Outlander with light loads

[CharlesP]

Apparently it's on the road at the moment. The RFD from whom I ordered it has sent his lad towards the distributor, they're meeting in the middle, and the lad is bringing it round here.

 

I rang the RFD to tell him I had to reject the gun only yesterday lunchtime. He has been very good indeed and is doing his absolute utmost to get me sorted out as rapidly as possible. he has kept me up to date with every development.

[CharlesP]

It has just been delivered. The RFD promised to get me one here today, and has made good that promise. I consider that to be really excellent service. We have together checked out the new Outlander and it is indeed brand new, still in its bubble wrap, still unfired.

 

It was Dan, proprietor of the Dorset Gun Company, recently opened in Bournemouth Road, Poole, that personally delivered the new gun to my home this evening. They were A1 Airsoft in the Ashley Road, and after their move will be better placed to offer Shotguns and the things we need to go with them. Poole needs a gun shop, and I am happy to support them.

 

The problems I have had concern the folks who supplieds him, the distributor (I'm not talking about GMK here). Those problems are being thrashed out in the near future, so i won't discuss them here.

[CharlesP]

I said I would report back, so here I am.

 

My new Outlander compares very favourably to my Urika. The Outlander has a matte finish barrel, so it lacks the glossiness of the Urika. That's no bad thing. It also has an oiled finish to the stock and forend, rather than the polyurathene silky finish of the Urika, which is a definite improvement. The Outlander has a stock and forend that match, unlike the Ulrika. The Urika has a gold trigger, the Outlander a chrome one. Cosmetically that's about it.

 

The Outlander has a dovetailed action, and no cut-off button on the left of the action. It has sling swivels. It also has only one choke (half). It comes packed in a utilitarian plastic transit box which is perfectly adequate for the job without any pretensions to being a display case. The Outlander's user manual is a multilingual thing written, I think, as is usual these days, by the company lawyers.

 

Internally it's very Urika-like. There are detail differences, of course. The trigger group is much easier to detach. The gas piston is a much more rugged and sensible thing, no fiddly circlip to deal with/break/lose. The gas ports are accessible to a pipe cleaner without taking anything apart. The forend cap is a simple affair rather than the bizarrely complex item found on the Urika. All the internal parts that I can easily see seem to be of the same quality of finish as the Urika, which surprised me given the disparity in price between the Outlander and the more glitzy Beretta Semi Autos.

 

Naturally as a boy with a new toy I took it out yesterday to feed through it the recommended two boxes (that's boxes not slabs) of 32 gram cartridges. The manual makes it pretty clear that the gun is expecting a diet of 2 3/4 (70mm) cartridges. The Club only had 67mm 30 gram so of course that's what I used. These went through flawlessly, no hitches, no hangs, no drama. I followed that with proper 70mm 28 gram stuff, similarly flawless. So I have answered most of my original question on my original post on this thread. 24 grams will have to wait until a little later.

 

I'm pleased with my new Outlander. I'm comparing it to my Urika because so many reviewers have pointed out the similarities. Naturally it's a little heavier (the Urika is a 20 bore) but not noticeably so, and it's a little chunkier in the grip. Because it's pretty much the same thing, and because it's a Beretta the feel of the gun is very similar as is the fit. It's near as dammit spot on right out of the box, if I ever need to modify it I have the Beretta spacers & shims to alter drop and I can get a new recoil pad. No need for adjustable things let into the comb.

 

Given what I have just posted I really don't know why anyone wanting a semi auto, who is leaning toward a Beretta product, would choose one of the very much more expensive models.

 

Obviously a long term view is impossible for the moment, but I can thoroughly recommend the gun so far. If anyone in the bottom left hand corner of the realm is thinking along the lines of a new Outlander please PM me and I will offer a hint or two about where it's best to be very careful when shopping.

[powler]

Glad you got it sorted CharlesP. They are very good guns, I'm sure it will serve you well.

 

Happy hunting

 

Mick

[CharlesP]

I have now put 50 30gram, about 400 28 gram, and this morning a box of 24 gram cartridges through the gun. No faults, no misfires, no failures.

 

Over the weekend I moved the comb up just a smidge, using the Beretta's shim and spacer arrangement. There's more adjustment left if I feel I need it, it really is a very solid and satisfactory method of adjusting a stock. The whole business takes less time than making and drinking a cup of tea.

 

A bizarre telephone call from GMK last week, explaining that they couldn't offer me a warranty because I hadn't bought it from one of their dealers. Blood pressure rising I checked their website, and there was my dealer, actually on their "find a Dealer" thing. OK it was his previous address a couple of hundred yards away, previous shop name, but the telephone number was the same.

 

The gun performs superbly. The gun trade has it issues, what a palaver this has been. The warranty (they were quick enough to take my money!) still hasn't arrived. I'll ring them this afternoon I think.

 

I will try other cartridges, and I'll report back if any problems, but so far I am very pleased with my Outlander, thank you to all those who recommended it.