Who is TriStar guns made by?

I’m in the process of picking up a 20 gauge shotgun for my 8 and 10 year old kids to get them started on birds this fall and I ran across some Tristar pump shotguns but have no experience with them at all. I’ve always just discounted them as bottom tier guns and never gave them a thought but in today’s market there’s not a lot of options out there so I’m sending out some feelers to anybody that has experience with them. Is Tristar worth pursuing or should I stick to one of the major manufacturers? Thanks.

I bought my kids the youth semi 20Ga about 6 years ago. They have used it for hunting and trap. Never had any issues with.

I’m good at talking myself into stuff. Especially stuff that lasts a long time. I was looking for a weatherby sa-08 compact, which by the way is a great little gun. For 250 more I upgraded to a franchi affinity 3 compact. The fit and finish is awesome. It’s incredibly light and the action is butter smooth. It will make a great youth shotgun or woman’s shotgun for a long time.

I'd be looking hard at the Winchester SXP. Up here maple syrup land they're nearly the same price but manufacturer, dealer and accessory support is superior for the Winchester if you want a gun that can grow with them.

Thanks to all for the feedback. The weatherby sa-08 is actually on the short list I originally had. I was having a hard time finding the 20” Winchester sxp (which is light enough both of my kids can handle it) when I ran across the Tristar. It’s under 6lbs and fit most criteria but I am reluctant to buy a gun I’ve never handled sight unseen. There’s no local options and I’d have to purchase online. My kids both handled a super bantam mossberg 510 with ease as well as a savage stevens 301 compact but I’d like a repeater. I can’t find the mossberg anywhere for a reasonable price. The only youth 20 gauge shotguns I’ve found local have been 6.5 lbs to 7lbs which was too much weight for the 8 year old and marginal for the 10 year old. Thanks again for the input all!

Personally I’d avoid TriStar. A young lady hunted ducks with us 2 years ago and she got 3 shots out of her TriStar before the side rail on the slide broke. Found out it’s cast metal, not forged. Took a long time to find parts to repair. She promptly sold it and bought a Franchi

I bought my son a 28ga Tristar Viper G2 on the recommendation of a friend whose boys shoot them. It’s been flawless so far. Beautiful wood as well. It’s very close to being a clone of the Beretta A400 Xplor.

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Recoil will be an issue. We ended up with a Benelli Montefeltro that has a youth stock. We single load it for now.

Recoil will be an issue. We ended up with a Benelli Montefeltro that has a youth stock. We single load it for now.

You can also shoot lighter loads with gas.

OP -I have 28 in Tristar and 20(montefeltro and berttea 301a). I like, operational wise, Tristar first, 301a second and wife now has the Benelli. I'm looking to buy her another Tristar 28ga to duck hunt with. We can light load TSS and it absolutely thumps them, with minimum recoil and report. As soon as I find a bronze ill buy it

The tristar is probably best eco gun on market.

With that said best money ever spent is getting a shot gun fitted by a professional

it's the opposite at same or similar weights. Tristar is a beretta gas clone where as the Montefeltro is a inertia spring.

You can also shoot lighter loads with gas.

OP -I have 28 in Tristar and 20(montefeltro and berttea 301a). I like operational wise Tristar first, 301a second and wife now has the Benelli. I'm looking to buy her another Tristar 28ga to duck hunt with. We can light load TSS and it absolutely thumps them, with minimum recoil and report

The tristar is probably best eco gun on market.

With that said best money ever spent is getting a shot gun fitted by a professional

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Yeah the OP is looking at a 6# pump.

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I bought my daughter the Tri-star semi auto and she hunted ducks with no issues last year

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I know this is off topic but I'm a big believer in letting any beginner shotgun hunter learn to hunt with a single shot shotgun. That is how I was started on shotgunning and it will make you make that first shot count. I guess you could just let them load one shell to achieve the same result though.

Recoil will be an issue. We ended up with a Benelli Montefeltro that has a youth stock. We single load it for now.

Get a semi, preferably a gas gun

My neighbor's kid has a Tristar Viper 20ga with the youth stock. I've taken him out on youth waterfowl days and called a turkey in for him last year. The gun has been flawless and I was impressed for the price. Fit and finish isn't great but it handles well and has never failed to cycle. It's a bit heavy though for him but this also helps with recoil.

Recoil in a pump that light is definitely a concern I’ve had and was hoping light target loads would be acceptable to start them on clays and then give them something more stout when we chase quail or partridge and if they do well with that, move up to waterfowl. My budget is about $500 tops due to having to get them set up with a rifle also. The Weatherby SA-08 semi auto is gas operated and would take some thump out I’d think. I was originally thinking a pump is simple and safer to start a kid out on, but I could just load one round at a time in a semi auto as has been suggested. If I start them on a semi-auto right now to train them, when learning time is over I won’t have to buy a new gun when they want to upgrade from their single shot. I’ll save money in the end by spending more now. Thanks again to all who have replied. Your experience and suggestions are appreciated.

I bought my kids the youth semi 20Ga about 6 years ago. They have used it for hunting and trap. Never had any issues with.

Recoil in a pump that light is definitely a concern I’ve had and was hoping light target loads would be acceptable to start them on clays and then give them something more stout when we chase quail or partridge and if they do well with that, move up to waterfowl. My budget is about $500 tops due to having to get them set up with a rifle also. The Weatherby SA-08 semi auto is gas operated and would take some thump out I’d think. I was originally thinking a pump is simple and safer to start a kid out on, but I could just load one round at a time in a semi auto as has been suggested. If I start them on a semi-auto right now to train them, when learning time is over I won’t have to buy a new gun when they want to upgrade from their single shot. I’ll save money in the end by spending more now. Thanks again to all who have replied. Your experience and suggestions are appreciated.

That was my thinking. Bought the Viper G2 bronze in 28. I called Tristar and even though they don’t make a youth stock for it, the Raptor black synthetic stock matches up fine. I think it was around $120 for the youth Raptor stocks but now he has a gun that he can shoot forever.

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I have the Viper G2 Bronze and the Hunter Mag II and they are both good shotguns for the value. The majority of today's O/U shotguns are made in Turkey. I would not hesitate to recommend them if it is your budget.

Bought a 20ga viper for my girlfriend off the local classifieds as her turkey gun.
Was a little sticky feeding at the start, but after some turkey loads through her, no hiccups at all.
Id buy another fwiw.