They had me at $249. That’s the rock-bottom price tag a careful shopper can find for the Stoeger P3000 pump shotgun. The actual MSRP is $50 higher and likely it’ll be easier to find a deal in that range. Either way it’s a bargain for a brand-new shotgun … but only for a gun that works.
I got a firsthand feel for that at the same time I learned about the pricing, over a round of sporting clays on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Right off the bat I noticed the gun’s solid feel. The slide-action has almost zero slop, and its rotating bolt head (a carryover from parent company Benelli USA) locked up with authority. It’s also got a secure crossbolt safety conveniently located at the rear of the trigger guard, and the adjacent bolt-release tab actually doubles as a cocking indicator to show when the gun is ready to fire. Once I got into the “pump-it” mindset (admittedly that took a few stations), I started breaking my fair share of claybirds. The gun’s high-set vent rib topped with an orange fiber-optic front bead certainly helped. After giving away too many targets on the front half, I rallied with a couple nice runs and finished feeling encouraged, though not quite satisfied. If only we could’ve gone through the course again …
This new model imported from Turkey is well-suited to any job commonly assigned to pump-actions. It fires 2¾- and 3-inch shells, and so, along with keeping one in the game on skeet, trap or sporting clays, the P3000 can transition to hunting anything from doves or quail with light target loads to geese, turkey or coyotes with heavy magnums. It so happens that pump-actions are also the go-to choice for home-defense use, favored for reliability’s sake because they are not so prone to experience feeding or extraction problems as semi-automatics.
The new Stoeger has the all-black appearance that’s both common and stylish nowadays, a look many hunters prefer to camo. The synthetic stock’s grip and fore-end bear impressed checkering to prevent slippery handholds in inclement weather, and it comes with molded-in sling-attachment studs.
The receiver is anodized aluminum, which is not quite as rugged and durable as steel, and for some gun folks, that’s an issue. However, it would be hard to imagine what kind of use or scenario would cause that to be a problem; perhaps many years of high-volume shooting. But in the normal course of occasional trips to target range, practicing home-defense drills and in seasonal hunting–followed by the kind of cleaning and maintenance most gun owners know to perform—there’s little reason to believe a P3000 won’t outlast its original owner. In fact, all Stoeger guns come with a five-year warranty that guarantees repair or replacement for defects in workmanship or materials.
For $250-$300 you don’t get a lot of extras—just one choke tube, for example, but at that price I’m pretty happy just to have it threaded for interchangeable chokes, which can always be added as needed. Beyond that, though, the Stoeger P3000 comes primed for action, ready to shoot, hunt and help you protect your castle.
Manufacturer: Stoeger
Model: P3000 Pump Shotgun
Gauge: 12
Action: Pump
Chambering: 2¾ and 3 inch
Capacity: 4+1.
Barrel Length: 28 inches.
Stock: Back synthetic.
Finish: Black.
Overall length: 49½ inches.
Weight: 6.9 pounds
Length of pull: 14⅛ inches
Drop at comb: 1½ inches
Drop at heel: 2½ inches
Sights: Red-bar front sight
Chokes: Modified (with wrench)
MSRP: $299
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