Over/Under Shotgun….basic

[GE-Minigun]

Weatherby...

[FITASC]

To the latter question re: Extended chokes. Easier to change without a tool; immediately lets you see what is in the barrel without looking down the muzzle to count notches or have to remove to determine; Adds a little extra weight right at the end - many like that as it can tend to add smoothness to the swing (MOI thing) ALL of my shotguns that have choke tube have extended ones. Some came that way from the factory, some were bought afterwards from Briley or Trulock.

For casual shooting, and by that I mean less than 1K per year of target loads, any of the higher end Turkish guns from a reputable company (such as the CZ) should be finished decently, have decent barrel regulation and function well enough. Just do not expect top tier target gun longevity in the hundreds of thousands of rounds.
Good luck in your search.

[darkgael]

I bought a Weatherby Orion 20 gauge (SKB) about 15 years ago. It was a used gun and in good shape. Got my first ruffed grouse with that gun. I have it still. I have shot quite a few rounds of ATA trap and some sporting clays. The gun works just fine even when I do not.
Recommended.

[jmr40]

My opinion is that the best budget over and under costing less than $1,000 is a semi-auto.

I'll go as far as saying that you won't find a decent semi under $1000. Expect to spend somewhere around $1000-$1300 for a decent semi.

Not O/U, but SXS's for me. I used to really want a decent SXS. Nothing fancy, just something dependable that balanced well. I tried several and eventually gave up. Everything I tried was a disappointment and finally just started using semi's. I came to the conclusion that performance trumped aesthetics.

I have handled my share of semiauto hunting shotguns. They swing odd.

I have handled a few over/unders. They all swung basically ok to me

Keep trying.

There is nothing magical about having 2 barrels and how they swing. There are an awful lot of cheap doubles, (SXS and O/U) that handle like a fence post. Lots of semis that work great.

While 28" barrels are the most common length, the longer receiver of a semi or pump doesn't need that much barrel to handle well. I like no more than 26" on a semi and find that goes a long way towards leveling the field in how they handle. It's not barrel length, but overall length.

Most serious clays shooters use O/U shotguns approaching 5 figures. Most casual clays shooters, and a lot of serious clays shooters choose semi's. There is a reason for that.

[Nathan]

Well, I found an excellent Browning 525 with some room in the price. It has everything I was looking for except perfect condition and extended choke tubes.

I made what I thought was an unreasonably low offer….all I could afford….and they countered for a few $$ more. So I bought it.

I had this whole strategy of tough negotiation on 3 different guns. Well, my first(and most heavily discounted) offer was basically accepted.

The only bad thing is I never got to prove to myself if a high end Turkish gun is good enough!

[MarkCO]

Well done Nathan.

Now we need photos of you shooting it at some clays.

[GE-Minigun]

Carlson’s has any choke you could want

[bobn]

congrats. another carlson choke guy. light modified does me.
btw i gathered up all the ithica pumps and rem semis i had and my citori was paid for. lol.

[eastbank]

don,t worry your browning will out last a boat load of turkish shotguns.

[FITASC]

Briley, Trulock, Carlson's, Pure Gold and a litany of others make chokes for your Browning

[Nathan]

A few pics of the new fun gun. I’m not worthy! I detail stripped the ignition system, cleaned and lubricated. I don’t believe it was shot too much.

Put it back with weaker springs in the ejectors so it extracts only now. I prefer that for target shooting.

Can someone tell me why ejectors are all the rage?

[GE-Minigun]

I hate with a passion "picking" the hulls out of the action. I tuck the stock under my right arm, hit the lever with the fat part of my thumb, while holding the forearm with left hand...gun breaks open and I catch the empty hulls about 6-8" out of the gun, drop them in the hull bag, grab two loaded shells and in they go. In the hundreds of thousands of times I've done it, I'm pretty sure I can count on both hands the number of hulls I've dropped. Everybody does it different.

[Nathan]

I think my prosthetic on my left arm leaves me sure I’ll drop many on the ground, but I can see how 2 handed folks could gather them.

I’m just wondering why there isn’t a ready made spring that pops them out about 1/2 to 1”!

[Blindstitch]

I did the same as you with the weaker springs on my citori. It had a lot of spring to it and everyone seemed to be like can't you catch them. There's no reason to modify that gun.

I mean it was springs and totally reversable. I like the mod and it works great for me. If you like the look of hulls shooting back out of your gun then go for it but I like them right there waiting for me.

My modification I found a page and I believe the suggestion was 1911 springs.
https://www.retrievertraining.net/th...mod-gdg.70746/

[FITASC]

Can someone tell me why ejectors are all the rage?

Shoot flurries, driven birds/targets, etc. besides, ejectors are no issue to catch the empties in your hand as you open the gun. I have shot over 500K rounds through my guns and catch me empties - even the ones I do not reload - so they can either be reloaded or thrown in the trash

[FITASC]

I hate with a passion "picking" the hulls out of the action. I tuck the stock under my right arm, hit the lever with the fat part of my thumb, while holding the forearm with left hand...gun breaks open and I catch the empty hulls about 6-8" out of the gun, drop them in the hull bag, grab two loaded shells and in they go. In the hundreds of thousands of times I've done it, I'm pretty sure I can count on both hands the number of hulls I've dropped. Everybody does it different.

Being LH, I do the same in a mirror image version.

If that proves too difficult, all one has to do is turn the gun somewhat sideways and open the gun close to your vest so they pop out, hit your vest in the stomach, and then you can place them in your vest or trash

[THEWELSHM]

I just bought a 28 " stoger condor 12 gage un used for $365.00 the company is owned by Benelli, which is owned by Beretta.. fit and finish great for the $.

Thewelshm

[GE-Minigun]

Another thing I've seen done...while opening the gun, place your index finger over the action at the centerline...hulls eject into your finger

[Nathan]

@THEWELSHM ….good to hear your Condor is treating you well. I looked at those, but several couldn’t be opened or closed without excessive force. I wonder if a good cleaning and som3 use makes this ok??

[The Happy kaboomer]

Yildiz is a good choice in you price range. For over 6 years I've been shooting 3 Yildiz O/U's. A 12 ga, a 20 ga and a 410 bore. I use them on doves, quail, rabbits, skeet and sporting clays. ALL Yildiz O/U 's come with ejectors and 5 choke tubes. You can get with steel or aluminum receivers The walnut on these guns is better than any standard grade Beretta or Browning.

[Nathan]

Yildiz is a good choice….

I don’t know anything about these, but I read they are great stuff.

As you can see, I moved some investment money around, made a shrewd offer and a Browning ended up in my hand. It is a nice gun. Wood was in excellent condition for the price. I would bet the $750ish Yildiz wood would be as nice or nice.

On the Browning, build quality is exceptional, features and upgrades are a bit spartan, but there are many quality repair centers and years of parts availability. Triggers are 4.5 lbs and quite well matched. Gun fit on me is good. It feels good and pops into a consistent mount with little effort. That said, my mount needs some work. I couldn’t ask for more.

Yildiz needs to be sold outside of Academy or Academy needs to expand. ATA has similar issues.

[eastbank]

you did well getting the browning grasshopper.