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REVIEW: Testing the GForce SnowBlower Shotgun

High-volume snow goose hunts offer lots of shooting, but your shotgun needs to be up to the task. GForce Arms' new SnowBlower is just the tool for the job!

REVIEW: Testing the GForce SnowBlower Shotgun
Snow goose hunters are hard on guns! That's why a good shotgun to stand up to the rain, snow, mud, and keep cycling in paramount. The GForce SnowBlower is just the gun. (Photo credit: Brad Fitzpatrick)

Waterfowl populations have been on the rise over the last century, and that’s due in large part to the efforts of hunters and the conservation organizations they support. But some waterfowl populations—particularly snow goose populations—have risen so highthat these birds actually present a threat to their tundra habitat. Snow goose populations fell to between 2,000 and 3,000 birds at the turn of the twentieth century, but now estimates place the number as high as 10 million birds or more—substantially more geese than their habitat can support.

The dramatic increase in snow goose populations has prompted several states to open conservation seasons. These light goose conservation seasons have more relaxed restrictions than other waterfowl seasons. In many states, it’s legal to use electric calls, as well as very liberal bag limits or none at all. Many states allow the use of shotguns with magazine tube extensions to hold extra rounds.

Light goose conservation seasons call for a very specialized shotgun—one that matches the terrain, has an enhanced magazine capacity, and can withstand the abuse of hundreds of shots fired in a single day. The new SnowBlower from GForce arms is just such a gun. It’s a purpose-built weapon that’s designed specifically to serve as the ultimate snow goose hunting machine.

A hunter cradling the GForce SnowBlower in his arm.
The distressed white finish on the GForce SnowBlower not only looks cool, but it stays hidden in those massive spreads of white decoys. (Photo credit: Brad Fitzpatrick)

The SnowBlower utilizes an inertia-operated action, a design that has proven extremely reliable. When fired, the SnowBlower moves rearward with the force of recoil—all except the floating bolt body. This action unlocks the lugs on the bolt and allows it to move rearward after the shot is fired, extracting the spent shell. A recoil spring in the stock then pushes the bolt back into battery, and as it returns it picks up the next shell from the magazine tube via a carrier. The bolt moves forward under spring pressure, chambering the next shell as the bolt head rotates and the lugs lock into position.

Inertia operation is fast and reliable, particularly because there are so few moving parts and no complex gas system. Gases are vented out the barrel, so inertia guns require less cleaning. There’s a reason why so many high-volume dove lodges in Argentina rely on inertia guns. If you do your part—which means routine wipe-downs and a light layer of lubrication—the SnowBlower is designed to be a workhorse shotgun capable of handling thousands of rounds.

The SnowBlower comes with a durable polymer stock and a generous recoil pad. Look closely at the recoil pad and you’ll notice that the heel (top) portion has been “radiused,” or rounded. This allows you to mount the gun while wearing heavy clothes without the risk that the recoil pad will hang up, and that’s an important consideration when choosing a goose gun.

Snow geese have excellent eyesight and will turn off if they see anything that looks unnatural in your decoy set, and that includes the bright bluing of a gun barrel. To fool the birds, every SnowBlower shotgun comes with a distressed white finish that allows the gun to blend into the surroundings. It also looks very good and is a cool aesthetic touch.

The GForce SnowBlower, a box of shells, and other hunting gear.
After testing it, the GForce SnowBlower has proven to be a great snow goose gun, as well a gun that can be equally effective during the regular season. (Photo credit: Brad Fitzpatrick)

Many states allow the use of “unplugged” shotguns with added magazine tubes, and to accommodate this the SnowBlower ships with a standard 3-round tube with restrictor plug as well as an extension tube and extra spring. This makes the GForce shotgun suitable for a variety of different hunts. Maybe you’re hunting late-season Canada geese and need to restrict the magazine to just two rounds and then want to take your SnowBlower shotgun to Arkansas for the spring light goose conservation season. That’s no problem with this shotgun since you can quickly attach or remove the extension tube. The added weight of those extra shells in the tube has another positive effect: recoil reduction. By adding some forward weight the SnowBlower allows for faster follow-up shots. Believe me, if you’ve ever found yourself in a snow goose cyclone you want as many shots on tap as you can get.

The GForce SnowBlower was clearly designed by engineers who understood the needs of snow goose hunters. In addition to the radiused heel, this gun comes with oversized controls. The bolt release is a large panel and the bolt handle is enlarged. Both of these features make it easy to operate the shotgun with gloved hands, which is an important consideration when you’re planning to sit in a snow-covered field all morning. The trigger guard is also oversized to accommodate gloved fingers.


Five CRIO-pattern extended choke tubes (C, IC, M, IM, F) come standard with each SnowBlower, as does a hard carry case for your chokes (perfect for slipping into a blind bag) and a wrench. With its 3-inch chamber the SnowBlower, which is available in 12-gauge, can handle magnum goose loads. There’s a bright orange HI-VIZ fiber optic sight on the rib anda metal mid-rib bead. Overall weight of the gun is 7 pounds, 3 ounces unloaded, and with its 28-inch barrel the SnowBlower measures right at 50 inches.

Testing the GForce SnowBlower

It just so happened that I had a chance to test the GForce SnowBlower following a heavy snowfall that left a foot of snow on the ground. Conditions were gray, cold, and windy—perfect weather for a snow goose gun test.

A hunter getting ready to shoot the GForce SnowBlower.
One of the many features that makes the GForce SnowBlower a fantastic gun for the Conservation Order is the 10+1 extension, and its ease to shoulder. (Photo credit: Brad Fitzpatrick)

I began by disassembling the shotgun and lubricating the internals. It’s important to note that one of the primary reasons inertia guns fail is that they are overlubricated, so a light layer of lubricant was all that the gun required. I then removed the magazine cap, spring, and tube and inserted the magazine extension which holds an impressive 10 rounds. That may sound like a lot, but under the right circumstances a flock of several thousand birds may drop into your decoys, and having a capacity of 10+1 offers a real advantage.

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I really like the distressed white paint which gives the GForce SnowBlower a custom look. As you can see from the photos, it also allows the gun to blend in while in the field. For testing, I decided to use Winchester’s 3-inch Xpert Snow Goose load which holds 1 ¼-ounces of blended 1 and 2 steel pellets and drives that payload from the muzzle at a velocity of 1,475 feet per second. That’s a powerful load for testing, and after firing a box of these at clay targets I understand why most trap shooters want much lighter loads. However, the GForce SnowBlower handles recoil well. The dense recoilpad, stock design and seven-plus pound unloaded weight make this an ideal gun for snow goose hunters. It’s not as abusive as some lighter guns, especially when the magazine is fully loaded. I also fired some 1 1/8-ounce 2 ¾-inch target loads through the SnowBlower and they cycled without issue.

I really like the controls on this gun. When you’re laying out in a bean field and wearing heavy gloves it can be a real hassle to operate a traditional autoloading shotgun, but I had no issues loading shells or operating the action. The oversized controls are easy to use and the crossbolt safety (located behind the trigger guard) is easy to operate.

Between the light and heavy loads I ran over 150 rounds through the SnowBlower in terrible conditions (freezing rain, wind chills below zero) and the gun never faltered. There wasn’t a single failure to load, fire, extract, or eject. I couldn’t even force the gun to fail to go into battery. On many inertia shotguns if you lightly close the bolt the bolt head will not go into battery, and the result is a sickening click. That’s not an issue on this shotgun. No matter how delicately I released the bolt it always rotated into position.

bolt on GForce SnowBlower shotgun
(Photo credit: Brad Fitzpatrick)

The folks at GForce Arms specifically asked to have this gun beaten and battered to prove just how good it is, so I followed the initial testing up with another round of shooting. Again, no issues (except my sore shoulder). When I disassembled the gun for cleaning I was surprised how little grime I found on the internals. Because the SnowBlower doesn’t use a gas system all the excess gasses are vented from the barrel. After a few hundred rounds this gun was still clean enough for another hunt.

Snow goose guns are highly specialized niche weapons, and GForce has done an exceptional job designing the SnowBlower. The gun is made in Turkey, and it’s certainly well-engineered and robustly built. If you’re a hunter that wants to take advantage of snow goose conservation seasons you need the right weapon for the task, and there’s no doubt that the new SnowBlower fits the bill.

Specifications

  • GForce SnowBlower Action: Inertia-operated semiauto
  • Gauge: 12
  • Capacity: 2/3/10
  • Barrel: 28-inches
  • Stock: Polymer
  • Finish: Distressed white
  • Sights: HI-VIZ orange front, brass mid bead
  • Overall Length: 50-inches
  • Unloaded Weight: 7 pounds, 3 ounces
  • Chokes: 5 CRIO (C, IC, M, IM, F)
  • Contact: gforcearms.com

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