[Nathaniel Firethorn]

Hi, all,

This weekend, I stopped in Griffin & Howe (http://www.griffinhowe.com/), an upscale long-gun emporium in Bernardsville, NJ. Shouldered a few O/Us, and found a 1978 Citori Lightning that I thought fit quite well. (Price wasn't great compared to a new gun, but it seemed to be very lightly used.)

Question: Could I expect a 1978 O/U to have shell ejectors and all the good features that a 2003 O/U would have?

What's improved over the past 25 years?

Thanx,
- pdmoderator.

(P.S. They had a little number there going for fifty thousand dollars yoo ess. :what: I didn't dare even breathe on that one!

[kudu]

Should have everything that you need on it but most older O/U did not have choke tubes. Be careful with the Brownings made during that time period. We always had a saying about them "On a quiet night you can hear them rust" Cheap jap metal. I've seen them rust overnight if they were not immediatly cleaned and oiled after shooting, and I mean orange. :what:

[45auto]

To my knowledge, they all have ejectors, but next time you are in there, just open the gun up and you will know.

Probably doesn't have choke tubes, if you want them. If it does, they are the shorter ones- no advantage there either.

To be honest, if the price is not great compared to a new one, I'd pass.

I don't think there is any advantage to buying an older citori, compared to a new one, other than a much, much lower price.

If it were a Belgium Browning, then certain years, grades, etc. are advantages, etc.

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

If it were a Belgium Browning, then certain years, grades, etc. are advantages, etc.OK, thanks. How are the new ones? I'm thinking about a field-grade gun for trap & sporting clays.

- pdmoderator

[45auto]

Hi,

If you mean a new "Belgium" Browning, they are a custom order gun to my understanding but do offer some standard sporting, skeet and sporting guns.

To be honest, I never see or hear of people ordering new Belgium guns.
I may travel in the wrong crowd :) , but I do see new Perazzi's and Kreighoffs, etc.

I understand they sell in the $5-6,000 range. I suspect that's a problem for several reasons.
One, you can buy the "citori" line for a 1/3 of the price and they work great.
Second, there is a large amount of used Belgium Brownings for sale at a 1/3 to 1/2 the price.

And, to be honest, buying a used Belgium is beyond my knowledge. There are so many variations, some to stay away from, that a book or someone very knowledable is needed for a good purchase- or a trusted dealer.

They are great guns that will last lifetimes, but I dislike the sliding forearm design, for no particular reason.

[BigG]

IIRC,the Belgian Browning Superposed in Europe is considered best quality like Purdey, H&H, Jeffery, etc. Quite a bargain compared to the English best quality if you ask me. I like mine. :)

[C.R.Sam]

You would have to check the individual gun to see if automatic ejectors there.
For well over half a century they came either way, and some auto ejector guns are user modified to be extractor only.

Lots of reloader trap, skeet etc shooters do not use ejectors.

Sam

[Gearhead Jim]

Regarding the rust issue, there was a period of several years when Browning/FN unknowingly bought walnut for rifle stocks, that had been treated with salt during the drying process. The salt in the wood would cause serious rusting of metal components that touched it, to the point that some guns were said to be unsafe. I don't recall the exact years of production, and don't know if any of this wood was used for shotguns, but I would inspect any older Browning/FN very carefully.

This problem may or may not be related to the post from "kudu", I have not heard previously about any problems with the steel.

[C.R.Sam]

Salty stock Brownings 1966-1971.

Sam

[PJR]

There are no salt problems on Citoris. They are made in Japan. I've never seen a Citori without automatic ejectors but drop a snap cap in them and dry fire to make sure.

Paul