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Savage/Stevens 512 Goldwing Problems

30K views 23 replies 14 participants last post by  DallasCMT 
#1 ·
My best friend and father just got into the shooting sports within the last 2 months and they each purchased 512 Goldwings for their first shotguns. I took them to a local trap range and shot with them and both had issues with not firing... I don't know much about those particular O/U's, I believe you get what you pay for, but I can't say much to them because they just bought their first guns which I am happy about.. I personally shoot a Browning 725, but they didn't know how they were going to like it and if they were going to keep up with it, so I didn't want to tell them to buy a Browning. I figured Savage makes a great rifle, so I couldn't see them making a bad shotgun.. Have these guns been having issues?
 
#3 ·
Savage doesn't make them. They're some low-end Turkish gun, rebadged by Savage. No relationship whatsoever to the rifles. Yes the Turks can make good stuff now but this isn't it, and anywhere near the 512's price point, you won't find the good stuff. (I own exactly one Turkish-built shotgun, a nice round-action side-by-side, and it was clearance-priced at $1400, a good deal for what it is. It's not a clay target gun, though I did shoot registered NSCA targets with it once.)

I haven't seen a single 512 in use. I've only seen them at the store, and a lot of people buy stuff they don't actually use. So I can't say what problems they might have. I can say, however, that most experienced clay target shooters have had their experiences with penny wise and pound foolish in the past, so they don't buy guns like these in the first place. :(

The best deal in a quality clay target O/U, new, right now is the Beretta Silver Pigeon I Sporting. Unfortunately, it's still priced much higher than the 512. It can be found well under $2000, and for a new O/U, that's about the floor for price if you want a quality gun.

If someone isn't sure about shooting clay targets, there are good semiautos available for way under a grand, new, like the A300 Outlander. Or you can find a good used one, too, and it's probably easier for a neophyte to assess than an O/U, and in most cases much easier and cheaper for a home tinkerer or non-specialist gunsmith to fix. Just examine the mechanism for obvious wear or broken parts, then put some 1 oz. target loads in it and see if they cycle reliably. If you can go through 10 rounds without a hitch, the gun will probably work as well as any. If not, walk.

Used break-actions are much harder to assess for a new shooter. I learned THAT lesson myself the hard way, too. Brand names don't immunize you. Some people think Brownings just wear "in not out" -- maybe because Browning makes that ludicrous claim in ad copy. Well, I can attest from that early experience buying a used Trap gun, it's bull****. Good guns last longer, but anything can be shot to hell with enough use, neglect, or abuse. Caveat emptor. :)

 
#5 ·
I am in disbelief that Savage would even stamp their name on a gun like these... I took these guns home cleaned and oiled them and will give them a shot next week.. If they are garbage as I am starting to believe they are, Savage/Stevens will be receiving a not so nice e-mail from us...
 
#6 ·
oregunner said:
The infamous $500 O/U. Hopefully they get good warranty service or a refund. Best time to do research is before the purchase. "Friends don't let friends buy cheap shotguns". Maybe that should be a T-shirt! Mark
Joe Biden has already filed for a copyright on that one. He recommends spending at least $1000 on a double gun that should be used for firing two warning shots through your front door. Joe of course has added a second line to that one, so the shirt will read like this:

"Friends don't let friends buy cheap double barrel shotguns."

"And the Government is a friend to children, so we won't let you buy semi-auto shotguns"

Joe is pro-Turk when it comes to certain Turk made shotguns, as he says "The good Muslims in Turkey are our best friends and allies"

Unfortunately, he is opposed to Turkish made shotguns made in Christian and Sikh owned factories. He is sending $250MM US is aid to Muslim owned Turk double barrel factories, so they can ramp up production prior to the coming semi-auto ban.
 
#7 ·
While the guns your friends bought are not great O/Us ,it doesn't mean they got taken.If they decide to sell those guns they can get most or all their money back.
 
#8 ·
Jaspo01 said:
While the guns your friends bought are not great O/Us ,it doesn't mean they got taken.If they decide to sell those guns they can get most or all their money back.
If they get most of their money back it will be because they found someone else who doesn't know junk when they see it. As for complaining to Savage, you will be right in line with everyone else who bought a Goldwing. Companies selling the very cheap Turkish doubles subscribe to the P T Barnum school of business.
 
#9 ·
Sorry to hear about your friends guns. We have heard here from more than a few fellows who have bought the 512, and few of them have had any luck at all with them. I do not know of any regular members on this forum who own one today. That should tell you all you need to know. And yes, there are a lot of guys here who enjoy owning less-expensive guns, just none of them own the 512. If your friends have any luck getting their money back, I would recommend they look into the CZ line of shotguns. The Canvasback can be had for around $650 and is a very solid, long lasting shotgun. If that is too much money for them, then Bakial makes a real tough, "working mans O/U" for less than that, but they are ugly. They are tough as nails, but ugly.
 
#10 ·
Well, my 512, (used yet), didn't treat me too bad.

But then, I also paid used price for it and it came with two flats of shells, plus something like 2,000 empty hulls, and various wads.

I tried to shoot the gun, and with extra concentration, finally broke more than 20 on the wobble skeet field.

That was hard because the trigger pull was about twice the weight of the gun.
I did try adding weight, and checked into a trigger job. Useless and way too expensive.

So, I let the local pawn shop take it off my hands, for 2/3 or 3/4 of what I paid for it and the extras. Hey, I actually got a great deal!
BTW, it was a 28 gauge, sorry, forgot to mention it earlier.

And it has sold from there again.
Been replaced here as well.
 
#11 ·
Beemanjohn thank you for your input, so CZ makes a good gun? They were looking at anything under $1000. I feel terrible because they called me and asked if Savage was a good gun, my experience with their rifles and bolt action shotguns had been nothing but great! So I thought their O/U's would have been O.K., just nothing fancy. I didn't know they got the guns from another manufacturer and were just stamped... I' ll tell them to take a look at CZ's.
 
#12 ·
whitetailcrazy said:
Beemanjohn thank you for your input, so CZ makes a good gun? They were looking at anything under $1000. I feel terrible because they called me and asked if Savage was a good gun, my experience with their rifles and bolt action shotguns had been nothing but great! So I thought their O/U's would have been O.K., just nothing fancy. I didn't know they got the guns from another manufacturer and were just stamped... I' ll tell them to take a look at CZ's.
The CZ shotguns are made by Huglu, the O/U, and SxS guns are pretty good deal. I paid $600 for my Canvasback, that price includes 6 additional after market choke tubes. I have to date 25,225 through it without any problems so far.

cdb
 
#13 ·
CZ is good for the price alright.

And very good, if one does have a problem.
About the best customer service out there with the only problem being their location and lack of walk in service.

Everything has to be shipped, period!

Sucks when you live close.
 
#15 ·
I have owned a 512 Goldwing in 20 ga for a couple years.
Bought it in case my old 20 ga Fox Savage SXS I use for Dove & Quail ever broke.
I have put several hundred rounds through it with no problems. Sure it is not a lot
of rounds, none the less I really really like the gun.
 
#16 ·
Cz-Usa makes well priced and well make/good working shotguns.

I have a O&U Mallard (under $600.00)
O&U Redhead Delux (around $1,00.00)
O&U Redhead Target (around $1,200)
SxS Ringneck Target (around $1,200.00)

I would like to have the Canvasback, but could not find one, so I got the Redhead delux.

All these guns perform well.

Carry On
 
#18 ·
Before you buy any gun find out where it was made. Then ask yourself would you buy a car made in that company If you wouldn't, or more likely don't know of a brand of car made in the country, pass on the gun too. There are plenty of good inexpensive guns made, don't buy a poor cheap one.
 
#20 ·
I haven't heard of any Portuguese, or Belgium cars setting the world on fire either, but the Maxus, and SX3 are pretty good guns. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in OF's analogy.

cdb
 
#21 ·
I recently purchased the Stevens 512 Silver Edition 20ga. from Cabelas. I mostly purchased the gun in order to provide information seeing as there is not much out there other than 2nd hand accounts. Also, I wanted an o/u that I could bring into the field/woods and not be concerned about beating on a $1000+ gun.

I've put 443 rounds through it in the past week. I have not had mechanical issues yet. I was suprised at how dirty the gun was NIB. The action was extremely hard to open out of the box as well. After I deep cleaned the gun, I worked out the action pretty quickly by breaking it open while sitting on the couch, I think it took about 100 repetitions. The gun points pretty similar to my 870; though the 512 is lighter. I was able to go 78 and 83 on my first two rounds of trap with the new gun, I usually shoot around 84-90 with the 870.

I wish I could say that I am confident in the quality of this gun, but I cannot help but feel like I will be selling this firearm after the upland season this year. It seems like Torun/Hatfield wanted to make a stylish gun more than they wanted to make a quality firearm.

It sounds like your friend and dad would be better off with repeaters. 870 wingmasters have been proven for decades.
 
#22 ·
Update - The 512 now has 1093 rounds through it with no issues. I am thinking that I will be keeping this gun. The break is still stiffer than I'd like, but we'll see what the next 1000 does to smooth that out. I am still not entirely confident that this gun could stand up to 100 rounds a week for a prolonged period of time. It will be a field only gun after this upcoming season.
 
#23 ·
My Stevens 512 is at 1593 rounds through the chambers. Over 1000 have been through the bottom barrel. The break is no longer stiff, but still will not freely open all the way. There have been no issues with the rib or the metal between the barrels peeling back. The gun does not lock up as tight as 500 rounds ago. We'll see what the next 500 do to the action.

If anyone has any specific questions/suggestions on certain areas of the gun I should be checking, let me know.
 
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