2012 Shotgun Survey: Who is Happy and Who Is Not
Recently, readers of Shotgun World were invited to vote on the brands of guns that left them the most satisfied and the brands that left them unsatisfied. Voting was elective, and all votes were cast anonymously. Those that chose to vote could cast their preference for one or two brands as they wished.
The question was straightforward. Assuming Shotgun World readers are like the rest of the planet, they like guns that don't break and operate properly. They don't like guns that are unreliable, function poorly, and don't work as promised. That would be my feeling, anyway. Guns that come apart aren't pleasurable, guns that jam and are extremely fussy are little fun, and of course brands of guns that come with poor parts availability and customer service are brands that most find difficult to love. Let's start with the happy folks.
The majority of most satisfied votes, 52%, were for brands from only two companies: Herstal Group (Browning and Winchester) and Beretta Holdings (Beretta, Benelli, Franchi, Stoeger). Though Caesar Guerini offers only O/U shotguns, they scored very highly considering their limited market focus @ 9%. This CG percentage is also an improvement from a similar poll from 2009, where they hit 7% of the votes cast. Ithaca Gun Company, which had only 1% of the votes in 2009, has dramatically jumped to 7%. This is remarkable as well, as to date Ithaca has marketed only variations of the Model 37 pump gun, so they should be well pleased. On to the less happy folks.
Four brands accounted for a whopping 60% of the least satisfied votes: Stoeger, Mossberg, Remington, and Huglu. The parent company with the most unsatisfied votes is Beretta Holdings, obtaining 32% of all the least satisfied votes, the majority of those attributed to the dark cloud of dissatisfaction winner, Stoeger. In the 2009 poll, it was Remington that had most unfavorable votes at 24%. Though Remington is still one of the three top losers, they have improved substantially from three years ago. Mossberg (9% in 2009) and Stoeger (5% in 2009) have gone in the wrong direction in a very big way.
If I was Caesar Guerini or Ithaca, I'd be heartened by these results. If I was Stoeger or Mossberg, I'd be concerned. What do you think?
Copyright 2012 by Randy Wakeman. All Rights Reserved.
