bolt handles falling off the bolt, constant jams and failures to feed, and a bolt release button that would take Herculean strength to push down. All of the issues have been corrected in the current models. The bolt release is still a bit stiff, though.

Early last year I was hunting for a new defensive shotgun. I owned two Benelli's. One M1 Super 90 defense and a Montefeltro 28" for trap and skeet. Both were in 12ga. I loved them both but I needed to fund another gun project so I sold them both for $2000. I started to shop for a cheaper defensive shotgun and ran across an article about the Stoeger 2000 defensive shotgun and how it sported the IDS. Being familiar with the IDs, I knew that the shotgun would perform as long as the quality of the gun was there. I read a lot of sad reviews from earlier owners. I also read some favorable review from current owners. I figured that if I found a good enough deal, I would buy one just to try out. So, my search started for a pistol gripped Stoeger 2000 Tactical.

Source: StoegerIndustries.com

I was fortunate enough to score a great deal on a Stoeger 2000 "combo". I found it at Cabelas around Christmas season for $429. This combo package usually sells for $500. It came with a 28" vent rib barrel with a fiber optic sight, as well as the 18" defense barrel with a rifled front sight. It included 5 choke tubes and one breeching tube for the defense barrel. The beauty of this kit is that both barrels were threaded for chokes. Sweet! I was only shopping for the defensive shotgun at the time, so getting both barrels was a nice bonus! Wait! No pistol grip stock? Dang! Oh well. I can do without.

Source: HyattGunStore.Com

The shotgun came in a matte black finish. The furniture was polymer and the recoil pad was surprisingly comfortable. Removing the limiter plug was tough. The printed instructions showed a different spring retainer in the magazine tube, than what was actually there. It didn't take much time to figure out the correct way to remove it, though.

I cleaned the gun inside out, oiled it, and took it out for a test drive. I brought 250 rounds of Remington Heavy Game loads with me. My original Benelli's took between 150-200 rounds to break in. I wanted to be safe than sorry, so 250 rounds will be my goal. Oh, I also brought a buddy (sucker) because 250 rounds is a LOT of pounding... my shoulder would be pretty sore the next day. :)

I predicted 10 jams within the first 100 rounds and the rest would be smooth sailing. After 50 rounds, I had ZERO malfunctions. Woot! I let my buddy shoot the next 50 rounds and he had ZERO malfuctions. Double-woot! We concluded the break-in period with only 100 rounds. Solid performance for a sub-$500 semi-auto shotgun!

I didn't have many bells and whistles on my Benelli M1 defensive shotgun. I did, however, have a magazine tube extension. I like the look of a flushed magazine tube to the end of the barrel, and the extra 2 rounds was a plus. Although the Stoeger works like a Benelli, not many accessories are compatible. My research led me to two manufactures that made the magazine tub extension. Nordic Components and Flatland Forge. Flatland Forge was the first to offer one. The price for a +2 extension was $100 (recently reduced to $85). Ouch! Nordic Components came out with theirs shortly after and was $75. Still, Ouch! The Nordic Components was a nicer looking extension and was a bit cheaper. They also offered a +3 extension for the same price. I opted for the +3 extension. When it comes to saving my life I guess I can't squabble over $75. Heck, I saved almost $500 compared to a Benelli M1 defense shotgun and am pocketing $1,500 from the sale of my two Benelli shotguns. And, the extra round could mean the difference of life or death.

Overall, I am super happy with how this shotgun came out. It shoots well, is accurate, looks sweet with the +3 extension and worth twice the price I paid. Matte black looks pretty Tactical to me, so I give it an extra Zombie point. :)

The only CONS I could find was:

* The receiver was not drilled/tapped for optics. I didn't expect it to. My Benelli M1 wasn't either.
* The bolt release button is still a bit HARD to push, but it's working itself out. It should be softer as it wears in.
*I wished it came with a pistol grip stock. For $75, I could buy one, though.

Note: Benelli's will eat just about any ammo. The heavier the better. The IDS does NOT like light loads, so stay away from any ammo listed as "low recoil" or has less than 1 ounce load. There is also a weight balance ratio. Slap on too many "tactical tools" and your shotgun may have cycling issues.

To date, I've fired over 750 rounds through the shotgun. I was a bit nervious about the +3 extension because I was adding additional weigh to the gun, but it didn't miss a beat. I thought I would try some "low recoil" 00-Buck I had lying around. As expected, it did not cycle. It probably would have without the +3 extension, but too late now. I'm loving the 7+1 capacity. Being so, I'm pretty sure I will run into issues if I added a side-saddle ammo carrier to the receiver.

Also, I've shown this to several family members. Now, we have three of these Stoeger 2000 combos in our clan!

After this experience, I can't see why anyone would buy anything else if they want a dependable and reliable semi-auto shotgun.

I'm not sure if/when I will use the 28" vent rib barrel. I'm not a bird hunter nor do I have time for Trap & Skeet anymore. But when I do, I will post a follow-up.