double barrel shotguns

B

beetlefang

New member
Heya,

I've searched the threads and have found various snippets of double barrel shotgun info. But, I still have a few questions....

I figured the board could rate which double barrels owned. It would be subjective but give buyers (like me) an idea about which brands people prefer.

A scale like:

5- this gun is awesome, can't live without
4- great gun, there may be better, but I haven't felt one
3- a nice gun, I like it but there's just one thing bugging me about it
2- ok gun, I'm ready to trade up when I can
1- I wish I never bought this thing
0- I wouldn't take this gun if you gave one too me - better used as a john boat anchor

And , past or present owners could comment about who really made their gun (ie the name behind the name)...


e.g.

Weatherby 12 gauge OU (made on a contract in japan by SKB)rating = 3, swings kind of slow for me in the field, but ok on squirrels

Looking forward to your ratings.
 
I have one SxS double barrel shotgun. It was manufactured in Spain and was chopped off at 18.1" by some moron with a hacksaw. I cleaned it up and it turned out pretty good.

I would love to have a Greener with exposed hammer, but they are far outside my price range. I have never acquired the desire for an O/U shotgun.

BTW, I also have one of the Cobray/FMJ SxS derringer in .410/.45LC, if you wanna count that as a shotgun.:)
 
Beetle, you've asked the impossible, or at least highly improbable.

There may be more doubles out there than brands and models of cars on the market. And oft brand means little, the Remington 90T trap gun was made by Kolar,the old Chas Daly's were built in Prussia by a number of makers including Lindner, even the chain store doubles like Ranger changed over time.

Better to ask about a specific model and brand.

Also,what's the mission?

Is it a quail gun,a waterfowler,a "Serious" shotgun, or a GP one that might do all of the above?

If it for Milord to bang away at the pheasants the peasants are driving towards him and his, or for keeping the rabbits out of the garden?

And,"Feel" is utterly subjective.

If you narrow it down a bit, I'm sure the gang here will help you out.
 
Dave,

Thanks for the constructive criticism...

Basically I'm looking for a SxS 12 or 20 gauge for squirrels and upland hunting....I may shoot at a clay bird like once in every blue moon just for fun and familiarity - not taking any score.

So far I've seen a wide variety of guns - ranging in price from several hundred dollars to as much as anyone would ever want to pay.

I've also seen where some parts aren't available for previous guns made by a manufacturer...

The particular guns I was looking into are a browning o/u (I think hunter lightning in 20 gauge) and a SKB SxS in 12 gauge.
They are priced 1200 and 1400 dollars respectively NIB. I looked at many others but these are my preferences thus far. Please give your advice on these ideas and costs.


I'm surprised at the 'mis-labelling' of shotguns by manufacturere...I mean I don't mind if it's made in japan (SKB is a japanese company) But, I'd prefer to know it before I brought my Browning home and read the fine print.
I mean if the weatherby is made by skb...I may as well buy skb. That's my point - I could be wrong - wouldn't be the first time ;)

-Beetle

PS I was realy surprised by not finding some kind of quality rating of shotguns on the net - especially w/ the wide variety of uses. That's why I came up w/ a subjective scale - just to get a feel how much someone likes there particular gun.
 
Browning has a rep for making guns that rarely need fixing. This is good since customer service leaves a lot to be desired, by common report.Price is neither a bargain nor a ripoff.

SKBs are a lot of gun for the money. That price may be a tad high, but I'm no expert.

Either gun will last a long time w/out needing much, even under fairtomiddlin' use.

Both have a lot of satisfied owners.
 
Personally, I would suggest a Beretta or Browning.

My experience is that one brand tends to fit you better than the other. For example, I find "off-the-shelf" Brownings fit me much better than Beretta do. However, I have friends that find the opposite to be true.

Whatever you buy, make sure it fits. You may want to try several of the same type of gun. For example, I need more cast-off in the stock than most. I always look at several and try the one with the most cast-off.
 
Either of your two choices will get the job done. I own a Browning 20 gauge o/u and have shot enough SKBs to feel comfortable with them. Berettas are also good guns (I own a 12 gauge target model) and the Ruger o/u is well liked particularly in 20 gauge. It depends which gun fits you best and feels better in your hands.

Don't be too hard on makers like Weatherby who sell SKB o/us and Hermanos Zabala sxs under their own label. It's more common than you think. Brownings are made by a company called Miroku. Miroku and Browning don't compete in North America but do in Europe. They are the same guns for all intents and purposes.

Paul
 
Sorry guys I have a hammer coach gun by Baikal since 73 and its hell for stout.I just got a 12gauge 7.62x39 combo gun and the post commie quality is BETTER. Go for a hamerless Baikal s/s with 26 barrells and I amsure you can get one for less than $400. I have many higher grade doubles to base this advice on.
 
:) I will post my feelings on the O/U of my choice. I personally like my Ruger. I will rate it as a 4 just because I haven't found one better. Mine is the 12ga sporting clays version with 30" barrels so it is much heavier than the 20ga. I have shot the 20ga. and I think that it would be a wonderful hunting gun. Very light and agile.

I know that you are going to get a lot of different opinions and it all boils down to personal taste. You get the same thing when you talk about cars. The thing that I really like about Ruger is that they are still all made right here by Ruger. You get the people that claim that this is a global economy now and it doesn't matter where stuff is made. Well, tell that to the guy down the street that just got laid off. Lets take care of our own. Nobody else is going to and by the way I think Ruger is one heck of a gun at a very reasonable price

Steve:D
 
A Browning Superposed (or the Lightenings that are based on it) are unstopable.

If you go for an older Belgian, you miss out on choke tubes, but if you find one you like, it can be a pleasure to shoot.

I've shot Brownings my whole life (Superposed, A-5s, BPS, BAR) and I've never had a problem that caused by the gun. Any issues have come from my own stupidity.

Great guns.

WGBV

Edited to remove double negative
 
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Thanks for all of the input thus far...

Upon re-visiting the gunshop today, I studied the doubles further, the browning is last years model a 425 hunter light - in 20 guage like I want. (I have a 12 gauge automatic 390).

It fits me well - I mean when I close my eyes and swing and then open them, I'm aligned right down the rib.

I fondled the skb/weatherby's and the skb side by side again - they seemed to be pointing high after I did the poor man's fit test.

Anyways, to make a long story short - ther browning's action is very tight - it'll need some clay shooting to break it in. It's nestled in my gun safe right now ;)

I have other questions about doubles too now...but they belong in another thread.

-Beetle
 
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