Welcome back to another episode of "Cheap Over Unders That May or May Not Work" Our special guest today is the Acrius by Pointer - Imported by Legacy Sports International. Our goal today is to determine whether or not this Acrius is worth considering among its many competitors in the affordable O/U market. So if you're looking for sub-gauge O/U and want to save some cash, dive into this in-depth Pointer Acrius review.

If you have experience with Pointer Shotguns please let us know your thoughts on the TFL COMMUNITY!   

POINTER ACRIUS 20GA O/U

• Specs

  • Our Acrius is in 20-gauge - The Acrius is available 12ga, 20ga, 28ga, .410
  • Acrius also available in youth models.
  • The length of pull is 14" - This may be short for some
  • Drop at comb 1 3/8"
  • Drop at heel 2 3/8"
  • Case Colored/Heat Treated Reciever
    • Available in Camo – Mossy Oak Bottomlands & Realtree Max 5
  • 26" barrel
  • 7lbs 4oz 
  • The Acrius has a mechanical trigger.
  • 6lbs 13oz average trigger pull weight. This a surprisingly good trigger for the price point.
  • MSRP is $499

• Ergonomics

  • The grip of the Acrius isn't half bad. It feels a little wide at the pistol for a 20 gauge.
  • The forend grip is a bit narrow and lacks contours.
  • The Acrius has a slight schnabel forend.
  • Hard and thin rubber recoil pad.
  • The Acrius offers minimal grip with its checkering.
  • The top tang and lever are very basic.
  • There is a barrel selector connected to the safety.
  • This color-cased variation makes the receiver eye catching.
  • The rib is flat, vented, and sports a medium-sized front fiber.
  • Standard not-too-fancy walnut wood. Perfect for roughin' it.
  • The overall ergonomics are adequate for the price!
  • The Acrius comes with 5 chokes.
  • No shell ejectors. Just simple extractors.
  • All tolerances feel pretty decent.

• Recoil and Reliability

  • We'll keep it short and painless for you: This 20 gauge Acrius shot much better than anticipated.
  • We were able to get on clays and crush them quite easily.
  • The recoil and shootability may be the highlight so far of this shotgun.
  • As far as recoil goes, it wasn't bad at all. However, recoil is never good, and we could go for a longer length of pull. If we end up keeping this shotgun we'd install a Falcon Strike to meet these accomodations. (Add a FalconStrike for less recoil)
  • When shooting Prairie Storm hunting loads, this Acrius handled it very well. The recoil and handling of this shotgun may be its highlight. It seems to operate smoother than a lot of other shotguns in this price range.
  • If you can speak to the reliability of a Pointer Acrius please let us know how it's held up on the  TFL COMMUNITY!    

• Breakdown/Quality of Build

  • This Acrius comes apart like every other O/U.
  • When we looked into the receiver, it appeared to be built stronger than other over unders in this price range.
  • The one unfortunate thing about this build is that when the barrels are open, the tolerances seem to become much looser.
  • But at this price, if you can maintain it for 3,4,5 years, you'll certainly be getting your money's worth.
  • Don't get this shotgun for high-volume shooting. If you like to beat around in the bush every once and a while then this Acrius is a great option.
  • These are all pretty quick judgments. What matters is how long this shotgun will last after hundreds of rounds. Let us know your experience on the  TFL COMMUNITY!  

• Speed Shooting

  • In every review, we typically do a speed shooting test. This is where we hand throw 2 clays and record how fast we shoot them, as well as the split times between each shot. This is a fun competitive way to see how intuitively the gun mounts, shoots, and follows up on consecutive targets. Everything comes together in speed shooting. 
  • After a couple of boxes of Federal, we were able to achieve some decent splits. It mounted very decent as well.
  • The hardest part of this test with the Acrius was getting a good mount quickly. The short length of pull made this a bit more difficult.
  • Our fastest clean time on 2 clays was 1.13. This is a relatively good score for an O/U 20ga. Regardless, overall this was a very enjoyable shotgun to shoot.

In conclusion, if you want an affordable shotgun to shoot and your not going be shooting thousands of rounds every year, the Pointer Acrius is among your better options around the $500 price range. Recoil wasn't bad, we busted clays a lot, and it looks better than a lot of guns in this price range. It's nothing fancy, and the wood/grips leave something to be desired, but if these things aren't as important to you, we'd recommend you consider the Acrius for casual shooting, and occasional hunting. The trigger was  surprisingly good. The one thing to really consider with this gun is the length of pull. 14" is a bit short for a lot of people. If you do this shotgun, a Falcon Strike or butt-pad spacer may improve your shooting if you're an average-sized male. This isn't a half-bad budget-friendly option!

Whether our targets in the field or our targets in life, we will only hit what we are focused on, so live the #targetfocusedlife 

Steve Gould