The H&R Tamer .410 shotgun, Gear Review #3

I have been looking forward to doing a review on this gun. I had about $200 in bass pro gift cards from christmas/graduation and I really wanted to get something that I didn't already have. So off to BPS to check out what they had. After spending about an hour browsing through the store i saw this on the rack. Played around with it, googled it on my blackberry (and didn't find much info), and made arrangements to pick it up the next day (24 hr waiting period here in IL)



It is a sweet looking gun. It is very light weight and breaks down with just one screw. On to the review.

Materials -

The Tamer has a synthetic stock and forend, and a nickel alloy barrel/receiver. The barrel has a nice brass bead sight at the muzzle end. The gun is very sturdy and I haven't felt like I was using something cheap in the past month of shooting it nearly every day.

Using the gun

First off this is a very short, very light weight gun. It weighs in at about 5lbs, and is 34" long. It has a 19" barrel (1" above legal). Its not really built for adult sized shooters so it takes a little bit to get used to. The Length of pull is 12-1/2", by contrast most full-sized shotguns are about 14".

I found just a little change as to where I popped my cheek to the stock and I was deadly accurate (I was shooting high when I first got it). You will have to see what you have to do personally to shoot it accurately.

An SWEET feature on this gun is the 4 shell holder built into the stock. This holds the shells in tight and after about 60 rounds through the gun I have yet to have one fall out while shooting. It makes it easy to quickly reload the gun should you miss your quarry.

One problem I had when i first got the gun was that 2.5" Remington #6 shot shells were sticking in the ejector of this single single shot gun. The 3" #4's and the slugs I bought popped out fine. After about 20 rounds It stopped and in my last 40 or so shots (which prolly 25 were the 2.5" shells) I haven't had one stick.

Hunting

I do a lot of small game hunting. Squirrel and Rabbit mostly. This gun is PERFECT for this type of hunting. Its light weight makes it a breeze to haul through the woods. the .410 shell saves a lot of meat, and it has the power to take down BIG raccoons(largest thing I've tried to kill to date with this gun). With the advent of the Taurus judge buckshot loads have become available for the .410 bore. This would be great for coyote's. They have slugs too that I've read about people taking deer with. All in all a very versatile hunting firearm.


Conclusion

For a retail price of $179.99 the fun factor of this gun can't be beat. You, your wife, and your kids could all use this gun for target shooting to small game hunting. The nickel barrel/receiver and synthetic stock will hold up over the years and I can't wait to have a son to teach how to shoot with this very gun. H&R has a reputation of building products that last. Plus its made in the USA and you just have to love that. Buy one, and get out in the woods.