Stoeger Uplander and Condor. Opinions?

[wildfan1]

Just curious what others have experienced with the Stoeger shotgun line. I picked up a barely used 20 ga Condor from The Frontiersman over the weekend, and just bought a like new Uplander 12 ga on GB. for the money, they look like pretty dang nice guns, and one I won't worry about scratching when hunting.

[tator2k]

One word: HEAVY!

[dtapper2]

Yeah, they're pretty dang heavy. I have heard mixed reviews on them, sometimes they have light strikes. I've handled many condors and don't think they're terrible, just not the best. It can be hit or miss on all Stoegers, generally good though. Specially for under $450! I would not hesitate on buying one for the right price.

[Shako Sparky]

I have a condor competition 12ga. I really like this gun. It is the best "budget" over/under I have shot.

[MrDig]

I really liked mine but needed cash so I sold it some time ago. I did not put a lot of rounds through it but I think the weight was fine.

[Hoot]

A coworker and hunting companion has the 12ga basic Condor and he uses if for trap league. He's shot quite a few 25's with it. It had an issue with the firing pins and Stoeger sent him a new set which I installed for him. No trouble since. I was impressed with it considering the price he paid for it. No, it's not a Citori or other mid-upper range O/U, but then again it cost him half as much.

Hoot

[SSBotanyBay]

IIRC, they swing about like my Baikal. But as Hoot said, they had some issues with the firing pins. This is what steered me away from them when I went looking for an inexpensive O/U. But then again, my Baikal has had some extractor/ejector issues too. Realistically you cannot expect a Cadillac on a Yugo budget but I know a couple guys that love their Stoegers.

[grousemaster]

After all the issues with my Mossberg I'm gonna stay away from the cheap doubles. That being said, you could get a good one that never has an issue.

I picked up a nice used Citori white lightning for $1099 at Gunstop. Dealer cost on that same gun is $1598. There's deals to be had out there....

[RangerTim]

My buddy bought a brand new Condor. It was a sweet little shotgun, but it had a tendency to fall apart when shooting 00 buck. He contacted Stoeger, and they said it was too much lube. We wiped all the oil off the entire takedown lever and catch, and it still came apart. They said not enough oil.
After about 200 rounds of bird and buck, it finally stopped falling apart after firing a round. Still made me a bit nervous.

Other than that, no complaints

[wildfan1]

In my standard fashion, I fell in love with something and went completely overboard on it. The 20 gauge o/u condor is at home, the 20 gauge and 12 gauge s/s uplanders are in route. And I am sure within the next few weeks I will own the 12 gauge Condor o/u too. For the price they are just a damn nice gun, and won't be too worried if I scuff or scratch one. can't wait for trap season to try them all out.

[jspace]

I've got one. Shoots well for me, but I don't have any other doubles to compare it to. I have had issues with light strikes and the trigger resetting. The internals were full of oil from the factory. I didn't strip it down completely, but I hit it with the air compressor real good and got most of it out. Haven't had any issues since, but I gave it to my dad.

[grousemaster]

I've got one. Shoots well for me, but I don't have any other doubles to compare it to. I have had issues with light strikes and the trigger resetting. The internals were full of oil from the factory. I didn't strip it down completely, but I hit it with the air compressor real good and got most of it out. Haven't had any issues since, but I gave it to my dad.

I had trigger reset issues with my Mossberg, then cracked stock, then safety getting stuck half way. The gun has probably cost me 20 birds (and probably killed 200 ). It's a rainy day only gun now. Yes, it's already been back for repair.

[Hoot]

Saw a Condor O/U at the show today that showed marks from use and was still asking $399 IIRC.
Could kick myself to this day for getting rid of both the set of 3200s and the set of Citories I owned back in my Trap & Skeet Shooting heyday.
Still have my trusty 12ga 3" Remington 1100 and a passdown 20ga JC Higgins SXS with extraordinary tiger striped walnut furniture. I keep it because it looks nice. Can't hit squat with an SXS for some reason. Don't suppose lacking a dominant eye causes that? There are downsides to ambidexterity.

Hoot