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Weatherby Element™ Waterfowler Max-5®
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eatherby continues to revolutionize industry standards by producing firearms that are both durable and user friendly while preforming at a level of excellence. The Weatherby Element is an inertia operated semiauto shotgun with an MSRP of $849.00 although you can usually pick one up for under $700.00! Compared to gas operating systems, inertia shotguns are typically lighter, thinner, and can be shot for high volume if needed before the necessity of a “deep clean”. In fact, shotguns which utilize an inertia system can routinely discharge over 500,000 rounds without having any issues! Having owned a variety of shotguns in the past, the Element was a much different animal than the Benelli and Browning gas operated and pump systems I was used to. The extraordinarily smooth loading and cycling of the Element, coupled with the extreme lightness, made me believe I could shoot this thing all day! Even though inertia guns typically deliver more recoil, I didn’t notice any more impact than other shotguns I have used in the past. Out of the box performance was nothing short of amazing. Upon more extensive testing, I was able to get my Element into the duck blind with me for some waterfowl action. The entire system was put through the ringer on this hunt. In subzero temps, after several boxes of shells, and having been fully submerged at one point, the last shot was just as good as the first. This shotgun never jammed and made me feel proud of my wingshooting ability by consistently hitting birds! Weatherby has totally “nailed it” once again with their Element Shotgun. The fit and feel of this moderately priced shotgun was on par with that of much more expensive models and it is an absolute pleasure to shoot. If you are looking for a shotgun that will totally outwork the competition, pick up an Element in Max-5 for your go to waterfowling shotgun. AVId Hunting & outdoors Winter 2017
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