CZ Bobwhite SxS

[chas08]

Aside from it being Turkish made, does anyone know of any serious faults with this gun. It appears to be put together really well for a "Third World" product. Each gun in the line is built on frames proportionate to their specific gauge.The 16 ga. CZ Bobwhite has a blue & case colored hand engraved receiver, fancy walnut checkered stock, English straight grip, splinter forend, hand cut checkered 20 lines per inch stock, double triggers, modified/improved cylinder fixed choke, extractors, 2.75" chamber, and recoil pad. This shotgun weighs only 6.6 lbs. and sells for about $700. What say YE, all wise and knowing shotgun experts.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

I'm no expert, but did an extensive search on the net for feedback on these Huglu / DeHaan guns about 1 year ago or so. Bottom line, I found quite a lot of mixed reviews, but it ended up being around 60-70% positive, and 30-40% negative. The negative ones seemed fairly minor (firing pins not long enough, etc.), but negative and disappointing nonetheless.

FWIW, after said research, I bought two CZ / Huglu SxSs - both the ones I got are single trigger guns - got one Durango (now discontinued), and one Grouse (also discontinued). Haven't shot the Grouse, but the Durango shoots fine. Dunno how durable they'll be, but at least one works, and they're both very very nicely built & finished & accessorized (choke tubes, etc.).

The 2-trigger guns like the Bobwhite look nice, too, and seem to be good values. The 28 ga is especially interesting, being scaled smaller - not built on the 12 or 20 frame.

Another decent economy double gun to look at is the new Stevens 512 Goldwing - also scaled specifically to each gauge, and also made to Savage's specs for them in Turkey. They are O/Us, not SxSs, though:

http://www.savagearms.com/st_512.htm

Maybe I'm a dumbbutt for not spending more on a "B" gun - we'll see (and ArmedBear will come along soon to verify that I am ) - but since I got interested in doubles a year or so ago, I've ended up with these three so far:

1. CZ Durango 20" SxS, 20 ga, single trigger
2. CZ Grouse 28" SxS, 12 ga, single trigger
3. Stevens 512 Goldwing 26" O/U, 28 ga, single trigger

Thinking of possibly also getting the Goldwing in 20 ga.

Many years ago, the Italian made guns (Beretta, Benelli, etc., etc.) were thought to be cheaply made knockoffs of English double guns, and looked down upon by gun snobs. Now they are accepted as the preferred type. Maybe in 20 years, the Turkish guns will have made a name for themselves and be sought after & prized (???). I dunno, just postulating a theory.

 

[chas08]

Maybe I'm a dumbbutt for not spending more on a "B" gun - we'll see (and ArmedBear will come along soon to verify that I am

LAUGH OUT LOUD

Maybe in 20 years, the Turkish guns will have made a name for themselves and be sought after & prized

I'm no clay shooter, I just hunt. As much as I would love to have a $4 or 5K SxS it just realisticaly isn't in the budget. I would like to have a double trigger straight stock 16 or 20 just for the purist feel and for $7-800 a piece. I could realisticaly have two. And in 20 years I'll probably be dead, so who cares

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

C'mon, AB - we need your input. I need you to tell me I'm a dumbbutt - hearing it from my brother once a week just doesn't seem to be enough!

 

[ArmedBear]

I never said that about you or anyone else. I also don't think there's any reason to give advice to someone after he has bought something (unless he's thinking of selling it again).

This shotgun weighs only 6.6 lbs. and sells for about $700. What say YE, all wise and knowing shotgun experts.

I say, "If you want a really good 'forever' quail gun for $700, look at a used SKB 20 Gauge." But I'm hardly all-knowing, and what "wisdom" I've accumulated, such as it is, has been an expensive pain in the ass. My SKB has not been expensive ($500) nor a pain in the ass (knocks down fast birds like it's on autopilot).

I like my old American 16, but it's a lot older (1926) and was a lot cheaper ($285). I would shy away from buying a new 16 Gauge without a damn good reason, much as I like 16 Gauge.

You asked. That's the best answer I can give, based on what experience I have.

(Note that most sentences here begin with "I". It's what I've done, not what I think everyone must do.)

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Yeah, I was JK anyways. Good advice there as always.

 

[ArmedBear]

You have to understand the crap that's been slung at me lately because I don't spend my time fantasizing about performing sexual favors on Gaston Glock.

Some people can't separate opinions about inanimate objects from attacks on their most deeply-held beliefs.

 

[Hawk]

I've got a CZ Ringneck in 20 Ga.

It had to go back to the shop once when the trigger wouldn't reset turning it into a single barrel. It was fixed locally in good order (my dealer was angling to become a CZ authorized repair shop and I'd vote for him).

The 20 Ga. uses what I believe are proprietary choke tubes that are on the slightly portly side. They're accommodated by a slight "belling" of the barrels at the ends that makes the thing look like a SxS blunderbuss. It's not really that bad but once noticed, it's like a meadow muffin in a punchbowl - it'll drive the aesthetic obsessive totally wild.

The barrels have mildly divergent opinions on where patterns belong. They do shoot into the same zip code. It will not be confused with the way a (1948) L. C. Smith patterns.

It doesn't suck.

It isn't a 4,000.00 SxS but it doesn't pretend to be. It's an 800.00 SxS and carries that task off rather well. IMHO. TANSTAAFL.

 

[chas08]

Thanks, Dr Tad and Hawk, for your candid opinions on the CZ. I was hoping to hear from someone who actually owned one. You have fulfilled this wish. I too remember when some very well known names were once thought of as foreign junk. Among them Franchi and SKB who knows what will be highly regarded 20 years from now.

 

[ArmedBear]

My SKB is over 30 years old. Wasn't considered junk when it was new, either, AFAIK.

If you really want a 16 Gauge SxS, you can get a damn GOOD one for $700 that will go up in value, e.g. an Ithaca NID in excellent shape, or the almost identical Lefever Nitro Special for a good deal less. 16 Gauge SxS shotguns are easy to come by and go for less than 12 or 20 Gauges.

Those old Ithacas (that Lefever is an Ithaca as well; they used a couple brand names in the 1920s-1940s) are well-regulated. My old Lefever's barrels shoot to the same POI, to the extent that it amazed me the first time I tried it. Buy what you want, but for 700 bucks you can do a lot better than "in the same area code".

Seriously, if you want a $700 16 Gauge SxS, you have many excellent options in old American doubles, and every one of them comes with a je ne sais quois that the Huglu lacks, pretty or not.

Just look around. If you don't like what you find, the Huglu will still be available for sale next month, and bird season doesn't start for a good number of months after that.

 

[chas08]

In the 70's around these parts SKB's were held with low regard by the old timers and purists. They sold for barely $300 at a now defucnt department store chain. I was too young and too broke to care. I was still shooting the only shotgun I owned a Remington 1100. Two fellows I worked with dared the harassment and bought one anyway. One a 28ga the other a 20ga. Ahh... to only have known then what we know now. I've not seen an Ithaca NID on line that didn't start well over a $1000. I stand to inherit an Ithaca SxS made by SKB, in 12ga. from my father in law. I don't want to get it that way but if he's giving, I'm accepting.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Well in the 70s everyone in America bought into the "everything made in Japan is junk" idea. They never even gave BC Miroku or SKB a flaming chance. They got their day though and have seen their products, old and new, steadily rise in value.

 

[RetiredLawman]

The way the CZ Bobwhite feels in my arms is good enough for me to want to marry it. I don't care if it was made in Turkey. That is one sexy feeling gun in 20 gauge.

 

[ArmedBear]

I've not seen an Ithaca NID on line that didn't start well over a $1000.

In 16?

Seriously, don't overlook the nearly-identical Lefever Nitro Special, either, or the Western Long Range Gun which is a little bit more plain-jane but also very similar. They're all Ithacas.

Look here for an example of the Lefever:

My Nitro Special in 16 was under 300 bucks (not in the shape that restored gun is in, but in good enough shape that people who first see it think it's pretty neat -- I've taken it hunting a fair amount, and it works fine on clays).

If I were to buy a new SxS, it'd be in 12, 20 or 28. I've seen plenty of nice old guns in 16 for $500 or less.

 

[chas08]

In 16?

Yes even in 16. I'm not hung up on the gauge. I would prefer a 16 because I already own two. So I'm accustomed to the higher priced ammo. I wouldn't turn down a clean 20ga. I've found a few real clunkers in the Lefarve for $400 or so but I don't want to put that much work into one. I must say the Ithaca NID and the Lefarve are astheticaly very appealing. I looked at two or thee of each type in like-new condition online and they carried a $1500-2000+ price tag. I'm in no hurry, the hunt is half the fun. Thanks for the suggestions.

Well in the 70s everyone in America bought into the "everything made in Japan is junk" idea. They never even gave BC Miroku or SKB a flaming chance.

Very true, and as I said, to know then, what we know now. I wonder if we as Americans, as a whole, had a better feeling for the Arab nations. Would we be so suspicious of products from there? Maybe if it looks, fits, and feels like quality, it is quality. Or have we adopted the attitudes our Fathers and Grandfathers had for Japan?

 

[ArmedBear]

Oops...

I meant to include this link: http://www.classicgunstocks.com/Nitro_Special_Restoration.html

It is relatively easy to find one of these in great shape for WAY under $700, especially in 16. The 16s feel really good, too. Even the 12s are no problem. Cabela's here had a nice one a few months ago for $400.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

They're accommodated by a slight "belling" of the barrels at the ends that makes the thing look like a SxS blunderbuss. It's not really that bad but once noticed, it's like a meadow muffin in a punchbowl - it'll drive the aesthetic obsessive totally wild.

Now that's funny right there!