O/U Recommendations

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JaxNovice

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Hi Everyone,

My bonus arrives next week and I am going to treat myself to a new shotgun and have been scouring the web looking for something. I am probably missing something so I am going to ping the board for some help. Here is what I am looking for:

1) Must be new. I have an unfounded aversion to buying used guns.
2) o/u
3) 30 or 32 inch barrels.
4) Preferably ported
5) Price point of less than $1400

One of the guns I keep looking at is the Silver Elite from S&W that keeps popping up in the CDNN catalog. It does have 30 inch barrels, does not have porting, but is within the budget. Any experience with this firearm?

I know I am limiting my options at that price, but I only got that amount from my family's CFO. Any thoughts guys?

Thanks!
 
Forget the S&W elite. S&W shotguns do not have a good rep.

Look at Winchester 101.

Also look at used Browning or Beretta.

What is the gun being used for?

I hate porting.

VA herder
 
The 30 or 32 inch barrels may be fine for trap but will definately be a disadvantage for skeet and sporting clays.28in would be a good compromise.
 
An SKB would fit your budget and will never let you down. Although I hope for the consideration of those shooting next to you that you forgo the ported barrels. Also, it's my opinion that ported barrels do little to reduce recoil, and they add extra time to cleaning. My target/competition SKB Sporting clays model with the adjustable comb and 30" barrels was $1700 a few years ago, I've been very, very happy with it. I only have 7500 rounds through it so I can't comment on long term reliability, but I've seen other SKBs which the owner claimed had 40,000 rounds through and was still going strong.
 
Forget the S&W elite. S&W shotguns do not have a good rep.
Click to expand...

Based on whose review? I own the SxS Elite Gold - the steal of the century at $1200. These guns were NOT made by Huglu, who makes all of the Turkish junk others seem to rave about.

As to trap/skeet/sporting clays - those are three different games, and while skeet and sporting crossover in many ways, trap does not. What that means is that a gun good for one will be a compromise for the others. Browning and Beretta TARGET guns will be more expensive than their field guns. They will also be heavier, helping to mitigate recoil and stand up to the volume of shells fired.

The 30 or 32 inch barrels may be fine for trap but will definately be a disadvantage for skeet and sporting clays.28in would be a good compromise.
Click to expand...

Most sporting clay shooters prefer 30 or 32" barrels - they are a blessing, not a hindrance. Skeet shooters are now using 30" barrel guns with increasing regularity

SKB is a great brand - own a few - understand however, at this moment the factory is closed, and while the folks in Omaha say they have enough new guns and spare parts for a long time while they try to find someone else to resume production, it's been a year and no new production is happening.

That leaves, on the low end, the Browning and Beretta guns. You REALLY need to go and shoot both before you try as they fit much differently from each other. If one fits, typically, the other does not, so try before you buy is key.

I use a Browning with 32" barrels -it has about 120,000 through it now. I had to replace the top lever springs and had the smith replace the firing pins and springs while he was inside - that happened at 90,000 - the first repair to the gun
 
I have a beretta 12ga double with removable chokes. ....+20 years of service and it the action is still tight as new.... nothing beats quality.
 
Porting does nothing but increase noise levels around you. It does NOT reduce recoils - either actual or felt - those are reduced by weight and fit respectively. Heavy shotguns and low pressure loads do not generate muzzle rise like hi-powered rifles and handguns, so no benefit there either. Otherwise, you just have lots of little holes where gunk and corrosion can start to accumulate.

$1400 can get you a used Browning or Beretta target gun, or one of their field guns. CDNN has some decent prices on some guns - remember that most are field guns, so they tend to be a little lighter than their target cousins - that can add up after a while if you shoot a lot of targets.

Good luck - and go to your local trap/skeet club and try to rent/borrow as many types as you can to see what actually works for you
 
Hi Guys, Thanks for the info on the porting. I will avoid them as a courtesy to my fellow shooters per your comments. I think I have narrowed it down the RRL or S&W silver elite on CDNN.
 
...."I think I have narrowed it down the RRL or S&W silver elite on CDNN."

If RRL = Ruger [COLOR=[B]"Red"]Red Label[/B][/COLOR]......good choice....it is at least a known quantitiy and has proven itself over the last couple of decades. The S&W at this point is still an unknown for longevity, and if you should be so inclined down the road to move the RRL down the road it would be easier to do so.
Let us know what you decided...happy shotgunning!
 
I have shot the same model gun, one ported, one not, side-by-side, and did not notice any real difference other then the noise. I would pass on that option.

Barrel length is a matter of preference. There is some conventional wisdom in selecting the "proper" length, but ultimately, it's simply personal preference. I like to shoot skeet with my new 24" 20ga Citori Upland hunting gun. While most would agree it's hardly an ideal target gun, the clays don't know the difference. I hit with it as well as I do with my 28" 12ga Citori Lightning.

Wing-shooting is about pointing, not aiming. Because of this, having a gun that fits you correctly is more important that anything else. If you have the ability to go to a skeet/trap/sporting clays range and try out a few different gun, do so. Feeling the gun fire will tell you more than any internet forum could.

I am a Browning Citori fan. I really like their features and styling. I recently discovered that for them to fit me correctly, I need to have the pitch changed by a stock-fitter. It made all the difference in the world for me, particularly with the 12 gauge.

Good luck in your search.
 
Of course as I research this, I find myself staring at the Beretta 686 and Browning 525. Trying to stay within my budget. My bonus comes next week so I need to figure something out!

Looks like if I spend the extra $500 I can get the Beretta. Sorely tempted.
 
I am going to throw one more into the mix, the Valmet 512 Sporting Clays. 30 barrels, screw in chokes, single trigger...just a very nice standard O/U and can be bought new for under $1400. Extra barrels can be added later in different gauges and even for a double rifle in calibers up to 9.3X74R. I shoot 2 Valmet 412s and love both of them.
 
Save up a little more and get the Beretta. The White Onyx runs about $1845 at my local range, probably a bit less elsewhere.

It's a Forever Gun...
 
Dave (or anyone else on the thread), Is there a web retailer that has good prices on shotguns? At this price point it might make it an easier sell to my wife if I can eliminate the sales tax. Any recommendations?
 
O/U Barrel Indexing Problems?

Hi Fellow O/U shooters. Not finding it in the blog, I thought my topic should be a new thread, but being a new member here, I apparently don't have the option of starting one yet.

I wanted to ask about accuracy problems of O/U barrels. I find that my pre-92 Ruger Red Label 12 gage doesn't shoot to point of aim with my top barrel. I can't hit a turkey in the head with a full choke at 30 yards, or even a dove at 25 with a modified, without holding the gun high and to the left. The bottom barrel comes closer to the target but is not registered or indexed with the top barrel...for a given point of aim the two barrels shoot in two different directions. Has anyone had experience with this problem? How is a problem like this corrected for a pair of barrels? And yes, it's already in a box on the way back to SRC.
Thanks, Johnny
 
for what it's worth

For what this comment is worth it might depend on what load you are using for turkey (if that is what you are doing). My turkey gun is a browning gold 12 gauge auto. shooting Winchester Supreme's, 3in #4s, it patterns 5 inches low and 6 inches right at 40 yards, shooting off of a bench.

Using the same load in Federals the pattern is perfectly centered. I've always suspected it had something to do with the extreme tight turkey chokes or possibly different wads used in what they call "turkey loads". Would be interested in know if anyone else has similar experiences.

Just my experience.
 
Thanks,
I haven't tried different loads. Being disconcerted about my problem, I put my RRL in the closet years ago, and have only now gotten around to taking it out and trying to do fix the problem. To be real frank, what good is a two barrel gun if each barrel shoots in a different direction, and chages directions with different loads? I haven't read a lot, but I haven't seen anything about this problem on the blogs. Maybe there's a solution?
 
problem

The barrels should be perfectly "regulated" and shoot at the same point of impact. If not there is a problem. If your gun has fixed chokes I would definitely send it back and have it tested at the factory. If it has choke tubes you could have one that is slightly defective. Example: A friend of mine, retired engineer, bought an RBL from Galazan. He's fanatic about testing and patterning. Everything he patterned the gun he found that one of the barrels would consistently pattern differently everytime he tested it. He finally check the choke tubes with a caliber and found that two of the five were not concentric. So depending on how tight he screwed them in they would pattern differently.

Tom
 
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