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Retay Masai Mara thoughts

68K views 142 replies 37 participants last post by  oldshotty 
#1 ·
Shopping for my first semi auto shotgun. I'm 58 and have hunted all my life and grew up with pumps. Mainly because I never could afford, or justify, spending the money for a semi auto. Ready to treat myself. The Retay Masai Mara is new in the U.S. Getting great reviews. Friends are saying it the up and coming new semi automatic. Has anyone used one and have an opinion?
 
#102 ·
I will see. Maybe I will borrow or buy a chrono then. Thanks.

Btw, being back to Retay,
I saw a topic on some EU gun board and a quite recent thread in "Hardcore Waterfowler" group on the Facebook in regard of these shotguns. General impression of people's feedback, that quality of these shotguns is like lottery. When you're lucky - you can be happy owner. But often enough people have troubles with it. My personal conclusion is: save up 200..300 more and get a Vinchi or similar Benelli.
 
#103 ·
i3rider said:
I will see. Maybe I will borrow or buy a chrono then. Thanks.

Btw, being back to Retay,
I saw a topic on some EU gun board and a quite recent thread in "Hardcore Waterfowler" group on the Facebook in regard of these shotguns. General impression of people's feedback, that quality of these shotguns is like lottery. When you're lucky - you can be happy owner. But often enough people have troubles with it. My personal conclusion is: save up 200..300 more and get a Vinchi or similar Benelli.
That's nonsense. All last year, only three guns in total were sent to Briley in the U.S. for warranty work, whether they needed it or not. They are better-made than most Benelli's, and we you see how well-made and tested they are, you will be amazed. I was.

Better triggers, better (alloy) trigger groups, better actions, Bohler steel deep-drilled barrels, silver-soldered ribs better raw materials and quality control. Retay puts a huge amount of testing into every shotgun before it is boxed for shipment.
 
#104 ·
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1052019 ... 024221785/

- there we go
I.e. one of comments:
"I had one as well. Mine was best single shot or double shot I had, but I have to be honest they never gave me the run around when it wasn't working. Sent return labels and worked on gun , but problems never was fixed and they took gun back and I got my money back. So I can not trash them , as all companies have growing pains and hiccups. But customer service was great and no hassle and always polite..I'll try them again after been out longer."
Some other ones are quite positive:
"I bought a retay out of spite and the fact my sb3 is 16" high. The gun has yet to fail me and I beat the snots out of it this season. Very happy with the outcome"
Btw, I also see many complaints in regards of new SBE3 shooting high. Did Benelli move their top waterfowl shotgun production to Turkey?

Being Canadian I would like to give a try to that Retay, but the idea sending it back to US in case if something goes wrong doesn't sound very exciting. Also, like many people say, the price being close to some Benellis just doesn't make sense. I.e. I have a buddy in Europe who is gun dealer. He has also been visiting that Retay factory in Turkey, checked those shotguns and kinda liked them. But the price has deterred him from bulk ordering. He says he also works with Turkish "ATA Arms" which delivers quite stable quality guns for several years already while being more competitive price vise.
 
#105 ·
i3rider said:
Being Canadian I would like to give a try to that Retay, but the idea sending it back to US in case if something goes wrong doesn't sound very exciting. Also, like many people say, the price being close to some Benellis just doesn't make sense. I.e. I have a buddy in Europe who is gun dealer. He has also been visiting that Retay factory in Turkey, checked those shotguns and kinda liked them. But the price has deterred him from bulk ordering. He says he also works with Turkish "ATA Arms" which delivers quite stable quality guns for several years already while being more competitive price vise.
Retay has a distributor in Canada.

As far as the U.S., the Gordion https://www.retayusa.com/gordion-waterfowl and https://www.retayusa.com/upland starts at $799 MSRP in basic black. They are not at all expensive shotguns in 2020.
 
#112 ·
chemclay said:
Ok. Can you tell me this info about the 12 ga?
Their standard LOP (12 gauge) is 365mm (14.37 in.). Drop at heel = 2.16 in., adjustable to 1.77 / 1.96 / 2.36. Drop at at comb is 1.45 in., +/_ .04 in.

The drop shim set included is 45mm, 50mm, 55mm, and 60mm. The 55mm shim is installed as standard.

Also, see: https://www.retayusa.com/ . I've reviewed several examples of the Masai Mara 12 gauge, both in synthetic, walnut, 3 inch, and 3-1/2 inch.

The new Gordion, I've not reviewed yet.
 
#114 ·
If I may be so bold I suggest international companies market firearm models with more universal names.

Like 11, or 37 or 12.

I looked up Masi Mara and see that it is a preserve in Kenya. I don't know if the Retay company has some ties to that or if they just liked the name.

Hope that's not xenophobic of me, probably is.
 
#121 ·
Not sure what that means, this is a backup of the Retay I use in the field, gun goes bang and hits where you want it to, not sure anything else is to be expected. Legit co, producing it and just because they haven't penetrated the market as deep as others, doesn't mean anything to me. I am into equipment which works, gun is legit.
 
#122 ·
I was just curious as to why you'd be selling a NIB gun without ever using it. Glad to hear that you're happy with your primary Retay. I'm not one who views the Retay as a cheap Turkish knockoff of the, IMO, overpriced and over-rated Benelli. To the contrary, Retay strikes me as well made and of good quality. I prefer gas autoloaders, but if I wanted an inertia gun it would be a Retay.
 
#123 ·
I have been very impressed with my Retay Masai Mara. I bought the walnut stocked 'satin' version and it is a beautiful shotgun with a super smooth action, a great trigger, and the build quality (machining, fitting, etc.) is at least the equal of any semi-auto I have owned, including Benelli.
 
#124 ·
I'm loving my masai mara 12ga so far. It is so easy to disassemble and the finishing on the bolt carrier group and internals is great. My only gripe is the stock recoil pad is terrible and is harder than a shoe sole. I just put a limbsaver airtech on it and it's perfect now. The limbsaver is a 95% match to the stock but the holes don't align so it takes a little modding to make it work but it is the best upgrade! Shooting 3.5" shells feel like nothing now.
 
#125 ·
Picked up my 20 gauge 26" Masai Mara Walnut today and shot 100 rounds of sporting clays. Love it, no FTF/FTE. Finish is well done, balance is excellent, felt accurate and comfortable. Trigger felt smooth without excessive creep but I didn't measure it. The wood quality is quite good, the controls are simple/easy/functional and I really like the matte black receiver. The breakdown is easy and user-friendly. Still very early, but I really like it. Felt very similar to my friend's M2. Look forward to hearing what other people find as they start using it.
 
#126 ·
JRR2255 said:
Picked up my 20 gauge 26" Masai Mara Walnut today and shot 100 rounds of sporting clays. Love it, no FTF/FTE. Finish is well done, balance is excellent, felt accurate and comfortable. Trigger felt smooth without excessive creep but I didn't measure it. The wood quality is quite good, the controls are simple/easy/functional and I really like the matte black receiver. The breakdown is easy and user-friendly. Still very early, but I really like it. Felt very similar to my friend's M2. Look forward to hearing what other people find as they start using it.
Where did you find the 20 for sale? Everywhere I look is sold out.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
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