Buying my first Shotgun - Browning Citori OU 12 ga.- 2 3/4" - 26".

[General4281]

I am fairly new to shooting, only been to the range a few times.

After some reading I realize this might not be the best gun for traps, however the price is only $600.

I am just trying to determine if it is a good value even if I only use it for a short time and resale it.

Is it worth $600? It is in excellent condition, no wear marks.

Thanks

[oneounceload]

That would depend on which Citori it is - field versus target; fixed chokes versus choke tubes, trap stock versus field versus sporting, etc........

How old is it?How much use does it has?....these questions and more can be helpful - as can some pictures......

welcome aboard!

[Red Tornado]

That sounds like an excellent price. I don't think there's a Citori in excellent condition anywhere in any configuration that's not worth more than $600. I'd snap it up for that. Check Gunbroker and see what the exact model is going for in the open market.
RT

[Jeff Mulliken]

As already said, it depends on a lot of variables, but as the Citori is a proven design with a decent reputation you should be able to use it a lot and if you take care of it you should recover most of your cost if you ever decide to sell it.

But dont expect to make money on it. Given the short barrels it will probably not ever be worth more than your paying as the current trend in all the target games is toward longer barrels.

Jeff

[Couzin]

For most Citori Brownings this would be a good price. Best check the year made though first. You want to try and take advantage of any of the newer technology such as special steel, backbored, vector plus chokes, etc, if you can. If it is an older gun, is it fixed chokes, screw out chokes, are chokes readily available? Also, it may not be capable of steel shot should you decide to go birding with it. Is it a 2-3/4" only gun? 2-3/4 shells are fine for not that big of a disadvantage on upland birds and probably not much of one for ducks either. Almost any gun you can bring out to shoot clays with will get it done - however - the short length is going to handicap you some - esp on trap field (IMHO) if you start to get serious. You should pattern it at least once to see where your densest shot field is going to be. 'Real' trap and skeet guns tend to have different pattern percentages - you just compensate. I shoot a 28" Browning XS Sporting (2-3/4" only) and it is fine at clays and upland hunts (porting scares all the birds up though). I also have an older 1997 28" Citori (shoots 2-3/4" and 3") that hammers all birds but is a little harder to use for clays. If the Citori you are considering is not too beat up and has no rust, the latch is still to the right, shiny barrels, locks up tight, firing pins not corroded, etc. - I would buy it. You will absolutely add other Browning cousins to your safe to keep it company very soon. But this would probably be an excellent first one to start and if you do decide to sell it you won't get hurt.

[General4281]

You guys are great. You are being very kind considering the limited amount of information I provided.

It has 3 screw in chokes.
It is not a pistol grip, but I am not sure what to call the strait stock.
There is no rust or other visual wear or damage.
It is at least 13 years old, but has not been fired in the last eight years.

Here is a link to a picture of the gun:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25531636@N05/2569063957/

As I said I am very new to this. I am unable to find a model on the gun. Is there a standard place they are stamped? There is no manual so I have limited information. I did look at all of the pictures on gunbroker but I was unable to find an exact match.

Thanks again for the input.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25531636@N05/2569063957/

[oneounceload]

That is a straight, or English, style stock, with 3 chokes making it a field gun - good that there is no outward visible issues - take the barrels off and check the hinge pin for wear, make sure the gun closes nice and tight, the top lever should be towards the right of center. If you're uncomfortable taking the stock off to check the inside, a good gunsmith will do that for a nominal fee. Otherwise, looks like a nice gun - get some shells, check the patterns, and go have some fun with it!!

[Jeff Mulliken]

It looks like the upland special, whch had a straight stock and short barrels. They were nice fast handling guns for quail hunting and similar uses.

But being pretty light they kicked pretty hard if fed a diet of the faster target loads used by some shooters sporting clays, trap etc....particularly if your mount and hold are not spot on.

As a new shooter I'd recommend a gun that does not encourage development of a flinch due to recoil.

Jeff

[Couzin]

General4281: Do not use this gun - in fact, send it to me for safe use --- uh... disposal :rolleyes:. I will be happy to refund your $600.00 in the interests of the public... :D

Seriously - that is a nice piece (never could get used to the English stocks though - rapid doubles made me regrip each time). This type of Browning is a heck of an upland gun as Jeff M. pointed out.

[BigJimP]

The only Browning I recall in the last 20 years that was made with that straight or english style stock, I think was called a feather light or upland light or something similar ?? - but today Browning still offers a gun in that style in 12 and 20 gague at about $2,000 with 26" barrels. I think they are still calling it a super featherlight.

For the last 20+ years Browning has offered a field grade gun, typically with 28" barrels - I bought one new in 1988 - with a more traditional pistol grip on it vs the straight stock you're looking at. Most people find the traditional pistol grip stock a little more comfortable / it fits them better. My gun has the original version of the Invector screw in chokes in it ( they're shorter than the Invector Plus chokes that went into production in the mid 90's I think ) - so I suspect yours has that as well - but you can pull a choke out it will be printed on the side what type it is.

If you like that style stock - and its fits you - I think its worth $ 600 in 12ga. I don't think any of your notes said how long the barrels are - but if they are 26" - it just insn't that popular these days. Many of us have gone to 30 and 32" barrels on citori's for field, skeet and sporting clays - and even longer on Trap guns.

[T-Ray]

That's pretty high end for a first shotgun, but if you can afford it, go for either that one or a similar one.

[Zombie Steve]

You're going to love it. Congrats.

My Citori fit me perfectly right out of the box.

[JRDOG1801]

If your looking to buy a shotgun for skeet, trap, or sporting clays, I would get a shotgun that has at least 28 to 30 inch barrels. The reason I say this is beacause longer barrels help you get a smoother and more controlable swing. I shoot skeet and sporting caly tournaments all the time and I shoot a browning cynergy with 28 inch barrels and I also have a browning citori gts high grade with 30 inch barrels. I would also get a gun with a pistol grip style stock. If you plan on doing a lot of shooting get a good quality gun that will last. I've had my cynergy for five years and have fired over 100,000 rounds through it and the breach is still nice and tight just like the day I bought it. If you dont want to spend a lot of money on a gun a good buy is a yildiz mx clays edition shot gun that you can get at any Academy sports and outdoors for around $800. I started out shooting a yildiz and I never had any problems out of them. And if your just getting started shooting the 2 cheapest things you can do is get your gun fitted to you and take lessons. That gun sounds like a good buy though I paid almost $4000 for my citori.