what does a big bucks double barrel shotgun got the cheap ones don't?

[Big Chudungus]

Seems a cheap one should be same "perfect shape" to within a millimeter all around, and the mechanics except for trigger shouldn't come into play as far as actually shooting.

If I try a $6000 double barrel (side by side or over/under) VS a sub $1000 gun would I be all "This fancy gun is noticeably better"? And what aspects?

Could a mildly experienced shooter be able to tell a $1000 gun from a $6000 gun if they were camouflaged so he couldn't tell the brand and model and handed to him to point and shoot?

[Elgatodeacero]

https://fabarmusa.com/autumn/

[k1dude]

Some or all of:

Lower weight, outstanding balance and handling, excellent trigger, exceptional fit and finish, luxury wood and metals, brand goodwill, and hand engraving.

Telling the difference aesthetically is obvious to anyone, including a novice. Performance wise, even a novice can appreciate the difference, but only in the hands of the experienced will the shotgun be truly valued and excel.

[Big Chudungus]

Some or all of:

Lower weight, outstanding balance and handling, excellent trigger, exceptional fit and finish, luxury wood and metals, brand goodwill, and hand engraving.

Telling the difference aesthetically is obvious to anyone, including a novice. Performance wise, even a novice can appreciate the difference, but only in the hands of the experienced will the shotgun be truly valued and excel.

I'm thinking "balance and handling" would be something even a dirt cheap item could match perfectly, since its just shape and weight. Like how even cheap cars will have same "perfect" seating position as most expensive, but unlike hard surfaced guns there could be meaningfully quality differences in the soft structure of car seats.

IIRC they COULD make a fancy shotgun lighter, like maybe hollow out the stock with fiberglass insert or something, but don't, for shooting comfort and balance reasons, and they COULD make barrels lighter, but again don't. Its not like these are survival guns for some commando to carry on an epic ruck.
Seems they should be able to make "excellent triggers" without breaking the bank, in this day and age.

https://fabarmusa.com/autumn/

Does have an interesting barrel bore profile. TRIBORE HP? Not sure if anyone would be able to notice. Reviewer didn't do any "ours VS theirs" patterning.

I don't get why, if they are able to make car exteriors any shape they want for same price, expensive cars like BMW of same size and approximate shape LOOK so much better than cheaper cars like Kia (or at least they did until recently). Pretty sure at that stage in development the salary of the designers/modelers is not a factor.

[hermosabeach]

No one talks about my double nor over under.


The big boys get talked about.

Did you see that shotgun in the rack - it's $100k.
Oh yeah - it's that telecom guys gun.

[Imageview]

So I?ve owned a cheap side by side (cz bobwhite g2) and have a middle cost (beretta 693) over under. I imagine the 486 is pretty similar to the 683 in quality. I liked both guns, but sold the g2 for fit reasons.

The g2?s finish was durable, but fugly. Some sort of kote, not actually blued. Its action was stiff. It had extractors. The wood was at best plain. Engraving was minimal. It was purchased as a hunting gun, I?m tempted to buy another that fits me better, it was a tool that did its job. Everything it needed, nothing it didn?t. A good tool, but nothing else.

My 693 is by my standards a pretty gun. The blueing is nice. The wood is nice. It?s easy to swing, but it?s also an o/u so some of that difference is it?s just easier to swing an o/u. I?ve owned other side by sides, so I can say that the g2 wasn?t my best swinging gun, but I can?t give a fair comparison here. Taking it out and cleaning it still makes me smile. Other than that beretta customer service is better. Parts availability is better.

Is a lot of it just appearance? Sure. But it costs a lot more to make something in Italy than turkey, and the materials and work that go in to it aren?t cheap. They both go bang and can dust targets and kill birds. But since I won?t be missing any meals if I buy one or another why not buy the nicer one?

That fabarm is nice. I?d been considering trying to hunt down a lefty 486 but really wanted a 20. Might have to keep it in mind.

[Bakerloo]

Barrel regulation.

[JagerDog]

Weight, balance, quality, fit, finish, grade of wood, barrel regulation, adornments, repeatable trigger between barrels to name some.

It takes higher grade steel to reduce steel mass. It takes higher grade equipment to accomplish. Then there's skill at the factory level. Skills that can take decades with the right aptitude to develop.

Taking mass out of the stock of a shotgun that's already barrel heavy reduces balance. Many target specific guns are actually quite heavy (absorbs recoil), yet they don't feel all that heavy when swinging.

As in most things, there's diminishing returns, but it's always better. How much better for how much more $$$ is an individual decision. Most the guys I know with K and P guns and the like, aren't poor and shotgun target shooting is their principle hobby. Wing shooters tend to shy away from aesthetics that can be damaged in the field unless they're quite well-to-do.

Fine firearms, fine watches, fine tools, fine fishing reels, etc. aren't for everyone and it's something experienced rather than communicated with words.

Personally, I have no $5k+ guns and skipped the fine watches altogether, sticking with the likes of Timex digital.

[duckman1]

Fit, finish, regulation, triggers, expected round count, customer service and repairs.

[CALI-gula]

Gilding, glamour, glitz, gravy, glorification, garnished, and gussied up.

.

[G-forceJunkie]

You also need to specify "cheap" and "expensive" when talking of such guns. As mentioned, more money generally gets you better steel, better fit, better finish/embelishiments/wood, etc. But at some point the gains get relatively small. There is a huge difference between a $600 O/U and and $3K O/U. The difference between a $3k O/U and a 10k O/U are much smaller. The difference between a $10k and 100k O/U are probably tiny and the price probably reflects or on its brand name, low prodiuction, etc.

[Spyder]

6k isn't all that expensive, but no, it's not going to make you the best shooter. Software over hardware, you're buying the name and prestige and bragging rights...and there's nothing wrong with that if it's what you want.

[rhodesengr]

I bought a Citori 725 Trap Max about 4 years ago because it had all the adjustability features I wanted (comb, rib, and butt-pad). It has been very reliable (at least the upper barrel) and has not needed any repairs. However, I see that Tri Star has a Trap oriented O/U for less that $2000 that also has all the a adjustability features. I do wonder how I would like that Tri Star if I bought one. I do have one actual data point comparing a name brand to an off brand, but not O/U. During Covid, I wanted a tactical style pump shotgun. I already had a Benelli Super Nova field style that I have converted to tactical. However, I bough a Dickenson tactical model. The quality was noticeably much lower in terms of fit an finish. It was very difficult to remove the barrel for cleaning. It was sort of jammed in place. The pump could get jammed also.

Now that my Trap gun is in the $5-6000 range, I do wonder what I would get in the $10-12,000, like a DT11 or possibly one of the other higher-end brands (Kolar, Blazer, Krieghoff, etc.). I don't see that those brands come stock with all the adjustability I want and I am not a fan of getting the wood carved for a custom fit (too risky to get it wrong). Even the DT11, I would would have to get with the TSK stock to get the adjustability. I don't plan on spending that kind of money just to see if my scores go up. I could probably try someone else's but it wouldn't be adjusted to me. I spent a lot of time adjusting my 725. It is a perplexing dilemma.

[JagerDog]

Above about $15k it's primarily adornments. Engraving, inlays and such. Not to say some adornments can't be had on lesser guns, but the mechanics are still of the lesser gun.

"Better" guns survive 100k rounds or more and are rebuildable with parts to take up wear when they do get out of spec. But you also don't need to spend big $ to get 200k round reliability (example Citori). Other than firing pin here and there (exacerbated by blown primers) there's quite a few that have survived high round counts.

[smittty]

If it has a steel receiver it will probably handle high round count.

Pre-covid I would say Italy was better but that's no longer the case. Read the chatter on shotgunworld for owner comments.

Today the Turkish guns are as good as you might want. I recently bought a Turkish made 410 SxS and it is nicer in all ways than the last Beretta o/u that I paid 3x the price. I won't buy another Beretta o/u!

Today guns are similar to cars, higher price doesn't necessarily give what you think you're paying for.