barnbwt
member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2011
- Messages
- 7,340
Hello Again,
I was in the market for an O/U jack-of-a-couple trades shotgun that didn't cost an arm and a leg, and I settled on the double that Dick's Sporting Goods had a special on. I think it MSRP'd (past tense, apparently Franchi is out of the O/U biz since being bought by Beretta) around $1200, but Dick's had it on special at $999. I have heard that the price is normally one of those two numbers. In addition, there is a 200$ rebate on Franchi's O/U's (a different coupon for the Dick's model), and I signed up for a Dick's Credit card, which pulled off another ten percent. I ended up paying 799$ for the gun.
First off, I'll say I don't have much experience with O/U's. I've shot a couple, liked the feel a lot (especially the light weight and solid feel), and that's what got me looking. I didn't want to spend a ton on something I didn't already have experience with. My budget was ~750$ and I was much more concerned with build quality than looks. Fortunately I was able to get both!
I checked out the lower end Stoeger and Yildiz brand guns around town, but they were by far the loosest out of the box of any I handled (even un-oiled) and had very crude-looking lockwork. The next step up seemed to be the 1400$ Brownings and Benellis, which was really more than I had budgeted for. The Franchi seemed to fill the gap between the two price classes, and didn't seem much different mechanically from the nicer Benelli actions (machining isn't as highly polished or quite as tight fitting). The mechanisms are the same, though.
I did my research, found that the Diamond Elites were basically a great bang for the buck, especially with all the discounts on them, and I got one. I was finally able to take it to the ranger earlier today, and I put several boxes of shells through it, both at the "patterning range" (not really, just shooting at boxes to get a feel for its point of aim) and at one of the clay throwers.
The gun is light. Feels really light compared to my Franchi I-12 (also cheaper than a Benelli, but nearly as good) autoloader. A little over 6 lbs, it's about a pound lighter than my I-12, a good bit shorter, and has way better balance. The action locks up tight, controls its firing pins (no misfires or double shots), and points really well for me. That's good, since the fit on this gun isn't adjustable (easily) unlike my I-12. Given how critical fit is for shotguns, you'd think they'd make the stocks adjustable with shims or something.
The kick, although faster, didn't affect my shoulder any more than my autoloader (granted it's recoil-operated, and therefore the hardest kicking of autos). I found shooting doubles far easier/more controllable with this gun, not only because of the lighter weight while swinging, but because there was no movement of the action between shots. The Benelli/Franchi style recoil action actually jiggles the shotgun quite a bit as it cycles between shots, making it a little harder to place the barrel. You also can't stiff-arm the action into a jam like you can with an I-12 and a light load. With an O/U, as soon as you react to the recoil, the cycle is over and you're ready to go again. This helped me place follow up shots much quicker. I was reliably breaking two clays within a second when they were close to eachother.
The one downside (easily remedied, I've heard) is that the safety is automatically engaged every time the action is closed. I'm sure practice is a cure for this, but I find it far more intuitive to have a ready-to-go gun right after closing the action. Especially since I make a point of not leaving live rounds in these when I'm not about to shoot. Again, I've heard this auto safety (not the safety mechanism itself) feature can be disabled easily, I just need to do it.
As far as aesthetics, I was lucky to find a store with a couple so I chose one with a pretty good looking stock. The finish is satin, that is, semi-matte. For a field gun this nicely subdues any glare while still showing off the grain. The reciever is nicely blued (as opposed to the ubiquitous brushed nickle/brass inlay I see everywhere), and has a pleasing though plainish stamped scroll pattern (mine was stamped slightly off-center of the trunion pivot). The foregrip is nice, but can be broken if pulled off at too sharp and angle during disassembly (numerous warnings in the manual) and is not reinforced with fiberglass cloth on the inside, as I have seen in some pump action foregrips. Not sure if that's a problem, but I have heard of O/U woodwork splitting over time.
Summary: High quality action, looks great from a short distance, reliable, and fits me well. Comes with a nice hard takedown case and some extra chokes. My shoulder is no more sore after a couple boxes of shells than with my other shotgun. I'll be willing to buy a 1500$ gun as soon as I'm able to wear this one out shooting clays and birds.
If anyone has any questions about the shotgun I forgot to address in the review, I'd be happy to try and answer them. I may upload some photos when I feel like it...
I was in the market for an O/U jack-of-a-couple trades shotgun that didn't cost an arm and a leg, and I settled on the double that Dick's Sporting Goods had a special on. I think it MSRP'd (past tense, apparently Franchi is out of the O/U biz since being bought by Beretta) around $1200, but Dick's had it on special at $999. I have heard that the price is normally one of those two numbers. In addition, there is a 200$ rebate on Franchi's O/U's (a different coupon for the Dick's model), and I signed up for a Dick's Credit card, which pulled off another ten percent. I ended up paying 799$ for the gun.
First off, I'll say I don't have much experience with O/U's. I've shot a couple, liked the feel a lot (especially the light weight and solid feel), and that's what got me looking. I didn't want to spend a ton on something I didn't already have experience with. My budget was ~750$ and I was much more concerned with build quality than looks. Fortunately I was able to get both!
I checked out the lower end Stoeger and Yildiz brand guns around town, but they were by far the loosest out of the box of any I handled (even un-oiled) and had very crude-looking lockwork. The next step up seemed to be the 1400$ Brownings and Benellis, which was really more than I had budgeted for. The Franchi seemed to fill the gap between the two price classes, and didn't seem much different mechanically from the nicer Benelli actions (machining isn't as highly polished or quite as tight fitting). The mechanisms are the same, though.
I did my research, found that the Diamond Elites were basically a great bang for the buck, especially with all the discounts on them, and I got one. I was finally able to take it to the ranger earlier today, and I put several boxes of shells through it, both at the "patterning range" (not really, just shooting at boxes to get a feel for its point of aim) and at one of the clay throwers.
The gun is light. Feels really light compared to my Franchi I-12 (also cheaper than a Benelli, but nearly as good) autoloader. A little over 6 lbs, it's about a pound lighter than my I-12, a good bit shorter, and has way better balance. The action locks up tight, controls its firing pins (no misfires or double shots), and points really well for me. That's good, since the fit on this gun isn't adjustable (easily) unlike my I-12. Given how critical fit is for shotguns, you'd think they'd make the stocks adjustable with shims or something.
The kick, although faster, didn't affect my shoulder any more than my autoloader (granted it's recoil-operated, and therefore the hardest kicking of autos). I found shooting doubles far easier/more controllable with this gun, not only because of the lighter weight while swinging, but because there was no movement of the action between shots. The Benelli/Franchi style recoil action actually jiggles the shotgun quite a bit as it cycles between shots, making it a little harder to place the barrel. You also can't stiff-arm the action into a jam like you can with an I-12 and a light load. With an O/U, as soon as you react to the recoil, the cycle is over and you're ready to go again. This helped me place follow up shots much quicker. I was reliably breaking two clays within a second when they were close to eachother.
The one downside (easily remedied, I've heard) is that the safety is automatically engaged every time the action is closed. I'm sure practice is a cure for this, but I find it far more intuitive to have a ready-to-go gun right after closing the action. Especially since I make a point of not leaving live rounds in these when I'm not about to shoot. Again, I've heard this auto safety (not the safety mechanism itself) feature can be disabled easily, I just need to do it.
As far as aesthetics, I was lucky to find a store with a couple so I chose one with a pretty good looking stock. The finish is satin, that is, semi-matte. For a field gun this nicely subdues any glare while still showing off the grain. The reciever is nicely blued (as opposed to the ubiquitous brushed nickle/brass inlay I see everywhere), and has a pleasing though plainish stamped scroll pattern (mine was stamped slightly off-center of the trunion pivot). The foregrip is nice, but can be broken if pulled off at too sharp and angle during disassembly (numerous warnings in the manual) and is not reinforced with fiberglass cloth on the inside, as I have seen in some pump action foregrips. Not sure if that's a problem, but I have heard of O/U woodwork splitting over time.
Summary: High quality action, looks great from a short distance, reliable, and fits me well. Comes with a nice hard takedown case and some extra chokes. My shoulder is no more sore after a couple boxes of shells than with my other shotgun. I'll be willing to buy a 1500$ gun as soon as I'm able to wear this one out shooting clays and birds.
If anyone has any questions about the shotgun I forgot to address in the review, I'd be happy to try and answer them. I may upload some photos when I feel like it...
