O/U question

[Quoheleth]

Don't hang out here much in the shotgun forums; mostly pistols and rifles. Thanks for putting up with me

Was at Gander Mountain over the Christmas holiday, drooling & oogeling. While I was waiting for a pistol trade-in quote, I was browsing the shotguns. I've always admired over-unders, but price put them in a "just a dream" category. I was surprised to see they had a dozen or so different O/Us that were in the $400-500 range. I also stopped at Academy to pick up some plinking ammo, and likewise, they had an O/U that was about the same price - $400 or so. Dagnabbit...I can't remember the names, though. The Academy salesman said they were of Turkish lineage, but his chief observation is that they are very lightweight...nice for humping the fields and jump-shooting birds, but the light weight doesn't do much for recoil dampening for extended shoots.

Ok...that sounds like a simple cure (or at least, help) with a Pachmayr slip-on pad. Bigger question...are these decent guns? I know they won't be Ruger or Browning quality, but for beating around the bush for dove & quail and an occassional trap/skeet session, would they suffice? I'm an occassional shooter; not at all serious about getting into shotgun games.

Mostly I'm asking out of curiosity, not really to buy. But if I ever find one at a firehouse deal, I want to know if it's worth it.

Thanks,
Q

 

[wakerider017]

Were they Spartans? (Sold under the Remington name)

I believe they are Turkish made guns and they are sold at big name retailers.

Never owned/used one, but most will tell you they are no good. There are lots of problems posted all over the net about cheap O/U's.

Another case of you get what you pay for.

 

[Quoheleth]

Spartain was one.
I believe another was Ildiz or Yldiz...something to that effect.
A third was by Stoeger.

Q

 

[ArmedBear]

Spartans are Russian, Yildiz are Turkish (so are Mossbergs and CZ's), Stoegers are from Brazil, AFAIK.

 

[Milkmaster]

Another point of view....If it is the Spartan sold through Remington, then I will disagree with the former opinion. They are Russian made. They are not the quality O/U that you would see in a Baretta or Browning etc and certainly don't come with the same price tag as those nice shotguns. However, my son uses a Spartan on his high school trap team successfully. It has never failed to fire or eject. He is probably up to about 3K rounds by now. The ones I see bought in the last couple of years seem to be a bit better in quality than the earlier models. However, you do get what you pay for! The choice is up to you! I see very few expensive or cheap shotguns actually worn out!

Whatever you buy, do yourself a favor and enjoy it to the fullest regardless of what others may say or sneer about.

 

[Pete409]

I've never owned one of the cheap O/U's, but I've seen quite a few of them in use and read about thousands of them on the 'net.

I think I could best sum up their dependability record as being very "spotty". The majority of them seem to have problems of one kind or another before they have 1,000 rounds through them. However, there are some that have 5,000 rounds through them and continue to tick along without anything of significance wrong.

So, I think it just boils down to luck of the draw. The odds are not good, IMO, that you will get one that will prove to be durable over the long haul, but occasionally it happens.

Personally, if I wanted to hold down the amount invested in an O/U and still get good performance, reliability, and resale-ability, I would buy a used Browning, Beretta, or SKB/Weatherby.

 

[bhurlebaus]

I have had my o/u spartan for two years now with about 1500-2000 round through it. The only problem I have had is with 3" winchester #2 steel shot. They don't like to eject all of the time. Other than that I have had no problems and would buy one again.

 

[wakerider017]

Sorry about that you guys are right.

Per Remington's site:

"...We found the answer nestled in a small Russian village."

 

[TX1911fan]

I've got two Yildiz from Academy, 12 ga and 20 ga. Probably have 1500 rounds through both. Very reliable. I have one get dirty and fail to eject a cartridge once, until it cooled and then it popped right out. If you want a nice O/U but don't want to spend over $500, then get a Yildiz. You won't be disappointed. Ask to see all of them in stock and you'll probably find some very nice wood.