Over/unders
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jaguarxk120
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It is the same in cars. What makes a Bently better than a base model Chevrolet, they both will get you where you want to go.
Is one better than the other, yes in many ways, in shotguns you are paying for better materials and one important part, quality in the making.
The stock wood on some O/U's may cost much more than a complete cheaper gun. You can buy a Maverik 88 on sale for about $180 and a Remington Wingmaster cost's several times that, they both shoot. But the Wingmaster is a much better gun.
Is one better than the other, yes in many ways, in shotguns you are paying for better materials and one important part, quality in the making.
The stock wood on some O/U's may cost much more than a complete cheaper gun. You can buy a Maverik 88 on sale for about $180 and a Remington Wingmaster cost's several times that, they both shoot. But the Wingmaster is a much better gun.
O/U's are very labor intensive to make. The lockwork needs to be strong and precise, and the barrels need to be regulated and soldered. They are also the choice of most serious competitors who are going to fire them hundreds of thousands of rounds. Cheap O/U's as a rule will work OK as a hunting gun, or for the casual target shooter. They are made with looser tolerances, and in countries with lower labor costs. They just don't hold up to serious target use. I would consider $1500-2000 to be "entry level" for a target gun.
oneounceload
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The best made O/U - (some of which can easily go well over 50,000, let alone 5,000) are hand finished by highly skilled craftsmen to customer specification. The ones around 5,000 are of very good quality but have more machine-done work. Their barrels are well-regulated, the guns are balanced well; the POI/POA is the same, the triggers are clean, crisp, with no creep. They are designed to shoot a LOT of shells before needing repair.
The $500 guns have none of those features. While they may appear close, upon a thorough inspection the wood to metal fit is typically flawed, the gun has very poor balance, the triggers are usually heavy, lots of creep and may have a gritty feel. Their barrels can be suspect when it comes to POI/POA regulation. On one forum a person just bought a Huglu-made CZ and on one of its very first shots, he had issues and had to send it back to CZ for repair
The $500 guns have none of those features. While they may appear close, upon a thorough inspection the wood to metal fit is typically flawed, the gun has very poor balance, the triggers are usually heavy, lots of creep and may have a gritty feel. Their barrels can be suspect when it comes to POI/POA regulation. On one forum a person just bought a Huglu-made CZ and on one of its very first shots, he had issues and had to send it back to CZ for repair
And many shot gunners go through more shells in a year than many rifle shooting folks shoot in a lifetime.
As Hans Solo said, "I can imagine alot."
oneounceload
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I go through more than I'll ever tell my wife! I've slowed down a little, but I still average 12-15,000 a year
MCgunner
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Well, I ain't into 870s, but then, I drive a Toyota, so......
jaguarxk120
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You won't find a lower priced O/U that has durability. A lifetime warrenty, if a gun is made well it should not need a warrenty. Check the Browning O/U's
they are good for about 200.000 rounds before they even need a tine up.
they are good for about 200.000 rounds before they even need a tine up.
oneounceload
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For clay shooting with a limited budget, personally, I would forgo the O/U and get a gas gun like a Beretta 303/390/391/A400. There are a few others that also have a quality rep for reliability and durability.
Lifetime warranties aren't worth much if it is constantly going back to be fixed and you don't have it to use.
If you still insist on a cheap O/U, get a target version since you want to shoot clays. It will be heavier for more recoil absorption that the field model and most have slightly different stock configurations designed more for target shooting.
Around $1K gets you into used Browning/Berettas. I still have my Browning Gti; it is now semi retire3d as i like shooting my new-to-me A400, but it had almost 300,000 through it over 20+ years and still is going strong. At 90,000 I needed to replace some pins and a slightly worn firing pin. That model I have seen lately running around the 1K mark. I would bet the similar Beretta model will be about the same
Lifetime warranties aren't worth much if it is constantly going back to be fixed and you don't have it to use.
If you still insist on a cheap O/U, get a target version since you want to shoot clays. It will be heavier for more recoil absorption that the field model and most have slightly different stock configurations designed more for target shooting.
Around $1K gets you into used Browning/Berettas. I still have my Browning Gti; it is now semi retire3d as i like shooting my new-to-me A400, but it had almost 300,000 through it over 20+ years and still is going strong. At 90,000 I needed to replace some pins and a slightly worn firing pin. That model I have seen lately running around the 1K mark. I would bet the similar Beretta model will be about the same
The new Ruger Red Label is what you're looking for. Designed by the same guy that designed the Browning Cynergy, lifetime warranty and the best value in an entry level O/U at around $1200. To get anything better will run at least $2K.
eastbank
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well i hope the new rugers are better than the older ones,there is only one man shooting a ruger out of 80-90 that shoot where i do and it has had its share of problems. i would rather have a well used browning-beretta than a new ruger. eastbank.
oneounceload
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I agree I had the Ruger in 28 and it was nothing but trouble so it went away
RainDodger
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I have a number of nice shotguns, but my very favorite shooter is a Browning Citori Gran Lightning. Very nice quality for the money. I think I paid about $1300 back in about 1994 for this one. Very nice wood. I don't know the current prices, but I know they're well above that.
I had a cheap S/S once, would not come close to shooting point-of-aim. Since then I've had O/Us and a S/S by Ithaca/SKB, Winchester and Franchi, some new, some used, all in the 1,000 to 1,500 price range new. I don't shoot thousands of rounds a year but all of the above were/are reliable, trouble-free and fine shooters.
Among my friends the only shotgun we've had that constantly malfunctioned was a Beretta semi-auto.
Among my friends the only shotgun we've had that constantly malfunctioned was a Beretta semi-auto.
MCgunner
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I was looking at a Franchi Instinct a couple of years ago, $1000-1500 range, really liked the out of the box fit and light weight, was a 20. I have no idea how many rounds it'd take, don't really care since I'm a wingshooter, not into clays. I might burn a case in a dove season, a few boxes during the year. Frankly, I'm not sure I'll ever own a O/U, though. I won't buy a Stoeger or something comparable. If I get a O/U, I'll spend a bit more on it to get decent fit and finish if nothing else. It'll be more than just a hunting tool. Probably wind up with something like a Browning if I do.
Anyone with any experience with the Franchis?
Anyone with any experience with the Franchis?
Sheepdog1968
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By the way, if you have a pump or even a single shot shotgun you can do a lot of clay shooting. I've decided to stick with my boring Mossberg 500 pump. It works just fine. You don't need a semi or o/u. Nothing wrong with them either.
oneounceload
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Depends on what type of clay shooting you do and how successful you want to be
GarySTL
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At the place I shoot sporting clays the most all of the stations but one are true pairs. Not at all possible with a single shot, and not easy with a pump. It can be done with a pump but you'd better be very fast. I shoot a Citori 625 Sporting and have a great time. I sometimes shoot my CZ Redhead Deluxe and it feels strange to me.
I'm kinda curious about the answer to this too. It seems to me too much of the higher end o/u prices are related to aesthetics. I honestly have no problem shooting an ugly gun so I can't help but look at even a $700 o/u that has engravings and feel like I am being ripped off.
O/U's have such a simplistic operation that it just baffles me that someone can't make a durable one somewhere near the $500 mark.
Why is it that autoloaders are the budget gun? It seems to me building something that has cycle after each shot and will last through countless shells would be much more difficult than something that doesn't. Legitimately asking here I really want to know.
Not trying to draw out the hate here though I am sure someone will take this post the wrong way.
O/U's have such a simplistic operation that it just baffles me that someone can't make a durable one somewhere near the $500 mark.
Why is it that autoloaders are the budget gun? It seems to me building something that has cycle after each shot and will last through countless shells would be much more difficult than something that doesn't. Legitimately asking here I really want to know.
Not trying to draw out the hate here though I am sure someone will take this post the wrong way.
oneounceload
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If you think $700 is a lot, please stay away from O/U - you'll never be happy. Top end O/Us engraved by hand will be a LOT more expensive. It is not uncommon for artist-level hand engraving to be on the order of $25K and up - just for the engraving. Quality of a decent $3K O/U compared to the sub-1000 junk is readily apparent to anyone comparing them side by side. Comparing the typical $7-10K O/U to the sub-1000 isn't even close. If your goal is to have an O/U that might last a few boxes a season, then buy the cheap gun, knowing things will not last, handle well, or possibly even shoot POI/POA. If your goal is to shoot a lot of targets in competition, then you will want the better gun.
My O/U cost me right at $1K over 20 years ago. I've spent well over 100X that amount on targets and ammo in that time frame with one repair costing me about $100. The cheap O/U won't even last as long as my break-in period
Actually, they are more complex that that. The ejectors need to be timed; the inertia block/sear operation needs to be such that the gun doesn't double but only fires one barrel at a time. The wood to metal fit, as well as the metal mating surfaces have much tighter tolerances. - Most of that is done by hand on a quality gun and labor costs money and SKILLED labor costs more.
eastbank
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here is a used browning with adjustable comb, ported, wide rib with two beads and invecta plus choke tubes, that i received today from fedx and shot 13-15 to see if the comb was the right highth, it is. the total cost was 1098.00 shipped plus 25 ffl fees. there are very good buys out there if you take the time to shop around and they will give you years of shooting fun, this one looks like it has not seen much use, but i will rectifiy that. eastbank.
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oneounceload
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Nice Browning!
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