A good O/U on a budget?

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belcomace

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Started going with friends since last year to shoot clay and its a fun sport. Been shooting their shotguns and now have a PAL/RPAL of my own which means its time to find a decent shotgun for myself. My issue though is that my friends have some $$$ Berettas and they're great but I don't have the budget for that currently. I think at this time I can spend a max of $1500 or so and by no means its going to be my last or only shotgun in the future but right now I need something well built, reliable, hopefully nice looking, with good balance and pleasurable to shoot. Although I don't have access to EE here and it seems to take some effort to get on, I did find some options on other gun classifieds like Bettinsoli, Franchi etc. which seem to be decent. I am looking at used at this time as I am thinking I can get a good value for much better gun rather than buying a new cheaper one.

Looking for suggestions, advice on certain models which could potentially fit my description and needs.
 
A citori xs special or skeet or a beretta 686 are your best bets. Might be worth saving up another $500 to give yourself a chance to get something decent. $2000 on the used market is bottom of the barrel these days.

If you want something cheaper a Remington 1100 will be $800 for a decent one with chokes. Will do everything the o/u will. Maybe even better…..
 
I saw another relatively new Turkish O/U stop firing on the top barrel on the trap range today. I hesitate to recommend them for any kind of competition shooting. Pretty hard to find a decent clays gun for 1500.00 these days but there's a few out there. Lean toward Browning, Winchester or Beretta if you want reliability and parts availability. Sometimes you can find older SKB's made in Japan pretty cheap. BTW, Japanese made guns are very high quality. Semi-autos are cheaper but you stated O/U.
 
Canuck trap combo, seen a few around and they seem decent. Shot 1 the first time from another member at my club, hit 22/25.

They are part of Odell Engineering.

Citori and Beretta 68* series is the next step up and are good, avoid the Beretta 69* series altogether.
 
Shotgun fit is important. If a used Browning fits, a used Beretta likely won't.
Adjustable stocks aren't likely in your price range. They're not a complete cure-all.
Try as many models as you can borrow.
Remember that the cost of ammo for clay sports will quickly exceed the cost of the gun.
 
Quite frankly, on your budget, you should consider a semi-auto. An 1100 is well within you budget and a Beretta isn't far off. Once again, stay far away from Turkish semi-autos. A semi-auto with removeable chokes would be more versatile for whatever shooting sports you want to try.
 
As stated already shotgun fit is paramount. If a used Browning, Beretta O/U fits then pick up a used one in your budget range. It will be 10X the gun any new Turkish gun will be. One of the best price/quality bargains in used Brownings is a Superposed. For whatever reason they are not demanding big $ used and yet you cannot buy a new Superposed for much less than $25,000 and they are very, very well made. Standard up to Lightning Grades in 12ga can be readily found in excellent condition within your budget range.
 
That's one heck of a buy on a 682. I presume it was a Gold E X?
I've had 4 different 682 Gold E's and the last one I sold was a Trap X and it went for $2900, it was in real nice condition too. The lowest price I've gotten for one was $2700 for a 28 inch sporting gun but that's a few years ago. The 682 Gold E is a great gun!
 
Was not a gold E (HAVE HAD ONE OF THOSE)1986 model I believe but damn good shooter as my Brit neighbor would say ,but not needed anymore.
 
I think I got my Browning Synergy CX Composite new for around 1200. That was like January 2020. Price are higher now and inventory is scarce. There is like 5 or 6 of us with the exact same gun at my club. It is a great affordable gun to have if it fits you good.
 
A budget of $1500 will get you into a decent starter O/U clays gun. Three top questions come to mind:

1. What disciplines do you plan to shoot - i.e. skeet, trap, 5-stand and/or sporting clays? And maybe breakdown how much you'll shoot of each - skeet regularly and occasional trap or SC? Or mostly trap, maybe some skeet? Those answers will tell if need "need" interchangeable chokes, or if a fixed choke gun might serve you well.

2. How much volume do you think you'll shoot? Hundred rounds a year, hundred a week? That will tell you if you can shop for a Turkish gun, or if you're headed to USA/Italy (or an older Japanese made O/U, if fixed choke guns are a suitable option) for a more durable gun.

3. Are you set on getting an O/U, or would an autoloader be an option?


Let's get by those questions, then we can crowd source some opinions. lol
 
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As stated previously, if you know the discipline you are playing, you can pick up a fixed choke B gun for a decent price. Example - There is a Citori on the Gun Dealer with fairly open chokes for about 1K$ - great for skeet. It could double as a upland gun at the same time.
 
Look for one of the B's. Browning, Berreta or benelli. There are Browning's out there used in the 12-15 hundred dollar range with choke tubes. I used a mossberg silver reserve for several years for skeet and sporting clays but it had habit of breaking firing pins. Broke 7 pins over approximately 25000 rounds and now the action has play. Now use a used Browning o/u or a maxus sporting and have no complaints with them.
 
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