Today we're looking at the Tristar Sett S/T over under shotgun. This is a very budget-friendly shotgun. However, you may notice that this shotguns receiver and checkering appear to be that of a much more expensive shotgun. So is the Tristar Setter the nicest over-under you can get for under $1,000? Today we're going to take an in-depth look and deliver our verdict on the Setter S/T. Ready, Lets go!

If you have experience with Tristar shotguns please let us know on the TFL COMMUNITY!   

Tristar keeps in pretty simple when it comes to their marketing material about their guns. Heres all they say about the Setter: "The Setter S/T features a solid frame for durability and strength, sealed actions to keep dirt out, self-adjusting locking lugs, top tang barrel selector and safety." Right to the point-We like it! This Setter S/T is meant to be a field gun.

TRISTAR SETTER S/T 12 GAUGE

• Specs

  • 12 Gauge break action shotgun (20, 28, .410 available)
  • 3" Chamber
  • Comes with 5 Beretta/Benelli Mobil chokes - Looking for aftermarket chokes? Check out Carlson's Chokes Use Code "targetfocused20" for 20% off.
  • The length of pull is 14 1/4" -  The only way to adjust this any longer would be with a Falcon Strike pad as there are so shims/spacers.
  • There is no drop at comb/heel measurements on their website. Unfortunately, we had forgotten our ruler to measure ourselves. The drop appears to be around an inch. 
  • The reciever is an aluminium/steel blend of sorts.
  • This is the 28" barrel - the 26" option is only available in 20 gauge. 
  • 7lbs 3oz
  • 6lbs 13 oz average trigger pull weight. 
  • MSRP is $655 but we picked ours up from Reeds Sports for $499!
  • This shotgun is made in Turkey

• Ergonomics

  • The first thing we noticed is that the checkering is cut well for this price point.
  • The grip is good and overall comfortable.
  • The pistol grip angle/radius was a bit too steep. With Steve's hand fully gripping the pistol grip, the natural finger placement was uncomfortable on the trigger.
  • However, the forend grip felt quite nice and was very easy to get a hold of. The Schnabel forend also has checkering for grip.
  • This Setter mounted up well but is certainly a bit short for a full-grown man.
  • As most over-unders are, the balance was a bit forward-heavy.
  • The Setter has a traditional barrel selector/trigger switch atop the pistol grip. 
  • This shotgun has a raised rib with a red fiber. We're not typically fans of fiberoptic sights but this one is quite small and not too distracting. 
  • The barrels and rib are vented.
  • The receiver has a very shallow laser engraving on it. You're not paying for any nice engraving at this price point but its nice to see that Tristar is attempting to offer budget guns with some minor craftsmanship. 
  • The top lever and trigger guard have some small art/detail as well.
  • No ejectors on this shotgun. The Tristar Setter has shell extractors. 
  • Overall ergonomics of this shotgun are "Not too shabby!"

• Recoil and Reliability

  • We'll keep it short here - There's not much reliability to talk about with an over/under shotgun. The ejectors worked just fine. 
  • There was quite a bit of recoil into the face while shooting target loads.
  • If you can speak to the reliability of a Tristar Setter, please let us know how it's held up on the  TFL COMMUNITY!    

• Breakdown/Quality of Build

  • We think it's pretty much always safe to say that you're getting what you pay for. This is a Turkish-made iver-under - There isn't much variation between this shotgun and other ones like it at this price point. 
  • The Setters's tolerances felt overall pretty good. 
  • Once we got inside the receiver we could definitely tell that this wasn't just an aluminum receiver. It's certainly more solid than we anticipated. 
  • This Setter S/T has standard grade walnut wood with a gloss finish. 
  • We believe that this gun overall comes together quite nicely for the pricepoint.

• Speed Shooting

  • In every review, we typically do a speed shooting test. This is where we hand throw 2/3 clays and record how fast we shoot them, as well as the split times between each shot. This is a fun competitive way to see how intuitively the gun mounts, shoots, and follows up on consecutive targets. Everything comes together in speed shooting. 
  • We actually had a pretty successful time speed shooting this Tristar. Our scores started off slow, but we were consistently getting on target and hitting clays spot on.
  • This trigger has a longer reset time than other triggers we've shot. A lot of the time we'd go to pull our second shot but the trigger had not reset yet. This isn't necessarily an issue for your standard hunting application. 
  • With that said, we had no actual trouble with the trigger pull itself -  It was quite crisp and felt good.
  • Our fastest time shooting two hand-thrownclays with this shotgun was .77 seconds. Thats pretty good! This Setter mounted and swung very naturally. 

In conclusion, is this shotgun worth the price? The simple answer is yes. For the price point, you aren't getting anything fancy by any means. But it is a good-looking shotgun that shoots very naturally (for us anyway) If you have no issue with Turkish-made guns and you're looking for a budget over/under to trudge through the field with, this Tristar setter may very well be a good option for you. One downside of the Setter S/T would be the lack of adjustability with the length of pull. As we said, for a full-grown average-size male, you may need an after-market pad such as a Falcon Strike to increase that length a bit. We believe that getting a gun that fits you is one of the most important factors in a purchasing decision so ponder that before pulling the trigger. Otherwise, check out the Tristar Setter at Reeds!

Whether our targets in the field or our targets in life, we will only hit what we are focused on, so live the #targetfocusedlife