Stoeger M3K 3-Gun 36038 12 Gauge

Custom shotguns with competitive go-fast features aren’t affordable for many shooters, but there are some off-the-shelf guns that are designed to offer quick shooting in defense situations. Naturally, semi-automatic shotguns designed for 3-Gun competition quickly rose to the top of the list, as well as compact bullpup-style shotguns. We didn’t want to melt our credit card, so we found three scatterguns in an affordable price range from about $300 to $650. The criteria for this match up was the ability to shoot fast, engage multiple targets with speed, pattern well, offer fast reloads, and be absolutely reliable with any ammo loaded. Bonus points were given to guns that could be modified with aftermarket parts like extended magazine tubes, vertical grips, sights, and so on. 

• The Stoeger M3K 3-Gun is tricked out for 3-Gun competition and is at the high end of the price spectrum at about $650.

• Next in order of cost is the Benelli M2 clone from Military Armament Corporation (MAC), the MAC 2 3-Gun at about $350.

• Finally, investing at the low end of the budget for about $279, got us the Tokarev TBP (Tokarev Bull Pup), a magazine-fed bullpup, which is not suited for 3-Gun, but is tailor-made for close-quarters defense.

All three shotguns are 3-inch 12-gauge semi-automatics compatible with Benelli Mobil choke tubes. Triggers ranged from okay to awful. The MAC and Stoeger are inertia-driven guns, and the Tokarev is gas-operated. 

How We Tested

Inertia shotguns have a reputation that precedes them; namely, they jam when light target loads are used. Both the Stoeger and MAC recommend a break-in period of about 100 rounds with shells having a 1350-fps muzzle velocity, which will then allow use of light loads. The Stoeger suggests a minimum of 1-ounce 3-dram loads to be used. Dram is the archaic way of referring to the unit of measure in a black-powder charge. Not sure why the term is still printed on boxes of modern smokeless powder shells. A 3-dram load pushes a 11⁄8-ounce load of shot at about 1200 fps. The Tokarev uses a piston system and two pistons are supplied; one for standard loads and one for heavy loads, which they define as 11⁄4 ounce and heavier. We used the standard piston for testing because all the ammo was loaded with 11⁄8-ounce loads or lighter. We fired a combination of slugs, 00 buck, and No. 8 bird shot. Hornady Critical Defense 00 Buck with eight pellets has a factory muzzle velocity of 1600 fps; Sellier & Bellot 00 Buck with nine pellets has a factory velocity of 1214 fps. The birdshot loads used 11⁄8 ounces and consisted of Winchester Universal, an economy shotshell with a 3-dram load at 1200 fps. Remington Premier STS Light Target has a factory velocity of 1145 fps. We wondered if the light Remington loads would choke the inertia-driven guns. We also fired a Federal Hydra-Shok 1-ounce rifled slug with a factory muzzle velocity of 1300 fps. Each load was fired separately to see how it functioned. We also loaded a mix of shells in the same magazine. It was easy to tell what shells were what after the shot due to the difference in recoil. 

We ran a form of the Casino Drill with two tombstone cardboard targets, one at 10 yards and one at 15 yards. The idea behind the Casino Drill is to test the shooter’s ability to think through a problem while still shooting for speed and accuracy and executing a reload. Typically in the Casino Drill, the user fires 10 rounds of birdshot or buckshot on four targets; one round on target one, two rounds on target two, etc. Targets are numbered 1, 3, 2, 4, to force the user to think about number of rounds required, while throwing in a reload. The drill is timed. We fired six rounds total per run, with one round on target one, two rounds target two, then repeated with reloads in between as required. We also fired the shotguns from the hip to see if that would cause a jam, especially with the inertia guns. It didn’t, but we did have jams. Finally, at 15 yards we patterned the guns on IDPA-style targets with birdshot, buckshot, and slug groups. 

We reloaded the MAC and Stoeger using a J&L Dynamics Johnny Clip 2×4 12-gauge caddy (Amazon.com; $32) mounted to a Blade-Tech Tek-Lok belt-clip attachment (Amazon.com; $13). The Tek-Lok allows the user to rotate the position of the shells for economy of motion and easy access. Using the Johnny Clip offers a lot of speed, especially with bi- and quad-reloads, two rounds at a time and four rounds at a time, respectively. You pull up and out on the shells to remove them from the Johnny clip. We tried loading using our support hand to grasp the shells and reload with stock under our armpit, and reloading using our firing hand to grasp shells and reload with the stock resting on our shoulder. For the Tokarev bullpup, it was a simple magazine swap, or so we thought.

What guns had failures to feed (FTF) and failures to eject (FTE) jams? Read on to find out.

Stoeger M3K 3-Gun 36038 12 Gauge

$649

Gun Tests grade: A-

The M3K 3-Gun had the least amount of felt recoil due to its weight. This inertia-operated shotgun ran well on light- and high-power loads. Beveled port made loading simple and fast. 

The M3K is based on the M3000 model of Stoeger’s interpretation of the inertia-operated mechanism. Beretta owns Benelli, Franchi, and Stoeger, and the inertia systems for each brand are slightly different. The Stoeger and the Franchi have the return spring on the outside of magazine tube. The Benelli return spring is in the stock. That means the fore end is bulkier, and there is more weight toward the fore end. The M3K is set up for 3-Gun with an oversized bolt release and charging handle, both in a blue anodized finish. Both oversized controls help to operate the M3K with ease. Stoeger also took the opportunity to increase reload speeds by beveling the loading port for bi- and quad-loading. The ejection port is also opened up for loading single shells. The lightweight aluminum-alloy receiver is drilled and tapped to add an optic or Picatinny rail and optic, if so desired. 

All the metal has a matte-black finish, which cuts sun glare. The 24-inch barrel is equipped with extended choke tubes and has a smooth raised vent-rib with a single fiber-optic bead. The top of the rib is smooth. Three choke tubes are included with the M3K: Cylinder, Improved Cylinder, and Modified. The barrel/receiver fit is tight.

The stock and fore end are black polymer with checkered grip surfaces that offer a good amount of texture. The fore end is shaped for comfortable gripping. The stock has a strip of rubber on the comb to cushion your cheek during recoil, but it didn’t really make much difference, in our view. A stiff rubber buttpad helps cushion your shoulder, though recoil was still noticeable. The LOP, we thought, was a bit long at 14.3 inches. We prefer a shorter LOP to better balance the M3K for shouldering and managing recoil. A shim kit is included with the M3K to adjust drop and cast for a better mount and fit. There is a sling swivel on the fore end and one on the magazine cap.

The hammer needs to be cocked to load, and the carrier drop will be visible when the hammer is cocked. Some team members started to master the bi-load, and the beveled loading port was helpful to speed up the process. We did need to ensure shells were shoved into the tube using our thumb to catch the shell on the shell latch. At first, we did not engage the last shell’s rim with the mag catch doing bi- and quad-loads, and the mag spring pushed the shells out and onto the ground. User error, so be sure the last shell is pushed past the magazine latch. We didn’t get our thumbs pinched by the carrier.

Running our abbreviated Casino Drill, we had initial FTF and FTE jams with Winchester ammo. After a box of ammo, the M3K ran without incident, even with the Winchester ammo. It cycled everything without incident. We liked the fiber-optic front bead and extended choke tubes. The oversized bolt release was easy to activate with a slap of our thumb. The rounded charging handle made racking the bolt back smoother and more comfortable. We prefer to have the charging rotate so it rolls with your fingers as you pull back and release it. The trigger was only okay, breaking at 6.2 pounds. There was slightly less felt recoil due to M3K’s weight, so keeping on target allowed for very fast follow-up shots. Don’t get the impression it’s all unicorns and cotton candy with inertia-driven guns. They all kick more than gas-operated shotguns. The gun cycled fairly smoothly; we could feel the action working in the fore end.

The M3K was easy to get on target. Using the Cylinder choke tube, we found Hornady ammo was surgical ,with a 2.2-inch pattern. The Sellier & Bellot 00 buck was nearly four times larger at 9.5 inches. These patterns are still tight on the 18-inch-wide target at 15 yards. Bird shot had plenty of spray off the target, and we would swap to the Full tube if using birdshot for a denser pattern. Slug groups measured 2.7 inches, which is good for just using a bead front sight.

Our Team Said: The 24-inch barrel makes the M3K a bit long for home defense, but it’s usable in a pinch, as is any hunting shotgun. For speed shooting, the M3K excels due to the 3-Gun features that make running the shotgun easier to manipulate fast. The long LOP is a ding, but understandable on a gun with these features — it keeps the price down. There are some aftermarket parts for the M3K, like an extended magazine tube. If you want an affordable 3-Gun shotgun, this is a very good choice. It could also hold its own dove and pheasant hunting, as well as for sporting clays.

Written and photographed by Robert Sadowski, using evaluations from Gun Tests Team members. GT