They like it, they really like it! The NRA has named Stoeger’s new shotty, the M3500, a Golden Bullseye winner. Not bad going in a crowded field, and the $629 (msrp) price will leave some room in your wallet for a few boxes of shells, too. We hope to get our hands on one real soon. If we do, we’ll shoot a little trap, some skeet and a round of clays and let you know if it’s really as good as the NRA sez. We’re ready when you are, Mike. Mike? Press release after the jump . . .
ACCOKEEK, MD (April 30, 2012) –– Stoeger’s new M3500, 3½-inch semi-auto shotgun received the NRA’s Golden Bullseye Award at the NRA’s 2012 Annual Meetings & Exhibits held April 13-15, in St. Louis, MO. Each year, NRA Publications’ staff members select those products that prove to be the best in their respective categories—rifle, shotgun, handgun, optic and accessory—and award them the NRA Publications Division’s highest honor: the Golden Bullseye.
Now in its 10th year, the Golden Bullseye Award symbolizes the best efforts made during the past year by companies and individuals pursuing excellence and innovation in the manufacture of firearms, accessories and related equipment. When it came to identifying this year’s best shotgun, the editors picked the remarkably economical Stoeger Model 3500 3 ½-inch semi-automatic.
Built around the reliable inertia-operating system, the M3500 exhibits a combination of features that makes it an excellent choice for all types of hunting. Its synthetic stock is impervious to all types of weather and harsh conditions, and it handles a full range of loads, from 2¾-inch up to the potent 3½-inch Magnum without adjustment. For reliability and performance, no other 3½-inch semi-auto in its price range compares.
“The Stoeger Model 3500 is an example of affordable innovation,” said Mark Keefe, American Rifleman’s, Editor in Chief. “With this gun you do not have to break the bank to get a reliable 3½-inch semi-automatic that is at home in the goose blind or turkey woods.”
SPECIFICATIONS:
Gauge: 12-Gauge
Barrel Length: 24”, 26” & 28”
Chokes: IC, M, F, XFT
Sights: Red bar front sight
Metal Finish: Black synthetic, Realtree® Max-4™, Realtree® APG™
Stock Material: Synthetic Average Weight: 7.5 lbs.
Overall Length: 46”, 48” & 50”
Length of Pull: 143/8”
Drop at heel: 2.5”
Drop at Comb: 1.5”
MSRP: $629 – $719
It’s a Benelli made in Turkey. What’s so innovative about discovering that Turks work cheaper than Italians? If you want to get a jump on other reviewers, just shoot a low-end Benelli, knock off a point for fit & finish, conclude with, “A great bargain for anyone on a budget,” and you’re done.
That wouldn’t be nearly as funny if it weren’t true.
I’m get it.
Not so sure this shotgun is all that innovative, but they probably will sell a few of them. I suppose I would not mind having one, but I really do not need 3.5 inch capability.
Good gun for TTAG to test and see how well it works.
Actually one semi-auto shotgun I am sort of interested in is a Franchi for upland hunting.
The “goose blind or turkey woods” is what I call Congress.
A group of geese in flight is called a skein, on the ground a gaggle. A group of turkeys are called a rafter or a gang.
A group of baboons is called … a congress.
Golden Bullseye awards usually go to the products which pay for a lot of advertising in “American Rifleman”. Other than that, I don’t think it means much.
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