Choosing and over and under

[jkgts1]

Hi, I'm in the market for a OU. I was looking for one in the $500-$600 range. Nothing special, just a little trap and skeet at the range. I've been looking at some Remington and Escorts. Any recommendations on what is a good or bad OU.

Thanks

[GenLee]

I own a remington spartan ( russian made by Baikal) its a 20 gauge I bought for my daughter. I have since repo'd it and use it almost exclusively as my trap, dove and upland gun. They are in your price range, look good, balanced and shoot awesome. I would give them a look if I were you.

[vinny_land]

Spartan SPR310
Mossberg Silver Reserve
Stoeger Condor
Tristar Hunter
Khan

From what i have observed...many members recommend saving some more money and splurging on a Beretta, Browning, or a Ruger.

[jkgts1]

Cool that is the Remington I was looking at, Spartan. Thanks for the replies.

[CHS]

I have the mossberg silver reserve. I couldn't pass it up at 450$ on sale at Big 5. I shoot trap with it very regularly. It's nice, light, short, points easily, and I'm shooting as good as I can with it.

It's not the most beautiful gun in the world, it's definitely got some tooling marks and burrs here and there, but it's also a shotgun, so, yeah.

I totally love this gun, but I tell yah, owning a 450$ O/U definitely makes me realize that I now need/want a 1400$ O/U

[jkgts1]

I have the mossberg silver reserve. I couldn't pass it up at 450$ on sale at Big 5. I shoot trap with it very regularly. It's nice, light, short, points easily, and I'm shooting as good as I can with it.

It's not the most beautiful gun in the world, it's definitely got some tooling marks and burrs here and there, but it's also a shotgun, so, yeah.

I totally love this gun, but I tell yah, owning a 450$ O/U definitely makes me realize that I now need/want a 1400$ O/U

So what made you realize that you need a $1400 gun?

[CHS]

So what made you realize that you need a $1400 gun?

The fit and finish of the 450$ gun

[wilit]

I've got a Spartan SPR310. Great gun for the price. Replace the factory chokes with some Trulocks and it's good to go. I can usually bust just as many clays with mine as some of the dudes I see with Citoris.

[drawn]

I have the mossberg silver reserve. I couldn't pass it up at 450$ on sale at Big 5. I shoot trap with it very regularly. It's nice, light, short, points easily, and I'm shooting as good as I can with it.

It's not the most beautiful gun in the world, it's definitely got some tooling marks and burrs here and there, but it's also a shotgun, so, yeah.

I totally love this gun, but I tell yah, owning a 450$ O/U definitely makes me realize that I now need/want a 1400$ O/U

+1 and +1 After lifting a lot of different O/U's and figuring out what fit's me best, I'll take a Winchester 101.

[.454]

Hi, I'm in the market for a OU. I was looking for one in the $500-$600 range. Nothing special, just a little trap and skeet at the range. I've been looking at some Remington and Escorts. Any recommendations on what is a good or bad OU.

Thanks

From time to time you will find used or consigned Beretta, Browning, Ithaca, CZ or Ruger O/Us in that price range at Turners. Check their webpage and if you see something interesting, call them. You can also haggle a little bit on the price. Remeber: in shopping for the gun you want, patience pays.

[TRAP55]

With the exception of Huglu and Smith & Wesson, stay away from any shotgun make in Turkey unless you like repair headaches.
Mossbergs and Stoeger have had a lot of accidental discharges when the action is snapped shut, and Mossberg customer no-service sux!
The Remingtons are made by Baikal, without the same QC that Baikal had when their brand was on it. Older Baikals are built like an anvil, good utility gun, hard to break.
Shop for a used Italian Fausti from Traditions. Traditions customer service is right down there with Mossberg, but the Fausti family (dad & his 3 knockout daughters) stand behind their shotguns. Quality rivals Beretta and Browning, at a fraction of the price.

[jkgts1]

With the exception of Huglu and Smith & Wesson, stay away from any shotgun make in Turkey unless you like repair headaches.
Mossbergs and Stoeger have had a lot of accidental discharges when the action is snapped shut, and Mossberg customer no-service sux!
The Remingtons are made by Baikal, without the same QC that Baikal had when their brand was on it. Older Baikals are built like an anvil, good utility gun, hard to break.
Shop for a used Italian Fausti from Traditions. Traditions customer service is right down there with Mossberg, but the Fausti family (dad & his 3 knockout daughters) stand behind their shotguns. Quality rivals Beretta and Browning, at a fraction of the price.

Really they have a lot of accidental discharges? How many have there been, roughly?

[TRAP55]

Three in one day I personally witnessed at the pheasant club, two Mossbergs and a Stoeger. All three had broken or faulty sears. My buddy with the Stoeger got his repaired somewhere in Hayward at a factory authorized dealer without a hitch. The two guys with the Mossys had one hell of time trying to get Mossberg to repair the guns. All 3 guns were less than a month old. Mossberg wanted to charge them for shipping and parts.The dealer that sold the Mossbergs finally made it right for them.

Back at the clubhouse later, more than one hunter had a story about the failures. Two weeks later at another club, a party in the field next to us had a Stoeger do it, and he missed shooting his pointer by inches.
Turk contract shotguns like BSA, Khan, etc. are put together with parts contracted out by the companies that assemble them and put their brand on them. I've repaired more than one that looked real nice on the outside, but complete junk on the inside. Parts that weren't hardened that should be, or parts that were hardened and not tempered. Screws cross threaded from the factory, you name it.

I excluded Huglu because back when Sporting Clays became the rage, Huglu wanted in on the market and hired techs from Browning and Winchester to re-design their guns and machining processes. That resulted in a world class shotgun and killed the image they had of cheaply made shotguns.
Smith & Wesson because they kind of did the same thing, but the guns are made in Turkey under S&W's management.

Cheaper O/U's will break, they are more expensive to repair, and more expensive when the parts that rarely exist are in Turkey. If you want Browning and Winchester quality, for the price of Mossy Silver, buy a Fausti. For a good solid field gun, find a Baikal. You want a better looking Baikal for more money, buy a Spartan.

Almost forgot the new line up of CZ shotguns, I handled them all at the Shot Show and was real impressed, especially with the smaller gauge SxS's, very nice shotguns for the money!

jkgts1, if you are near me, or will be, I'd be more than happy to let you try out all the ones I have to see what you like, ammo is on me if you clean em. Besides, gives me an excuse to go break some clays!

[jkgts1]

Wow, thanks for the info and the invite, I'll keep it in mind.

[3GunFunShooter]

I just won a Stoeger at Friends of the NRA dinner.
Have not picked it up yet. I guess I'll have to be careful when closing the action. Thanks for the heads up.