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Old 05-06-2018, 09:27 AM
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58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,868
Default Nice shotty!

Don't have one but did some reading on it;

What really stood out when shooting the gun was the balance and handling. Shotguns with alloy receivers and standard steel barrels generally are nose-heavy. With a light gun, a bit of weight up front is a good thing as long as it isn’t too much. The 555’s balance was very nice. The balance point was about ½” in front of the hinge. The more important moment of inertia was delightfully moderate. The barrels were quick to move but had a certain steadiness. While I was able to shoot the gun only at clays, I believe it would be marvelous in the field. It certainly handled well for both near and far shots in sporting clays and FITASC. That said, with that aluminum receiver, it is not primarily a high-volume clay-target gun. It’s a hunter.

The light carry weight would be most welcome toward the end of a long day’s pheasant hunt. Recoil shouldn’t be an issue, if you are sensible in selecting the ammo. The gun will function with heavy 3″ loads, but you might not. A full-tilt 3″ shell will have about three times the recoil of a moderate target load in this gun. Not fun at all. But more realistic upland loads should be no problem. My usual pheasant 12-gauge weighs 7 pounds and is comfortable enough for a day’s hunt with 3¼-dram, 1¼-oz loads of No. 5s. The 555 is 10% lighter and should be just fine.

In all, I was very impressed with the performance of the Stevens 555 Enhanced. The balance was surprisingly good and made the gun easy to shoot well. The light weight was noticeable when carrying but not when shooting. The gun functioned properly in all respects. It’s not at all bad looking with the upgraded wood. And then there is that $863 retail price. Even though it is inexpensive, it is definitely not cheap.
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