2024 Shotgun Of The Year: CZ 712 G3

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posted on June 26, 2024
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2024 Shotgun Of The Year: CZ 712 G3

The coveted Golden Bullseye Awards, now in their 22nd year, were created as a way for us to publicly recognize the firearm industry’s best-performing, highest-value and most innovative products from the previous year. Some years there are runaway standouts, but more often than not, there are numerous contenders worthy of accolade within a given category, and the selection process to nail down a slate of recipients can require no small amount of rigorous discussion on the part of the editors. This year we were blessed with a sizable crop of great new guns that could have won an award, but below you will find our consensus winners.

“Last year was one of massive new-product introductions from the recreational shooting sports industry,” said NRA Publications Executive Director Doug Hamlin. “As a result, the editorial staff had some tough decisions to make to identify the best all-new products.”


2024 Shotgun Of The Year: CZ 712 G3
The 712 G3 from CZ-USA is an excellent example of the axiom, “Good enough never is.” The latest iteration of the Czech manufacturer’s gas-operated, semi-automatic 712 platform, the G3 doesn’t represent a major overhaul of the previous generation of the shotgun, but it does improve upon the already solid, if somewhat underappreciated, design in a number of ways that contribute to an even better shooting experience.

CZ 712 G3 gun review magazine article text on image shotgun details june 2023 american rifleman dope bag section

According to our “Dope Bag” evaluators, chief among these upgrades were a re-designed aluminum receiver that better holds the fore-end and an oversize bolt release that allowed for fumble-free manipulation of the bolt without looking.

CZ 712 G3 semi-automatic shotgun right-side view shown with black barrel receiver brown wood satin finish

Our testers also found the scattergun to be utterly reliable when the appropriate load-specific piston was installed, offering peace of mind that some semi-automatics lack. Between its chrome-lined barrel and threaded muzzle (with five compatible extended Active-Choke tubes included), walnut furniture with well-executed checkering, a better-than-average trigger and reliably dense patterns, we found the G3 to be a steal at its $579 MSRP.

CZ 712 G3 shotgun left-side view cropped receiver fore-end center

For offering a rugged, dependable semi-automatic suitable for virtually any shotgunning task, at a price that beats those of many pump-actions on the market, we felt the CZ 712 G3 was worthy of recognition as Shotgun Of The Year.

For more information, visit cz-usa.com.

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