I need a cheaper sxs double

M

mulespurs

New member
I need a sxs 12 gauge for pheasants. I plan to follow my shorthair on my riding mule. I want 26" barrels and maybe ejectors. This may get some bumps and dings while muleback. I plan to get off ,then load up and shoot, not shoot off my animal.
I saw a Baikal a while back, What else can I look at under $500?
 
Budget doubles are commonly not recommended unless you only plan to hit the field perhaps a few times a year. Imported Turkish guns dominate the O/U and SxS market and I routinely see them fail within a few hundred to a few thousand rounds in my skeet league. You may get lucky, but its rare to see one last much longer than that. If you are ok with that limit, the CZ's seem to be a bit better than the rest.

A quality pump or auto will serve you much better at your price point if you want something that will last.
 
Turkish guns dominate the low end of SxS and O/Us, not the mid or upper range. A Savage/Stevens used might be in your budget as will older guns from AyA that were sold through Sears
 
Stoeger, but you really want a 26" barrel when riding? A mule. Geezuz.
Stoeger's MSRP is $549 though. However, Cabela's wants $449.99(ditto for Basspro) for an Uplander. Comes with improved cylinder and modified screw-in choke tubes. Their 20" Coach Gun has fixed chokes at the same price.
Uses Carlson's Winchester, Browning Invector & Mossberg 500 style threads on the tubes. Tubes start at $16.99 each at Cabela's.
http://www.stoegerindustries.com/shotguns
 
I'd like to see that one !!!

I plan to get off ,then load up and shoot, not shoot off my animal.
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Well, you had me worried there, for a moment. Have a BuckSkinner buddy that taught his horse to accept M/L discharges while mounted. Problem is that during a show, the barrel was places over the horses ears. It only took one round and they exchanged places. ...... :eek:

Take a look at Stoeger when you get a chance. Have to admit that the Turks are a good choice. .... :)

Be Safe !!!
 
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I just bought a Stevens 500 12 ga with fixed chokes from gunbroker for $275. It was made before '89 and possibly never fired. It is a dumptruck of a gun but was in great shape and it shoots very well.

There are a few deals out there but few and far between
 
QUOTE: "...Budget doubles are commonly not recommended unless you only plan to hit the field perhaps a few times a year..."

Unfortunate fact of life but true. If I were limited to $500.00 for a shotgun, it would be a pump. Imo, you simply can't buy a new double-barrel shotgun for much under a couple of grand and have one that holds up over time and handles like it should.
 
I have a stoeger Uplander and sadly it's having double firing issues and the safety gets kicked on after the first shot making a follow up impossible unless you manually turn off the safety again.

I've had a great experience with pointer shotguns so far though they do not make a sxs unfortunately
 
I reckon

I reckon that I can ride that mule for longer than I can walk and enjoy my dog better. The mule will just get worth more money by careful use and I am raising more. At 63 years old I would rather take the chance of missing out on a few birds by not walking, but I won't have a heart attack near as easy.
I do plan to have the gun unloaded while mounted and dismount and load after the old dog points
I reckon that I can much easier load and unload a double than a pump, I have owned both.
I reckon that two barrels on a double would be harder to hurt than a pump or semiauto. I do not want to take my Super Black Eagle on a mule.
I don't really want 20" barrels cause I think they would be too blasty.
Test run last season without a gun went really well.
 
I would probably look at a stoeger. But if you can find a used Savage Fox or Stevens 311 they are great utilitarian shotguns. My Fox took 24 pheasants last season and I was very happy.
 
Here is a Ugartechea 12 ga double that's 500.

Search around like this.

I found a nice Ugar 20 ga for less than $500 in a shop.

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/563611429

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Old Savages are made well, or one of the old Rossi guns seem pretty decent, Norinco doubles are pretty rough, and may take a little "light" gunsmithing to work right. Stoeger seem to be alright out of the box, but prolific shooters seem to wear them out. Yildiz get some good reviews and make higher end stuff as well. Baikal makes a good gun "entry level" and high end. I have a Baikal coach gun with hammers that shoots where it's supposed to and seems very tough.

I like having a hammer gun loaded when hunting or walking in a social setting. So the Baikal would be my first pick, and probably best bargain for a new gun. Second would be a used Rossi hammer gun.

If you don't care for hammers, the Savages are nice, and can be found cheap. I had a couple, but for some reason they beat me up a little more than my Baikal.
 
I had the reigns, they had conrol

I reckon that I can ride that mule for longer than I can walk and enjoy my dog better.
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Before all or most of our Iowa Pheasants, moved to SD, we hunted them behind German Shorthairs and Brits. It was sheer poetry, fun and truly miss it. Now riding a mule, sounds like more fun and you could hunt all day. However, I never have trusted riding anything bigger than myself. I use to ride horses and they always knew what a rookie they had at the reigns. .... :rolleyes:

Be Safe !!!
 
Every now and then I see a used Ithaca SKB SXS in the used gun rack at Cabelas or on Gunbroker for a little more than 500 (usually 600-700ish). If you're willing to put a little more down, it may be a better choice.
 
Only thing about those SKB's is that. Like Brownings, they are heavy, especially in the small gauges. Field guns should be light enough to carry all day and handle like a wand - not like a 2x4 with a pig on the end.;)
 
Odd, my dad sold his SKB to put me in diapers and I'm pretty sure he still holds it against me, I figured there had to be some magic in them.
 
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