Description
The Retay Ace Sporting 12 Gauge is the competition build in Retay inertia line: a jet black receiver against walnut, red accents on the trigger and choke collars, a 28 inch barrel and a full set of extended tubes. It is aimed squarely at sporting clays and skeet, and the specification reads accordingly.
What the Retay Ace Sporting 12 Gauge Is Set Up For
Start with the Retay Ace Sporting 12 Gauge chokes. Six extended tubes ship with the gun, covering cylinder, improved cylinder, modified, improved modified, full and skeet, with red collars so you can see at a glance which one is fitted. On a sporting course you change tubes constantly, and extended tubes you can turn by hand save real time between stations.
Sighting on the Retay Ace Sporting 12 Gauge is a white front bead with a mid bead on the rib, which is the traditional and correct arrangement for clays. Two beads let you check your alignment without aiming, and the white front picks up in the flat grey light that ruins fiber optics on an overcast day.
The Retay Ace Sporting 12 Gauge action is inertia driven. The Inertia Plus bolt uses a rollover torsion spring to rotate the bolt head positively into battery, which is the fix for the one real weakness inertia guns used to have. With no gas system there is nothing to foul, which matters when you put two hundred rounds through the gun in an afternoon.
Weight, Barrel and Fit
Seven pounds to seven pounds five ounces is the right weight for a clays gun. Heavy enough to swing smoothly through a crossing target, light enough to carry around a course for three hours. Combined with the 28 inch barrel, the Retay Ace Sporting 12 Gauge tracks properly rather than darting.
The Retay Ace Sporting 12 Gauge barrel is deep bore drilled from straight stock with a factory lengthened forcing cone. Both changes target the same two results, more consistent patterns and a softer push, and on a gun that gets shot in volume you notice both by the end of a round.
The Retay Ace Sporting 12 Gauge trigger group comes out at the push of a button with no tools, so cleaning is a table job rather than a bench job. Capacity is 3+1 with a 3 inch chamber, and the receiver is not drilled and tapped, which is normal for a clays gun and not a limitation in this role.
Specifications
- UPC: 193212035882
- Model: ACES-28
- Gauge: 12, 3 in chamber
- Barrel: 28 in, deep bore drilled, factory lengthened forcing cone
- Capacity: 3+1
- Action: Inertia Plus rotating bolt with rollover torsion spring
- Chokes: Six extended tubes, cylinder through full plus skeet, red accents
- Sights: White front bead with mid bead
- Trigger group: Push button removable, no tools
- Stock: Walnut with jet black receiver and red accents
- Recoil pad: AIRY air pocket system
- Receiver: Not drilled and tapped
- Weight: 7 lbs to 7 lbs 5 oz
- Warranty: Retay USA limited lifetime
Who Should Buy It
Sporting clays and skeet shooters are the whole point. A Retay Ace Sporting 12 Gauge costs a fraction of a dedicated competition over and under and arrives with the chokes, the beads and the weight already sorted, which covers most of what a club shooter actually needs to start posting scores.
It also works as a dove gun without modification. The 28 inch barrel and the 3 inch chamber handle field loads perfectly well, and the walnut and black finish looks the part in a field. Plenty of owners shoot a Retay Ace Sporting 12 Gauge all summer on clays and take it to the sunflower field in September.
Where it is the wrong choice is waterfowl or rough weather hunting. There is no camouflage, no 3.5 inch chamber and no drilled and tapped receiver, and walnut does not enjoy a week in a marsh. Retay builds the camo Ace models for that.
A few practical notes before ordering a Retay Ace Sporting 12 Gauge. Shoot it before you change anything, because the factory setup is already balanced for clays. Break the action in with standard velocity target loads rather than the lightest promotional shells, since inertia systems need a certain amount of recoil energy to cycle reliably when new. Keep the full set of chokes in the bag rather than leaving them at home, since the reason the gun ships with six is that you will want them.
And use the push button trigger group removal for cleaning. Full factory specifications are published on the Retay USA product page, and you can compare it against the Ace Paloma or browse our other shotguns.
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