{"id":65686,"date":"2016-11-03T15:59:58","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T19:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=65686"},"modified":"2025-11-12T05:12:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T11:12:05","slug":"inertia-driven-semi-auto-600-stevens-s1200-full-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/inertia-driven-semi-auto-600-stevens-s1200-full-review\/","title":{"rendered":"An Inertia-Driven Semi-Auto for Under $600? The Stevens S1200\u2014Full Review."},"content":{"rendered":"

To find out more, visit https:\/\/www.savagearms.com\/firearms\/model\/S1200<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To purchase on GunsAmerica.com, click this link: https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/Search.aspx?T=S1200<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been more than 40 years ago, but the memory remains vividly imprinted in my mind. My father nudged me awake in the predawn darkness, helping me dress and then carrying me outside still half asleep\u2014my young mind torn between the excitement of what unknown adventure lie ahead and the irresistible pull of more slumber. Adventure won out as for the first time ever, I finally got to join my father on a hunting trip.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t remember exactly what time of year it was. Seems like it was maybe early Fall, not too cold and still a number of leaves\u2014most of them changed to reds, browns and yellows, drifting loose from the trees. I remember seeing a few squirrels, and I remember yelling to alert my father as one bounded from behind a tree as he picked me up to carry me along a path flooded with water. The land we hunted was on the fringes of the vast and storied Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia, so there was both plenty of water and plenty of gray squirrels among the hardwoods. The one thing I don\u2019t recall is if we got anything that day. (Being a squirmy 7-year-old on his first hunt, I seriously doubt that we did.)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Stevens S1200 is the first semi-automatic shotgun to be made by the 152-year-old brand.<\/p><\/div>\n

But I do recall two other momentous firsts later that morning. One was getting to shoot my first gun ever\u2014a .22 LR<\/a> Marlin lever-action. The other was getting to shoot my first shotgun<\/a>\u2014a break-open single-shot Stevens in .410. My dad still owns both those guns, and I borrow them frequently, particularly when I return to the woods to recreate that first hunting adventure with my children or even when sneaking away for a solo chance to hunt.<\/p>\n

I have to admit, while the precision-shooting skills employed when trying to deliver a .22-caliber bullet into the target area provided by a squirrel\u2019s noggin at 30 yards is a fun challenge, the close-quarters limitations of the slender .410\u2019s payload makes for a different kind of, but no less fun, woodlands test. The slender-styling and light weight of that break-open Stevens is appealing when it comes to lugging a firearm through the woods for an entire morning or afternoon. Over the years, I can\u2019t recall how many squirrels and rabbits the old .410 has accounted for, but I can attest, it has been quite a few.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The S1200 combines the proven inertia-driven recoil system with modern styling and a bargain price that will please many of today\u2019s cost-conscious sportsmen.<\/p><\/div>\n

For all of this, Stevens has always held a special place in my heart, if not always in my consciousness. Upon graduating to hunting with larger shotguns for larger game, other modern mainstream scattergun manufacturers came to dominate my attention over the years until the Stevens brand lived more as a novelty than a serious contender when it came to buying a new shotgun for me.<\/p>\n

SPECS<\/strong><\/h2>\n