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First Over Under Shotgun?
- Thread starter Skeeter
- Start date
J
Jose
Look for CZ shotguns are made by Huglu and they are in amazing value. Not all Turkish made shotguns are high quality, but Huglu definitely is.
http://cz-usa.com/products/view/mallard-104-a/
I love my CZ Mallard. Fit and finish are great. It's very well balanced. If I remember right it was about $450 out the door a few years ago.
I love my CZ Mallard. Fit and finish are great. It's very well balanced. If I remember right it was about $450 out the door a few years ago.
icyclefar
NES Member
Unfortunately a "good" over under costs thousands, a truly magnificent one will cost much more.
See if you can try out a Citori, Ruger, or Beretta, you might just find that some things are worth stretching for.
My first Skeet gun was a Mossberg Silver Reserve Sporting edition. After a couple of months with that I was itching for a Browning.
You do get what you pay for.
See if you can try out a Citori, Ruger, or Beretta, you might just find that some things are worth stretching for.
My first Skeet gun was a Mossberg Silver Reserve Sporting edition. After a couple of months with that I was itching for a Browning.
You do get what you pay for.
Sparkey
NES Member
IMHO If you buy a winchester, Ruger, Bertta or other high quality lightly used gun you will get years of use out of it and thousands of shells and it will keep its value . I Just bought a Used Winchester Grand European for trap after talking to some people I was also looking at Lambers for $800 bucks which are a ok gun but they are only going to last so long if you are shooting alot and they don't hold value. So for another 300 bucks I was into a much better gun that I can turn around and sell for what I paid for it. Check out
www.tombstonetrading.com The owner Dave is a good guy and a big time clayshooter. They usually have a good selection of o/u's
www.tombstonetrading.com The owner Dave is a good guy and a big time clayshooter. They usually have a good selection of o/u's
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I'm not a fan of any of the Huglu (Turkish)shotguns. It's because of their service/repair issues and just try to find parts or someone to accomplish any repairs in the future. Same goes for the Italian models, frankly. While Beretta is an excellent shotgun, my buddy had his stock faill last trap season and it took literally months for Beretta to service it under the warrantee.
I've migrated to Remington brands after having owned a number of different brands including some by Stoeger. Remington has been nothing but perfect when it came to addressing anything that wasn't perfect with their product, including the new Sparten line of o/u shotguns. I've got one in 16 gauge I use for field birds and only have the the highest reguard for this very low cost but high quality shotgun. This line is made in Russia but is serviced by Remington. Before you plunk your money down, I'd highly recommend that you go to a well-stocked shop and examine them all side by side and clearly ask what the service/repair/warrantee work is like if needed then compare prices.
http://www.gunweek.com/2005/feature0210.html
Rome
I've migrated to Remington brands after having owned a number of different brands including some by Stoeger. Remington has been nothing but perfect when it came to addressing anything that wasn't perfect with their product, including the new Sparten line of o/u shotguns. I've got one in 16 gauge I use for field birds and only have the the highest reguard for this very low cost but high quality shotgun. This line is made in Russia but is serviced by Remington. Before you plunk your money down, I'd highly recommend that you go to a well-stocked shop and examine them all side by side and clearly ask what the service/repair/warrantee work is like if needed then compare prices.
http://www.gunweek.com/2005/feature0210.html
Rome
Lanber . Runs about $700. I put over 1k round with no problems. They are Spanish made and imported by Camfour www.camfour.com .They are out of MA
Skeeter, people have backed getting a used one. Makes sense. I bought two trap guns that way over 10 years ago and my wife and I still use them as our primary trap gun. Haven't found one new to replace them. Have a Browning Citori and Beretta.
Have some shorter barrel guns that can be used for skeet that I've won. Stoeger as an example.
As others said, you get what you pay for. Less expensive ones open harder, have some tough triggers, and will break at times. But if you are very limited on money, go ahead.
If you had the money, I would suggest a Ruger, American made, reliable, and easy to find. I bought a used 26" barrel one a few years ago and I could use it for skeet.
Dana
Have some shorter barrel guns that can be used for skeet that I've won. Stoeger as an example.
As others said, you get what you pay for. Less expensive ones open harder, have some tough triggers, and will break at times. But if you are very limited on money, go ahead.
If you had the money, I would suggest a Ruger, American made, reliable, and easy to find. I bought a used 26" barrel one a few years ago and I could use it for skeet.
Dana
J
Jose
+1 on Lanber. Solid middle of the road in Europe and unknown here, so picking up a smoking deal should be easy.
J
Jose
Remington is also importing some Italian made guns under its Premier line. I don't know who the maker is, but Remington will stand by them and they are also available for very reasonable prices.
I have two huglus that I got through Mark Dehaan at the time and they have been good especially for what I paid for them. It is my understanding Mark is not handling Huglu or other guns at this time last that I heard.
I believe Savage also has an over and under that might be reasonably priced but I am not sure how good it is.
I believe Savage also has an over and under that might be reasonably priced but I am not sure how good it is.
amb
NES Member
Sort of? I'm sorta-kinda-maybe shopping for an O/U and I spent a while playing with one at State Line (Mason, NH) a couple of weeks ago. It just... didn't feel solid. For that money I'd rather go the CZ/IZH route or pick up a used Browning. Best to make you own choice, though; tastes vary. (I'm not generally anti-Mossberg; my current trap gun is also my current field gun, which is a Mossberg 500.)
BTW, State Line has quite a wide selection of nice-quality over-unders if you want to play with some in person.
I dont know what your range is, but I bought a Franchi Diamond at Dicks as a back up gun. It is made just for Dicks, and is a little heavier that other Franchi's but is well made
It was $799 on sale and shoots every bit as good as my Citori and my Franchi Renaissance that each were $1000 more
It was $799 on sale and shoots every bit as good as my Citori and my Franchi Renaissance that each were $1000 more
Rockrivr1
NES Member
I also wanted an over under without breaking the bank and I guess I'm one of the few who actually like their Mossberg Silver Reserve O/U. Their biggest issue is weak firing pins that break. Very easy to replace those. Yes, it's not as smooth as a high level O/U, but you can smooth it out yourself or have it done by a gunsmith and still save yourself a LOT of coin. I'm just a journeyman when it comes to skeet and trap, so for the price it works well for me.
Franchi makes excellent products.
The fact is that once you buy a quality shotgun in that range (Citori, Beretta 686/687, etc) you're not going to see much more performance as you move further up the line. Sure, they may be a little better in the fine-tuning department out of the box, but once you're in the 1.5K+ range, you're looking more at quality woodwork, engraving, etc. A Beretta SO10 is one of the finest shotguns on earth, everything is hand-fitted, the engraving is done by master artisans taking weeks, months, even years, but performance-wise you won't notice anything different between a field model Beretta SO and a 687 Silver Pigeon unless you're really, really good.
The trick is building up the balls to buy that first quality shotgun.
Beretta SO-10
I prefer pistol-gripped O/Us with the Schnabel forearm, though. I'm relatively sure that I could get an SO-10 in such configuration. I'm equally sure that I can't afford it OR the Fabbri.
I'd go with Beretta for a high-end gun for several reasons. Their premium guns are incredible (Ever been to the Beretta Gallery in NY? Even their plain old 687 EELLs are beautiful guns). The choke system is still common with other Beretta guns making the use of additional tubes and aftermarket tubes simple.
I prefer pistol-gripped O/Us with the Schnabel forearm, though. I'm relatively sure that I could get an SO-10 in such configuration. I'm equally sure that I can't afford it OR the Fabbri.
I'd go with Beretta for a high-end gun for several reasons. Their premium guns are incredible (Ever been to the Beretta Gallery in NY? Even their plain old 687 EELLs are beautiful guns). The choke system is still common with other Beretta guns making the use of additional tubes and aftermarket tubes simple.
J
Jose
I'm sure Tullio can cut any choke threads you want on your Fabbri. Bespoke means just that.
