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Affordable Over / Under?
- Thread starter Spencer
- Start date
Just to set the Record straight on Remington O/Us', a subject I have considerable experience with BTW.
The Model 32 was produced by Remington up untill WW2. The rights to the design were sold to a group of shooters (Now owned by Hal DuPont). Krieghoff built guns to the 32 design, first calling the gun the B60 than the K32. The K32 morphed into the K80 produced today.
The Remington 3200 was introduced in the late 60's. A good solid gun that became expensive to produce. They never had choke tubes. They were discontinued by the 80's.
The Peerless, which was anything but, came out in the 90's, then became the Ideal, the 300 ideal and a few other names. I owned and shot a peerless for 3 years...don't waste your money on any of these guns. (Don't even try to call me on this, I know it is a POS.)
I notice the price of Rem 32's is steadily increasing. Only about 5000 were made.
I agree that Browning, Beretta and SKB are good choices on the used market.
If you find a Belgian Browning for $800, buy it! New Belgians go for about $8000 today.
The Model 32 was produced by Remington up untill WW2. The rights to the design were sold to a group of shooters (Now owned by Hal DuPont). Krieghoff built guns to the 32 design, first calling the gun the B60 than the K32. The K32 morphed into the K80 produced today.
The Remington 3200 was introduced in the late 60's. A good solid gun that became expensive to produce. They never had choke tubes. They were discontinued by the 80's.
The Peerless, which was anything but, came out in the 90's, then became the Ideal, the 300 ideal and a few other names. I owned and shot a peerless for 3 years...don't waste your money on any of these guns. (Don't even try to call me on this, I know it is a POS.)
I notice the price of Rem 32's is steadily increasing. Only about 5000 were made.
I agree that Browning, Beretta and SKB are good choices on the used market.
If you find a Belgian Browning for $800, buy it! New Belgians go for about $8000 today.
Boilermaker
New member
Whats affordable?
I think something that was overlooked is what do YOU consider affordable and what is your price range? I would consider an affordable O/U to be under $1000. But here are my experiences. First off, if you are just starting out go to a skeet, trap, sporting clays range take some ammo with you and ask around. Most of the time the people there are really nice and willing to share their opions and let you shoot a few through their gun(if you have your own ammo). Find a gun your comfortable with and that you like. I have also found ranges a good place to pick up used guns (especially after someone has had bad round, haha). Gun shows are another good place to find a deal, but you won't get to try it out.
Now to the guns that you should be able to find for under a $1000. Beretta 686 (actually any beretta, I love beretta and have nothing but good luck with them). Ruger Red Label, I do not own one but have shot one and they are good guns and the thousands of rounds I've seen guys put through them i've never seen a problem with them. A Browning Citori in good condition will be hard to come by for under $1000 but it is a good gun. I recently traded a Traditions O/U that was made by Fausti in Italy that I won in a raffle. It was an absolutely beautiful gun but didn't shoot worth sh*t. It retails for about $600-700 wouldn't recommend it at all. When I started looking for another O/U a few years ago I was recommended to Huglu so I went to look at one and no one at the gun shop could get it to open, since then all the one's I've seen are really tight.
You will get what you pay for though. Out of all the guns I've shot I've found out there's a reason some are more expensive. But to each their own find a gun that you shoot well cause if it doesn't shoot good your gonna hate it. Good O/U's are hard to come by for cheap if you find a company that makes a good one for a few hundred dollars let me know.
I think something that was overlooked is what do YOU consider affordable and what is your price range? I would consider an affordable O/U to be under $1000. But here are my experiences. First off, if you are just starting out go to a skeet, trap, sporting clays range take some ammo with you and ask around. Most of the time the people there are really nice and willing to share their opions and let you shoot a few through their gun(if you have your own ammo). Find a gun your comfortable with and that you like. I have also found ranges a good place to pick up used guns (especially after someone has had bad round, haha). Gun shows are another good place to find a deal, but you won't get to try it out.
Now to the guns that you should be able to find for under a $1000. Beretta 686 (actually any beretta, I love beretta and have nothing but good luck with them). Ruger Red Label, I do not own one but have shot one and they are good guns and the thousands of rounds I've seen guys put through them i've never seen a problem with them. A Browning Citori in good condition will be hard to come by for under $1000 but it is a good gun. I recently traded a Traditions O/U that was made by Fausti in Italy that I won in a raffle. It was an absolutely beautiful gun but didn't shoot worth sh*t. It retails for about $600-700 wouldn't recommend it at all. When I started looking for another O/U a few years ago I was recommended to Huglu so I went to look at one and no one at the gun shop could get it to open, since then all the one's I've seen are really tight.
You will get what you pay for though. Out of all the guns I've shot I've found out there's a reason some are more expensive. But to each their own find a gun that you shoot well cause if it doesn't shoot good your gonna hate it. Good O/U's are hard to come by for cheap if you find a company that makes a good one for a few hundred dollars let me know.
The handling of O/U's is subjective. To a novice unfamiliar with O/U's a gun may look and shoot just fine. But as you shoot more you begin to gain a feel for the nuances of handling and function. Feel and balance and "handling" are gained with experience.
Shooting Skeet and being able to try different guns is the best education you can have. I recommend Skeet over Trap and Sporting because of the social nature of INFORMAL Skeet. Trap and Sporting tend to be more competitive and allow less socializing. Before you spend money on an O/U listen to other shooters and their experiences.
I once handed my 9+ pound O/U to a new shooter to try. He remarked how light the gun felt! He was shocked to find out it was 3 pounds heavier than the pump he was shooting. It just balanced better.
Don't get caught up with engraving, it adds nothing to the gun but $$$$. Some real dogs have nice engraving.
Shooting Skeet and being able to try different guns is the best education you can have. I recommend Skeet over Trap and Sporting because of the social nature of INFORMAL Skeet. Trap and Sporting tend to be more competitive and allow less socializing. Before you spend money on an O/U listen to other shooters and their experiences.
I once handed my 9+ pound O/U to a new shooter to try. He remarked how light the gun felt! He was shocked to find out it was 3 pounds heavier than the pump he was shooting. It just balanced better.
Don't get caught up with engraving, it adds nothing to the gun but $$$$. Some real dogs have nice engraving.
Let's not generalize too much and judge a particular maker by it's country of origin . I don't want to be too brand specific , but someone here told you to avoid Italian guns . I humbly suggest that the Italians , in general , are making the worlds BEST O/Us . In fact , the current level of style, features , and engineering in O/Us specifically may never be equalled again . They have hit a zenith , similar to SxSs from England between 1890 and 1940 . There is little to improve upon . That being said , of course not every gun coming out of Italy is a Rizzini , Bosis , or Fabbri . But there are bargains to be had .
I don't recommend any "CHEAP" O/Us . There may be some bargains out there but I'm not familiar with them . An aquaintance bought a Zoli about 20 years ago . Since then he has thousands and thousands of rounds downrange and in the field without a single problem . I can't endorse all Zoli's though .
I can tell you of a world class bargain in a quality made , well known O/U . It's not cheap or expensive . It's made by the worlds largest firearms manufacturer , and the worlds oldest manufacturer of any kind . That company is Beretta and the gun is the plain jane 686 . The wood is plain but it's walnut , and it's the same mechanically as their guns costing thousands more ! Get a 12 Ga. , 28 in. barrels , 3" chambers , with choke tubes and you are good to go . You can buy a more expensive O/U but not a better one . I don't recommend trying a cheaper brand . Save a little longer for quality . You should be able to find one used for under $1200 , maybe less . They have an "Essential" model for less but I'm not sure it's the same gun . Find out . You can buy a new one for $700 on www.gunsamerica.com Good Luck...Tom
I don't recommend any "CHEAP" O/Us . There may be some bargains out there but I'm not familiar with them . An aquaintance bought a Zoli about 20 years ago . Since then he has thousands and thousands of rounds downrange and in the field without a single problem . I can't endorse all Zoli's though .
I can tell you of a world class bargain in a quality made , well known O/U . It's not cheap or expensive . It's made by the worlds largest firearms manufacturer , and the worlds oldest manufacturer of any kind . That company is Beretta and the gun is the plain jane 686 . The wood is plain but it's walnut , and it's the same mechanically as their guns costing thousands more ! Get a 12 Ga. , 28 in. barrels , 3" chambers , with choke tubes and you are good to go . You can buy a more expensive O/U but not a better one . I don't recommend trying a cheaper brand . Save a little longer for quality . You should be able to find one used for under $1200 , maybe less . They have an "Essential" model for less but I'm not sure it's the same gun . Find out . You can buy a new one for $700 on www.gunsamerica.com Good Luck...Tom
Boilermaker
New member
Zoli info
Glad you brought up Zoli there I forgot about it. My dad has one and he's had it for about 25 years. Its a very reliable gun, I wouldn't pick it up over a Beretta 686 any day of the week though or would my dad. Its a 20 ga. and also packs more kick than most of my 12 ga.'s Also wouldn't get rid of it any day of the week either.
Glad you brought up Zoli there I forgot about it. My dad has one and he's had it for about 25 years. Its a very reliable gun, I wouldn't pick it up over a Beretta 686 any day of the week though or would my dad. Its a 20 ga. and also packs more kick than most of my 12 ga.'s Also wouldn't get rid of it any day of the week either.
"Italians make the best O/U's"
Probably true across the full range of pricing, but the Japanese guns in the lower end of the price range are excellent guns. Miroku (Browning Citori) and SKB are fine guns in their price range, although I would opt for the Beretta 680 series.
Probably true across the full range of pricing, but the Japanese guns in the lower end of the price range are excellent guns. Miroku (Browning Citori) and SKB are fine guns in their price range, although I would opt for the Beretta 680 series.
a couple small corrections, additions on the 32...
I stated Krieghoff bought the 3200 design, Geoff corrected me on that, thanks Geoff.....
The Rem. 32 design was taken to Krieghoff in the early 50's, the group of sportsmen doing this included Hal DuPont as Dupont Corp. bought 60% interest in Rem. in 1933.
Rem. 3200 was introduced in 1973 and stopped sometime in the early 80's.
Current Rem O/U is the 332, based on the 32 design. Mixed reports on it.
I stated Krieghoff bought the 3200 design, Geoff corrected me on that, thanks Geoff.....
The Rem. 32 design was taken to Krieghoff in the early 50's, the group of sportsmen doing this included Hal DuPont as Dupont Corp. bought 60% interest in Rem. in 1933.
Rem. 3200 was introduced in 1973 and stopped sometime in the early 80's.
Current Rem O/U is the 332, based on the 32 design. Mixed reports on it.