Entry level Over Under

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I guess I'm probably not much help for the OP as I feel a Browning Citori or Beretta 686 is kind of a minimum for an over/under. But after reading a tread in the rifle section of THR about budget priced rifles, I'm thinking a shooter needs to evaluate the amount of shooting he/she will be doing.

One that shoots a few boxes of ammunition at clays a year and then a few more boxes in the field, there are probably some budget priced shotguns, sub $1000 guns, that may serve him well. As long as the shooter realizes the potential limitations on the gun. Comments from other owners can be important for making the decision.

While a pump or semi-auto may have some advantages, an over/under has some other advantages.

But, if the shooter plans to work the shotgun harder, a better quality shotgun should be in order.

I shot competitive skeet in the early 1990's with a late 1980's tubed Miroku Browning Citori and did well in my classification and the shotgun performed well. As much I have shot my Citori, many have said that I have only scratched the surface of reliability of the Citori.

If one is serious about shooting any of the clay sports, one needs a shotgun with the capability.
 
After trying to use a pump and ‘hunting’ semi for casual clays I finally had enough and decided on an O/U.
Different strokes for different folks. I mainly use a Benelli semi auto race gun for everything from clays to hunting and love it. O/U (or SxS in raised rib sporting/trap configuration) has its advantages in some disciplines, thanks to more mass in the barrels and resulting higher rotational inertia to stabilize swings.
 
No offense meant to anyone here on THR, but of all the shooting sports, I find that shotgun sport shooters tend to be a bit more snobbish, sorry. I posed a similar question a few months back, knowing I will not be running 1000's of rounds thru it and was told to keep saving till I could afford Browning, Beretta, or Benelli. I haven't shot skeet in years, up until a little bit last year. Prior to that. My best round was 23 of 25 with a beat up Model 12 that I bought myself when I was 20. Shot woth my dadat a father/son outing. He caught alot of crap when I pulled this old gal out, almost no blueing left and a stock cracked at the wrist with a screw holding it together. Dad had aa nice Skeet grade 1100. All the noise stopped when I shot that 23 of 25.
 
Around here theyget $1500 for a well used Citori, $1200+ for a Beretta or Benelli. For a casual skeet shooter, maybe not a snob gun, but more money than I am willing to spend. Maybe I'm just cheap?
 
No offense meant to anyone here on THR, but of all the shooting sports, I find that shotgun sport shooters tend to be a bit more snobbish,

Use what works for you and enjoy it same as others do! Snobbish or not has more to do with attitude and perception than shooting. I shoot Berettas because they work for me & I like them. I could care less what you shoot if it works for you. The OP ask a question for opinions and got exactly that including yours.
 
Around here theyget $1500 for a well used Citori, $1200+ for a Beretta or Benelli. For a casual skeet shooter, maybe not a snob gun, but more money than I am willing to spend. Maybe I'm just cheap?
But they will also last a long time without needed repairs. A cheap double gun is just that - cheap; not inexpensive, cheap and there is a difference. See it all the time, someone spends their hard-earned money on a cheap O/U or SxS instead of a quality semi for the same money and then get upset when it A) doesn't fit well, B) isn't regulated well, and C) breaks often.

That said, if your goal is to put a few boxes a year down the barrels chasing some birds, it should do somewhat OK. Personally, I shoot a LOT of targets; therefore I went with a decent gun that has lasted me well since 1994 and several hundred thousand rounds. It now needs a tune-up, but I have others and recently came into a great deal on an upper end Beretta. While not my absolute grail gun (a bespoke Perazzi is), this was just slightly used at half the cost of that Perazzi and 2/3 of what a new Beretta of this model costs - it had been shot for 3 months and had maybe 1,000 rounds through it.
 
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No offense meant to anyone here on THR, but of all the shooting sports, I find that shotgun sport shooters tend to be a bit more snobbish, sorry. I posed a similar question a few months back, knowing I will not be running 1000's of rounds thru it and was told to keep saving till I could afford Browning, Beretta, or Benelli. I haven't shot skeet in years, up until a little bit last year. Prior to that. My best round was 23 of 25 with a beat up Model 12 that I bought myself when I was 20. Shot woth my dadat a father/son outing. He caught alot of crap when I pulled this old gal out, almost no blueing left and a stock cracked at the wrist with a screw holding it together. Dad had aa nice Skeet grade 1100. All the noise stopped when I shot that 23 of 25.

I think there's two angles to the responses you received.

On one hand, we know that the shooter matters more than the firearm. The best skeet shooter that I've ever shot with used a .410 Frankengun pump with a receiver from one manufacturer and a barrel from another. I doubt you'll get many people arguing differently.

On the other hand, a good O/U costs a fair amount of money. If that's not your thing for whatever reason (it may be that you make plenty of money but just don't shoot that often or that you have kids in college right now or that you are helping a family member with medical bills), cool. But what most people here would advise is to use that $700 on a pump or a semiautomatic, because you're going to get a much nicer pump or semiautomatic for $700. Some firearms are just more complex to manufacture and hence more expensive.
 
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After hunting once with a Stoeger I would never have one again or another cheap double gun. They handle poorly, fit poorly, and are poorly regulated unless you are lucky and the fit happens to suit you you will wish you bought better. It is possible maybe to find something you like, the Charlies Daly linked above is a great deal. I have found some great deals on quality guns but the advice of Browning or Beretta is sound. I would not part with my 686. The fit regulation and reliability will pay for itself. It hits where I look better than anything else.
 
Never shot a 686 I didn't like, and I've shot them in 12, 20, 28, and .410. The Beretta rep back in about '91 or so took a bunch of gun shop guys, myself included down to Horse and Hunt, and had rack of Berettas, pallets of shells, and food and beverage, and all the Sporting clays we cared to shoot. My shoulder was sore for a week. I got to shoot guns I could only dream of owning, but the 686 Onyx was my favorite, I still want one in 20 ga.
 
Never shot a 686 I didn't like, and I've shot them in 12, 20, 28, and .410. The Beretta rep back in about T'91 or so took a bunch of gun shop guys, myself included down to Horse and Hunt, and had rack of Berettas, pallets of shells, and food and beverage, and all the Sporting clays we cared to shoot. My shoulder was sore for a week. I got to shoot guns I could only dream of owning, but the 686 Onyx was my favorite, I still want one in 20 ga.
That is what I have. Love it.
 
entropy

Had a Beretta Model 685 many years ago. It was a very basic, fixed chokes, no frills Beretta O/U and was relatively inexpensive as far as Beretta shotguns go. That gun was the best fitting, had the nicest balance, and was the liveliest handling shotgun I ever owned. Unfortunately I ended up having to sell it to pay for school.

Some years later and I'm wanting a new O/U but I can't afford another Beretta but I did find a Franchi Renaissance which reminded me a great deal of my Beretta and even brand new in the box it was very affordable (It helped that I had gift cards and it was on sale too)! It was a super nice shotgun for the money.
 
Never shot a 686 I didn't like, and I've shot them in 12, 20, 28, and .410. The Beretta rep back in about '91 or so took a bunch of gun shop guys, myself included down to Horse and Hunt, and had rack of Berettas, pallets of shells, and food and beverage, and all the Sporting clays we cared to shoot. My shoulder was sore for a week. I got to shoot guns I could only dream of owning, but the 686 Onyx was my favorite, I still want one in 20 ga.
If I was going to change out my SxS 20 for an O/U, a 30" 686 that weighs right at 6# would be it.
 
If I were buying a shotgun for defense, a O/U would be second to last on my list.

I never said defense was primary... I used to use H&R topper's with ejector for a truck gun before ccw was legal- did not always need to shoot fast all the time but it could be handy. I used mune for travel in between states before CCW and really never felt unarmed in hotels :) Remember there is NO perfect gun - some are better for many uses than others.... depending on the area a single or double is definitely less issue with LE- not that its right but it is fact
 
Yes ...the Yildiz is cheap by most folks standards .... And I know it will not stand-up to a 100, 000 rounds ...

My 20 gauge is a nice shooting cheap Shot gun .... my opinion it doesn't look as cheap as it is ...

Did I say it will shoot too .... four in the family ...two 12s and two 20s....

IMG-20190829-134346069.jpg
 
Last over under 12 id seen gor sale was mfg Russia.

One my old supervisors fron upstate new york had to buy is FIL a Zoli, he liked that one so well, later on he bought himself a unboxed 'used' demonstrator model for $700.
My neighbor had a 12ga Marlin made over/under, cant remember Marlins model number for it.

Of the o/u shotguns Id seen over the years the russian made was the most utilitarian with screw chokes and adjustable recoil pad.
One fellow in early mid 1990's owned a combo 6.5 sweede over 20 ga mfg in eastern europe possibly Bruno.
The Zolis are awefull pretty shotguns with a decent reputation, from what I heard make a decent hunting gun.
 
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Based solely on my own personal experience, my Turkish 410 O/U does great for the limited amount of shooting I do now days. And it fits me well and swings well. If I was still shooting multiple times a month like I used to, I would have saved up for a higher quality O/U.

Nothing wrong with most of the Turkish made doubles if you aren't planning on shooting a lot. And I would definitely take a Turkish made or even Russian made double over a Brazilian made one.

In the end, go with what you can afford and that meets your needs for the amount of shooting you will do.
 
What would be a good entry level Over Under 12ga. with ejectors ? Doesn’t have to be pretty just a decent brand where I can get parts if the ejectors break . Thank you in advance.
I have been following this thread with great interest as I was looking for the same shotgun only in a 20ga. The answer I came up with is a CZ Teal which now has 6000+ rounds thru it and was well under $1000.00 dollars. My wife just bought me another CZ Woodcock which is basically the same gun for 705.00 out the door. Both have ejectors and screw in chokes, wood in nothing exceptional but good. And yes I also have 2 Italian O/U's also, as well as Tri Stars O/U and 2 autos from Tri Star and a Valmet O/U the quality of the CZ shotguns is exceptional in my humble opinion.
JW
 
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