So I picked up this about 6 year old Tristar over under sporting shotgun from a guy who wasn't using it. It probably hadnt been fired in 5 years according to him.

Why did I buy it... because I was curious and it was cheap. I have a B-gun, but this is a spare buddy gun for trap/skeet/sporting clays. And it was only a few hundred bucks, so very little to lose. worst case scenario is that I have something to practice my gunsmithing skills.

Called Tristar and they said its a solid gun and they still have parts for it. I will order some firing pins and hammer springs just to practice replacing them.

Took it apart and it was bone dry. I mean very dry. It was very clunky. So I cleaned it and oiled it. Used a little furniture polish on the stock to clean it up a little. It loosened up.

Took it to the trap field today to see if it actually worked, shot a few rounds and it went "bang" every single time I pulled the trigger.

Aesthetically, its not as nice as my browning. Nowhere close. But its not bad looking. The action doesn't open as smoothly as my browning and the trigger pull is noticeably heavier. As nice as my Browning 725... not even. But a nice gun to shoot, definitely. But, I paid 1/6th the price of what I paid for the browning and it will probably only get shot a few hundred rounds a month tops.

Let's see how it holds up...

Ha! I just read your same post over on CalGuns! For the $, TriStars are pretty good.

Yeah, I posted over there as well. I am fishing for comments from people who have actual experience with Tristars and other guns at that level.

Funny thing... I've been shooting only about six months. When I joined this site and others and I asked about a first gun to buy. I was looking at a CZ and the b-gun fanatics all chimed in with very passionate opinions.

I didn't originally get a clear perspective from the people who actually owned Turkish guns. Now that I actually have one, what I am hearing now, both in public and private messages, is realistic comments from people who actually own turkish guns. Most are success stories, but they don't have the same passion as the b-gun loyalists.

At least I will now have some experiences of my own.