First, one and only O/U shotgun

[MCgunner]

I tried the Baikal Remington Spartan one day when I was in Gander Mountain in Sugar Land, Texas. I have a Spartan SxS that works well for me. It was on sale, good price, don't remember what. But, it didn't have near enough drop for me. I won't buy what won't fit. I also have another problem, I shoot left handed. Most stocks are set up for right handers and many have a right hand cast to them, especially SxSs.

I've chilled on the desire for an O/U, but if I bump in to a used Browning some day that speaks to me, or something, hell, you never know.

 

[AJumbo]

My Huglu has been very good to me. It has double triggers (which I like a LOT) and fixed full/full chokes (which needs to change), 28" barrels, a stock cast for a right-handed shooter, and a very positive safety. Due to the double triggers, there's only 'ON/OFF,' and no 'TOP/BOTTOM'. I got a bargain on it, but would have paid full price, knowing what I know now. They are available with screw-ins, and single triggers.

The problem with a lightweight gun is twofold- harder to swing consistently, and you absorb more recoil. It's not like an O/U is all that heavy anyway, compared to, say, an autoloader.

 

[d2wing]

My best shotgun is a Beretta 686 12 guage. It fits me better than the Browning. The New Franchi line is very good, I would look at one of those. Also there is a new brand of cheap American made guns that look good and handle real well, I forget the name and they are cheap, around 500. I also really like my Fausti 20 guage as well.

 

[hq]

My vote is to buy a Valmet 412...

They are one heck of a BETTER O/U shotgun than the Ruger and can be bought used for under 1K...

Under $1k? Whoa, they seem to have depreciated a lot faster in the US than they have here. Good ones go for $1.5-2k easily and complete packages with double 12ga 3", 12ga + .222 and double 9.3x74 (or equivalent) barrels can fetch up to $4k. I still have my father's 1956 vintage pre-212 16ga and it's by far my favorite over-under.

412 and earlier were great, 512 not so much, but I might still go for Ruger Red Label. Mainly because it's still in production and spare parts are easy to come by.

 

[CopperFouling]

Today I was able to try couple guns at a club. Our MD gave me a lesson on skeet range. I learned some stuff about shotgun shooting.

Since you're in St. Louis, you might drive over to Alton and rent some of the shotguns at the Winchester Shooting Range (http://winchestergunrange.com/). You can shoot 12, 20, and 28 gauge shotguns there, both O/Us and semiautomatics. Not sure if there are Berettas there, but there are a lot of Winchester and Browning models.

 

[Louca]

I have to emphasize here how important fit is. A more correct term would be "match" rather than fit. It doesn't matter as much how the gun feels as how it shoots. If it shoots where you are looking, you and the gun are a match.

When I was looking for an O/U shotgun, I tried shooting the Citori. It was a beautiful gun, well made, and it felt nice handling it and shouldering it. But everytime I shot it, it would shoot high from where I was looking (aiming if you will). I liked everything about the gun, but I could not get used to it shooting high. So I passed on it.

Later I had a hankering for a Winchester 101 XTR Lightweight for some reason, so I bought one. Like a dummy, I never shot a 101 before I bought one. Guess what? That gun shoots consistently to the left. No problem with right-to-left crossing targets, but left-to-right ones give me problems. Why? Because the gun has too little cast off to match me. It is a beautiful gun, smooth as silk to shoot, and I really wish it shot where I pointed it, but alas it does not. I still have it, but should probably sell it.

Then there is my Savage Fox Sterlingworth (SxS). I bought it and immediately took the stock off, went to an English gunsmith in Canada, and using a try gun had him give me my dimensions of fit. I then made my own stock and set the length of pull, cast off, drop at comb, and drop at heel for my body. Guess what? It shoots dead on every time. The gun matches me.

Most people will not bother to restock a gun to their dimensions, but you really should shoot anything you are thinking of buying to see if it hits where you point it. I can guarantee you if you buy a good quality double that matches your body, you will have a friend for life. I do not think I will ever sell the Fox.

Lou