Okies, so I think I (and +1) would have put a slab worth of shells through it today. I came with almost a slab or thereabouts and another person contributed a bit as well. So probably a bit more. And thanks to him some headcam footage for you all:)
…don’t you wish you posted more? Link in Lounge section…
Non stop shooting steel plates and bunch of other steel props…
Gets hot, expected, got a bit spicy towards the end. Not unshootable, but could feel the heat radiating from the pistons under the forend after 150 or so shells. It was load and shoot, rinse repeat however.
We fed it pretty much everything. From premium ammo to super cheap, super low brass Winchester shells - no issues. Consistent in handling everything.
I had one failure to chamber, throughout the entire session. The shell looked a little crumpled - could be the bolt slamming it into the receiver or it could have been a faulty shell. Or me not shouldering it well. At this stage, based on how it ran, I am not willing to concede equipment fault.
Recoil impulse - very smooth. Personally, I don’t like guns that smack you, it should be fun not painful and I haven’t been a huge fan of shotguns because of this. Buckmaster PB-12 fixed that. The gas system and the bolt absorbs a lot of recoil, making it a lot of fun to shoot at volume. Sulun takes it a little further, I think a little extra weight and whatever else - makes it a very soft shooter. Writing this now, I am not feeling it in my shoulder whatsoever.
Handling: everything is where it needs to be. Lever is very soft compared to Buckmaster PB-12 and softer than Bushmiester. You need to find the rhythm between the lever (middle finger) and the trigger (index finger), for example for fast shooting IPSC stages but like everything, you get used to it after a few magazines worth.
One mildly annoying part is that the lever needs to be engaged during loading of the magazine. If the lever is not pressed, the loading gate won’t open (lever stays pressed = loading gate stays open). Not a big deal, but something I need to get used to after learning PB-12.
Reflex sight worked well on it, neither here nor there, but I had an old one that came with 7615, I sold 7615 and kept the sight. It’s not great for handguns, but on something like this it gelled very well. Didn’t feel it at first, but once I started shooting - yep, very nice.
- Speed, running perfectly, side by side, PB-12 (not to be confused with Bushmiester) is considerably faster.
- Recoil, Sulun wins considerably.
- Loading, neither here nor there, all to do with repetition and muscle memory.
- Reliability, I dare say minimum 99.6% due to shitty shell, but speaking broadly, its lack of ammo preference - I would just say super reliable.
- Handling, pointing, etc. - subjective, I like. Than again, I like anything with a pistol grip.
By now I have used/shot PB-12, Bushmiester and Sulun.
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Bushmiester is super picky with ammo and won’t run standard target loads - confirmed. However, feels nice, looks nice (in wood and all weather finish). Lever feels nice, but the position of the lever is definitely not optimal. Fit and finish - not sure, not used it long enough to tell, but has a very nice classy look. Lets go with 8/10 (all weather or marine or whatever it’s called (the grey one) + wood).
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PB-12 - furniture yells pick me pick me, when you ran out of coins for $2 hookers. I have swapped the stock to tactical, now it looks good-er (tactical, so not comparable to Bushy, but less tacticool than than Sulun out of the box). Super fast with good ammo (faster than the other 2), but it is picky with ammo. Very manageable recoil when shooting 000-Buck, can plink with it… Not something I could do with enjoyment from SxS, O/U or straight-pulls. Controls take some getting used to. Fit and finish (original configuration) - 7/10, coating could be better, cocking handle could be nicer, sights could be steel, reassembly has nuances… Cat A - can be used with mag-tube extensions.
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Sulun - fast, however not as fast as PB-12. Absolutely not picky and will shoot anything. Looks amazing, subjective, but I think it looks absolutely awesome out of the box. Recoil is softer than PB-12. Controls take some getting used to. Fit and finish, after retightening everything out of the box - 9/10 (some artifacts like hidden screws, bolt handle scratches a specific spot near ejection port, and - blah blah blah I am nitpicking). Cat B - cannot be used with mag tube extensions.
Fortunately I don’t have to pick, but if I had to pick right now, “as is” out of the box offering - I think Sulun would be my preference.
