Description
The Retay ACE-R Extra Black 26 Inch is the working end of the ACE-R line: a 12 gauge chambered for 3.5 inch magnums, dressed in plain black synthetic rather than walnut, with a 26 inch deep bore barrel. It is built to be used hard in bad weather rather than admired, and at around seven and a half pounds it sits where a serious waterfowl gun should. Part number RACEBLK26, UPC 193212045300.
What the 3.5 inch chamber actually buys
The ACE-R Extra Black 12 gauge chamber is 3.5 inches, which lets you shoot the heaviest factory waterfowl and turkey loads made, which matters when you are pushing large steel shot at geese at the edge of sensible range. It also means the Retay ACE-R Extra Black 26 Inch will happily digest everything shorter, so one gun covers doves in September and geese in January.
Be honest with yourself about recoil before you buy into the magnum idea. A 3.5 inch load out of a seven and a half pound inertia gun is a genuinely stout push, noticeably sharper than the same shell from a heavier gas gun. Retay fits their AIRY recoil pad and claims a reduction of up to thirty percent in felt recoil, which helps, but physics still applies. Most people who buy 3.5 inch guns shoot 3 inch shells the vast majority of the time, and there is nothing wrong with that.
The other half of the equation is that an inertia action needs enough shell energy to cycle. A 3.5 inch magnum semi-auto shotgun of this type runs magnums beautifully and is least happy with the lightest target loads, so if you plan to shoot a lot of clays with it, test your practice load first.
Build details worth knowing
The Retay ACE-R Extra Black 26 Inch runs what Retay calls Inertia Plus, built around a rollover torsion spring rather than the usual arrangement. The practical upshot is the same as any inertia gun: no gas ports, no piston, and very little fouling finding its way into the action. After a wet season of steel shot that difference is measured in cleaning time.
The upper is a milled Bohler steel monoblock and, on the 12 gauge guns only, it comes drilled and tapped. That is a real advantage on the Retay ACE-R Extra Black 26 Inch if you hunt turkey, because you can mount a red dot directly without a gunsmith or a clamp-on saddle. The lower is anodized aluminum.
Barrels on the Retay ACE-R Extra Black 26 Inch are deep bore drilled with a factory lengthened forcing cone, and the gun ships with a full set of choke tubes running from cylinder through full plus an extended long range tube. That is a more generous set than most makers include, and it covers waterfowl, turkey and upland without another purchase.
Retay ACE-R Extra Black 26 Inch specifications
- Gauge: 12
- Chamber: 3.5 in
- Barrel: 26 in, deep bore drilled with lengthened forcing cone, vent rib
- Action: Inertia Plus, inertia driven semi-automatic
- Capacity: 3+1
- Upper: milled Bohler steel monoblock, drilled and tapped
- Lower: anodized aluminum
- Stock and forend: black synthetic
- Recoil pad: Retay AIRY
- Chokes: cylinder through full plus extended long range tube
- Approximate weight: 7 lb 7 oz per Retay for 12 gauge
- Part number: RACEBLK26
- UPC: 193212045300
Twenty six inches rather than twenty eight is the choice worth thinking about on the Retay ACE-R Extra Black 26 Inch. A shorter barrel is easier to handle in a blind or a layout, swings a little quicker on close flushing birds, and gives up a small amount of pointability on long crossing shots. For most waterfowl and turkey hunting the 26 inch is the more practical barrel. Retay publishes the platform detail on the Retay USA ACE-R page; quote Retay RACEBLK26 when you order, since the ACE-R is built in several gauges, finishes and barrel lengths.
Compare the rest of our shotguns or browse in stock firearms.
Why it is worth considering
- A 3.5 inch chamber covers the heaviest waterfowl and turkey loads made.
- A drilled and tapped receiver takes an optic without a gunsmith, which matters for turkey.
- An inertia action stays clean through a wet season of steel shot.
- A full choke set including an extended long range tube is included rather than sold separately.
Who it suits
The Retay ACE-R Extra Black 26 Inch suits a waterfowl or turkey hunter who wants one gun for the whole season and does not care whether it is pretty. As an Inertia Plus waterfowl shotgun in plain black it is meant to get muddy, and the synthetic furniture will not mind. If you shoot mostly light loads at clays, or you are recoil sensitive, a gas operated 3 inch gun will treat you better.
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