GrandmasterB
Member
I have always been a Semi-Auto shotgun guy. I have never warmed up to pumps. My 20ga Remington 1100 has been the go-to gun for dove, quail and informal clays shooting for the last 15 years. It has always been 100% reliable too, until this past dove season.
I bought some super cheap dove loads on sale at a big box sporting goods store. One out of three would cycle reliably in my previously 100% reliable Remington. I started to wonder if it was the gun. I missed a few birds and got ticked off. Ultimately, a thorough cleaning and some better shells got it back to the reliability I wanted....but in the meantime, a buddy let me try his Mossberg Silver Reserve, and I liked it.
I started reading and researching and everything I read said that if I wanted a quality Over/Under, I needed a "B" gun at least - Browning or Beretta. Not wanting to pay retail I started looking on the used market, but I still didn't like the prices.
Lots of folks seemed to say that if I didn't want to pay for a "B" gun, the SKB guns made in Japan are known for durability -- more so than the Turkish guns which are so prevalent in the "entry-level" over-under market.
I got lucky and found an Ithaca 500 (made by SKB) 20ga for a good price locally.
Took her out to the range for some "pull your own" trap and she shoots great! And the cleanup was a breeze compared to cleaning my 1100....I think I may have moved over to the O/U 'darkside'! Oh, and she ate the rest of those super cheap shells with nary a hiccup!
I bought some super cheap dove loads on sale at a big box sporting goods store. One out of three would cycle reliably in my previously 100% reliable Remington. I started to wonder if it was the gun. I missed a few birds and got ticked off. Ultimately, a thorough cleaning and some better shells got it back to the reliability I wanted....but in the meantime, a buddy let me try his Mossberg Silver Reserve, and I liked it.
I started reading and researching and everything I read said that if I wanted a quality Over/Under, I needed a "B" gun at least - Browning or Beretta. Not wanting to pay retail I started looking on the used market, but I still didn't like the prices.
Lots of folks seemed to say that if I didn't want to pay for a "B" gun, the SKB guns made in Japan are known for durability -- more so than the Turkish guns which are so prevalent in the "entry-level" over-under market.
I got lucky and found an Ithaca 500 (made by SKB) 20ga for a good price locally.
Took her out to the range for some "pull your own" trap and she shoots great! And the cleanup was a breeze compared to cleaning my 1100....I think I may have moved over to the O/U 'darkside'! Oh, and she ate the rest of those super cheap shells with nary a hiccup!