Charles Daly auto-loader

M

MTgunner

New member
Do any of you guys have a ideas or complaints about the Charles Daly semi-autos. I am looking to buy a new shotgun for waterfowl and upland game and I don't want pay a lot of money for these exspensive shotguns (like the benelli). Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
On some of the other waterfowler forums I have noticed a tonne of people who like the Stoeger semi-auto. the mp-153 or something like that.
Do a search at waterfowlers.com or the refugeforums.com. Apt to come up with something there.
 
RUN LIKE HELL!!!

I owned a $300 Charles Daly 12 ga Semi-auto (all black with synthetic stock) about 3 years ago.

The SOB's innards exploded shortly after I bought it (less than 500 rounds).

Basically I pulled the trigger and there was an increase in recoil of 2X. The bolt was jammed closed on the spent round and debris was falling out of the receiver area.

I got it home and eventually disassembled it and found the root cause of the failure. The locking block (part number 54 in my manual) had a low cycle fatigue (LCF) separation that initiated in a machine groove in the part's radius. The peice in question was a real cheap steel alloy with a surface treatment to minimize wear. On the fracture surface you could see individual arrest marks where the crack would advance every time the trigger was pulled.

I called KBI (The Charles Daly Distributor) and inquired about a warranty. I then sent the rifle back to Harrisburg, PA with a detailed failure analysis report and half of the fracture. I kept the other half of the fracture as evidence for myself if anything went south.

KBI quickly acknowledged that they would fix or replace my shotgun. After 6 months of pestering my NEW C.D. shotgun arrived at the gunstore. The KBI rep. actually said that the wait was b/c there were piles of these model shotguns being returned. At which point I got a $299 + tax store credit for my beloved Browning auto I have to this day.

I wasn't going to risk the same problem again with C.D. I figured that the replacement firearm was made using the same exact materials and process so an identical failure could be anticipated.

My advice... Don't do it.


I reference the CD shotgun here.
http://www.predatormastersforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=5&t=003932&p=

I ain't making this up.

DC
 
Welcome to the board MT.

A friend of mine had one of those. He used it for dove shooting. He really shot a bunch of round through it and it finally did the same thing as mentioned before. It broke down. Buddy sold it and bought a Verona. You might look at these.

www.pmcammo.com
 
I was wondering the same thing about the Charles Daly as I wanted a good inexpensive autoloader.
I did several searches on different gun site forums and I got a lot of negative feedback on the Charles Daly. I then started to inquire about the Verona, Not one negative comment. So I bought the Verona for $269.00 at G.I. Joes, but to be honest I have not shot a lot of rounds through it yet. I was teaching a friend of mine how to shoot clay pigeons last Saturday. I busted every pigeon I shot at, but must admit my partner did most all of the shooting as he was learning (shooting) and I was operating the launcher. But still busting the first bird and every bird is a good omen.
 
No on the Charles Daley auto. I've read several reports about the bolt "splitting", parts falling out, etc.

I'll offer a second vote on the Verona. I bought one for my son for Christmas. It is light, points quick and handles heavy 3" loads fine. Fit and finish are not equal to the $1,000 guns, but at $269 I got a bargain. He has over 1,000 rounds through it, with no failures. He keeps it clean and cased.

If you want something a bit nicer (quite a bit nicer), look into the Franchi 612. Lighter and faster than a Benelli SBE or a Beretta Pintail, $500 less than the SBE. I've had mine for 3 years and it gets used a lot - upland, ducks, geese - and has never failed. Even fell into a muck swamp with it, washed it out, and kept shooting. I did spend 3 hours cleaning and oiling when I got home, (the gun, not me).
 
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