O/U Casual Shooter Advice...

[thoughtpolice59]

Team, I'm never going to be a great sporting clays shooter. I'm old enough where I just want to go out and enjoy myself occasionally. I've been wanting an O/U for a while. I have a small budget $1500 would be a stretch. I've looked at reviews and have come up with some choices. Which path to go down ?

CZ Woodcock G2 - 28in
$650
Weight 7.4ibs
Receiver finish / engraving don?t appeal.
Forend looks nice and slim.

CZ USA Redhead Premier Gloss Black Chrome - 28in
$980
Weight 7.9lbs
Not sure about the gloss black, but otherwise bland.

Weatherby Orion Sporting ? 30in
$1,050
Weight 7.5lbs
+ Adjustable comb.
- Gloss finish (Not adverse to refinishing)
- Forend looks fat
- Ported barrels
- Not a fan of the look of extended chokes

Alternative 4 ? look on Gunbroker for a used Citori. I have seen a few coming up in the $1000 - $1200 range. Most of them have 28? barrels.

Any thoughts ? I'm leaning towards the used Citori.

[Imageview]

I would shoot a citori, or a silver pigeon, and go with a used one whichever you prefer over the above new. 28" barrel works just fine. I'm sure the above guns are fine, I had a cheap cz and was fairly impressed, but I enjoy shooting a nicer shotgun more.

[bubbala]

Proper fit is needed to shoot well. I'd spend some money there.
I shoot a cheap Mossberg made in Turkey .It has screw in chokes and I worked on it some ,for fit.

[Jeepergeo]

Consider a Stoeger Supreme O/U and put the money saved towards shells and clays.

The Stoeger Supreme give you a lot for the money and can shoot better than most users can shoot.

[squeeze]

The most important things are: 1. Get/modify ($$$) a gun to fit you. 2. Take a lesson or two from an instructor ($$ well spent). You should be able to get #'s 1 & 2 from the same instructor.
'It is not the bow and arrow: it's the Indian' is soooootrue. Do 1 & 2, then what O/U you get will then be less of a factor.

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I have two new/ unused trap shooting books/manuals for sale. See my posting here:

https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?p=26822520#post26822520

[Livetoride33]

I have several CZ over and unders. I personally shoot the CZ Redhead Premier Target and I love it. I am by no means a great clay shooter but it does well for me. I got my 12 year old son a CZ all terrain 20 ga. It is super light and nimble and very easy to swing. My first o/u when I was a broke 20 year old was a CZ Mallard that I still have. Overall, I?m impressed with CZ compared to other Turkish made shotguns (won an auction for the boy scouts on a tristar 12 ga o/u), but? I have a buddy that let me run his $7k fitted Beretta?man it really is different.

Still missed clays though lol

[thoughtpolice59]

WOW ! Several replies and I've just got up... Thank you all. Seems like the CZ's might be worth looking at.

[BOBGBA]

https://weatherby.com/store/orion-i/

[Ora Serrata]

Get a used Citori. It may be a little wait but they come up often in the CG market place. If you’re patient and diligent you’ll find one in your price range. I picked up one for $1k and later found one for a friend also $1k.

Look at ones with changeable chokes. Not all Citoris have them.

[JagerDog]

I would shoot a citori, or a silver pigeon, and go with a used one whichever you prefer over the above new. 28" barrel works just fine. I'm sure the above guns are fine, I had a cheap cz and was fairly impressed, but I enjoy shooting a nicer shotgun more.

This is the correct answer.

And you won?t lose a nickel if you decide to sell it in the future.

[thoughtpolice59]

Any issues with buying these older shotguns from Gunbroker ?
I'm not sure if there's a roster for these.

[whutsup40]

I have a C.Z redhead premier and love it, points and swings real good, Good fit and finish.

[JagerDog]

Any issues with buying these older shotguns from Gunbroker ?
I'm not sure if there's a roster for these.

Not at all. There's a "sticky" flowchart at the top, but basically the no-no's are short barrels and semi's with "assault features"

Only issue is if seller will send to CA. Some blackball CA.

Has to be sent to FFL, but not from FFL. Some private sellers prefer to send via FFL. That's actually more cumbersome with CA's procedure.

You'd want to check that your FFL will receive from private party. Some won't.

You can get a code from your FFL for the seller to verify current lic.

[Imageview]

Honestly interchangeable chokes are something I find less and less compelling on the majority of my guns as time goes on. 99.9% of my shooting is done with an ic and/or mod choke. It can be handy for specific clay games or birds (turkeys for instance), but a good deal on a fixed choke shotgun would be worth considering in my opinion.

[Capybara]

My LGS always has nice deals on used and new shotguns. I prefer to buy guns in person after trying them out at least for inspection and seeing how it fits you. The advice for fit is the single more important factor in your hitting clays and being able to enjoy shooting. Custom fitting a shotgun isn't cheap but is well worth it.

I would not buy off of Gunbroker for the simple fact that you're going to have to pay sales tax, transfer fees, plus DROS. I've bought several off of GB but when you add up all off the fees and shipping, I actually ended up paying about the same as I would have paid my LGS. All of the "savings" tends to evaporate.

IMHO, you should be spending $1,000 for a shotgun and around $500 for custom fitting, fitting an adjustable comb, fitting for length, adding a KickEze. I am 100% sold on the Kick-Eze, I just put one on my Beretta 1301 Tactical and even shooting heavy Buck, it's so smooth. Really helps when you may shoot 200-300 shells in a couple of Sporting sessions. Worrying about recoil, cheek slap and flinching is highly detrimental to actually busting clays. Your shotgun should be smooth and effortless to mount and sight and the recoil should not even be a concern and the aggregate recoil after shooting box after box of shells shouldn't be a concern.