Little Tri Star 20 ga. and some 7/8th oz. of ITX-10 #4's is pretty hard on decoying green- heads... susies, too Miss Gabby done the honors.
I went with the Mossberg SA-20, actually bought two of them, one 24" and one 28" I love them, and they are very capable with the right ammo. I've been loading my own TSS for a while and it's spectacular! I can kill big honkers at least as far as my SBE ever did, and with a very light recoiling 5.2 lb gun. I had to take a few woodies for opening weekend, it won't be long until they are gone for the winter, and IMO they are one of the best tasting ducks. One drake from Sunday had nice plumage already.
I believe the TriStar and the Mossberg are essentially the same gun. I have been looking for a youth 20.
The TriStar and SA-20 are indeed, very similarly designed, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase either one. I'm not sure if the stats are accurate on the TriStar though, they list the weight of the youth model around 6.5 lbs with synthetic stock, my 24" youth Mossberg claims to be 5.5 lbs but weighs exactly 5.95 lbs with the plug in, a Hi-Viz fiber optic front sight, a mid-rib bead, and an extended choke installed. It's a perfect gun for smaller shooters, and with a slip-on Limbsaver, I can carry it all day with 6 shells in the gun (also allows the 7th round to be floated if you so desire) for pheasants and upland game - at least when my daughter doesn't use it. The Turkish guns have definitely improved in the last few years. My BIL just bought a Turkish-made EAA Girsan MC312 3 1/2" semi-auto that is a very close clone to the SBE at least in design, brand new for $320 - that's insanely cheap. I'm waiting for him to get it broken in and a good field testing done, so far he's thrilled with it.
Wooducks certainly are tasty. I used to shoot a lot of them years ago along the river where I grew up in Ohio. I think the TriStar is more of a Beretta design. I know it uses Beretta choke tubes. It's very light.
I finally got to shoulder a Tri star 20 ga. awhile back and it simply did not fit me. I saw way too much rib and don’t think it had any/enough cast off. I liked the gun’s looks and was really considering purchasing one in 28 ga. but without some stock work I just don’t see that happening. My two Beretta O/U’s and a400 fit me well as do all Remingtons, just wish others did as well. Anyway, nice job with the gun, looks good!
My son(13)has shot a Tristar Raptor, 20 gauge for 3 years now. The gun fit him great, he shot it well, very reasonably priced but the action machine work is pretty rough. In his case, if the gun is not kept very clean(action and gas system) it becomes sluggish. In his case, if a Mossberg or any other comparable style SA, has more polished components, I’d go that route. He told me his next SA, would be a Browning Silver 20.
Armsam in Turkey makes both the TriStar Viper G2 and the Mossberg SA-20. I've got a Viper G2 Bronze in 28 ga. and have been very impressed with it. I'm sure the SA-20 is equally good. I've read very good reviews of the Girsan MC-312.
This gun is so tight. Admittedly it's new, but it sure seems very solid and with very close tolerances. So I'm not sure how a little dirt might affect it. For right now it's a very nice shooting gun. Directions said break it in with 3 inch shells, So when I got it I bought two boxes 3 inch #4 steel. I think I shot three or four of them in it, and it threw empties about 20 feet. The only thing I've hunted with have been 2-3/4" reloads, and I haven't had any ejection problems with them.
