Estimated studying time: 12 minutes
The American-made Charles Daly Honcho appears like a budget-minded 12-gauge bruiser constructed for tight areas and tough work. However as soon as the capturing begins, this compact pump reveals a break up character: smoother and higher completed than anticipated, but nonetheless saddled with reliability points critical sufficient to kill the deal.
Obtainable on GunsAmerica Now
Charles Daly has lengthy been an importer of looking shotguns from world wide. The model departed from kind in 2018 with the introduction of the defense-oriented Charles Daly Honcho. The Honcho sat in a grey space occupied by pistol-grip-only shotguns, however with a grip designed to satisfy minimal authorized size necessities and scale back recoil. Initially, these five-shot pump motion shotguns have been produced in Turkey, however in 2025, the Charles Daly Honcho is again and made in the US.
American-Made Charles Daly Honcho Will get a Second Shot
The Honcho makes use of a chicken’s head fashion of pistol grip in both checkered walnut or rubber, relying in your selection of the usual Charles Daly Honcho or Tactical Honcho fashions. The usual Honcho matches its wooden grip with a checkered walnut fore finish, whereas the Tactical mannequin goes for a polymer fore finish with an integral part of Picatinny rail for a light-weight.
The Honcho ships with a flat high and an immovable entrance blade sight. As well as, the field features a metal ambidextrous single-point sling mount that may be mounted in entrance of the pistol grip. MSRP of the American-made Charles Daly Honcho is $372.
Charles Daly Honcho Specs: 12-Gauge Numbers That Matter
On the Vary With the Charles Daly Honcho
After the Turkish-made Honcho made its debut, it gained one thing of a nasty fame. Though some won’t admit it, a few of it boils all the way down to the pistol-grip-only shotgun as a rule. Though shotguns like these are marketed for residence protection as a result of their energy and compactness, the dearth of a buttstock could make it troublesome to purpose, tame recoil, and cycle shortly. However a few of that fame is the occasional high quality management nightmare because of the Honcho in opposition to pretty dependable competitors in shotguns just like the Remington TAC 14 and the Mossberg Shockwave. Now that the Honcho is American-made, has it turn out to be a product enchancment? The one method to discover out is to place some rounds via it.
Patterning the 14.5-Inch Charles Daly Honcho
As with every shotgun, the primary order of enterprise is to sample it with completely different shot hundreds to see if the sights are regulated and the way a lot unfold of the pellets displays at explicit distances. I started by capturing cardboard silhouettes at a distance of twenty toes. After stapling my targets sufficient to buck the wind, I let fly with ammunition offered generously by Ammunition to Go. The hundreds used included:
From the very first time I aimed the Honcho, I understood the problem of the pistol-grip-only shotgun instantly. With out a inventory and a 3rd level of contact within the shoulder, it’s awkward to line up the attention down the barrel and over the entrance sight to get an aiming reference with out having the pistol grip uncomfortably near the face. However then a chunk of recommendation from shotgun guru and gun author Travis Pike got here again into my head. That recommendation is to make use of a push-pull technique to manage the shotgun and tame the recoil. That’s, to push the fore-end ahead whereas pulling again on the grip.
As counterintuitive as that recommendation might sound, it labored, however I nonetheless had the behavior of letting the entrance sight sit proud on the barrel reasonably than burying it. Subsequently, as I shot the Honcho, my patterns favored barely greater than the specified level of purpose.
The Winchester 00 2 3/4 inch buckshot load, loaded with 9 .33 caliber pellets, struck paper with a donut impact in a sample of seven inches. I attempted a couple of extra pictures on clear targets however obtained the identical donutting impact, even between two completely different packing containers throughout two completely different lot numbers.
Though I used to be not assured of getting sample, I doubled the space and fired a couple of rounds on a clear patterning board anyway. The No. 4 buckshot load and No. 6 chicken load peppered many of the 27-inch x 23-inch board. A number of No. 4 pellets missed solely, whereas the density of the sample with the No. 6 load evaporated, and there have been few hits on the purpose of purpose. I scored a single pellet hit with the usual 00 buckshot, however obtained a clear 3-inch sample with the Federal Flight Management spherical.
Operating the Honcho Exhausting Exposes the Actual Story
Firing single pictures whereas testing ammunition instructed us that no matter enterprise must be addressed with the Charles Daly Honcho must be performed at nearer vary. However given how your homestead is laid out, it offers loads of potential. The larger query is not only what the Honcho can successfully run, but when it might probably run.
I put two cardboard torsos out at a distance of twenty toes with the targets ten toes aside. I made a decision it was time to actually use the journal and provides the Honcho a exercise by shifting between the targets, placing one spherical into every goal till I fired my 5 rounds. This was to make sure the Honcho fed in addition to to permit me to get some suggestions on how the motion cycles, how the tube journal hundreds, and the way dealing with is affected when a while stress is added.
Loading the Charles Daly Honcho
Loading the Charles Daly Honcho isn’t any completely different from a typical 870. The loading port is protected against ingress by a stamped metal shell lifter. The lifter is depressed down, and the journal tube is uncovered for loading. Rounds are fed into the tube one after the other till the journal is full. The Honcho holds 5 rounds. Unloading the journal could be achieved with out racking the motion as there’s a pair of spring-loaded shell interrupters that lip over the journal tube to maintain the rounds in. Miserable considered one of these interrupters brings a shell out of the journal and into your hand.
The journal tube and motion general are clean, and I didn’t have to make use of a lot muscle to load the journal, unload it, or cycle the motion by pumping the fore-end. For a extra budget-friendly shotgun, I anticipated extra grit and play, however the Honcho behaves like a well-worn companion.
As with different pump shotguns, it has an inside hammer and as soon as cocked, the fore-end won’t transfer except the bolt launch mounted ahead of the set off guard is depressed first. With the hammer down, the motion could be labored with out that additional step, and you may get into motion shortly.
Capturing Quick With the Charles Daly Honcho
The Honcho’s clean motion is apparent as soon as a spherical touches off. Utilizing the push-pull technique of holding the shotgun regular, the help hand desires to rock again beneath recoil, partially biking the motion. All it takes is a acutely aware ending of that motion to deliver the bolt all the way in which again, after which pushing ahead once more towards the goal to chamber a spherical and put together for the subsequent shot.
Nonetheless, with no buttstock, recoil is brisk sufficient to lose the entrance sight, and after every rack of the motion, a acutely aware returning of the sights onto goal is required. That is performed shortly, like with my patterning board, nevertheless it takes extra time to transition between completely different targets to get better the entrance sight in my imaginative and prescient, index it on the subsequent goal, and ensure I’m not holding it too excessive or too low.
Talking of recoil, I discovered it to be extra of an impediment towards goal reacquisition than any form of ache issue that provides you with unhealthy habits. The elongated grip offers a tough shove within the hand and slides gently, reasonably than shifting straight again and remaining stationary within the hand like a vertical grip. The checkering of the fore finish and grip additionally helps to maintain motion in test.
The Honcho is jumpy, however not painful to shoot. However I used to be shocked at how little distinction the load made in mitigating recoil. Birdshot hundreds, like that Winchester No. 6 spherical, are identified for being gentle. Nevertheless it bucked as a lot because the 00 buckshot defensive hundreds.
The Charles Daly Honcho’s Deadly Flaw Reveals Up Quick
On the entire, the brand new Charles Daly Honcho is mechanically a greater product than the preliminary run. Regardless of the preliminary awkward dealing with related to PGO shotguns, the feel and appear of the Honcho outshines Mossberg and Remington fashions I’ve seen of late. It was the insides of the Honcho that gave me actual matches, significantly after I needed to undergo a number of rounds shortly.
On the patterning board, I had no issues. I labored the motion intentionally however slowly. However when utilizing the journal at capability and working my two-target drills, I had failures to load and ejection of dwell rounds.
After loading up the journal, the primary shell would turn out to be impinged contained in the journal tube, far beneath the shell interrupter, reasonably than on the level the place it lips over the tube. Racking the motion does nothing till I stick a finger into the tube to deliver that first spherical into place with the cease. I used to be in a position to resolve this by fastidiously loading my journal and making certain that the final spherical was flush with the interrupter as a substitute of attempting to push it any deeper.
Extra alarming was the ejection of dwell rounds. On a number of events, a dwell spherical would slip from the shell service and fall out of the shotgun from the loading port when the motion was racked to eject an empty shell. The interrupter failed to manage the shell because the service pivoted in the course of the loading movement, and the spherical would escape.
A full take-down and cleansing didn’t treatment the problem, and there have been no apparent metallic points, nevertheless it was apparent that the timing between the interrupter and service was out of step. One defect I did discover was that, after 100 rounds, the stakes that run via the motion and into the extractors have been strolling out from their authentic place. Staking is hard to do at residence, and it ought to have been performed appropriately on the manufacturing facility. Regardless of now being made proper right here within the USA, I elect to provide the Charles Daly Honcho a large berth, and so do you have to.
Charles Daly Honcho Execs and Cons
Execs: Higher match and end than anticipated, clean motion, compact 27-inch bundle, helpful 5+1 capability, Federal Flight Management carried out exceptionally properly, American-made reboot reveals some promise. Cons: Awkward PGO dealing with, brisk recoil restoration, high-pointing tendencies, failures to load beneath pace, live-round ejection points, and staking issues after 100 rounds. 🛒 Test Present Worth for Charles Daly Honcho on GunsAmerica
Jim Maybrick has been a constant voice within the firearms world for over a decade, writing lots of of articles and producing dozens of movies that span practically each nook of the capturing sports activities. With a background in navy and financial historical past, Jim has a expertise for weaving compelling tales round historic firearms designs and the rise and fall of legacy producers.However Jim’s pursuits go far past the previous—he’s simply as snug diving into muzzleloading traditions as he’s testing the most recent rimfire hundreds or mastering cutting-edge trendy programs. His considerate, data-driven strategy brings readability and depth to each evaluation.When he’s not on the vary or deep in a spreadsheet, you’ll discover him having fun with time with household, chasing recreation, or refining the misplaced artwork of beginning an ideal campfire.Expertise:– Veteran Author & Content material Creator – Over twelve years of expertise in firearms journalism with lots of of revealed items.– Army & Financial Historian – Educational background that fuels in-depth evaluation of historic firearms and business developments.– Versatile Shooter – Covers a variety of matters from muzzleloaders and rimfire ballistics to right now’s most superior platforms.– Storyteller at Coronary heart – Identified for insightful writing that blends technical element with participating historic context.– Outdoorsman & Household Man – Reconnects with nature via looking, fishing, and old-school firecraft.– Analytical Mindset – Brings precision, construction, and storytelling to each article—whether or not it’s a gear evaluation or a deep historic dive.
