TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun Review: Part 3

TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun Review
Part 3 - External Features
June 29, 2011

TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun Review

In this part of the review, I'm going to cover all of the externally visible features of the TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun. In the next part of the review, Part 4, I will fully disassemble the shotgun and in Part 5 I will cover the internal features. Throughout this review, you can click on a photo to bring up a higher resolution image to see more details.

Overall Shotgun

At a quick glance, you see the TriStar Cobra Force comes with a fixed pistol grip stock, receiver mounted rail, adjustable rear sight, lower rail on the forend, magazine extension tube, bridge front sight, flash hider choke and sling studs.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

The overall length of the shotgun with the flash hider choke installed is 43.38" and 41.38" with the standard choke.

Figure 4

The shotgun weighed in at 7.178 (7.18) pounds which is heaver than the advertised average weight of 6.6 pounds.

Figure 5

Fully loaded with 6 (5+1) rounds of Hornady Critical Defense 2¾" 00 Buckshot, the shotgun weighed in at 7.698 (7.7) pounds.

Figure 6

Front Half

This next set of photos show the front half of the TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun from each side. In all these photos I show the shotgun with the flash hider choke installed. If you wanted to drop the overall length of the shotgun, you could swap this out for the standard configuration choke. In the photo directly below, there was a blemish that appeared to be a drip in the blued finish on the barrel. The lighting in the photos seems to make it stand out more that it does under normal light conditions.

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

The shotgun comes with a 20" barrel.

Figure 10

Faux Magazine Extension Tube

When you consider that the shotgun has a 20" barrel and that it looks like it has an extended magazine tube, you would expect this shotgun to have a fairly high capacity. The capacity of the shotgun is actually 5+1 with 2¾ shells and 4+1 with 3" shells. This faux magazine tube gives the impression that you are getting a higher capacity shotgun, but that is not the case. Current laws do not allow the import of a shotgun with greater than 5+1 capacity. I believe this is one area where TriStar added visual value without having an impact on the bottom line price of the shotgun. In reality, you will probably keep it loaded with 5 in the tube so you can have that distinctive pump sound when chambering a shell. Is 5 shots enough for your needs? I would think so, but that's for your to decide.

Figure 11

Figure 12

Flash Hider Choke

The flash hider choke has a relatively thin wall thickness with 6 slots cut at each 60 degree increment around the choke. It adds a tactical flair to the look of the shotgun and can be easily removed for a normal look if desired.

Figure 13

Front Sight

The bridge front sight stands about 0.98" above the barrel with the fiber optic portion at about 0.84". I took my thumb nail and tried prying on the fiber optic portion and found it be securely in place. The fiber optic portion is protected by two fins on each side. The sight seemed to be securely attached to the end of the barrel (which it should be).

Figure 14

Forend Picatinny Rail and Sling Swivel Stud

On the front lower portion of the forend is a molded short Picatinny rail measuring about 2.8" in length. This is a great addition to the shotgun which allows you the ability to mount a light without purchasing any other special forend or barrel/tube adapter. On the bottom of the barrel lug is the front sling swivel stud.

Figure 15

Forend

The forend is manufactured from some type of synthetic material which is common for most shotguns of this type. It has a nice thin shape, even for the portion that covers the receiver when pulled back to cycle the action. The ribbed area provides a comfortable non-slip grip. One of the unique features of the TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun is that the forend is spring loaded. All you have to do is pull it back and let it go. It moves to the forward position by the spring under the forend.

Figure 16

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Figure 18

Barrel Markings

On the left side of the barrel near the receiver is stamped "Tristar-NKC-MO". The "NKC-MO" portion stands for North Kansas City, Missouri, which is where TriStar's headquarters is located.

Figure 19

On the right side of the barrel near the receiver is stamped "Cobra 12 ga 3 inch Made in Turkey by Khan". Khan Arms is the actual manufacturer of this shotgun and TriStar imports the shotgun into the US. Under the Khan brand, this shotgun is called the A-Tac Pump Force.

Figure 20

Back Half

The features to note on the back half of the shotgun are the receiver mounted rail, rear adjustable sight, fixed pistol grip butt stock, bolt release and safety.

Figure 21

Figure 22

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Figure 24

Receiver

The receiver is machined from a billet of aluminum alloy. On the right side is the TriStar logo. You can see in the photo below that there is a single trigger plate pin. The action bar lock (bolt release) is located on the forward right side of the trigger guard. I really like the ergonomics of this release location because I was able to keep my hand position on the grip while pressing the release with the front side of my trigger finger. The button safety is located on the rear of the trigger guard.

Figure 25

The receiver is drilled and tapped and the top rail is attached by 4 screws. You will be able to see the other two screws in Part 4 of this review which covers disassembly of the shotgun.

Figure 26

The trigger plate (including guard) is made from some type of synthetic material.

Figure 27

The TriStar logo is also machined into the left side of the receiver. Overall I would say the receiver seems well machined and has a uniform anodized finish.

Figure 28

Receiver Rail

Mounted on top of the receiver is an aluminum rail that measures 5.9" in length.

Figure 29

Figure 30

Rear Sight

The rear sight mounts to the rail similar to other rail mounted accessories. The sight is adjustable in both elevation and windage. The sight had a very uneven finish as shown in the photo below. The bright areas seem like a painted surface and the dull areas seem like a blued surface. The bright areas would flake off with a pressure from my finger nail and expose the dull surface.

Figure 31

Trigger Guard & Carrier Area

The trigger plate assembly fits nicely in the receiver. By pressing anywhere on the carrier, you are able to tilt the carrier to insert a shell into the magazine tube.

Figure 32

The photo below shows the safety in the fire position. The safety button has a very firm click as it moves from each position.

Figure 33

Stock

The stock is a fixed position pistol grip stock. It has a molded rubber grip and rubber recoil pad. I like the rubbery texture of the grip. I have large hands and the grip filled my hand. If you have small hands the grip will probably feel large.

Figure 34

The rubber recoil pad is sculpted to allow a more conformed fit to your shoulder. I believe the stiffness of the rubber will not provide any significant reduction in felt recoil. On the bottom of the stock is the rear sling stud.

Figure 35

Thoughts

Clearly this shotgun is feature packed for the street price of about $310. I like the feel of the shotgun and the spring loaded action gives it a "cool" factor. Later in the review, I removed the spring to see how it functioned and it then seemed like any other pump shotgun. I see this feature becoming the owner's choice for how he prefers the action on his shotgun. The finish on the rear sight could use some improvement, but considering you get a fully adjustable rear sight in the package, it is hard to complain too much.

For more detailed photos and commentary, make sure you check out the other parts of this review. The following links are provided to help you see other parts of this review or feel free to add a comment on the "Reader's Comments" page.

TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun Review: Part 1 - Introduction, Specifications and Summary
TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun Review: Part 2 - What's In The Box
TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun Review: Part 3 - External Features (this page)
TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun Review: Part 4 - Disassembly
TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun Review: Part 5 - Internal Features
TriStar Cobra Force Shotgun Review: Part 6 - Range Testing

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