Over/Under - Where are they made?

[nickvig]

I know the Mossberg Internationals come out of Turkey, as well as a few of the other less expensive over/under shotguns.

But, where's everything else made? I just looked at a Browning Citori on Gunbroker and it says made in Japan. I was also interested in a Winchester Model 101 and it was also made in Japan. Are there any O/U's out there for less than $1k used that are made here?

[RANDO]

some are made in italy and here in america it just depends

[nickvig]

I guess the better question is . . . where do I find that info. I looked on the Winchester and Browning site (which I didn't realize they're the same company now) and the Model 101 nor the Citori's say that they are made in Japan on the website.

[kermit]

The Win 101 is now made in Belgium according to their website:

http://www.winchesterguns.com/prodinfo/catalog/category.asp?cat=020C

They were made in Japan at one time so the GB auction item may be an older shotgun.

[TRAP55]

I guess the better question is . . . where do I find that info. I looked on the Winchester and Browning site (which I didn't realize they're the same company now) and the Model 101 nor the Citori's say that they are made in Japan on the website.

Winchester, Browning and Beretta all owned by the same company. A couple of hundred other firearm and ammo brand names that would surprise you too, all owned by Cerubus. If that name rings a bell, try Daimler/Chrysler too. Dan Quayle and several other Bush family buddies run it. Scary ain't it?
Citori and the 101 are both made by Miroku, so are the later O/U's by Charles Daly.
The new Smith & Wessons are made in Turkey to S&W specs, with a S&W supervisor.
Weatherby's are now made by Fausti in Italy. Shame, because now they wear a Weatherby price.
Huglu use to be the typical Turkish crap, until they decided to jump off the porch and run with the big dogs. They had a team of Browning techs come in and completely revamp their designs and manufacturing process. CZ took note.
That's about all I can think of off the top of my head, if there's something specific you're curious about, I can probably tell you who makes it.
Kermit, I talked to the Winchester reps at the Vegas Shotshow when Winchester was just starting to close the doors, and they said some models would be produced at the FN plant on a limited basis. They didn't know which models.

[nickvig]

Winchester, Browning and Beretta all owned by the same company. A couple of hundred other firearm and ammo brand names that would surprise you too, all owned by Cerubus. If that name rings a bell, try Daimler/Chrysler too. Dan Quayle and several other Bush family buddies run it. Scary ain't it?
Citori and the 101 are both made by Miroku, so are the later O/U's by Charles Daly.
The new Smith & Wessons are made in Turkey to S&W specs, with a S&W supervisor.
Weatherby's are now made by Fausti in Italy. Shame, because now they wear a Weatherby price.
Huglu use to be the typical Turkish crap, until they decided to jump off the porch and run with the big dogs. They had a team of Browning techs come in and completely revamp their designs and manufacturing process. CZ took note.
That's about all I can think of off the top of my head, if there's something specific you're curious about, I can probably tell you who makes it.
Kermit, I talked to the Winchester reps at the Vegas Shotshow when Winchester was just starting to close the doors, and they said some models would be produced at the FN plant on a limited basis. They didn't know which models.

Makes sense about the different MFG's. All their websites are the same.

Care to suggest a used O/U for the novice trap shooter?

[TRAP55]

Nick, Ask anyone who owns one, the Fausti O/U is hard to beat for the price. I picked up a LNIB 20ga Upland II for $500. The fit and finish rivals my Brownings. They use a Greener type crosslock like a Merkel.
The "secret" got out shortly after I got mine and the prices have gone up a little for a used one, but they can still be found at a bargain. They use Carlson Tru Chokes.
Another good buy is a used Charles Daly. It's a Browning without the frills. The older ones with a Prince of Wales round knob pistol grip are actually Belgium Browning Superposed guns. The newer ones are the same as the Browning Citori and Winchester 101. Some of these use the Browning Invector chokes, and the last ones used the Invector Plus chokes for the backbored barrels
The newest ones are Turk made, and I'm not 100% sure who makes them.
When shopping used O/U's, check the barrels for dings and bulges, check the top of the vent rib for dings. Check the barrel mating rib for separation, and the vent rib for the same. Make sure the action locks up tight, and on most upper end O/U's the release lever should be canted off to the right. The closer to center it is, the more wear the gun has. Cracks in the buttstock running off the back of the receiver are bad news. You can use that for bargaining material, nice replacement wood for the Citoris and 101's is available.

[kermit]

I bought a used Miroku sleet OU a few years ago since it was priced much less than the Win 101. If TRAP55 is correct, and you're leaving toward the Citori and 101, you may also want to check out the Miroku, too.

Please tell me that at least the Ruger shotguns are still made in the USA

[Tallship]

Just quit screwing around with the cheap stuff and go out and get a K80 or MX2000.

[TRAP55]

Ruger is still made by Ruger in the good ol USA.
Remington 3200 is the poor mans K-80.
Expensive shotguns won't make ya shoot better, just look better holding it.

[Thefeeder]

I know the Mossberg Internationals come out of Turkey, as well as a few of the other less expensive over/under shotguns.

But, where's everything else made? I just looked at a Browning Citori on Gunbroker and it says made in Japan. I was also interested in a Winchester Model 101 and it was also made in Japan. Are there any O/U's out there for less than $1k used that are made here?

In a nut shell...No, there are not. Just like the rest of the stuff we buy.

The good news is that Japan turns out an excellent quality Browning build at the Miroku factory....SKS (Weatherby Orion) Charles Daly were all good quality guns made at the Miroku factory. The only difference between a Browning made Japan and a Browning marked Belgium is the quality of hand engraving ( and few Japan guns are done by hand/ or part hand and part machine)....Belgium engravers win hand down...no contest.

The Belgium guns were the famous Superposed and Miroku never made these, Charles Daly made a Superposed clone that are very nice but have fixed chokes....and yes I'll take a Belgium Superposed over anything else from Grade I to a Midas grade.

I can hear the grumbles from the Beretta crowd.

[nickvig]

Thanks for the info, guys. It's been a real help.

[ysr_racer]

Kolar Shotguns are made in Wisc. They start about $10,000.

Here's the link: www.kolararms.com