Inexpensive O/U's

[T-Ray]

Quick search showed no results, so here it is: Not sure if i could buy one any time soo, but what are some good inexpensive o/u's, say $400 or less? Can be 20,16,or12. Would be used for dove and some clays. Preferably a single selective trigger.

Also open to sxs. Just considering a double cause if i don't hit it in 2 shots, no reason to take a third, plus i've always loved the looks

 

[lions]

My brother just bought a Stoeger Condor, I think it was under your price range. He hasn't used it yet so I couldn't tell you much about it but now you have something to research.

 

[Snarlingiron]

Yildiz.

Academy

I love mine. Will it last forever at 150 - 200 rounds per week? I'll let you know. Probably not, but it is a lot of gun for the money.

 

[T-Ray]

Yildiz.

Ya, i've seen those, liked the looks and what not, but since it's an academy exclusive, i thought i'd try to hear some first hand experience with them.

 

[Dave McCracken]

When talking about O/Us, good and inexpensive do not often dwell together.

Getting both barrels to shoot to the same point takes better machining and skills than the market allows.

Old and onery as I am, I'd look around for a used SKB,Winchester 101, Miroku, etc and pay the extra.

 

[romeo212000]

The Yildiz does exactly that Dave. I bought a Yildiz and have been absolutely thrilled with it. For the money it is the best on the market. If you go with a 12 gauge I recommend 1 oz loads though.

 

[ArmedBear]

How many rounds do you have through it, romeo?

 

[Cougfan2]

+1 on the Miroku. They are a very well made Japanese gun and built like the old Browning Superposed shotguns. A few hundred over your price range for a used one, but you won't he disappointed.

 

[Zip7]

They built a new Bass Pro Shops in my area recently, and when I went there to check it out, they had dozens of used O/U shotguns on open racks where you could check them out.

MOST of them felt sloppy and cheap to me (the only O/U I own is a Jap made Citori) but they hade a couple of Miroku that looked and felt decent. Lots of Huglu that didn't, really. I didn't recognize any of the foreign brands, so I don't remember them all. The used brownings weren't cheap. But they did have a Win. 101 for 800 or so. I don't know much about that model, but it looked like the better deal there.

 

[T-Ray]

When talking about O/Us, good and inexpensive do not often dwell together.

I agree, but i was pretty much meaning good for an inexpensive one. I realize that generally you get more when you pay more. I wouldn't be using it all that often. 1nce every other month would be more than i currently shoot. Normally, we get out some clays and those little red handles and shoot for about a day, normally a week or so before opening dove weekend. I don't go hunting that often and so I really don't need, or want to spend $800+ on a double barrel, since i already have an 870. It would just be a new fun gun to enjoy. It would also turn heads with my family, as we all have 870's, aside from my cousin who has a maverick and his younger brother who's on his dad's old 20ga single.

 

[Ash]

You can get a really good o/u for $500. It will be used, but you can. I have a Savage 333, which was made by Valmet as their model 312, and it is as good as any O/U that costs a grand.

Ash

 

[Zip7]

It would just be a new fun gun to enjoy

T-Ray - I would sure go take a look at the Yildiz mentioned above then... it's a good looking gun. Put your hands on the field grade Browning and note how it seems to fit and function, and use that to compare to. It doesn't have to be as nice as a browning, but it shouldn't feel loose and sloppy either.

I have an old Spanish made Zephyr SxS that my Father bought in the 1950's for a little more than $50. In those days, it was a cheap imported alternative to the ultra expensive English guns. I still take that gun into the field a few times every year - Dove hunts, and shooting clays, and it has never failed me. Everyone oohs and aahs over it - it's very pretty. Great wood, and fancy engraving - shoots well - I love that gun. And most shotgun snobs would have poo-pooed it back in it's day. We have a big dove hunt every year and always throw some clays, and everyone there lines up to shoot that gun - probably shot ten boxes or more through it last Labor Day weekend.

 

[T-Ray]

T-Ray - I would sure go take a look at the Yildiz mentioned above then... it's a good looking gun. Put your hands on the field grade Browning and note how it seems to fit and function, and use that to compare to. It doesn't have to be as nice as a browning, but it shouldn't feel loose and sloppy either.

I have, back when i was in the market for my 870. I wanted to stay away from 870 cause that's what my dad had, and i wanted our family to have more of a variety. I was gonna get a moss. 500, but academy and bass pro didn't have them in stock. Anyway, at academy, i handled a yildiz and was impressed, but didn't want to spend that much. Bass pro had synthetic 870's on sale for after rebates & such, i paid $220 before tax, although the tax was based on the $250 paid in store before mail in rebate. It was different enough for me. I love it, but the more the merrier, right
I've always been in awe of doubles.

 

[ripcurl]

I have a yildiz but nothing to compare it too. I paid 399 and I really like it.

plain jane 12ga model.

I would def check them out. I wanted a gun gun but the classic "look" of an o/u.

 

[Zip7]

I've always been in awe of doubles.

I have too - the Zephyr was the first 12 gauge gun I ever fired. Later on I got a field grade Citori, and I like it too. The Browning seems to fit me better, but I shoot better with the SxS. It's not easy to hit doves with either of mine, as they both have 30" full/modified barrels - no screw in chokes. With the SxS you either miss, or vaporize the clays, but I can smoke clays with it all day. And they are just a ton of fun to shoot - makes me feel like an English Gentleman, even though I'm just an old redneck from the sticks...

 

[younganddumb]

I got a stoger condor I like it for 3 main reason's kinda weird ones though

1) made in maryland where I live

2) shots bottom first

3) cheap

 

[ArmedBear]

Stoegers (currently) are made in Brazil.

 

[T-Ray]

If i get one, i'd probably go with a 12 or a 20, unless ya'll can point me to a place that sells 16 ga ammo (cheap dove stuff) for less than $5 a box. Any places that sell it that cheap? If not, should i go with a 20 or 12 (considering i get one, which probably won't happen this year, but, chance it does)

 

[Shawnee]

As another poster pointed out - good, durable doubles, either SxS or O/U are never - as in NEVER - inexpensive. A $400 version might well last you for several years of hunting at maybe a couple hundred rounds per year.

But if you speak with any experienced trap, skeet or clays competitor they'll assure you a $400 dollar double has a whole lot in common with a $400 Cadillac.

 

[T-Ray]

But if you speak with any experienced trap, skeet or clays competitor they'll assure you a $400 dollar double has a whole lot in common with a $400 Cadillac.

Not interested in competing, like i said, maybe about 100 rds through it at clays that are hand thrown and about 150rds for hunting each year. I don't go shooting that often, and it would take turns with my 870

 

[rbernie]

As another poster pointed out - good, durable doubles, either SxS or O/U are never - as in NEVER - inexpensive.

For serious competitive shooters, the break-even point between a $400 Yildiz that only lasts 10K rounds and a 'good, durable double' probably comes mighty early. For a casual shooter who practices once a month and hunts twice a year - that Yildiz may last a LONG time.

While it's certainly honest to point out the difference to the OP, I would not suggest that there is no place for an inexpensive O/U. Some folk just want a casual 'occasional' gun, and there's no harm in that.

 

[ArmedBear]

I still wonder how many rounds people have through their Yildiz guns.

Stoegers actually hold up pretty well, generally. They're unrefined, but they don't seem to have parts that break in a short time. Some other guns (e.g. Mossberg Khans) have had problems with parts breakage long before the 10K mark.

Something to think about, though...

If you're a casual shooter, and you go to the range and shoot 4 boxes every 2 weekends for practice, that's 2600 rounds per year. Add in some hunting, casual shooting with a hand thrower, a Sunday at the range when you just want to keep shooting, and you're over 3000 rounds easily.

10K doesn't sound like much, when you consider that.

Also, if you shoot, say, 100 rounds of skeet or trap, total, in a year, that will cost you upwards of $1000 in tickets and cheap ammo. Maybe $1500.

Spending a few hundred bucks more on a gun you won't have to repair or replace soon, in the grand scheme of things, makes sense. (Think SKB )

And if you aren't going to shoot the gun, hell, just don't buy it. Buy something else with your hard-earned money. I own a few things I don't use, and I'd rather have the money back.

 

[T-Ray]

If you're a casual shooter, and you go to the range and shoot 4 boxes every 2 weekends for practice, that's 2600 rounds per year. Add in some hunting, casual shooting with a hand thrower, a Sunday at the range when you just want to keep shooting, and you're over 3000 rounds easily.

Well, i don't shoot near that much, 300 rds a year maybe. I probably won't get one any time soon, just inquisitive as to what's out there. If i did end up getting one, it would take turns with my 870, like previously stated.

I wish i shot that much, and if i did, i'd spend more and get a beretta or somethin else nice

 

[ArmedBear]

If you're not in a hurry, start saving money and looking around. Sometimes a deal comes up if you're not in a hurry.

(A deal would be a used gun, not a cheap new one. Also, CDNN has some interesting stuff, like Winchesters for $899. Those are legitimate good deals.)

 

[T-Ray]

If you're not in a hurry, start saving money and looking around. Sometimes a deal comes up if you're not in a hurry.

That's what i'm doin