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Tristar Viper G2

29K views 22 replies 12 participants last post by  SS 
#1 ·
I have been looking for a starter shotgun for 13 yr old daughter to begin clay shooting. During the search she shot a Benelli Cordoba, Mossberg Silver Reserve, Beretta 391, and a Ruger Red Label.
Most were too heavy excerpt the Cordoba. I'm sure there were lighter versions of all models but price was a factor. I just could not afford to spend $1150 and upwards at this time on a starter gun.

Through persuading from a local gun dealer I began to research the Tristar Viper. He had meet the owner at a gun convention and was impressed with the product. I did a search and could find very little except the usual you get what you pay for post ( and I understand that completely) but I decided to take a chance.
I had my daughter go with me to the gun shop and we looked at a $1200 Winchester and the $400 Tristar. She held them both and I ask her which she liked better. She said she liked this one OK (the Winchester) but liked the black one (Tristar) better but she knew it (the Tristar) was too expensive. Well I know looks does not have anything to do with how a gun shoots but the shotgun looks a cross between a Bennelli and the Beretta 391. It looks pretty pleasing to the eye, at least to me (but I am just a meat hunter and mostly owned Remington's and a solitaire Browning that stays in the box). But I like it and so does she!

Since I could not find many post about the gun I decided to call the company. I was turned over to a guy in Tristar customer services. I chatted with the guy @ customer services for about 15 min and was impressed with his demeanor and willingness to help and most of all candidness! I know they are there to sell their product but I liked the way he handled the call. I tried reaching Beretta forever, never even an e-mail.

I asked if he thought the Viper would handle the repetitiveness of shooting clays. He mentioned some upgrades that had been made on the new model, the Viper G2, and said it was built to be a lifetime gun. The upgrades include some manufacturing changes and something I was looking for a better recoil pad. The original Viper had a solid butt plate on the stock.

There was only about 3/10's of a pound difference in weight between the 20 ga. and the 12 ga.. My daughter is of average to small frame for a 13 yr old and we decided to go with the 12 ga and shoot lighter loads.The instructor said he would want to move her to a 12 ga as soon as possible if shooting a 20 ga. She has shot some in the dove field and does not seem to be recoil sensitive (actually on our first shoot this year she said " Dad I love the sound of the pump and the smell of gunpowder." My kind of gal!).The gun pull is a little long but this summer should be her growing spurt. I think it (the 12 ga.) turned out to be the right decision.

My 17 yr old son was the first to assemble the shotgun to take a look. When I talked to him he made reference to having a little trouble with the forearm piece. He dissembled it and put it back in the box for me to clean before shooting. When assembling it I saw what he was talking about. The forearm has little lips around the edge of the forearm piece to slid down and lock next to the receiver. This is unlike the Remington's we are used to dealing with and a little catchy at first but no problem. One other thing, I know they are proud of their product and want to get their name out, but I am not too fond of the embossed Tristar on the receiver. I would not like it if it were an embossed Beretta insignia or whatever. I would have preferred the company name on the receiver to blend in with the receiver

We cleaned the gun (which it was very clean except lube of course) and carried it too the clay range for practice. She had only shot at clays twice before this outing other than a few on a thrower @ home. She had shot a 870 pump (20 ga) in the past but they are not allowed to shoot pumps.

She fired the Viper G2 with ease. She feel in love with it (mind you it is her first gun)! She busted clays she had missed with the Ruger Red Label 20 ga (26 inch) the week before. Probably nothing to do with the gun but we were excited. It is recommended to shot a box of heavy loads through the gun first to loosen the recoil springs a little to help it cycle lighter loads. We cycled 75 heavy field loads 1 1/8 with no problems at all. I ask her was her shoulder sore, she said not at all. She had complained with soreness with the Ruger. I also ask the next day, she said no soreness.

We left the range all smiles with her proudly toting her Viper G2 safely against her shoulder with the action open for everyone to see as she had been taught.

A great day for DAD and Daughter!!!

We will keep you posted on the Viper G2! I will post pics of the Viper G2 later if you wish.
 
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#2 ·
Nasels, I had a tristar viper the older one and it worked great. I just sold it not to long ago. The reason being is that the rib was way to low for me. outside of that my older brother loved it and did not kick at all. some parts are pretty cheaply made But should last just about any hunting guy a life time. if your only shooting a few months a year. I will have to look into the G2 model now! maybe they raised the rib a little.
 
#3 ·
#4 ·
Hey i am 15.. had a winchester model 1300 since i was 10 never really shot it much until now.. i went and met up with a few family members they had some people there shooting skeet. and i tried it out and loved it. and now i want a entry level shotgun and i went to a local gun shop and was suggested to get a tri star viper g2 .. i held the gun and it felt lighter and better than any high dollar shotgun ive held. i love the feel of it just looking for a bit of info about the gun. if i could get the number to tri star it would be greatly appreciated. enjoyed the post
 
#5 ·
I have a Tristar Viper G2 Sporting which is made for clay shooting. The Sporting has a ported barrel, adjustable comb, elevated barrel rib with mid barrel chrome bead, deep black polished barrel and receiver, four chrome chokes, chrome bolt, high grade walnut forearm and stock and a ribbed recoil pad, The shotgun is gas operated which produces a mild recoil when shooting target loads. I have put over a 1000 shells thru the gun with seven failure to feed, using Federal blue box target loads, A five year "Limited Warranty" is included.
I paid $640. It's one of my favorites - check it out!
 
#8 ·
CmsTrap14 said:
Hey i am 15.. had a winchester model 1300 since i was 10 never really shot it much until now.. i went and met up with a few family members they had some people there shooting skeet. and i tried it out and loved it. and now i want a entry level shotgun and i went to a local gun shop and was suggested to get a tri star viper g2 .. i held the gun and it felt lighter and better than any high dollar shotgun ive held. i love the feel of it just looking for a bit of info about the gun. if i could get the number to tri star it would be greatly appreciated. enjoyed the post
Welcome to SGW young man!

here's the Tristar link.
http://www.tristarsportingarms.com/about.html

FYI, also you can use the Gallery of Guns gun genie to compare pricing of dealers in your area.

http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/default.aspx
 
#13 ·
SS said:
DeGriz said:
SS said:
Where are these guns made?
Armsan,

Just another Turkish firearm maker? Maybe not.

http://www.americanhunter.org/ArticlePa ... 524&cid=63
Turkey? That's all I need to know. I'll pass.
Well in this new "Global Economy" where even the "Made in the USA" Beretta 3901's barrels are made in Turkey. You would think that some of these manufacturers are going to get it right eventually.

Also these guys back it up with a 5 year warranty on the Viper. FWIW

Not that I would try to sway someone like you SS :roll:

I would agree that to this point every shotgun I have picked up that was "Made in Turkey" was garbage.

Maybe I'm just trying to convince myself that this one it might be worth a look see.
 
#14 ·
Yeah well, if wishes were horses, beggers would ride! There are too many good guns out there to fret about yet another Turkish wonder in the interest of saving a few dollars. Go for it if you must, just remember that you get what you pay for. I'm not buying the hype.
 
#16 ·
I own a Tristar Viper G2. I found it at a local shop after someone who had won it in a raffle traded it in. It was brand new and un-fired. I didn't have a semi-auto, and for $350, decided to give it a try. I'm not going to pretend that it's a B-gun, but I haven't had a single issue. I probably only have about 1,000 rounds through it, but don't have any complaints. I've even shot a few rounds of trap with it.

I don't know that I'd spend $600+ on one, but I don't have any regrets about my purchase.
 
#18 ·
SS buying "quality" or high profile guns is not always the answer. I purchased a Browning XS Skeet at a new cost of aorund $2,300.00. The nickle receiver started turning black in less than a year. Sent it back to Browning and they had my gun 9 months. They told me they had to send it back to Japan because it could not be repaired in America. Give me a break. I might understand that attitude on a $600 gun but that is totally unacceptable on a $2,300.00 gun. Guess what? I got it when I got it and Browning really could have cared less. Just my $0.02 worth.
 
#19 ·
Sam,

I would agree with your rant if I thought that a Citori is a high quality gun, but..... I don't. Generally they are good functional guns, but occasionallty they have issues and yes, Browning service stinks. Then a again, yours was a finish issue, not a function issue. The junk that I hate are those guns that don't go bang in short order. What was the actual problem with your gun? Having had a few Citoris and never having a finish issue, I'm curious as to what the problem is. Nickle finishes are usually pretty tough and foolproof.
 
#22 ·
SS: The receiver turned black. Large black spot on side continuing to the underside like a large finger print. Since receiving it back the nickle on the forearm release is doing the same thing. Just letting it go. As you stated it is not a function issue it's cosmetics. I have a 325 I bought used that has the same condition with the nickle. BTW $2,300.00 is a boat load of $$ for this kid :) and I shoot as poorly with it as I do my buddies K-80.
 
#23 ·
Sam: I'm not aware of finish issues with nickle. I do know that some shooter's chemistry can wear the blue off a gun in no time flat. I wonder if you have the same issue. If that's the case, I would be inclined to refinish and coat with a clear finish like they use case hardening or on other hardening processes. Yeah, $2300 is a lot of money and it's especially disheartening when something's not right. I hear ya!
 
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