Best O/U

[Skeetin'870]

I want to know which over unders are the best quality wise. Now I need one or a semi auto because my current borrowed gun has a poor fit. Keep in mind I am on a limited budget as my mother will be buying it for me. Any questions I will buy anything but a stoeger :barf:

[jvlip3]

Whats wrong with Stoeger? I have a Coachgun which is fantastic.

[Skeetin'870]

Friend of mine has an stoeger o/u that just seems to attract rust and another friend of mine had one that died after 4 years

[Trip20]

When will your signature admit defeat?


Browning, of course, is excellent.

But budget you say, is an issue? The cheapest I've seen (brand new) is the "Remington" Spartan. Actually produced by Baikal - a Russian firearm producer.

Only experience "I" have with one is a buddy who purchased it for trap. Seems to function fine. No compaints from him other than the following...

One thing that seems to be a pain in the behind is: In order to shoot out of the top barrel first, you have to push the trigger forward, rather than having a "O/U" switch. The bottom barrel will fire first otherwise, then the top barrel after the first shot. Not a horrible feature but it's one thing you can tell contributes to it's cheap price:

This gun retails in this area for $499 brand new.

If you want a "better" brand you'll be buying a fairly well used O/U at this price.

[Tacoma]

When you say "best" in over and unders, you easily get up into thousands and even tens of thousands. They are by group, the most expensive of the shotgun types. Having said that , most of your recognized "name brands " will run in the $1000-$2000 range. Brownings and Berrettas seem to have most of the market. I've owned both and believe the Brownings are the better gun. If you want /need less expensive, you need to look at mossbergs , remingtons, stoegers and (most of all) Lambda.
The MOST IMPORTANT thing of any shotgun is fit. A nicely fit low end gun is going to serve you better than the opposite. (i.e. So you either want to save some $ for fitting or try before you buy.)

LAstly, I would STRONGLY suggest you look at the ( widely popular) Berretta 391 series semi auto shotguns. Berretas have a system that lets you adjust the stock for LOP and cant for a custom fit out of the box. They are very reliable, well made and sharp looking guns. Used ones can be had in the $500-$600 range . Allot more bang for your buck than a cheap O/U IMHO. I had one and it's the only shotgun I regret selling

[gordo b.]

"as my mother will be buying it for me." goes with that signature line.
Find a used Citori, which can be had for $600+ in 12ga. Reccomend a part time job to pay for it- it will give you more satisfaction!

[Skeetin'870]

I had planned on buying one at the end of the summer but my mother is accelarating the process but it is out of my money that she is letting me buy one with the condition that I will put all the money back in my account.

[Beretta686]

Save your money and get yourself something nice. Don't buy the cheapest one you find. Getsomething you will treasure for a long time.
My advice is get a Beretta O/U. They will beat the pants off a Browning any day. But the Browning is still a good gun if you like the feel of them, I just never have found one I like.
Although I wouldn't shy away from a Ruger Red Label. Ruger is a very good company and will stand behind their work. You should be able to pick one up used for around $500-600.
If your going to be using it as a trap/skeet gun, make sure you get the longer barrels (I have 32 inchers on mine, and it makes all the difference in the world).

[hoosierdaddy]

Browning, Beretta even Verona has had good reports on www.shotgunworld.com. I've registered 10,000 plus targets in sporting clays with Brownings. They're fine. Beretta is also a quality shotgun. I currently shoot a DT-10, 471 12GA and 20GA and an Xtrema II all from Beretta. They are very good guns. However, the gun in my safe that gets the most attention is my Merkel. It's the hands down best, nicest and sexiest shotgun I've ever owned (including my Perazzis and Krieghoffs).

Back to the point...

Go to a club in your area and look at and shoot as many used shotguns as you can find. Buy the one that fits and feels the best. Oh and you should also breat targets with it as well. That's really the best advise I can offer. I've had a long standing love for nice shotguns and have spent thousands and tens of thousands of dollars on them. Verona will probably be your best bang for the buck. Lanber also makes a decent O/U in your price range depending on the features you need.

You may want to check out www.indianagunclub.com and look for 12 or 20 gauge under the "Red Tag Deals" section. They have some nice deals and Phillip and Steve are exceptional to work with.

[PJR]

I would STRONGLY suggest you look at the ( widely popular) Berretta 391 series semi auto shotguns.

Absolutely correct! Why buy a cheap over/under when for less money you can buy the best semi-auto target shotgun on the market today.

[sdkidaho]

One thing that seems to be a pain in the behind is: In order to shoot out of the top barrel first, you have to push the trigger forward, rather than having a "O/U" switch. The bottom barrel will fire first otherwise, then the top barrel after the first shot. Not a horrible feature but it's one thing you can tell contributes to it's cheap price:

I've never owned an O/U, so is this bad? I guess I did just assume the top would fire first, but is there a reason this would make a difference?

Right out of their manual:

Single-trigger Model SPR 310 shotguns have a single trigger which is used to fire each barrel. Once the trigger is pulled to fire the first barrel, release the trigger. The second barrel is then ready to be fired by pulling the trigger again.

As configured by the factory the Model SPR 310 single-trigger shotgun is preset to fire the bottom barrel on the first shot and then the top barrel on the second shot. Once the shotgun is loaded, you may manually set the shotgun to fire the top barrel first. To select the top barrel, with the safety engaged in the “on” position, point the muzzle in a safe direction and push the trigger forward from the rear until you feel and hear a click. You have now set the shotgun to fire the top barrel on the first shot and the bottom barrel on the second shot. Note: Once you open the action with the top lever, the shotgun automatically returns to its original configuration of firing the bottom barrel first.

When you are pushing the trigger forward to select the top barrel, make sure the safety is “on” and the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction. NEVER use the barrel selector when the safety is in the “off” or “fire” position. Once you have used the trigger to select the top barrel, remove your finger from inside the trigger guard until you are ready to fire.

[Left-Hander]

I would go for a mossberg Silver Reserve. Really nice shotgun. Thinking about the onyx reserve myself. mossy o/u

[Steve Morgan]

You should ask John Kerry. I'm sure he shot several VC's off that river boat with scatter guns....I think he used high-brass 6's. There's no telling how many soldiers he saved with that thing. What a hero! He would probably recommend a side-by-side like the one he used to shoot geese with in that sage brush field....the same one he deer hunts with... he just loves to belly-crawl up on those trophy bucks! "Can I get me one of those huntin' licenses here?"

[dgludwig]

Hoosierdaddy's got it right! Get a Merkel and never look back (especially if your Mama's footing the bill!). Mine's a twenty double but all Merkels have vault-like lock-ups (its that Teutonic heritage, I think) and handle like a dream.

I VOTED FOR JOHN KERRY...BEFORE I VOTED AGAINST HIM

[Skeetin'870]

WOW those Merkels look good but I am just getting to use money out of an account then I have to put money back in. Those are just a Wee Bit out of my price range.

[kymasabe]

I bought a used Browning Citori years ago and am sorry I ever sold it. Was a great O/U shotgun and the one I'd recommend buying.

[Skeetin'870]

My grandfather gave me his chrles daly made by BC miroku that is basically a original superposed japanese browning but I will still take suggestions. It is a good gun light with fixed IC/M chokes but it does not matter the first time I took it out I hit my best ever 24/25 i missed low 6 after the trapper intentionaly didnt pull to see if I was moving on my call.
Anyway the miroku is goin to the doctor to be reblued and fit to me after SCTP nationals in Detriot.