Stoeger M3500 12 Gauge
Model: 31810
Stoeger M3500 12 Gauge
Model: 31810
Full Specifications
About This Firearm
The Stoeger M3500 is an inertia-driven semi-automatic 12 gauge built for waterfowl. It has an MSRP of $849. Its chamber takes shells up to three and a half inches and cycles the two shorter lengths with no adjustment, because an inertia bolt is not tuned to a gas port the way a gas gun's is.
Four chokes come with it in improved cylinder, modified, full and extra-full turkey, with a wrench and a shim kit for drop and cast. A recoil reducer is included and the buttstock is already cut with the cavity it drops into. The receiver is drilled and tapped for Weaver-style bases. The front sight is a red bar with nothing at the rear, and Stoeger names a three-dram field shell as the minimum recommended load, so light practice ammunition sits under what the bolt needs.
If you're cross-shopping, the Stoeger M3000 has an MSRP of $649, $200 less, and is the same gun with a shorter chamber at 118.4 oz. A Benelli Nova is no longer made, so it's a used buy, and it takes the same long magnum shells as a pump at 128.0 oz, which means no minimum load at all and 5.6 oz more to carry into the marsh.
Best For
Strengths & Limitations
- At 50.0 inches overall it is a conventional field length in spite of the long chamber, so an ordinary gun case and blind rack still fit it.
- The bolt has no gas piston, tube or barrel ports, so a day in salt spray ends with less to strip and dry.
- Stoeger sits in the same group as Benelli, and the Inertia Driven bolt in this gun is that group's design, with a long service record behind it.
- The minimum recommended load makes this a poor choice for anyone shooting mostly light target ammunition.
- Blued aluminum and blued steel want wiping down after wet or coastal hunting more than an anodized receiver does.
- It carries 4.0 oz more than a Stoeger M3000 for the longer chamber, and it is still an inertia action, so heavy steel loads arrive at the shoulder.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does the shim kit set?
Drop and cast. The comb height under the cheek and the stock's offset from the bore both move, and length of pull does not.
Does it hold fewer shells than the M3000?
No. Both hold five rounds. The longer chamber and the recoil reducer come with the M3500 and not with the M3000.
Which choke should steel shot go through?
The improved cylinder or the modified tube. Keep the full and extra-full tubes for lead, since steel through a tight constriction is hard on the tube and the muzzle.
