I should have known better............

[Oldnamvet]

Dick's was having a sale on the Remington SPR-310 O/U (read Baikal) shotguns. Price was down to $399 so I decided to treat myself. The specs for LOP, drop, etc were the same as for the 870 which fits me well so I felt confident. I looked them over and tried the fit. It lined up just like my 870 although of course balance was different. I picked the one that looked the best and checked out everything and was about to seal the deal when I noticed some rust at the breech weld area. No problem, said the clerk as he pulled a set of barrels from one of the others and replaced them in the box. I was in a hurry so concluded all the paperwork and finally drove back home - 50 miles round trip. Barrel didn't fit!%&(*&^%. I called them up and I got someone different behind the counter and he said they knew that and I should come back in. Evidently, in this age of CNC machining, etc., some things still have to be hand fitted. Seems like everyone there knew that except for the sales guy I dealt with. Then I had to go through all the paperwork again, got a different gun (not as nice a wood), and another 2 hours of my life with 50 miles round trip thrown in. If I would have just taken the extra few minutes to make sure the new barrel fit. But then I am so used to changing barrels on my 870 and Mossbergs that I never gave it a thought. Sure should have. So, if you buy one of these, check to be sure the barrel fits and, if something happens, you can't just get another set of barrels and be good to go.
Oh, and I didn't get any remittance for my trouble. The manager said they were already selling those guns at cost to lure more people into the store where they buy other things as well. I could have probably been very disagreeable but I don't like it when others do that so I didn't bother. I'll probably just vote with my feet.

 

[ArmedBear]

Random barrels, receivers and foreends from Brownings will fit together perfectly. I know because it's happened by accident.

Worth an extra $1200? You decide.

$400 isn't bad for an O/U shotgun, even if it was a PITA.

But next time I buy one, I'll put it together before driving off, regardless of the brand. Thanks for the tip, and I hope your new gun brings you years of enjoyment in return for your hours of time.

 

[Oldnamvet]

At least it came with 4 choke tubes -- cylinder, IC, mod, and full. I'll try it out for some skeet this weekend and give a quick check on the pattern board. Actually, now that I have cleaned it up, it doesn't look that bad. It is far from a work of art but looks like a good field gun. Nickle plated receiver with upland bird engravings and the blueing is quite dark on the barrels. Small bead which I like. Too many shotguns come with something about the size of a golf ball sitting on the end of the barrel.

 

[MCgunner]

When I bought my SxS, it was all put together and the guy broke it down to put it in the box. Mine shoots GREAT! I just put it through its paces in a big dove hunt and think I'll take it out teal hunting next weekend. I bought some steel for it. The mod and full ain't certified for steel, only the IC and cylinder. But, I choked it IC/Mod anyway. If I screw up the modified choke tube, no biggy I guess. I'll keep an eye on it, anyway. I ain't going to use this gun on waterfowl much, it's a 20 gauge, just wanna us it to shoot some teal. It laid waste to the doves last weekend, did about as well as my 12 gauge guns.

Winchester AA worked fantastic in my gun. The steel don't pattern as well out of it, but it'll do on teal over deeks I think. If not, I'll be using my Winchester autoloader the rest of teal season anyway. 3" 20 gauge stuff doesn't have a good reputation for good patterns.

 

[Milkmaster]

My son has had good luck with his Spartan 310. He successfully uses it shooting with the high school trap team. We took out the safety link that resets the safety every time the barrel is opened. The safety still works, but it is manually set. I also cut eight coils out of the ejector springs to make it much easier to close. The ejectors still work also. They just went from throwing the shell 10 feet behind you to falling down beside you. You can also set them for extract only rather than ejection. Shortening the springs was really for closing the action easier in our case. His has never had a fail to fire. The chromed barrels are really easy to clean. $400? I will be glad to share any of our 310 stories with you. Not a bad O/U for a kid with no job!