I received my 30" SX3 Ultimate Sporting 2 weeks ago and have had a chance to get some initial impressions.
First: I went through my process of unboxing and cleaning everything before the first firing session. The case it comes in is very nice. Much better than the other factory plastic boxes I've seen. It might not be the thing for shipping by plane across country but it is very suitable for transporting from home to the range. There are compartments for everything and it all stays well in place. The gun itself is very nice with nice wood grain. On my example I was glad I did a pre-clean as there were evident metal contaminants left from the manufacturing process inside the receiver. Field stripping is very easy and there are several videos online to preview. If you've owned a semi-auto shotgun, it should be no issue to strip and reassemble. Once I was satisfied with the mechanics I moved on to make an initial adjustment to the comb. This was where I ran into the only issue so far. I loosened the two Allen set screws and low and behold, it would not budge. I thought I had missed something so I looked on the all knowing interweb and no luck. I guess I'm getting weak so I tried again and really tugged on it. Nope! I removed the butt pad thinking maybe they hid a locking screw under there, but no. I tried tapping it with a rubber mallet to see if it would move. Nope!. So by now I have a sneaking suspicion I know what the issue may be. I removed a utility razor blade from a knife and VERY carefully aligned it in the groove where the cheek rest meets the stock. Again very carefully, I tapped it into the gap and used it as a wedge. After just a few taps it popped loose and was easily removed. The issue was as I had suspected. The stock and cheek pad were assembled in the factory before the stain process was completely dry. It ended up being a pretty good glue to lock them together. I did not do any damage and there are no marks visible from my efforts so no harm no foul other than the aggravation. Once I had it loose it was very easy to make the adjustments.
A few days later I finally had a chance to shoot a round and my local club. My impressions so far are:
1) Very low recoil. I was shooting 1-1/8 oz #8 @ 1200 fps. Three of the guys I shoot with tried it and all three were equally impressed. All of them remarked about there being no kick.
2) The action is very smooth and solid. I also have a Weatherby SA-08 that I shoot and this feels very different. It feels almost like it is on ball bearings rather than sliding.
3) The trigger is not bad. I had read that the heavy pull was a problem. I don't have the fine trigger feel that someone who shoots a lot might so I can't say whether it is true or not. I'll have to get better before the one on this gun is a problem for me.
4) No failures. Feeds fine and ejects strongly.
5) I shot a personal best "for me". I'm by no means a competitive shooter but I really like this shotgun. Many of the clays I broke were black dust instead of the usual chips and pieces I get.
Overall, I'm very happy with the SX-3. I decided to go this route rather than an O/U because for the money most double guns are in the low to entry group according to what you see and hear. On the other hand, the Ultimate is one of the best auto-loaders out there. I've read the Benelli Performance Shop Super Sport is a nice gun but very "over-priced" for the cosmetic buttons and knobs. The Fabarms guns are really nice but there are very few dealers. I would be a little concerned should I ever need service. Also, they are a good $1000 bucks more than what I paid.
The SX3 checks all of my list. Be prepared, the guys at the club will ask you about it when they see it. It is a very nice looking piece as well. :mrgreen:
First: I went through my process of unboxing and cleaning everything before the first firing session. The case it comes in is very nice. Much better than the other factory plastic boxes I've seen. It might not be the thing for shipping by plane across country but it is very suitable for transporting from home to the range. There are compartments for everything and it all stays well in place. The gun itself is very nice with nice wood grain. On my example I was glad I did a pre-clean as there were evident metal contaminants left from the manufacturing process inside the receiver. Field stripping is very easy and there are several videos online to preview. If you've owned a semi-auto shotgun, it should be no issue to strip and reassemble. Once I was satisfied with the mechanics I moved on to make an initial adjustment to the comb. This was where I ran into the only issue so far. I loosened the two Allen set screws and low and behold, it would not budge. I thought I had missed something so I looked on the all knowing interweb and no luck. I guess I'm getting weak so I tried again and really tugged on it. Nope! I removed the butt pad thinking maybe they hid a locking screw under there, but no. I tried tapping it with a rubber mallet to see if it would move. Nope!. So by now I have a sneaking suspicion I know what the issue may be. I removed a utility razor blade from a knife and VERY carefully aligned it in the groove where the cheek rest meets the stock. Again very carefully, I tapped it into the gap and used it as a wedge. After just a few taps it popped loose and was easily removed. The issue was as I had suspected. The stock and cheek pad were assembled in the factory before the stain process was completely dry. It ended up being a pretty good glue to lock them together. I did not do any damage and there are no marks visible from my efforts so no harm no foul other than the aggravation. Once I had it loose it was very easy to make the adjustments.
A few days later I finally had a chance to shoot a round and my local club. My impressions so far are:
1) Very low recoil. I was shooting 1-1/8 oz #8 @ 1200 fps. Three of the guys I shoot with tried it and all three were equally impressed. All of them remarked about there being no kick.
2) The action is very smooth and solid. I also have a Weatherby SA-08 that I shoot and this feels very different. It feels almost like it is on ball bearings rather than sliding.
3) The trigger is not bad. I had read that the heavy pull was a problem. I don't have the fine trigger feel that someone who shoots a lot might so I can't say whether it is true or not. I'll have to get better before the one on this gun is a problem for me.
4) No failures. Feeds fine and ejects strongly.
5) I shot a personal best "for me". I'm by no means a competitive shooter but I really like this shotgun. Many of the clays I broke were black dust instead of the usual chips and pieces I get.
Overall, I'm very happy with the SX-3. I decided to go this route rather than an O/U because for the money most double guns are in the low to entry group according to what you see and hear. On the other hand, the Ultimate is one of the best auto-loaders out there. I've read the Benelli Performance Shop Super Sport is a nice gun but very "over-priced" for the cosmetic buttons and knobs. The Fabarms guns are really nice but there are very few dealers. I would be a little concerned should I ever need service. Also, they are a good $1000 bucks more than what I paid.
The SX3 checks all of my list. Be prepared, the guys at the club will ask you about it when they see it. It is a very nice looking piece as well. :mrgreen:
