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Old November 14, 2008, 11:30 AM   #1
mberman09
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What about a Weatherby

What do you all think about Weatherby shotguns... They look pretty nice... as far as I can tell there website is still not up to par, can anyone confirm that? I'm looking at the Athen or Orion D'Italia, what you guys think about those?
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Old November 14, 2008, 04:08 PM   #2
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They're serviceable guns - probably in the arena of a Ruger ( although I like the Ruger better ) / and below the quality of a Beretta or Browning. They are not known for long term reliability as a target gun. 20 or 30 years ago - I saw a few of them around - but I don't see hardly any of them anymore.

I see one occasionally on the used market - often with upgraded wood on it. I think their biggest weakness was the barrel connection on the receiver was considered fairly weak especially compared to Beretta or Browning. I don't know who is making them these days.
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Old November 14, 2008, 04:44 PM   #3
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So basically Weatherby Sucks....
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Old November 14, 2008, 04:45 PM   #4
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I'd suggest looking elsewhere

+1 most everything Jim says, particularly the Ruger part and the few around part.

My personal experience is that I looked at them fairly closely at one time but one example a D'Italia has the buttstock wood sitting plenty proud of the metal and the wood looked to be stained birch (not sure about that though.)

A second one I handled an Anthem, I think, had rough metal exposed on the right front of the reciever, like you sometimes see on Bakals or Huglus.

I have a very good friend that is tickled with himself that he owns a two tube gun and a Weatherby to boot. I have not had the heart to tell him the "etching" looks like something my underage daughter did with a nail.

I am sure what I am about to say is not the case but my gut tells me it is a Turkish gun with some fancy marketing. Do not hold me to that, I too like Jim do not know the manufacturer.

As you have probably gotten by now, I am not a fan.

My opinon is that for the same money, you could get a used B-gun or Franchi, or Winnie Select. In fact just today I saw (all) used: Browning Lightweight ($1200), Browning Superposed ($1500) and a fancy Remington STS ($1900) I think that is in the same range as the Weatherbys.

If you are getting it for a screaming deal and plan to walk the field with it (i.e., a few shots a season) then go for it. Operative phrase: "screaming deal."
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Old November 14, 2008, 04:58 PM   #5
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conviencing... I think I'm off even considering Weatherby, back on Winchester...
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Old November 14, 2008, 05:24 PM   #6
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I didn't say they suck - you get what you pay for sometimes.

I think the offerings from Winchester are probably a better gun than Weatherby or Ruger for that matter. I will still tell you, model for model, Browning gives you a lot of gun for your money - and in general, most any O/U under $ 2,500 means you're going to be making some compromises - it might be in the quality of the stock, the strength of the barrel locking mechanism, the quality overall - but sometimes its in the adjustability of the gun. At $2,500 - $3,000 most of the O/U's will have better components, better options, better fit and finish, and more adjustability. A gun that can't be adjusted to fit you - isn't really worth much in my view.

The most versatile O/U on the market, in my view, is the Browning XS Skeet model in 12ga with either 28" or 30" barrels and the factory adjustable comb. Full list price on that gun is $ 3,079 in the online catalog - but I saw one in a shop this week for about $ 2,750 . Its not about the wood on the gun - although its not bad - its about the balance, the quality of the barrels, the receiver, and the adjustability. I own several of this model ( in 12, 20, 28 and .410 ) - and they've been workhorses for Skeet, Sporting Clays and hunting.

http://www.browning.com/products/cat...13&type_id=066

If that's not in your price range - the most adjustable semi-auto I see on the market today is the Benelli Super sport 12ga in a 30" barrel. You have to add a comb piece to raise it up / but shims it comes with are pretty good as well. It does not allow for adjustability of cast ( left or right ) at comb - but there are ways you can fix it as well. New they list at $ 1979 / they retail in my area new at about $ 1,800 / and I just bought a very clean used one last week for $ 1,350 as a gift for one of the kids in my family ( I have one of my own ). Here's a link on the Benelli as well.

http://www.benelliusa.com/firearms/supersport.tpl

Either one of these guns would be a good buy / a good long term buy, in my view. You can spend less for a gun - but you have to ask yourself if its a good long term decision or not. There are used ones around / for the Browning XS Skeet and the Benelli Super Sport comfort tech - but not many, a lot of us keep them forever - so if you find one, you have to jump on it.

There is a pretty good used XS Skeet at a shop in my area for sale - but he wants $ 2,500 for it - and for $ 250 more, you can buy a new one ...

Saving $ 400 - $500 on a used Benelli Super Sport was a good deal, in my view, but you'll have to decide if those numbers are in your budget or not. I'd be lying, if I told you there was another O/U out there I like better than the XS Skeet or a semi-auto other than the Super Sport.
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Old November 14, 2008, 05:43 PM   #7
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I am turned off by a so called "premium" (to me anyway) company jumping into the import gun marketing sham. Let the turks, and chinese sell their own stuff...
while you get what you pay for... I feel you get much more by buying a mossberg or remington at a lower cost that functions extremely well. If you are after a PREMIUM shotgun expect to pay PREMIUM bucks for one made of the finest materials with the finest workmanship from a company known to produce gems in the gun world!
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Old November 14, 2008, 06:44 PM   #8
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I'm w/BigJim on their quality, they're allright but not the best bang for the buck. I am a Beretta man b/c Browning doesn't make a Superposed any more. The Citori's are good guns just not my cup of tea.
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Old November 14, 2008, 07:27 PM   #9
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I think Beretta makes a good quality gun too - I didn't mean to rain on them .... but the Beretta's just don't fit me very well - since I need a paralell adj comb on a shotgun.
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Old November 14, 2008, 08:47 PM   #10
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IMO, it would depend on which maker of Weatherby's you're talking about - the ones made by SKB are pretty nice and every bit as well made as original SKB's.....
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Old November 14, 2008, 09:28 PM   #11
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Bigjim is a wise man about shotguns. It is obvious by his knowledge that he as been around them a while and is a thinking man. I bet he is a damn good shot too.

As you will note if you follow this board for long Jim is a big, big, big believer in the B-guns. He has made a believer of many and will make a believer of you to. Overtly Jim talks a lot about the B-guns but implicitly, Jim's real message is about fit (although the B-guns are very high quality.)

Note, that Jim talked about what fits him, we should all take a lesson from that.

On a slightly different note, and on a technical basis, after much studying, I think the most highly under-rated gun is the Franchi. I believe most people cast them off largely because of comparatively bad distribution and marketing, and albeit they are a smaller company. I also believe they are very close behind the B-guns in overall quality.

I would suggest looking at them because they can be found relatively cheaply (compared to their new asking price.) If you can find a late eighties or early nineties Falconet that would be very nice for the easily less than $1000 number.

One point though. The last two years Franchi has had some what seems to be random trouble with firing pin issues. I have not known anyone with this issue but there have been internet threads regarding it.

I used a Franchi for a number of years as my clay games gun, trying to decide if I am committed enough to buy something else. I am in the process of relegating the Franchi to the pheasant and chukar grounds. I am in the process of finding a Browning that fits me for clay games after learning about fit and what I want in a gun.

I am also fortunate to live within about 15 miles of one of the country's great shotgun shops - Dewing's - they have been a huge help. If there is a one piece of advice I can offer, it is find someone who knows fit and can help you. This is NOT something you can do yourself, IMHO.

After examining tons of twin pipe guns in the last few years I have come to believe there is no stronger lock-up or reciever than the Browning. Perhaps I have drunk some of BigJim's kool-aid, but I did my own research and formed my own opinion. Good luck and have fun shopping. tell us what you get.
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Old November 14, 2008, 09:34 PM   #12
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BigJimP
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I think Beretta makes a good quality gun too - I didn't mean to rain on them .... but the Beretta's just don't fit me very well - since I need a paralell adj comb on a shotgun.
Have you checked out Beretta's parallel adjustable stock as used on their 682 trap guns?

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Old November 17, 2008, 12:09 PM   #13
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I knew they had some new offerings out there - but I have not checked them out in awhile. Thanks. I'm glad Beretta has come around with a few paralell comb guns in the last couple of years. I think they might still have a DT-10 model out there too / not sure.

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Old November 17, 2008, 01:17 PM   #14
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DT-10

Jim:

Yep, the DT-10 is still there. Personally, I have only put an eye on one copy twice and the guy would not let me fondle it.

The word form the guys at Dewings is that the DT-10 is a fine gun. One person even said "superb." But, that at that price point guys are buying K-guns and P-guns.

What this translates to for me is that in a few years the DT-10 may depreciate enough (compared to the others) that it is approaching affordable.
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Old November 17, 2008, 01:45 PM   #15
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The only DT-10 I've seen on a competition field was a couple of years ago - and it had a parallel adj comb - and at that time it was very new on the market. But for some reason, I think they changed it to a non-parallel comb and still left the price up around $ 7,000 - but like Zippy pointed out there is the 682 Gold E Trap now for around $ 5,000 - so they might have split their market on parallel combs / or maybe Beretta doesn't believe in the concept except on Trap guns.

Thanks for the kind words by the way / but I learn something new around the forum every week ... from you and others, so we depend on everyone's input. On a lot of this stuff - there is no right or wrong / just an opinion based on our respective experience.

On the DT-10, I think you're right - at $ 7K, Perazzi, Kolar and Krieghoff come into the picture as well - and don't forget about the Blaser out there now too getting some very good reviews. With Browning still having a lot of good models out there under $ 3K - they are still giving all of us a lot of gun for their money. By the way, I'm not as good as I once was, but once in a while, I'm as good once, as I ever was .... Vision problems have really taken their toll in the last couple of years, but I can still shoot in the mid 90's on a skeet field for 4 rounds .... but if we put $ 0.05 a round on it, I can rise to the occasion ...

I started shooting shotguns competitively n the early 70's when I went back east to school and realized there were guys having too much fun to be left out ....and I've been doing it off and on every since.
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Old November 17, 2008, 02:40 PM   #16
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The only DT-10 I've seen on a competition field was a couple of years ago - and it had a parallel adj comb - and at that time it was very new on the market. But for some reason, I think they changed it to a non-parallel comb and still left the price up around $ 7,000 - but like Zippy pointed out there is the 682 Gold E Trap now for around $ 5,000 - so they might have split their market on parallel combs / or maybe Beretta doesn't believe in the concept except on Trap guns.
Yep, they are still in the dark except for their trap stocks. There are other Beretta adjustable stocks available, but with a lot of pitch.
I was thinking along the lines of getting a trap stock on a non-trap gun. If someone has a used Beretta for sale, deeply discounte because of a really butchered up stock, it's a point to ponder.
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Old November 17, 2008, 03:12 PM   #17
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You mean buying it and fixing up another Trap Gun - as opposed to another one of the 3 Trap guns I only shoot 10 times a year now .... I already feel bad enough about not shooting those guns .... ( you're killing me ..).
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Old November 17, 2008, 03:14 PM   #18
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Weatherby shotguns used to be made by SKB, which have made some great stackbarrels that are every bit as well-made and engineered as the Citori.
(SKB copied the Kersten-locked Merkel, Miroku copied the Superposed)

Current Weatherby's however are made by Fausti in Italy (hence the d'Italia). Should be some decent guns, but Fausti has been a price-point gunmaker, they're essentially the same gun as the Traditions and the newly labeled LC Smith's. They are definitely better than something Turkish, but not as good as a B-gun.

The current Belgium-made Winchester's are a bargain at the price CDNN is selling them.
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Old November 17, 2008, 04:22 PM   #19
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BigJimP, You are welcome to come on down to the swamp and stick some slugs in them shootin' irons and go after some hogs... Since first scratch is tuff to swallow... just throw it in the beaver pond and swim it up... it should have the first 20-30 scratches... Then it is jist a gun
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Old November 17, 2008, 04:47 PM   #20
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I appreciate the offer..... I don't know about hanging out in a swamp for anything but... I can scratch this one up and not cry myself to sleep ...(maybe just whimper a little )...

Shotguns 11-10-08 023.jpg

but not these guns man,

Attachment 38389

even though they have thousands or shells thru them, I like them better than my kids ( not my grandkids, or the daughters in law ) .. just my kids...and I just can't bring myself to use them as a boat paddle, sorry...unless I can borrow a gun from ScatterGun Bob or somebody, then we can swim it up ...

You got me so concerned, I screwed up the order of my photos ...just thinking about using them as a paddle...

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Old November 17, 2008, 05:12 PM   #21
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HEHEHE!!! Hey you can borrow any of mine and they already got the first scratch outta the way so we don't have to hurl them
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Old November 17, 2008, 05:27 PM   #22
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Being in the swamps would make me more nervous than scratching a gun .....I'm a western Mountains kid, grew up in Montana / now I live outside Seattle ...... not swamps, Gators, Snakes .... I understand big things like Grizzlies, Mountain Lions ....

you drift out this way, we'll kill some clay targets ..... they're chewy, but you don't have to clean em ...( just skim the paint off the top of the soup..).
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Old November 18, 2008, 12:29 AM   #23
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You mean buying it and fixing up another Trap Gun - as opposed to another one of the 3 Trap guns I only shoot 10 times a year now .... I already feel bad enough about not shooting those guns .... ( you're killing me ..).
(Yikes, just listening to hogdogs' swap talk, and I'm already starting to itch -- where's my back scratcher )

I didn't mean you, Jim -- I know a Beretta would feel out of place in your gun vault. I was thinking generically... if someone wants an OE parallel adjustable stock for a Beretta Skeet or clays gun, there is an option.
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Old November 20, 2008, 10:43 AM   #24
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Quality Control Weatherby Shotguns

I witness the following: My hunting partner bought a Weatherby 12 guage automatic, with the rifled barrel and monticarlo (SP) stock. He paid $1200 Canadian for it. Right out of the box the shotgun had major feed problems. The weapon would jam every time he tried to cycle it. When we took it to the field and test fired it the gun jammed every cycle. We had to call the factory rep here in B.C. Canada (Dave Jennings) to have the receiver machined as the barrel was too long at the chamber end and the shells were hanging up on the chamber end of the barrel during the loading cycle. You could look into the receiver and see this happing. What a hassel, My hunting partner had to box up a brand new weapon, insure it, ship it, and worry if the repairs were going to be satisfactory. Well to conclude here Dave Jennings fixed er up better than new and that shotgun is now your worst nightmare if you are on the wrong end. The rumor is that Weatherby pulled the model and they are no longer selling it. I do believe that this shotgun was made in Italy and all of em had this jamming problem so Weatherby stopped production. Don't get me wrong here I am not knocking Weatherby. I am a Weatherby man and so is my hunting partner as we both have numerous Weatherby Rifles in various calibers.

Cheers&Tighter Groups: Eaglesnester
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