O/U recommendations ?

[ImpaktechUSA]

i just became a shotgun-aholic and now would like one but have no clue on whats good or who even makes one

[Newshooter]

A little more information would be helpful in making a recommendation. Your statement is almost like saying you just got your drivers license and you want a car. A few things to consider are:

What are you going to do with it? Hunt, trap, skeet, sporting clays...all of the above.

What is your budget? Over-unders range from near $500 to well over $250,000 (NO...THAT IS NOT A TYPO) depending on the manufacturer.

What gauge would you like? 12, 16, 20, 28, .410. This goes along with what are you going to do with it.

Fit is pretty much the most important. A proper fitting shotgun lessens felt recoil as well as shoots where you point it. If the gun doesn't fit you, you will not be happy with it.

Is there a range nearby you can rent or shoot others guns? Our local trap club has a lot of great people who will pretty much allow other to shoot their guns. I never would have been able to shoot a $14,000 Perazzi without some very cool club members offering me the opportunity to shoot their gun.

You are wise to come here as there are a lot of informed people who can answer your question, however, you will need to provide a little more information in order for others to help.

[Foresight88]

My buddy picked up one of these not too long ago for $750 with about 100 rounds through it. She is a fine shotgun. Beautiful craftsmanship and an excellent feel.

[alfred1222]

A little more information would be helpful in making a recommendation. Your statement is almost like saying you just got your drivers license and you want a car. A few things to consider are:

What are you going to do with it? Hunt, trap, skeet, sporting clays...all of the above.

What is your budget? Over-unders range from near $500 to well over $250,000 (NO...THAT IS NOT A TYPO) depending on the manufacturer.

What gauge would you like? 12, 16, 20, 28, .410. This goes along with what are you going to do with it.

Fit is pretty much the most important. A proper fitting shotgun lessens felt recoil as well as shoots where you point it. If the gun doesn't fit you, you will not be happy with it.

Is there a range nearby you can rent or shoot others guns? Our local trap club has a lot of great people who will pretty much allow other to shoot their guns. I never would have been able to shoot a $14,000 Perazzi without some very cool club members offering me the opportunity to shoot their gun.

You are wise to come here as there are a lot of informed people who can answer your question, however, you will need to provide a little more information in order for others to help.

Answer these and we can help better

[CA-Libertarian]

For a starter O/U the Mossberg Silver Reserve is a great shotgun. They really are extremely good price-to-quality ratio. Just my $0.02. Save the 3K shotguns for when you want to get super serious. Spend that money on lots of flats of ammo and range trap time. You'll know when you are at a level where the shotgun is really making the difference between a 24/25. Paying for a formula one car when you are just getting into racing won't help and buying a shotgun is no different. Your swing, muscle memory, and practice will need to be honed well before your shotgun will get in the way. The Silver reserve is nice because you can get them without ejectors and you can simply remove the shells and place them in your rear spent shell pouch of your vest or bag. Saves your back, trust me.

The best part is when you start nailing clays and showing out the flock will come over and ask what kind of "insert expensive shotgun" that is! You can then smile and reveal and see the look...........priceless.

[ysr_racer]

Come out to Raahauge's this Saturday around 10:00am, and you can shoot my Browning 525 if you want.

[Cuda440]

For a starter O/U the Mossberg Silver Reserve is a great shotgun. They really are extremely good price-to-quality ratio. Just my $0.02. Save the 3K shotguns for when you want to get super serious. Spend that money on lots of flats of ammo and range trap time. You'll know when you are at a level where the shotgun is really making the difference between a 24/25. Paying for a formula one car when you are just getting into racing won't help and buying a shotgun is no different. Your swing, muscle memory, and practice will need to be honed well before your shotgun will get in the way. The Silver reserve is nice because you can get them without ejectors and you can simply remove the shells and place them in your rear spent shell pouch of your vest or bag. Saves your back, trust me.

The best part is when you start nailing clays and showing out the flock will come over and ask what kind of "insert expensive shotgun" that is! You can then smile and reveal and see the look...........priceless.

My experience with the Mossberg Silver Reserve has not been nearly as favorable. The fit and balance of it was terrible to me, but that is different for every person. The main things I disliked was the firing pins that break (I believe newer guns don't have this issue) a wobbly foregrip, and a lower barrel that would shoot 18" below the point of aim at 20yds. The upper barrel shot directly centered around the point of aim. Having one barrel that's accurate and one that's not is a deal breaker for me. I upgraded to a Beretta 686 SP1.

OP- you need to define your main use and budget before we can even recommend what to look at, and you need to hold and feel, if not shoot, as many guns as you can before you buy.

[alfred1222]

For a starter O/U the Mossberg Silver Reserve is a great shotgun. They really are extremely good price-to-quality ratio. Just my $0.02. Save the 3K shotguns for when you want to get super serious. Spend that money on lots of flats of ammo and range trap time. You'll know when you are at a level where the shotgun is really making the difference between a 24/25. Paying for a formula one car when you are just getting into racing won't help and buying a shotgun is no different. Your swing, muscle memory, and practice will need to be honed well before your shotgun will get in the way. The Silver reserve is nice because you can get them without ejectors and you can simply remove the shells and place them in your rear spent shell pouch of your vest or bag. Saves your back, trust me.

The best part is when you start nailing clays and showing out the flock will come over and ask what kind of "insert expensive shotgun" that is! You can then smile and reveal and see the look...........priceless.

I would be wary of this for 2 reasons: 1) if you're buying an O/U, don't buy a POS like a steoger or a mossberg. They aren't worth your time, let alone your money, and are generally considered crap. Besides that, their fit and finish, how they swing, their weight, and other factors are extremely sub-standard. I always say "buy once, cry once", but that isn't possible sometimes. If you're in a budget, look at franchi, Verona, and Lanber. One step up gets you to browning and beretta. You can get a lightly used Citori or beretta for about $1200-$1300, but again, this is shotguns, so money should be secondary to fit.
2) I would be cautious of anyone who can automatically suggest a shotgun for you without knowing anything about you. Most experienced shooters will tell you that fit is everything, and you should by the gun that fits you, not what hits the top part of your budget

[CA-Libertarian]

I would be wary of this for 2 reasons: 1) if you're buying an O/U, don't buy a POS like a steoger or a mossberg. They aren't worth your time, let alone your money, and are generally considered crap. Besides that, their fit and finish, how they swing, their weight, and other factors are extremely sub-standard. I always say "buy once, cry once", but that isn't possible sometimes. If you're in a budget, look at franchi, Verona, and Lanber. One step up gets you to browning and beretta. You can get a lightly used Citori or beretta for about $1200-$1300, but again, this is shotguns, so money should be secondary to fit.
2) I would be cautious of anyone who can automatically suggest a shotgun for you without knowing anything about you. Most experienced shooters will tell you that fit is everything, and you should by the gun that fits you, not what hits the top part of your budget

So a more expensive gun makes you shoot better and money is no object either? Expense is the #1 consideration, if you can't shoot/practice then that expensive safe queen will do you no good. Call the silver reserve a POS all you want. I have found time and time agian those who do so just can't shoot worth a dam and always blame the gun. They still shoot for shyt even with their new custom 3-5K dream gun. For what it's worth, I stand by what I said. It is a great entry gun that won't break the bank. Spend more on flats of ammo and range time. Hell, use a pump gun and spend all that money on ammo/range time. O/U is only really needed for doubles. You wouldn't buy a Ferrari/Porsche when you are first learning to drive, guns are the same. Learn the fundamentals and shoot, shoot, and shoot some more.

[alfred1222]

So a more expensive gun makes you shoot better and money is no object either? Expense is the #1 consideration, if you can't shoot/practice then that expensive safe queen will do you no good. Call the silver reserve a POS all you want. I have found time and time agian those who do so just can't shoot worth a dam and always blame the gun. They still shoot for shyt even with their new custom 3-5K dream gun. For what it's worth, I stand by what I said. It is a great entry gun that won't break the bank. Spend more on flats of ammo and range time. Hell, use a pump gun and spend all that money on ammo/range time. O/U is only really needed for doubles. You wouldn't buy a Ferrari/Porsche when you are first learning to drive, guns are the same. Learn the fundamentals and shoot, shoot, and shoot some more.

Ya actually, a gun that is more expensive has the option of being fitted perfectly to you, meaning that your mount and swing are more natural, meaning you shoot better. I mean, if you're ok with shooting 15's all day long, go ahead and torque your body to match the gun. If you wanna break into the high 20's, get something fitted. I agree though, if you're on a budget, get a pump! When you're willing to break the $1200 mark, get an O/U, because no matter how much you dress it up and polish it, a turd is still a turd. I've found that people who are bitter that they can't rationalize buying a browning or beretta or *heaven forbid* a true custom gun like a Perazzi or a Kolar, try to drag others down to their level by hyping their gun up.

Oh and lastly, I don't blame the gun for when I drop 1 or 2 clays in a game. Thats me mounting too quickly or Lifting my head. But I'm willing to bet I've shot more shells these past 4 months than you have in the past 2 years. So tell me libertarian, how many games have you shot this year?

[RayPDA]

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=349476

I'm with Alfred on this one- just because one is new to the sport, doesn't mean they should skimp on quality for a price point; for the same or slightly more saving and outlay of funds you could find an older/used wingmaster, 1100, beretta 303, or an older Charles daly/skb/browning/miroku/686- all of which have historically been better built, have better resale value, have more parts availability, more reliable and will serve a new shooter quite well with some fitment adjustments -While I wouldn't recommend a Ferrari to a new track racer, I wouldn't tell him to buy a sort of similar looking Pontiac fiero and have at it (rather than say a miata or BMW e30...low cost but higher quality and would better serve the new driver)

(Just my lunchtime response on what I'd go by when giving a recommendation)

And for the OP- need more info/background to offer our Internet advice

[fennecfrank]

So a more expensive gun makes you shoot better and money is no object either? Expense is the #1 consideration, if you can't shoot/practice then that expensive safe queen will do you no good. Call the silver reserve a POS all you want. I have found time and time agian those who do so just can't shoot worth a dam and always blame the gun. They still shoot for shyt even with their new custom 3-5K dream gun. For what it's worth, I stand by what I said. It is a great entry gun that won't break the bank. Spend more on flats of ammo and range time. Hell, use a pump gun and spend all that money on ammo/range time. O/U is only really needed for doubles. You wouldn't buy a Ferrari/Porsche when you are first learning to drive, guns are the same. Learn the fundamentals and shoot, shoot, and shoot some more.

A much better fitted gun makes me shoot better. If a gun fits you perfectly, you feel less recoil, which makes a huge difference. With a gun of better balance, the weight of the gun is not heavier on either side, thus, makes me shoot better and more. Don’t know about you, but the majority of people I know with better guns shoot way more than others. Unfortunately, a better fitted gun with better balance = more expensive.

However, more expensive guns, if not fitted and balance well, don’t make you shoot better. But of course, you’ll need to know how to shoot, when to fire, how much lead, etc.

[CA-Libertarian]

Ya actually, a gun that is more expensive has the option of being fitted perfectly to you, meaning that your mount and swing are more natural, meaning you shoot better. I mean, if you're ok with shooting 15's all day long, go ahead and torque your body to match the gun. If you wanna break into the high 20's, get something fitted. I agree though, if you're on a budget, get a pump! When you're willing to break the $1200 mark, get an O/U, because no matter how much you dress it up and polish it, a turd is still a turd. I've found that people who are bitter that they can't rationalize buying a browning or beretta or *heaven forbid* a true custom gun like a Perazzi or a Kolar, try to drag others down to their level by hyping their gun up.

Oh and lastly, I don't blame the gun for when I drop 1 or 2 clays in a game. Thats me mounting too quickly or Lifting my head. But I'm willing to bet I've shot more shells these past 4 months than you have in the past 2 years. So tell me libertarian, how many games have you shot this year?

I can use dang near any shotgun handed to me and I'll not get a 15. Point being, once you learn your mechanics and get into your zone the gun will not matter all that much. You can make the adjustments necessary to be successful due to experience. Little experience and the "best" (relative) equipment will yield the same results as "cheap" (relative) equipment and little experience. This is particularly true of beginners who are not even sure if they will end up taking to the sport. Your argument has merits but is more geared towards a committed individual who has a specific issue/issues that can be overcome or eased with a custom gun, not a individual just getting into or a beginner who has no point of reference with which to make a equipment assessment based judgment.

Practice, practice, and more practice will yield better results than just buying high price hardware and not being able to shoot with both eyes open (many transitional pistol shooters don't), learning not to "aim" but rather "put it on the target", bird speed judgment/rates of descent ect. No high priced gun will improve those things, only practice and experience.

This has been beaten to death so I'll bow out, OP do what you like but I still suggest spending your money on flats of ammo (you could literally buy a pallet of shot for the price of some uber expensive shotguns) and range time. You may consider joining a league or a range as a member as you will get much cheaper rates than the general public and usually there are bulk ammo buy perks as well. Finding a range that has manual trap is another great opportunity to learn the basics without all the pressure of official clay stations: etiquette, speed, line choice ect. Good luck with whatever you choose and shoot as much as you can, it really is a fun sport.

[edgerly779]

Get a higher end o/u with ejectors and selective trigger. I have 2 win 101s a browning and an fie 20gauge which has extractors and double trigger and is a piece of sxxt. If you don't want the shells falling on ground then put your palm over breech and eject into your hand and put in vest or pouch. If you hunt you want to be able to quickly reload. With extractors it takes a lot longer. I have a win 101 for sale on calguns. 26" imp.cyl/modified barrels made in 1966.

[utvtactical]

first o/u shotgun

You can't go wrong with a Browning, even a used one.

Get 30 inch barrels, that way you are ready for skeet, trap and sporting clays. Choke tubes are a must, so you can put in the right chokes for the game you are playing.

Be sure the stock is long enough if you are buying a used gun. Make sure to try the trigger before you buy, some guns have a lot of play in the trigger, this will work against you in competition. the trigger should be crisp without a lot of play.

If you do get to try a Krieghoff or Perrazzi and then try an inexpensive gun, you will feel the difference in the trigger pull.