Remington Versa Max Shotgun

[LTUME1978]

Don't know what has happened to Remington but I don't know how long they will last if this is an example of the company they have become. Bought a Versa Max tactical shotgun for 3 gun (their new top of the line semi auto). Got it through one of the online dealers. What a train wreck of a shotgun. The barrel that came on the shotgun shot high and to the left a good bit (enough to miss targets in 3 gun). It also had some very ugly welding for the connection of the rib to the barrel (looked like a beginner did the work, huge weld puddles). There was also weld splatter that was left on the barrel with the finish applied over the top of that. Called Remington and they sent a new barrel, no hassles (like they knew they were sending out shotguns with bad barrels). That barrel came in not to long ago. It looked good cosmetically so I put it on the shotgun. Went out and tested it with slugs on Christmas eve. It shot 12-14 inches low at 50 yards. Now Remington wants the shotgun back. I would like my money back but they want another chance. I wish I had just stayed with my 870 that I bought 30 years ago. Not as fast and kicks more than the Versa Max but works great and shoots true (plus I would have a lot more money in my bank account). Your milage may vary but just know that you have been warned.

[psijac]

You tell several generations of children that the world needs over educated liberal arts majors, and that a being a skilled welder is beneath them. And this is what you get.

[rotor]

I have a Versa Max synthetic 81042 and in my opinion it is the best shotgun I heve ever handled. I shoot trap mainly, never had a jam, no kick, patterned perfectly. Cleaning is a no brainer. I did have a problem with it in that I lost the mid barrel bead. Called Remington and they sent me a new one no charge right away. Drop of blue loctite fixed that problem. If Remington says they will fix your gun send it back and let them fix it. I bet they do a good job.

[OldCannon]

I have a Versa Max synthetic 81042 and in my opinion it is the best shotgun I heve ever handled. I shoot trap mainly, never had a jam, no kick, patterned perfectly. Cleaning is a no brainer. I did have a problem with it in that I lost the mid barrel bead. Called Remington and they sent me a new one no charge right away. Drop of blue loctite fixed that problem. If Remington says they will fix your gun send it back and let them fix it. I bet they do a good job.

That's been my experience as well. The shotgun is VERY smooth and recoil is almost non-existent. Seriously, you'd think you were shooting a 410!

Remington will definitely do you right. My advice is to send it to them.

[LTUME1978]

Shotgun went out this morning to Remington. I have only fired about 75-80 rounds through it. Recoil is lighter than my 870. I did have one jam on the first outing. I hope they get it right at the factory. They did indicate that it was out of spec (I sure hope so for that price).

I guess everything shooting related that has a problem gets shipped to me. I am waiting on my two XDs pistols from the recall. I have a S&W Thunder Ranch 325 revolver that has been to the factory once for the barrel nut unscrewing and it has to go back again after the first of the year (this is a custom shop pistol). Had a high end Kimber that they bought back once they saw it (they offered a new pistol but I had my fill of them before we got to the this point). I am having problems with Comptac (they have made a holster wrong twice now and we are going to round three now). A box of Hornady match ammo went out this morning at the same time as the shotgun. Shot some of it two times and the primer pocket is too loose to use again. They accused Savage of making the barrel to tight, causing the high pressures. I don't see any signs of high pressure from examining the cases. However, they are taking some of the ammo back to test (shooting and metallurgical) as they admitted that they did have some ammo go out with soft brass a few years ago. I found one of the rounds to have a powder charge way over the max that their data lists (I had to pull a primer that they seated upside down at the factory). I don't think I will buy anything else for a long time. It will take a while to get over all of these headaches.

[LTUME1978]

Update on Remington Versa Max Shotgun.

Got it back from the factory in January. They shot a pattern that showed it was shooting very low, put the shotgun and the pattern in a box and sent it back without fixing anything. I called customer service and, after a lot of discussion, they offered to upgrade me to their new 3 gun Versa Max since I bought the shotgun for that purpose. Told me I would have it in 4-6 weeks and sent me a call tag for the tactical model that did not shoot straight.

Well, it has been 11 weeks and no shotgun. I called Remington 3 times before getting someone that could tell me when I would get my replacement shotgun. Mid summer at best was the answer. I have been told the new 3 gun version is really nice but this is ridiculous. I will be trying to get in touch with someone high up the ladder at Remington to see what can be done. This will be the last Remington I will every purchase. Buyer beware, the MBA's have taken over the company.

[cajunautoxer]

Last I read it probably won't be till June IIRC.

[Big Bronze Rim]

Sadly it seems Remington's quality control is severely lacking these days based on things I have read and heard firsthand. When I decided I wanted a quality semi auto combat shotgun, I decided that a Benelli was the only solution to what I was looking for. I ended up with an M4 and couldn't be happier. For three gun, I would get an M2 and never look back.

[ShootDontTalk]

Sad to say but in today's bottom-line conscious business climate, you can get bad merchandise no matter whose you buy, how much you spend, or where it is made. There are very few places where pride in workmanship is valued. As a result, we live with sub-standard products. I'm sorry to hear of your problems with Remington.

I always hesitate to recommend anything, and I don't shoot three gun, but I have handled lots of the current crop of Remington products and I reckon I've seen maybe 85% that were done right - from a visual inspection. Pretty poor QC but not substantially different from others. The only autoloader I have is a Mossberg 930 SPX. (I only have shotguns for defense.) One of the first production run models that had so many barrel problems. It has been very good but I have no illusions that they are any better than others. I think I was lucky. Good luck with your Versa Max.

[Big Bronze Rim]

It is definitely possible to get a lemon from any manufactuer, it just seems some manufactures make more lemons than others and don't do a good job of catching it when they do. I had bad luck with the 930SPX I had too but got it to work reasonably well. I got one of the later guns that had good straight sights, but apparently had a mag extension from Choate that was crooked and would bind the follower. A call to Mossberg CS solved the issue and after a really good cleaning and run in, it ran 90% of the time but ended up selling it off for the Benelli.

[WildBill]

Buyer beware, the MBA's have taken over the company.

I know EXACTLY what you mean by that! Those MBA dudes who think they're so smart by cutting quality someplace by making a part out of plastic instead of metal.

That saves the company a couple million dollars and makes the MBA look awesome ON PAPER and gets him a huge bonus - but the customer gets his product and thinks "Meh - screw this, I ain't buying this horsepile again" - and the company (which grew a hard-won reputation over many decades) subsequently loses millions in sales.

It's not plastic, IT'S POLYMER!

[LTUME1978]

Time for another update on the Versa Max. After only a 4 MONTH wait (was told it would be 4-6 weeks), I received the replacement Versa Max. They upgraded me from the tactical to the new 3 gun version that they brought out this year since there were so many issues with the tactical that I had. Got it this week (no notice to me that it shipped, I called to find out when I could expect my shotgun and found out it was being delivered to my FFL that day). Got it home and gave it a quick once over. Then I got out my Remington Dummy Loads that we use to practice loading. Had to apply a significant amount of force to get the shell past the end of the carrier. I tried several different brands of live loads and had the same problem. Also noticed that the trigger group is very loose fitting in the receiver. This is particularly disappointing for several reasons, mostly because they told me the new shotgun would be shipped from the factory to the repair center for a thorough check out before being sent to me. Not sure what those folks in repair did but they did not try to load the thing. I called Remington Wednesday and left a message with them. No call back to date. Will call again this morning.

My advise is to stay away from Remington products if this is the best they can do with a $1,700.00 shotgun that was supposed to get special attention.

[cajunautoxer]

I'm seen them for $1400. I'll give you $1k