Armory Sponsor
Posted: 3/19/2016 11:12:21 AM EDT
|
Full disclosure, I am more of a tacticool guy, and the only gun that I own that came with a wood stock is a M1A and I never shot it with the wood, I immediately went with GI Fiberglass when I bought it. I even put a $29 synthetic stock on a $25 pawn shop H&R single shot. I can appreciate works of art, but every gun I own is a shooter, and every shotgun I own is suitable for 3 gun ('cept for the H&R, and I did use it on a strange gun stage once...)
I have and have had custom guns before, so I understand the practical difference between a $500 1911 and a $5000 1911 for example. You can feel and see the difference, and you know, without a doubt how much craftsmanship went into the $5000 gun. I can understand how First world craftsmanship > Second or third world craftsmanship, my $400 armscor 1911 is not nearly as nice as my $1400 Springfield, and my $4000 Heine 1911 is just a work of art. But over/under Shotguns are ridiculous. So I was reading the $800 shotgun thread and remembering that I had once owned a Ruger O/U (stainless/SYN) that IIRC was in the $800 range I was struck by the disparity in prices for "nice" O/U shotguns. What makes some O/U shotguns worth 10 or 20 TIMES more than comparable or even mechanically more complicated (semi) shoutguns? Since there aren't nearly as many moving parts that need to be hand fit, and most of the ones I see on the net aren't fully engraved show pieces, I do not understand what it is about certain guns that command such a premium. I am not trying to bash prices, obviously, since they sell for those prices, they are worth those prices, but I want to understand why. |
|
Your first mistake is saying there are not many hand fitted parts. If you had any idea of how much hand work goes into a nice OU you would be surprised. I am not taking about engraving. There are not many parts on a nice OU that are drop in parts. Think of it like a nice 1911. You can get one cheap but they usually are like crap . The nice hand fit ones are very nice but very expensive.
Also remember you have 2 barrels on a OU and they have to be regulated to shoot straight. Also you can't just bolt on wood to a OU. They have to be fitted. If you don't the stock will crack.. By the time you add it all up it gets expensive. The final thing you need to understand is a sporting clay gun is built very strong because it's not uncommon for you to shoot it a bunch. Some guys I know shoot several flats a month. That's about the same as a hunting gun gets in a lifetime for some people. |
|
Quoted:
Your first mistake is saying there are not many hand fitted parts. If you had any idea of how much hand work goes into a nice OU you would be surprised. I am not taking about engraving. There are not many parts on a nice OU that are drop in parts. Think of it like a nice 1911. You can get one cheap but they usually are like crap . The nice hand fit ones are very nice but very expensive. Also remember you have 2 barrels on a OU and they have to be regulated to shoot straight. Also you can't just bolt on wood to a OU. They have to be fitted. If you don't the stock will crack.. By the time you add it all up it gets expensive. The final thing you need to understand is a sporting clay gun is built very strong because it's not uncommon for you to shoot it a bunch. Some guys I know shoot several flats a month. That's about the same as a hunting gun gets in a lifetime for some people. /thread ETA. Has a. Zillion rounds though it. Shoots like day one. Never a problem ever R 
|
|
Yeah I bought my Uncle's field o/u for $300 (he only paid $175) and it is 50yrs old. He was so proud it had 500 rounds through it for pheasants. In 3 months I put 2000 rounds on the skeet/sporting clay field and I wore out.
Recently I bought a Browning Citori 725 for $3000 new. 8 months and 2-3000 rounds later I haven't even broke it in yet. Break action has barely started to loosen up. |
|
Quoted:
/thread ETA. Has a. Zillion rounds though it. Shoots like day one. Never a problem ever Rhttp://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/224703/61164.JPG Quoted:
Quoted:
Your first mistake is saying there are not many hand fitted parts. If you had any idea of how much hand work goes into a nice OU you would be surprised. I am not taking about engraving. There are not many parts on a nice OU that are drop in parts. Think of it like a nice 1911. You can get one cheap but they usually are like crap . The nice hand fit ones are very nice but very expensive. Also remember you have 2 barrels on a OU and they have to be regulated to shoot straight. Also you can't just bolt on wood to a OU. They have to be fitted. If you don't the stock will crack.. By the time you add it all up it gets expensive. The final thing you need to understand is a sporting clay gun is built very strong because it's not uncommon for you to shoot it a bunch. Some guys I know shoot several flats a month. That's about the same as a hunting gun gets in a lifetime for some people. /thread ETA. Has a. Zillion rounds though it. Shoots like day one. Never a problem ever Rhttp://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/224703/61164.JPG What model is that. All I can tell is that it has a under lug By the way did you second guess the meal that day? Looks spicy. |
|
Quoted:
Yeah I bought my Uncle's field o/u for $300 (he only paid $175) and it is 50yrs old. He was so proud it had 500 rounds through it for pheasants. In 3 months I put 2000 rounds on the skeet/sporting clay field and I wore out. Recently I bought a Browning Citori 725 for $3000 new. 8 months and 2-3000 rounds later I haven't even broke it in yet. Break action has barely started to loosen up. What wore out? I usually see the firing pin go on cheaper models. For a field gun that is only used a few times a year I think a cheaper OU gun is just fine. It's the heavy use that clays will put in a gun that makes them bad. Hell to be honest for dove I hair use a old 870 express from Walmart I got back in 1990 |
|
Quoted:
What model is that. All I can tell is that it has a under lug By the way did you second guess the meal that day? Looks spicy. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Your first mistake is saying there are not many hand fitted parts. If you had any idea of how much hand work goes into a nice OU you would be surprised. I am not taking about engraving. There are not many parts on a nice OU that are drop in parts. Think of it like a nice 1911. You can get one cheap but they usually are like crap . The nice hand fit ones are very nice but very expensive. Also remember you have 2 barrels on a OU and they have to be regulated to shoot straight. Also you can't just bolt on wood to a OU. They have to be fitted. If you don't the stock will crack.. By the time you add it all up it gets expensive. The final thing you need to understand is a sporting clay gun is built very strong because it's not uncommon for you to shoot it a bunch. Some guys I know shoot several flats a month. That's about the same as a hunting gun gets in a lifetime for some people. /thread ETA. Has a. Zillion rounds though it. Shoots like day one. Never a problem ever Rhttp://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/224703/61164.JPG What model is that. All I can tell is that it has a under lug By the way did you second guess the meal that day? Looks spicy. Not my gun, but that's a Browning Citori GTi. They were very popular in the mid-late 90s as a quality, entry level competition over/under. |
|
Fit and finish, regulation, engraving, wood quality, production quantities. It all adds up and it adds up fast. I know a couple folks that have Kolars, they went to the shop where they are built, selected the wood they wanted, worked with the shop and a try stock to determine proper fit, and then the stock was built to those specs. You aren't going to go through that level of effort for a $40 chunk of walnut. It isn't really any different than anything else that is more or less custom built.
When you start shooting competition shotgun, the gun is the cheap part anyway. |
Armory Sponsor