Stoeger Condor O/U

[7thCavScout]

I used to be the VERY proud owner of a Browning Citori Lightning model O/U. The gun was flat incredible and I loved it. Sadly given the fact I shot it so seldom and my daughter needing braces on her teeth, I sold it. I really liked the O/U set up but I was always very nervous using such a high dollar gun in the field. Lately I have been looking at the Stoeger Condor Supreme. I like the quality/appearance of the wood and the auto ejectors offered on the Supreme model of the Condors'. I would only really be using it 2 to three times a year in the field (pheasant, Quail, Dove) and maybe twice a year shooting skeet/trap.
My question is, does anyone have first hand experience one? I know they are made by Beretta so am I safe to assume that quality will be there? Thanks in advance for any help you all can send my way
-Chuck

 

[Chevelle SS]

They are made in Turkey IIRC. I had a Stoeger Uplander Supreme (sxs) and I had problems with the trigger disconnect. It often fired both barrels at once. I'm a bit leery about buying Stoeger products. I'm not saying they are all bad; it is just in my experience they do not perform the greatest.

 

[Hunterdad]

It seems that for every good review I read, there are 2 bad reviews behind it. You should really take a look at the older SKB o/u's. They can be had for a bit more than the stoeger.

 

[7thCavScout]

Hunterdad, I'm not familiar with SKB but after looking them up on Gunbroker.com it would appear they are into the Browning Citori and Ruger Red Label price range. I'm really looking to spend no more than $650 and hopefully get a decent O/U

 

[oneounceload]

I know they are made by Beretta so am I safe to assume that quality will be there?

Not quite - they are made by Stoeger, a subsidiary of Beretta. Beretta lets its subsuduaries - Stoger, benelli, Franchi, Tikka, Sako, etc. act as independent companies, free to make whatever their business model says will sell at the price point they hope to achieve - that is NOT a guarantee of quality, and unfortunately, Stoegers are not known for their quality.

Perhaps for your light usage requirements, they will last several years, but your usage is so slight, that would seem like a weekend to most folks - resale on them is also not very high. There are quality used guns from Browning and Beretta, SKB and others that might be better in the long run

 

[Dave McCracken]

7th, I picked up a lightly used SKB 20 gauge 2 years ago for $450 OTD. Fixed chokes but quite a shooter...

 

[rule303]

If you are dead set on a new O/U in that price range, take a look at the Baikals. They aren't particularly pretty, but they are built like a tank, and they will hold up to a lot of shooting.

 

[Carp]

Condor o/u

I had a Citori that I recently sold because it never quite fit and I missed everything I pointed at. On the other hand, I have a 20g Stoeger I bought at Dick's for $299 about a decade ago. I have shot the crap out of that gun in all kinds of weather. Clays, woodcock, quail, and pheasants. NEVER failed to fire. Like a moron I even drove for over 5 miles with it on the roof of my truck, had it fly off, and land on pavement. Still works fine! It is not pretty. The fit and finish is adequate. However, it get's the job done and I reach for it often.

 

[drsfmd]

They aren't made in Turkey. They are made in Brazil. Very low quality, very high failure rate. There's a darn good reason that quality doubles cost what they do, and it isn't just because they are pretty.

 

[spazzymcgee]

I've literally just plain never understood how people could say that a gun is crap when people like me have 5000+ rounds through one. Hold one in a gun shop. If it fits you, I would get it. I have a buddy that has won many, many trap competitions with one. He has 7 years and tens of thousands of field loads through that gun, and it works fine.

 

[hAkron]

I got a Stoger STF-3000 at Dick's Sporting Goods on sale for something like $349, and I had some coupons and other stuff. For the gun and a breakdown case, both on sale I didn't pay much. I've shot trap with it a few times. It's ok. The safety is annoying, but stopped working after I took the action apart to peek inside. It's not particularly well made or pretty, but it's decent for what it is...not sure how many rounds before it breaks -- and I have no doubt it WILL break. If this is a quick purchase to get you back into it and you are going to switch to something better later, then to for it. If this is going to be your one and only O/U for the foreseeable future than that same ~$500 would get you a much better pump shotgun.

 

[drsfmd]

I've literally just plain never understood how people could say that a gun is crap when people like me have 5000+ rounds through one. Hold one in a gun shop. If it fits you, I would get it. I have a buddy that has won many, many trap competitions with one. He has 7 years and tens of thousands of field loads through that gun, and it works fine.

Some people get lucky and get one that works... most don't.

We stopped carrying them in the shop because most came back for warranty work.

By the way, 5,000 rounds, and even "tens of thousands" of rounds isn't a lot. Most serious shotgunners are upwards of 20,000 rounds a year.

I also don't believe that there's anyone taking top titles in ATA competition with a Stoeger. Please post your friend's ATA number so we can verify his record.

 

[ATLDave]

My dad has a Stoeger 20 ga O/U. He got it about a year ago because he needed a 20 for quail - his 12 Browning Citori was deemed to be unsporting or something. His experience has been good, and I've broken some field-thrown clays with it without any problems. But it's a long way from having many thousands of rounds through it. Unless you go to Argentina, though, you may not ever get to thousands of rounds in the field!

 

[Dave McCracken]

Spazz, 5k rounds is less than a year's use here.

 

[gunsandreligion]

Mines always worked okay, but The action can be hard to break sometimes. It shoots slugs better than any other smoothbore Ive ever seen and the camo dip gets alot of attention on a double, but I much prefer my m2000 as it seems to be a design simple enough to be reliable at that price point, wich I have always sort of doubted about the condor.

 

[oneounceload]

I'm really looking to spend no more than $650 and hopefully get a decent O/U

The key word is "decent".

As Dave mentioned, finding a used SKB might be possible, the Lanber from CDNN might work for you. Personally, shotguns made in Brazil, Russia, and Turkey do not generally have the quality built it (The S&W from Turkey is one exception) Might someone get a decent one every now and again? Sure, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and again. You obviously seem to be on a very tight budget, do you REALLY want to take your limited resources and spend it on something that might last a few days, and cost you more in repairs than you spent on it? Let alone the downtime from shooting because it is being fixed? Or would you rather buy the best quality you can with your limited money and have something that should last a long time without issue?

Several knowledgeable folks have tried to steer you away from the junk. Whether you decide to heed the advice is strictly up to you