Over under for $1500

[kriller134]

What's a good o/u for around 1500? And is there a do it all type for hunting and clays? So far I've been looking at the browning citori cx, mossberg sr II sport, and the winchester 101.

[ysr_racer]

Hunting with an o/u is a pain in the ***.

[kriller134]

Hunting with an o/u is a pain in the ***.

I've never done it. Care to elaborate? Is it a loading issue?

[Tarmy]

Look into the Franchi Instinct SL...love mine.

I had about the same budget and basically followed advice from folks on here...go try to hold all of them and see what fits best. Get guidence from knowledgable folks about fit...then fondle a bunch.

I knew exactly when I had the right gun...pushed a couple thousand thru her...love it...going to put 300 thru her this weekend with my sons...

[kriller134]

Look into the Franchi Instinct SL...love mine.

I had about the same budget and basically followed advice from folks on here...go try to hold all of them and see what fits best. Get guidence from knowledgable folks about fit...then fondle a bunch.

I knew exactly when I had the right gun...pushed a couple thousand thru her...love it...going to put 300 thru her this weekend with my sons...

Oh yeah that was another one I was looking at. I'm gonna take the skeet clinic at the end of the month, so hopefully I'll learn some tips about fitment.

[ScottB]

Hunting with an o/u is a pain in the ***.

Except for waterfowl, a 20 gauge O/U is all I use. Everything else is a range toy.

Two chokes and the 3rd shot is always a Hail Mary anyway.

[ysr_racer]

I've never done it. Care to elaborate? Is it a loading issue?

They're heavy, and I'd hate to drop a nice o/u in the mud or water. My duck gun, no big deal.

[Ducky's Dad]

Buy a used gun from Beretta, Browning, Guerini, Rizzini (BR or FAIR). Much more bang for your buck than in a new gun. Forget about the Win 101 (both older Japanese or newer Belgian), and forget about the Mossberg twice. There are some very decent guns coming out of Turkey, but you can get a nice used 686 or Citori for the price of a new Turk gun.

Hunting with an O/U (or SxS) for upland birds is the only way to go, because you don't have to chase hulls all over the landscape. I hunt ducks with a Citori when I'm not using my SBE.

[trapperjohn]

Don't be in any rush to get this gun just yet. I know the itch to do so - believe me, I was in your shoes once - but be patient and shoot as many guns as you can rent and borrow to shoot (even if just a few shells). What you will learn regarding proper gun fit, your personal preference, and what should work for YOU (not someone else, or "so-and-so says this gun is the one to get") will be the difference between getting a gun that works well for you (for both hunting and clays) and that you can grow (in experience) with, and one that you'll be selling along with all the other dummies out there selling guns with "only two boxes of shells through it".

The SoCal Shotgun/Skeet clinic is a great place to learn about gun fit and what that should feel like to you, and begin to shoot all different types and brands of guns.

Good luck in your research.

[ysr_racer]

Hunting with an O/U (or SxS) for upland birds is the only way to go, because you don't have to chase hulls all over the landscape. I hunt ducks with a Citori when I'm not using my SBE.

Agreed, but if you're only buying one do all shotgun, a synthetic semi auto is a good place to start.

[Ahansom]

They're heavy

A quick google of Remington 870 and Beretta 686 weights shows the Beretta 686 is the same weight if not less than a 870.

[Ducky's Dad]

Agreed, but if you're only buying one do all shotgun, a synthetic semi auto is a good place to start.

True if the budget is under $1K, but OP is looking in the $1500 range. At that price the best do-all is going to be a 686 or a Citori.

[John Joseph]

If you don't mind an orphan, Lanber made a very fine 0/U. These can sometimes be found on close out. I got mine for about $600 from CDNN about a year ago and it equaled my Beretta 686 quality-wise.
The only thing is they aren't making them anymore.

[ysr_racer]

True if the budget is under $1K, but OP is looking in the $1500 range. At that price the best do-all is going to be a 686 or a Citori.

I'd hate to drop 686 or a Citori in the Wister mud

Upland hunting, sure, waterfowl and turkey, no way. As always, what works for me may not work for you.

[Ducky's Dad]

My Citori has spent a lot of time in the Wister mud. My gunsmith had to tear it down once for a thorough internal cleaning because grit got into the safety mechanism and it was inoperable. But that grit was probably from too much time in dust storms in the IV. Gun is about 43 years old, has been hunted hard, and that was the only repair ever needed.