Budget O/U

I know, I know, budget and O/U should not go in the same sentence, they're not supposed to go hand and hand...

I'm just looking at getting a less expensive O/U to do some casual clays on weekends with one of my buddies.

I was looking at either a Stoeger Condor or a Yildiz 12 ga O/U.

There's only a $50 difference between the two and any opinions would be welcome.

Lanber if you don't mind fixed chokes and don't need to shoot steel shot. Does quite well on clays. Mine has taken a few grouse, pheasant, squirrels, porcupines, and a rabbit.

Bad idea...

If you only have a couple hundred bucks to spend, buy a used 1100 / 11-87 and thank me later. The whole idea to this is to have fun, remember?

why?

Tristar and Huglu make affordable OUs too

never heard of Tristar, but Huglu shotguns add another $200 to that price tag I was looking at.

Too many of the lower priced O/Us will start to have problems (generally action/function problems) when shot often, maybe less than 1000 rounds. To make them at that price point the materials and design inside just does not hold up. They “might” hold for a while when shooting a box or 2 of shells per year, but run 100+ round through them on a few Sunday afternoons and you'll soon find the second barrel not firing, the gun not cocking when you open it, or the forearm or rib coming loose...

I know there will someone coming along soon and tell you about the the Stoeger, CZ, Huglu, Baikal that they shoot 1000 rounds a week out of....and their experience will be the exception.

You might look around and find a used Beretta 686 or Browning Citori in the $800-$1000 range, otherwise get the 1100, 11-87 or Beretta 390 or 391. (Around here the Wal~Marts once stocked a Beretta 390 under $600 that is a heck of a bargain)

I agree with the idea of a used Beretta or Browning. You'll be infinitely happier.

My buddy Jeff has a Stoegger Condor he shoots trap with. After two seasons it's looser than the head cheerleader. My 45 year old Browning Superposed (which I paid $800 for) still feels like a new gun. The Browning is a Trap gun, and has God knows how many thousands of rounds through it over the years. You get what you pay for.

Just how "budget" are you trying to go?

They make a longer, ribbed "Field" version with chokes too for about $350...




(ETA: No, I don't own one...)

It's not just that I'm trying to be cheap, because I am trying to be a cheapass , I'm trying to test the waters and see if I really enjoy the sport and simply don't have the money to purchase a safe queen.

Been running a CZ Canvasback in 20 gauge for about a year and a half. Extremely happy with it. Know of at least two 12 gauges at the club that also run like champs. About $600. www.shotgunworld.com has a forum on them, generally very good reports.

A thousand dollar used Browning or Beretta is a good budget o/u. Anything less than that, in my opinion, is not worth wasting time and money on.

The barrels will not shoot to the same point of impact. It will break. I see Stoegers broke at the range literally every week. It won't fit you. I don't know who specs those guns, but I have yet to see them come close to actually fitting someone.

You will be able to accomplish what you need to do with a used 1100. You'll have more fun. You'll break more targets. It'll kick less. No one will stand behind you saying "I told you so" as you try to fix some broken piece of shit that you can't hit anything with anyway.

Look for a used SKB or Ithaca or Weatherby made by SKB. Those knowledgeable in the shotgun world will tell you that the SKB guns are very strong and very well made and are a good 2nd choice to a Browning or a Beretta.

I picked up a 20ga Ithaca SKB recently for $425 and I like it way better than the Mossberg Silver Reserve my buddy shoots (which is one of the current crop of Turkish guns)

Very true on the SKBs. There are other very good, often overlooked deals on the secondary markets, as well. Guns such as the Charles Daly branded Mirokus, Valmets, and the SKBs you mentioned are all very solid guns, often found for very good deals.

I agree I am not a big fan of the stoeger shotguns way to unreliable IMO. I own a Mossberg Silver Reserve, and its definitely something I would look at. I have had no reliability issues I have nearly 500rds through it. I have shot steel through it the day my old 11-87 lost a trigger group pin. I have had absolutly no issues with it. It is not as light as a $1K+ gun, it only has extractors instead of ejectors, but its definitely better quality than a lot of the other stuff in it's price point.

Save up and buy a used Citori. I promise you won't regret it and it is a rock solid gun that will shoot as long as you are shooting. If there is a problem, parts are readily available.

If you have to buy a shotgun now and don't wanna save....1100 or 1187.

Well I purchased a Stoeger Condor Competition 3 years ago for trap leage ($452). I shot 50 rnds/wk x 18 weeks x 3 years + practice/fun. I haven't had any problems or failures. Fit and finish are very nice - adjustable comb, grade a high-gloss wood, gold trigger. Great gun in my opinion.

Your story is one of the few good ones with the Mossy Silver Reserves and would take stoeger or my lanber over one of those. I worked at a gun retailer with a gunsmith for a number of years and we saw issues often, firing pins breaking, fcg not working/breaking, vent rib breaking, safety falling off or not functioning. One didn't even have a firing pin in for one of the chambers out of the box.

ETA - My engraving and inlay on my Lanber is way better, not that it has to do anything with function but a manufacture's attention to detail.

+1

Those things are notoriously shitty.

Well I guess i got lucky, I agree the fit and finish is not the best, but it still works great, I have never had an issue with it.

One thing to keep in mind concerning a gun you're going to shoot clay's with. Unless it's an every once in a while thing, you're going to put untold thousands of rounds through it. Most of the less expensive O/U's work fine for a field gun that only see a few hundred rounds through them in their life. Many of them begin to exhibit less than stellar performance when you, say, try to shoot trap with it on a weekly basis. I probably shoot 2-4k rounds through my Browning a season, and that's considered a pretty low round count by most trap shooters. Most of the 'budget' guns won't stand up to even that kind of round count without issues. Just something to consider.

We'll see how far my Lanber goes then. It's had a few cases of ammo through it over the past 8 yrs or so.

Baikal. Whether sold under their name or Remington Spartan. They are built like a tank and will hold up to lots of shooting. I have an SPR 310 sporting and it has done fine for several thousand rounds. One of the other guys in our skeet league also has the field model with north of 10k rounds through it, again, no problems. These were cheap because Russian labor is cheap. I agree that many of the others will not hold up. Keep the hinges greased and it should suit your purpose fine. I can very well keep pace with the more expensive B guns.

If anyone has personally seen an IZH27 based gun shoot itself loose, please let me know?

Never seen one loose. Conversely I see them so tight that you literally have to break them over your knee to open them.

The seem to be prone to occasional light strikes and it seems to be barrel specific. Barrel convergence can be problematic in almost every example I've seen.

First thing I do with a new student is take them to the grease plate to see where the guns are shooting. You would be astounded at how many guns do not shoot where they are supposed to. It's pretty much a given on anything made in South America or Russia. Turkish guns and Red Labels aren't as bad, but should be suspect until proven otherwise (...if you are buying used.)

Mirokus are like lasers. Berettas rarely have a discrepancy, and when they do it's inches not feet.

I too have a Remington SPR 310 manufactured by Baikal. I got it nearly 3 years ago just for shooting clays because I really like O/U for clays & sporting use. It's been rock solid and I really like the single selectable trigger instead of a double trigger. It came with a nice selection of removable chokes too. My only complaint has been smoothness... it's not the smoothest action but it is nice and tight and extremely solid. I disabled the auto-ejector and just pull the extracted shells out by hand. It makes the action so much easier and smoother to open & close - plus I don't have to worry about picking up shells thrown all over the place.

Now don't go comparing a $400 to a $1500 gun... it's just not realistic. But the SPR 310 is certainly durable and reliable if you're looking for a plinker and you don't have to worry about getting rough with it... It's not a safe queen. I reccomend one. But be warned that the baikal action will be unusually tight for the first few hundred rounds - just keep it oiled and it'll smooth up and break in nicely.

At that price point I would not get an O/U. I would recommend an used Remington 1100 or if you want new, a Beretta 3901 synthetic. Dicks sells them for $599. That is a great deal on a shotgun that will run for years and years and years......... It also comes w/ shims so you can adjust the stock to fit you perfectly!

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