[HDRider]

Anyone familiar with TriStar Arms?

Home | Tristar Arms

TriStar Arms, Inc. is a primary importer of quality firearms in the hunting and shooting industry. Search our inventory intoday!

www.tristararms.com

 

[HDRider]

They are made by

Khanarms.com

khanarms.com

 

[Wolf mom]

HD, why are you asking?

 

[HDRider]

HD, why are you asking?

Why do you ask why I asked?

 

[GunMonkeyIntl]

Most (all?) of their stuff comes out of Turkey. I’m most familiar with their O/U and autoloading shotguns.

low prices, fair quality. Kind of a get what you pay for, arrangement, but also not paying extra for a name. With the guns I’ve seen and worked on, a causal user will probably be fine with them, but also note that any sort of warranty support and/or customer service is painful at best.

Over all, I would put them in the same general basket as Taurus and Armscor… maybe toward the bottom of that basket.

 

[po boy]

Most (all?) of their stuff comes out of Turkey. I’m most familiar with their O/U and autoloading shotguns.

low prices, fair quality. Kind of a get what you pay for, arrangement, but also not paying extra for a name. With the guns I’ve seen and worked on, a causal user will probably be fine with them, but also note that any sort of warranty support and/or customer service is painful at best.

Over all, I would put them in the same general basket as Taurus and Armscor… maybe toward the bottom of that basket.

OOPS, I had to check and I did pick up a Taurus last year..

 

[HDRider]

Most (all?) of their stuff comes out of Turkey. I’m most familiar with their O/U and autoloading shotguns.

low prices, fair quality. Kind of a get what you pay for, arrangement, but also not paying extra for a name. With the guns I’ve seen and worked on, a causal user will probably be fine with them, but also note that any sort of warranty support and/or customer service is painful at best.

Over all, I would put them in the same general basket as Taurus and Armscor… maybe toward the bottom of that basket.

I always wanted a side-by-side. I looked at CZ and liked TriStar better. I got the one in the pic yesterday. It is the Bristol model. I was not looking to spend a lot. I paid a little less than $1,000.

I have a Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon over/under. I just looked at the price. It is $2,500. Wow, I stole that gun for $500 from a guy moving to Germany. It was in almost new condition.

I just shot the TriStar. It's recoil is more noticeable than the Beretta. Their weight is about the same. It might be because my shoulder is sore. I bought a trap machine last week and shot the Beretta a bunch earlier this week.

I'd agree with your quality comment. The Beretta resets the safety when you break the gun. The TriStar does not.

 

[HDRider]

OOPS, I had to check and I did pick up a Taurus last year..

I have a Taurus .380 and a Ruger .380. The Taurus shoots fine.

 

[nchobbyfarm]

The Beretta resets the safety when you break the gun. The TriStar does not.

This was the hardest thing for me to get used to when I started using the cheaper o/u for field trials. All my other o/u 's were like your Beretta.

I use an ATI in 20 and my son uses a TriStar. Neither resets the safety but are decent guns. We both had to work the safeties on and off while watching TV to loosen them.

I have found that the ATI will shoot both barrels on a single trigger pull if the stock isn't against something. If I throw a bird that doesn't fly to train for a retrieve, sometimes I shoot up in the air so the dog thinks I shot the bird.

The kick surprised me the first few times when both barrels fired. I learned to shoulder it anyway in those situations.

 

[GunMonkeyIntl]

View attachment 119382

I always wanted a side-by-side. I looked at CZ and liked TriStar better. I got the one in the pic yesterday. It is the Bristol model. I was not looking to spend a lot. I paid a little less than $1,000.

I have a Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon over/under. I just looked at the price. It is $2,500. Wow, I stole that gun for $500 from a guy moving to Germany. It was in almost new condition.

I just shot the TriStar. It's recoil is more noticeable than the Beretta. Their weight is about the same. It might be because my shoulder is sore. I bought a trap machine last week and shot the Beretta a bunch earlier this week.

I'd agree with your quality comment. The Beretta resets the safety when you break the gun. The TriStar does not.

The recoil on that gun may be because it’s lighter (though the Beretta Silver series is already pretty svelte), or it may be a function of it not fitting you quite as well.

Either way, I certainly wouldn’t call the Tristan junk. They’re generally perfectly serviceable shotguns. I’d venture the guess that, if you were a 5-10k/yr shooter, you’d end up having to have a gunsmith weld up that locking block more frequently than if it was the CZ or Beretta.

I’m of the school that unless I’m buying a truly “fine” double gun (which, for the record, is not my forte and I’ve rarely done), I like the heartier, less embellished models. To this day, my favorite O/Us are the Browning Superposed (Field Grade), the Citori (same), the Winchester 101, and, for SxS, the Savage 311. Frills on a sub (today?) $5k? double gun just seem like gloss paint on a rat rod.

Funny thing on the auto-safety: they are such a common feature, and disabling them was such a common request, that we ended up adding that as a standard line in our services catalog- two options depending on if it was one that could be removed altogether or if it had to be cut off and reinstalled. In the case where it could be removed, we’d put it in a baggie and tape it to a void in the stock for future use

 

[HDRider]

The recoil on that gun may be because it’s lighter (though the Beretta Silver series is already pretty svelte), or it may be a function of it not fitting you quite as well.

Either way, I certainly wouldn’t call the Tristan junk. They’re generally perfectly serviceable shotguns. I’d venture the guess that, if you were a 5-10k/yr shooter, you’d end up having to have a gunsmith weld up that locking block more frequently than if it was the CZ or Beretta.

I’m of the school that unless I’m buying a truly “fine” double gun (which, for the record, is not my forte and I’ve rarely done), I like the heartier, less embellished models. To this day, my favorite O/Us are the Browning Superposed (Field Grade), the Citori (same), the Winchester 101, and, for SxS, the Savage 311. Frills on a sub (today?) $5k? double gun just seem like gloss paint on a rat rod.

Funny thing on the auto-safety: they are such a common feature, and disabling them was such a common request, that we ended up adding that as a standard line in our services catalog- two options depending on if it was one that could be removed altogether or if it had to be cut off and reinstalled. In the case where it could be removed, we’d put it in a baggie and tape it to a void in the stock for future use

Does Savage/Stevens still make a SxS?

I noticed that some of the Stevens were made in Turkey too.

I liked the

 

[GunMonkeyIntl]

Does Savage/Stevens still make a SxS?

I noticed that some of the Stevens were made in Turkey too.

I liked the

I think the Stevens name is still being used, but it’s no longer American made. The 311 was a great shotgun and can still be had relatively inexpensively because it was never fancy or fashionable- despite being mechanically as good as a Parker and mechanically superior to the LC Smith.

 

[HDRider]

I think the Stevens name is still being used, but it’s no longer American made. The 311 was a great shotgun and can still be had relatively inexpensively because it was never fancy or fashionable- despite being mechanically as good as a Parker and mechanically superior to the LC Smith.

I should have asked you before I bought it.

I have only ever bought one used gun, and the seller actually stopped me in the hall asking if I wanted it.

What do you think this will sell for?
Stevens 311 series H 12 ga very nice - Side By Side Shotguns at GunBroker.com : 973561297

 

[GunMonkeyIntl]

To put my dislike for LC Smith’s in perspective for anyone who reads this later: I LOVE a true side lock gun, but they have to be done right. A box lock (like a Parker or the savage mentioned above, or basically anything made today) is mechanically superior, but you can’t top the class of a real side lock double gun.

Unfortunately, with the LC Smith design, half the frame is steel and half is wood. When built and timed, they work perfectly but 50-100 years of gun oil turns the back half of the frame from wood into plant mush. Eventually the gun stops working, and even becomes dangerous.

The issue can be corrected, but it involves so fairly major surgery of gutting the mush, rebuilding and re-inletting it epoxy or something similar, and adding a set of steel pillars (like you would in a pillar-bedded rifle)…. and then re-timing the locks to receiver and trigger plate.

An LC Smith can be adjusted to function properly on a cursory inspection, masking damage that can only be found on a full takedown. If you can do the work needed to repair it yourself, it’s no big deal other than 8-10 hours worth of your time. If you have to pay a professional to do it, expect it to cost up to half the value of the shotgun.

That’s a lot of trouble for a pretty shotgun when a box lock can be had for a fraction of the repair price.

 

[GunMonkeyIntl]

I should have asked you before I bought it.

I have only ever bought one used gun, and the seller actually stopped me in the hall asking if I wanted it.

The Tristar? I wouldn’t have tried to talk you out of buying it. They’re in roughly the same class as a Taurus. Not great, but not junk either.

What do you think this will sell for?
Stevens 311 series H 12 ga very nice - Side By Side Shotguns at GunBroker.com : 973561297

I haven’t bought a 311 in a while (and don’t own one right now) but I’d say $6-800.

The finish on that looks original. If it has been reblued, the polish was expertly done.

The stock has been cut, though. They may have just cut it to put that recoil pad on it, or it may have been cut for a funky length-of-pull. Whoever did the recoil pad was lazy or unskilled (look at the toe angle- I’d imagine the rest of the job looks fair at best). The only real concern there would be if the LOP ended up shorter than is right for you, as it’s already got a 1” pad on it, so you’re not going to get it any longer without some grafting.

 

[Hiro]

This will work if it too short on LOP now.

 

[GTX63]

OOPS, I had to check and I did pick up a Taurus last year..

I bought a Taurus24/7 Tactical many years ago. Plastic parts, heavy slide action. It is and will be the only Taurus I'll ever own, but it is also my most accurate and the gun I used to qualify with. It must have been made by the owner.

 

[HDRider]

They’re in roughly the same class as a Taurus.

I hate buying a gun without holding it, but this area has no big gun shops and stock is very limited.

A buddy has a CZ SxS and I did not like it. Would you have bought the CZ instead of the TriStar?

 

[HDRider]

This will work if it too short on LOP now.

View attachment 119446

I put the Beretta O&U next to the SxS. They are identical in stock length; overall length and the hold feels similar.

I really think I noticed the recoil because my shoulder was sore. I actually have a bruise. I did not plant the gun well a few times when I was shooting that new trap machine.

 

[GunMonkeyIntl]

Would you have bought the CZ instead of the TriStar?

I guess not. I just looked and they’re made in Turkey now too. Probably same quality as the Tristar with a tax for the name.