Affordable O/U

T

tommyb

Inactive
The range I usually go to only has singles trap, so my 870 has been more than capable of breaking clays. I just started going to a different range that has doubles trap, and skeet. I really want to get into skeet because that looks like a blast, so I've been pondering the idea of getting and O/U. I know I could use the 870 for doubles trap, and possibly skeet, but I've always wanted an O/U and this seems like a good excuse to buy one.

I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to O/U so I thought I'd ask you guys about a cheap O/U. I want something that is reliable, that I dont have to worry about breaking or anything like that. I dont really care about the finish or anything. One day I hope to buy a nice Browning or Beretta O/U, but for now i just need something reliable and fairly inexpensive (if there is such a thing with O/U)
 
ut for now i just need something reliable and fairly inexpensive (if there is such a thing with O/U)
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Not really......and I say this because, as you get into shooting shotguns, you be will shooting several rounds each visit. It's not hard to shoot 100-250 shells in a visit. Most of the cheap O/U's are really geared towards the casual hunter/shooter and not for the demands of a competition level. This will result in the gun spending more time at your gunsmith getting fixed and will then wind up costing you as much or more than the better gun from the beginning. If the Browning/Beretta new ones are out of your budget at the moment, look at used. Don't also rule out a Beretta/Browning/Remington semi as an in-between step - they will take the usage, and when you are ready to move up to a good O/U, you will be able to get most, if not all, of your money back from selling it.
 
If you can't afford a new Browning, Beretta, or other quality O/U at this time try to find a good clean used one. If you can't take a look at a used Remington 1100 or similar Beretta and shoot it until you can upgrade. You want a solid gun that can stand up to lots of shooting and many, if not most, of the cheaper guns don't.

My first trap gun was a used Remington 1100 Classic Trap. Still use it for a back up gun and it's been 100% reliable.
 
I'd recommend starting out at skeet with your current 870; I don't find that mine puts me at significant disadvantage.

But still, O/Us are what most use (with a significant fraction using autoloaders like the Beretta 390/391 and Remington 1100). I think the Ruger Red Label has climbed in price; MSRP on them is much closer to $2000, but street prices should be lower (still not exactly "affordable" except by comparison to even more expensive ones). Remington no longer sells their Spartan line, but the exact same shotguns can be found under the original Baikal label; they were just imported under "Remington Spartan." Good luck on your hunt for an affordable O/U- let us know how it goes.
 
+1 on what OneOunce said - and there are a lot of good used Browning and Berettas out there.

Before you spend that kind of money on a gun - you need to figure out the issue of Fit - and taking your 870 to a pattern board will be a big key. You need to know how much drop at comb and heel fits you - so the gun hits where you look ( or if you need no drop - with a parallel comb ) .... or you may go thru 2 or 3 guns before you figure it out / which might cost you thousands of dollars. Shoot as many guns as you can in the meantime - don't get too hung up on brand name or wood - look for and discuss durability, fit, etc ....

For my money - the most versatile - and easily fit gun to many shooters - is the Browning XS Skeet Citori model with a parallel adj comb. New they're retailing for around $ 2,800 but I see a few used.

A better interim gun would be a semi-auto like the Beretta 390 / 391's .... for around $ 1,000. Its also a gun that is easy to sell if you want to move into an O/U down the road.
 
I searched the interwebz all day while at was at work (shhhh...dont tell the boss) and I found a lot of good reviews on the Stoeger Condor from people that own them, and did not find a single bad review on them. Anybody here own one that can chime in?
 
seems like you'll find bad reviews from guys that don't own them or guys that got a bad apple! You never hear the guy that spent $1200 on his o/u tell anyone that he had problems with it though? They do have problems with them, just dont say too much.

Bottom line is.....you may get 10,000 rds out of a Stoeger without any problems, but you may get 250 rds and have a problem! If you got 250 rds out of a Browning or Beretta, they guys would all just tell you "send it back they'll fix it!" But if you buy a Stoeger, they'll raz you and say, "you get what you pay for"?
 
listen to one once and big jim. i HAD a stoeger comp. you MAY get a good stoeger or not.their quality control is so-so.if you only shoot maybe a 100 rounds a month it may last a long time. mine didn't give me any trouble but i always had that thought in the back of my head,will it keep running or not? if you look around good deals can be found on one of the "B" guns.here is a picture of my find(got it for 750.00)


IMG_8040.jpg
 
What is your max budget?

I've heard good things about Veronas and Milanos, but have never shot one. I have also heard good things about CZs.

I have a Stoeger Condor Supreme. Would I buy one again? Maybe, its been back to Stoeger twice for one barrel not firing, but that said, both times CS was excellent. I would probably save up a little more and go with a used B gun.

I now own a Rizzini as well and the two guns are night and day, but that said the Rizinni is 4-5X the cost.
 
Mossberg

Have you looked at the mossberg O/U Sliver Reserve? There a fairly modestly priced gun with the saftey on the tang! This is a perfectly natural action to turn on and off compared to the fumbling on an 870! The silver reserve also comes in a combo pack so you can change from 12 ga to 20! The kit comes with 5 chokes and still is under the 900$ range!
 
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As one poster said above, he's had a Stoeger and it has been back to them twice. I've had my Gti (Browning) since 1995. It went to Browning after I messed with, and cracked, the stock. Otherwise, the first real repair came early this year after about 85,000-95,000 rounds. A local gunsmith was able to install new springs and firing pins and tighten the locking back up.

How many Stoegers or other similar quality make it to 95,000 without something breaking?

THAT'S what you need to ask yourself - no matter the brand. No one wants to spend their money and then soon after, have that item need repair. I've been reading here and on other boards about the issues folks are having with their new Remingtons. It's not totally brand specific - but guns built to cheap price points can be done that way because quality labor-intensive hand work isn't being done where it needs to be.

Is my Gti the be-all, end-all? Not at all. I can notice huge differences between it and friends' Perazzis and Kreighoffs, and if I had the cash right now, one of them would be in the safe.

As you climb up the quality (and price) ladder, subtle difference start to become apparent - machining, wood to metal fit and finish, trigger smoothness and crispness, bluing, barrel trueness, quality (and beauty) of the wood, etc.........all those things that can really make a difference in how well the gun shoots and therefore how well you shoot.
 
Citoris don't wear out they wear in.
You can find Charles Daly copies of the citori for about 500 and I know of at least one that is bulletproof so to speak.

Evan
 
Like others have said, go with a Beretta. Even a used entry level Beretta will be far superior to most fancy looking field guns. Field guns just can't take the pounding needed for sporting clays and skeet shooting. I looked at the Ruger Red Labels and I wasn't impressed at all with the quality of workmanship. For the price Ruger wants for their O/U's I could have purchased a decent used Beretta White Onyx. I bet you could find one used for well under $1,000 if you look.

FWIW, when I was at the skeet range in Atlanta, they were renting Beretta White Onyx's. I shot with one of these, and eventhough you could see that it saw quite a bit of use and abuse, it functioned flawlessly.
 
In the lower end of the "quality" arena - I would consider Berettas, Browning and SKB. You need to try each of them, because they will all fit differently to you than they will to me. Not a bad thing, but usually, if the Browning fits you well, odds are the other two won't, and vice versa. If possible, you might want to look into having an adjustable comb, perhaps even an adjustable butt plate installed. Those things will let you really dial the stock fit in even more and make mounting it totally second nature so you can focus on the bird
 
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