Picked up the cute little Russian the other day, and drove her home. Slim, trim, and racy and came in right at 6lb. 7 oz. on my accurate baby scale. Had me wondering about recoil at that point, but what the hey --- if you're gonna be stupid, you gotta be tuff! The recoil pad (use the term loosely as it is rubber, but harder than a front tire on a Kenworth) left me thinking about a replacement right away. It's almost a half inch short for me, and the comb is a little low so I put on an extra shirt and sweatshirt to simulate Fall attire. Fit pretty good then, and shouldered like a sweet little 20 ga. I have large hands and short fingers, and the grip was OK - hang on, or the trigger guard will bark that knuckle on the front shot. Stock is pretty basic plank wood, but fit is tight and it's finished OK. About my $10 whore comment on the other post - she looks real good from across the street!



Well, decided today was the day of truth, and my hunting partner and I loaded up for a trip to the range. I had purchased a box of both 300 gr. HP's and the original 405 gr. factory soft loads to try initially. Figured 25 yards would give a good starting point, and could probably hit paper at that distance. I was not disappointed there.

I thought the triggers were bad the first time I tried them, but I was very much wrong. They must have goten worse sitting in the safe, and have to be the worst I have ever experienced on a firearm of any type. I could probably shoot a better group with a signal flare pistol! The right is heavy and the left has a quarter inch of creep before breaking - you really have to pull that one twice Will try to fix those first thing.

The sights aren't too bad, but I would seriously consider going to a good white dot up front, and will be ordering a peep to fit the back, like mentioned on a previousl thread. Would allow a dead-center hold on the impact point.

Started with the 300's and it did not like them at all. After the first shot, the gun rattled, and something was sliding up and down in between the barrels. Figured so much for the adjuster but when I looked at it, it was still attached and tight. Did not see any obvious problem or safety issue so continued. Thought I'd go ahead and shoot 10 shots of each and go home to inspect the noise.

Used a good Caldwell rest and the identical six o'clock hold for every shot. It just scattered the light bullets with abandon, and looked more like a 40 yard turkey group!



Switched to the 405's after it cooled down and was much happier with those. It seemed to be predictable and except for a badly pulled shot which I called because of that horrible left trigger, shot pretty well.



Got home and looked inside the barrel covers (stamped sheet metal, with three screws holding them together) and found this little gem. It was the culprit making the sliding noise.



Appears to be pot metal, and the base gives the impression it was super-glued in place. Can't for the life of me see where it goes, or could have come from. The adjuster is tight, and works just like we thought it would from the previous pictures and explainations. Little knurled nut on a jackscrew and puts some pressure between the barrels.

Overall impressions - should be a fun gun, will probably make a bear on bait or hog gun extroidinare. Little disappointed in several areas (like the triggers), and can't belive Big Green is putting their name on them. There will be serviice returns, for sure. May be like an Edsel and not last long. Wish I'd paid only half of what I did for it, but don't truly regret it. Goes bang every time, and makes me smile!

Blank: I'm encouraged by your results with the 405s. I'll have to load some to 1350 or so and give the little Spartan another session at the range. I haven't tried the jackscrew yet, and hope it will help.

"Got home and looked inside the barrel covers (stamped sheet metal, with three screws holding them together) and found this little gem. It was the culprit making the sliding noise."



Appears to be pot metal, and the base gives the impression it was super-glued in place. Can't for the life of me see where it goes, or could have come from. The adjuster is tight, and works just like we thought it would from the previous pictures and explainations. Little knurled nut on a jackscrew and puts some pressure between the barrels."

For those that have downloaded the manual any idea what part this is? I too liked (and still do) the idea of an affordable SxS rifle in 45-70. I appreciate the feedback/range reports from our intrepid Spartan owners and hope those that have purchased these are/will be happy with them. Keep us informed.

John

Hmm, not sure what that part is, but I'm very happy your femme fatale is shooting so well. With minor adjustment, seems you'll easily have groups overlap even more! Good Show.
These russian guns do seem sexy and handle well. After a trip back to big green to see if they'll fix my barrel jack, I'm going to really wring her out.
And...put a Pachmayer pad on her.

I would not fire your rifle again until you find out what broke! It looks like some type of bracket designed to hold things together....alomst like a crude dove tail type fitting....but who knows. I would make sure you know where it belongs before you do any additional shooting.

I am looking at my SPR22 manual which on page 19 shows a diagram and parts list, I do not see any part similar to the one you have photographed, figure that out.
Maybe an assembly part??

That was the first thing I looked at too, after finding it. Did not see it in the drawing either, and didn't see a mark on the barrel assembly where it came from. Looks to have been glued or a bad solder joint. Thought it was some part of the adjusting mechanism, but the gun shot fine without it attached. Want to call or email Remington tomorrow about it.

Here's a pic of the bottom side.

you hit on the nail on the head, send them a picture and get instructions on what to do keep us posted. I haven't shot my yet but I will next week

It could be a Monday built gun, and all of the vodka was not out of some guys system.

Keith

Have to go to Kazahkstan next month for a couple weeks, so will see if it does last that long. Or it could be a Friday gun, and they were looking forward to the weekend, and just didn't care.

E-mail sent to Big Green service dept. today with photos; confirmation notice says an answer in 2-3 business days.

Recoil must not have been bad with factory loads?

Blank, did you pick up that rifle in Idaho Falls?

TK: The recoil was much milder than I anticipated, more like a 410 or std 20 ga load. Was not unpleasant at all, even with the hard pad. Watching you shoot your big ones, you won't even notice it.

JT: Picked it up from Ross' Guns in Idaho Falls. Reed ordered it in and took about 2 weeks.

Thanks.