Zippy and OneOunce both bring up good comments - and while many of us, who are trying to give questioners some honest input - none of us want to say you have to have a good O/U to be sucessful ......
But to some extent, no matter what your hobby or pastime is - woodworking you need good tools, golf you need clubs that fit, shooting you need guns that fit .... and quality never hurts. It isn't necessarily how much money you spend - its all the features - the adjustability of the gun (for cast, for length of pull, for point of impact, the weight, the smoothness of the trigger - and for many of us, that means a quality O/U with a good trigger, some adjustability ( unless we can afford a truly custom stock ), a gun that is heavy enough to swing fluidly and not be a big ole sewer pipe ( for me about 8 1/2 lbs ), etc .....
and whether Beretta, Browning, SKB fit you ..... or Perazzi, Blaser .... or Krieghoff or Kolar ..... it doesn't really matter.
When many of us were younger - we made do with other guns - 870 Wingmasters, Model 12's, Browning BPS - etc / and at some point, I wanted to get into a better gun, that fit me better, and would give me that 100,000 shell capability with no problems ...... but I've made some very bad choices of guns (based on appearance ) - and one was the Browning 525 series - great looking gun, but because of the drop at comb and heel being way off for me, it beat the daylights out of me - and I shot it mediocrely --- and moved onto guns that had the dimensions I need. So some of this is about all that ....
A young shooter that just wants an O/U - without really knowing what guns fit him or her - is probably wasting their money. Just wanting a Semi-Auto may be a waste of money unless it fits you ( and you have to pick up your hulls, etc )....
Gun Shops usually - know little or nothing about Gun Fit - and while I blame them a little / most customers don't take the time to educate themselves - they just want what looks cool, and tell me the price .... and the gun stores sell customers what they want... If you think you want a different gun - hang around and talk to some of the better registered Skeet, Trap and Sporting Clays shooters at your local clubs - ask them what they're shooting - why did they buy it - ask them about fit - ask them if you could put a few shells thru their gun under their supervision .... you'd be really surprised how helpful people will be, if they know you're serious.
But don't feel like you have to go that route - a good pump gun can be made to fit you - ( with add on pads, etc ) and you should be confident enough to go anywhere with it - be courteous, be a gentleman - and shoot Skeet, Sporting Clays, Trap, etc / don't get too hung up on brands and the look of a gun. Its great to have nice guns / and my hope is that everyone, at one point in their life, can spend as much money as they want on any gun they want - and as many as they want ..... and sometimes waiting and saving your money is a smart option...
But please don't just look at all O/U's as the same ......learn about Point of Impact, How to Fit a gun, etc too. It'll save you a ton of money / and make the shooting sports more fun.
