Starter over under

[tokuno]

I bought a NIB Stevens 555 12ga on gunbroker for $440.
Extractors (which I prefer), 4 chokes, patterns great. Reviewers express concerns about whether it will hold up against heavy use (e.g. high volume competition), and if I'd seen an equivalent deal on the trap version, I'd have jumped on it.
Nevertheless, really happy with this 555, looks & works great, zero complaints, perfect for my needs, great value.

[JagerDog]

Entry level O/U’s is good condition run around $1200-1500 in my experience. Then you will probably spend some getting it fitted. Beretta Silver Pigeon Sporting or Browning Citori are my suggestions. Get a 30 or 32 in barrel. Get one that uses the newest chokes.

Best thing is to try them both and see what fits you best. Brownings don’t fit me as well as Beretta’s but everyone is different. Arm length, height, weight, face shape, cheekbones all affect fit.

But one that fits you well and get it fitted by a pro like Bob Day after shooting for a while, and take some lessons!

But honestly if you’re just starting, I would get a semi-auto like a Beretta A300. You can find them new or barely used for around $600.

Every time you go shoot it will be around $75-100 for clays and ammo unless you reload.

Start with 7/8 or 1 oz light loads. Avoid heavy 1 1/8 cheap Walmart shells. They beat you up if you shout a lot and may lead to bad habits like flinching.

And listen to shotgun clay vets like Ceh383, YSR_Racer, Trapperjohn, Fecalguns, Shovelon and many others. Some great shooters here. (I am not one of them)

Oh and take lessons!

Dunno about local, but routinely Citoris can be found a bit cheaper. Gunbroker has several "buy it now" in the $1000 range

I'm not sold that one needs a 30-32" barrel. Though that's the trend, 28" works just fine and is versatile. 28" rules the bird field and all the shotgun games are based on the bird field. The Indian more so than the arrow. The higher grade offerings within a mfg tend to have higher strength steel, allowing thinner barrels, so they don't get too barrel heavy with the longer barrels en vogue.

I'm also not sold that the newest and greatest choke system really buys you anything. Chokes choke. Theory doesn't always play out with something as crude as a shotgun shell. You'll notice more improvement with better shells (and patterning your gun to see what it likes) than you'll realize with uber long chokes. Some factory chokes are a little sketchy in calibration, but better aftermarket chokes tend to be calibrated better.

And personally, I'd stay away from ported barrels. They really do nothing to reduce recoil at shotgun velocities/pressures and are a toil to clean.

[PoorRichRichard]

I bought a NIB Stevens 555 12ga on gunbroker for $440.
Extractors (which I prefer), 4 chokes, patterns great. Reviewers express concerns about whether it will hold up against heavy use (e.g. high volume competition), and if I'd seen an equivalent deal on the trap version, I'd have jumped on it.
Nevertheless, really happy with this 555, looks & works great, zero complaints, perfect for my needs, great value.

Yeah, I love my 20 gauge. I got it for only $425 WITH

[PaperTarget]

God luck finding a used Silver Pidgeon for 7 bills.

I agree it would take luck. Deals come around and it is possible the OP would take advice from others and come up a bit.

I made the recommendation to the OP because the Beretta is a very solid long-lasting design with excellent barrels. A lightly used one can be an excellent value. As far as finding one for 700, I did it once.

[sweetdiesel]

I picked up a CZ Woodcock G2 as my first O/U after 25 years of shooting other people's shotguns. I shouldered different budget guns between Stoeger, Weatherby, Franchi and Tri-star. The G2 fits me nicely and also has ejectors which was an important feature for me. Sportsmans has them for $650 which is a deal imo. Its not super heavy but also not lightweight either, seems like a middleweight and recoil felt about the same as my brother's Beretta Silver Pigeon. We shoot primarily 8 shot 1 1/8 oz target loads.

https://www.sportsmans.com/shooting-gear-gun-supplies/shotguns/cz-woodcock-g2-walnutcase-hardened-12-gauge-2-34in3in-over-under-shotgun-28in/p/1440860

[Noobert]

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1628234

[SandHill]

^^^ Surprised this is the first mention of Winchester 101. I have never shot the classic version, but I'm sure they are great. The new ones re made by FN in Belgium at the same factory Brownings re made at. I have shot the new version. To my non-connoisseur mind they are very nice shotguns, as nice as your basic Browning, and much cheaper. Bass Pro and Cabelas have them $1100 regular price new: https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/Winc...rUnder-Shotgun

They have them on sale for $1,000 sometimes. If you can get discount Cabelas / Bass Pro gift cards and "run them through wash" a couple times, you MIGHT end up with one brand new for around $700. I expect you could pick up a used one for $700.

[shovelon]

Cases not boxes. Shoulder is fine, I am pretty recoil tolerant being used to big bore rifles. However, last weekend shot 7 cases in 3 days with an instructor. My shoulder is fine but I was propping the stock of the gun against my bicep to break and catch the shells and dump them in the bin and got a nice bruise from it.

I need a better technique for that.

No, you need a better instructor.

[tanks]

No, you need a better instructor.

We concentrated on shooting, not on how to catch automatically ejected brass. I discovered the bruise after we went through 7 cases of shells in a 3 day period.

I did watch some videos of pros shooting and then catching their brass. I think my issue was turning the gun sideways when I open (not needed if catching the brass) and bracing it against my bicep to catch. If I tuck it under my arm when I open and then catch the brass I think it will work. I will have to play with it.

Then again, I am a newbie with zero registered targets to date.

[-hanko]

Mossberg International Silver Reserve or one of their auto-loaders if that is more your speed. Over/under is nice but some folks would get multi-use out of an auto-loader. Depends if it's going to be a multi use shotgun vs dedicated as you can easily shoot doubles with a auto-loader. You don't want to spend too much initially IMO, there is plenty of time for that if you end up taking to it and start shooting matches regularly. It may end up simply being another range you hit up during a shooting session rotation and not a main focus.

Other folks, like me, get multi-use out of an O/U. You can easily shoot doubles with an O/U. You can also kill a deer, shot quail in the field, use it on opening day for dove and water fowl...all it takes are different shells.

If you are ok with used, keep an eye out for Beretta Silver Pidgeons.

I've had an SP in 12ga with 28" barrels for around 25 years. I'd look for a used SP or maybe a Browning Citori. As has already been posted, have the gun FITTED to you by someone experienced in fitting shotguns.

@SandHill is correct about the Winchester 101...a beautiful shotgun.

I'd save a bit more it it were I.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Andy: Are you reloading your Shotgun Hulls? NO? then let them go and don't worry about catching them. Your gun should be nicely broken in by now and should just about fall open. If you break the gun and then put the butt under your arm it frees your strong hand to catch the hulls as they are being ejected when you fully open the gun. You just cover the breach and they miraculously pop right into your hand

Winchester 101's were originally made in Japan by SKB and they were in the $1100 range and that was 30 years ago. I am wondering what they are doing to them in Belgium to make them for the same price? I don't think we are talking Apples and Apples here. My first Citori 20 ga Field was $950 in 1978 and it was made in Japan by Miroku. At the time a Belgian Superposed 20 ga was $2000 I never had that much to spend on one even if I could find one. they were Hens Teeth back then as well.

Decent Entry Level O/U's IE: Citori's and Beretta's are in the $1800 to $2300 range. BassPro has Citori 725 field guns for $2300.

You are not going to lose any money on one of these guns as long as you take care of it. Keep it in it's hard case, and out of safes where they just get banged up. You go to the shoot, assemble the gun shoot, take gun apart run bore snake thru the barrels wipe it down with a silicone gun rag and put the gun back into the case. Make sure to have a desecant pack in the case.

Here's what it should look like. top pic is my Citori .410 Sporting Clays Edition, I paid $2000 for it with the Americase and 5 Briley Choke tubes off Trapshooters.com

It had 25 rounds thru it and the guy sold a 28ga. version in 1 minute and mine was up for 7 minutes! Absolute dream to shoot!!!

The A5 has lived in that case since it was purchased in 1965 by my Uncle Bob, and he gave it to me in 1995, and it is still in that case and still in perfect condition right now, it had 22 rounds thru it when he gave it to me. It is one of my most prized possessions. Full and Modified barrels, the Full barrel has never been fired!





This is how you take care of quality shotguns, and really any decent gun should be cared for and not mistreated. Nice guns are Art! Respect them!!!

Randy

[tanks]

Andy: Are you reloading your Shotgun Hulls? NO? then let them go and don't worry about catching them. Your gun should be nicely broken in by now and should just about fall open. If you break the gun and then put the butt under your arm it frees your strong hand to catch the hulls as they are being ejected when you fully open the gun. You just cover the breach and they miraculously pop right into your hand...

I will be reloading after the 30 cases I just bought are gone. However, the reason I was catching was the rules of the place. They expected people to clean up after themselves and catching the hulls was easier than bending down and picking up the hulls.

As far as the technique, what you described is how I saw it being done on the videos and that's what I will try tomorrow when I go shoot.

...You are not going to lose any money on one of these guns as long as you take care of it. Keep it in it's hard case, and out of safes where they just get banged up. ...

One of the reasons I bought a Pendleton safe (https://www.pendletonsafes.com/produ...s/traditional/) was so guns would not get banged up in the safe due to their automated "lazy Susan" approach to storage.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yeah, the Pendelton Safes are nice. The regular guy who has a normal safe that has guns in and behind each other are the ones that cause Safe Rash.

In my safe I have to physically take the front guns out to get at the rear guns so I don't goon my Wood. Little nicks and dings add up and before long the gun looks bad. Totally avoidable,,, by just using some common sense and not being in a hurry to move things around.

All my nice shotguns are in Hard Cases. My Carbines are all in Soft Cases along with ammo and everything necessary to maintain the gun, as a Grab and Go Package.

My Regular Rifles live in the Sun Welding Safe along with valuables and important papers. When transported they go into Soft Boyd Harness Cases, and if traveling they go into Hard Cases like Pelican or SKB cases.

I consider these actions to be responsible for the overall nearly perfect condition of my firearms, and it isn't really that hard to do and insures that when you decide to send a gun to a new home you are sending something that the Condition is Indisputably the same as when you got it.

Firearms ownership is an exercise in Personally Responsibility, and by that I mean you need to really take care of your guns by not allowing them to be banged around and not bashing them into things near you. 99% of gun damage is caused by inept handling and storage. It's not like many people's guns have been ran over by a Buffalo, but some sure look like it.

Randy.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Desiccant Packs

When storing guns in a Safe or in a Hard Case or even if in a soft case full time, it is a good idea to put a Desiccant Pack in with it to soak up any moisture that might make its way into the case and ruin the gun.



This is especially true in Tropical or Humid Climates. You guys down south pay attention!

I have a small heater called a Golden Rod in my Safe, but also have several Big Bags of Desiccant in there as well. My guns don't rust!!! Period.

While stationed in the Philippines from 1972-1973 during my tenure in the Air Force all of the closets there had light bulbs running in the base 24/7. This was there to act as a heater and keep everything dry so that your clothes didn't Mildew.

It was a no brainer to do this in my tool cabinets in my shop to prevent expensive tooling from Corroding and becoming useless.

The Desiccant Bags are available in many sizes from 1" sq. to huge with several pounds of material in them. I keep an eye out when unloading things that have been shipped to me, but you can buy them from places like McMaster-Carr as well and they are well worth the price just for peace of mind.

If they get saturated you can bring them back to life by putting them in an oven at 180-200 degrees for a couple hours.

Something to think about.

Randy

[Rearsight44]

Thanks to all of you for all the good advice. I appreciate it.