What makes a O/U so expensive?

D

Drummer101

New member
What makes these so expensive in general compared to a pump action like the 870 or Wingmaster?

I would think because most of them are break action they would have fewer parts and be cheaper.

Is it because most of them have designs or more expensive wood?
 
The labor to make two barrels shoot to the same POA. And the stigma. There are cheap over-unders from Mossberg and such.
 
How about because you essentially have two guns on the same platform.
It takes special effort to make both barrels shoot to the same location. And you have to have some sort of device to allow the weapon to automatically switch barrels unless you have two triggers.
 
There is more to it than just the barrel regulation (making them shoot to same POI). The machining required to make that hinge work perfectly over a long lifespan is significantly more than what is required to turn out pumps and autoloaders. A pump or autoloader can be programmed into a series of CNC machines and mass produced. An O/U has to be hand machined to match the barrel assembly to the receiver.
 
Yes, Drummer, it is the same case. Even on the cheap NEF Handi single platform, the likelihood of subsequent barrel purchases fitting with out needing smithing is rare.
You can send in the action for factory fitment or take the new barrel and your action to a smith...
Brent
 
Over Unders worth owning and shooting are more complicated than a pump or even a semi. As mentioned, there is the barrel regulation issue which is a fairly complex and labor-intensive enterprise. Trigger work, especially on target-grade guns is important, as these guns are expected to deliver hundreds of thousands of shots without troubles - something that cheap guns have problems emulating. While simplicity is the name of the game, simplicity and durability are what these guns are noted for, at least the quality ones.
 
Quality doubles typically have much lighter barrels than singles. The tubes are of the higher quality materials (more expensive steel alloy that's harder to machine) and are rendered with thinner walls than singles. After shooting a thin-walled high-grade barrel, that actually rings with each shot, going back to an 870 is akin to playing tennis with a fly swatter.

As mentioned, there's the precision and complicated mechanisms required to connect two sears to one trigger (and the selector and the safety). There's also the process of attaching the individual barrels to the mono-block. A stick gun barrel is a one piece machined tube, and an O/U is three pieces; two machined tubes and a cast/forged/ machined mono-bloc. Where a single barrel may have a vent rib on top, an O/U also has side ribs covering the space between the barrels. If you overheat the thin walled tubes during any of the assembly processes, it can be back to square one. With the stick gun, you just whack the heavy tube back into spec.

With high grade guns, it may not be as simple as throwing a billet in a computer controlled machine and waiting for it to be spit out as a completed action. What if the design calls for a blind hole that is inaccessible? There are a lot of design decisions that most of us never consider. How much extra work is justified to accomplish something as seemingly simple as having the firing pin travel co-axial with the bores? Think about it, how do you drill the stepped/tapered firing pin holes from behind the standing breech if the central tang obstructs tool access? If you want the smoothest falling pins possible, the the tang can't obstruct tool access. When the breech requires machining that can be accomplished only by machining the parts separately and then welding the finished parts into a single piece, you can be assured it will be reflected in the price of the gun.

[SIZE=-2] ...a pump action like the 870 or Wingmaster?
A Wingmater is an 870. :rolleyes:[/SIZE]
Click to expand...
 
Back in 2002 I bought a new Traditions O/U shotgun from Wal-Mart for $350 dollars because they mis-priced it. I knew what a great bargain I had because it should have been at least $650 dollars according to the Blue Book value. It's a great gun and every gun owner and collector should have one.
 
Price is an interesting discussion... But like OneOunce, Zippy and others said - there is more to it than just the parts - durability, reliability, etc.

In my opinion, Beretta and Browning have been the "reasonably priced" O/U's for a long time / now unfortunately today, that means guns priced at $ 1,750 - $4,000 probably. But the rationale I use, is will a shotgun give me 100,000 shells trouble free / or maybe up to 250,000 shells trouble free. Browning and Beretta will both do that - and a lot of the O/U's priced today under $1,000 just can't make that claim based on what I see at gun clubs.

Now the question is whether you need or want a gun that will run for 250,000 shells with no problems. Many of us as "Target shooters" - put 15,000 shells a year thru our primary guns ....but shooters like my grandpa, put 200 shells a year thru his guns (or less ).... so it depends...

But a gun like a Browning Citori XS Skeet, with adj comb - retailing today for around $3,000 is way more gun than 1/10th of a Krieghoff priced at $30,000 too. Does that mean the Browning is underpriced ... the Krieghoff overpriced ... maybe some of both ...I don't really know. But what I do know, is most any of the Brownings or Berettas will give you a 250,000 shell life with no issues. Now there are better guns than either out there - including guns like Perazzi, Blaser, Kolar and Kreighoff.... are they worth the money, that's really up to you ! Some of the expense of the upper end guns is the upgraded wood, engraving, etc - and some of its mechanically in better triggers, better barrels, better steel, etc ...
 
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