The pros: I purchased this gun after reading many, many forum reviews. It really came down to Hitachi, or this Bostitch for me. Funnily though, I never read any of the amazon feedback until I was about to purchase it, by which time it only confirmed what I already knew about the gun. The gun is well balanced in the hand, and comfortable to hold. It is also very light weight and does not feel cumbersome at all in use, not that I have used it a whole lot yet. For me at least it bounce trips and cycles perfectly, sinking 1 1/4" galv nails into 2 by lumber effortlessly and without excessive recoil. The side loading mechanism is amazingly easy to use and once you figure out how to load it, will be pretty quick to load coils of nails on the job. I will point out though that your nail coils need to be properly stacked coils, not squares, triangles or any other shape and should be neatly wrapped without tangles. If your nails are squished out of shape you will not be able to load them properly, if at all, in the magazine and they will likely not feed properly causing jams. This is true of most guns however and should not be viewed as a negative, it's just a heads up for anyone new to coil guns. The cons: The gun is not shipped with any 1/4" male air coupling. Something Bostitch has in common with Paslode and others, so don't expect to use this as soon as you open the box. You will need to fit your own air coupling before you can use it. I would recommend a 360 degree swivel type. The gun is capable of both sequential and contact tripping, however, only the contact trip trigger is supplied. This is possibly not a big deal if that's how you plan on using it anyway, however, I can envisage times when I may want the sequential firing for precision. If you were to use this gun for siding, for example, you will definitely want the gun in sequential mode. Another niggle about the gun is that it is not supplied with a small starter bottle of oil. I know it's not a big deal, most folks buying this gun, myself included, already have multiple guns and oil already and are aware of the need to lubricate a pneumatic gun properly during use and storage, however, for someone buying this as their first gun, they should be aware that along with an air coupling, they will also need to buy some oil before getting started with it. Lastly, the gun does not ship in a protective case, which for professional use is not really an issue as it will likely never be stored in it, however the weekend warrior may want a molded case for storage between uses. None of my niggles, and that's really all they are, is a deal breaker or reason not to choose this gun. In terms of ease of use, build quality and value for money, I really think you can't go wrong with this gun. The gun is a sturdy professional tool and will stand the test of time on any jobsite. It will also be equally at home for the weekend warrior. If not for the lack of oil and air coupling, I would have given this gun 5 stars.
