Looking for a first over under

Go with a used known name brand if possible
If you do decide to get a Turk made one make sure there is warranty support for it. Some of the Huglu shotguns that Tenda sells for example are imported by them and there is no warranty support for them
If you get one that was imported by O dell however they have full warranty and support
Your best bet like others have said is to get a used browning or beretta or even a Remington, at least those ones can be repaired if needed
 
Out of respect to yourself and Mr. Browning acquire a new or used Citori. Been around for darn near 100 years and will serve you into the future for another century.
….There is no coincidence that a sizeable number of guys on here are GENTLY hinting to get a Citori for a pile of good reasons including pride of ownership of a high QUALITY product.
 
Looking for some advice on buying my first over/under. I'm a collector and firearms enjoyer who enjoys shooting and having the right guns for the occasion. I'm not a huge clay shooting guy and don't think I'll ever be putting multiple thousands of shells a year through the gun...but definitely looking to step it up this year and hit the range more for skeet and trap.

The used market near me (and in general) isn't great but I'm keeping an eye on it.

Right now I'm leaning towards a Huglu ventus or a Churchill/Akkar 812. I know they're Turkish, but it seems they are good?

I'm willing to step up the price a bit...but the next best I've seen is the entry level 686 silver pigeon field for about 3k on sale. 3 times the cost as the others for something I'm not going to be using to it's potential.

Thoughts?
Do you any friends who shoot shotguns?
If you do , try to arrange to try as many different guns as you can because even the cheaper Turkish guns tend to fit differently at times.
Fit is very important, the gun needs to come up and point naturally.
Buying any gun by price point alone is not a good idea unless one knows what they are looking at .
QA/QC is all over the map when it comes to the cheaper Turks it seems.
Personally speaking, I would be looking at the used market after figuring out the brand you want , then look at the individual gun " buy the gun, not then brand " as the old saying goes.
A used Citori is not worth buying if a used Berreta ,Rizzini or Merkel fit you better for example.
I have seen a few 686's for sale used at dealer for as low as $1,500.00 and less .
Fixed chokes are not as much of a show stopper as some would think, If you can find a gun with IC/MOD chokes you will be fine for both trap and skeet.
Cat
 
Looking for some advice on buying my first over/under. I'm a collector and firearms enjoyer who enjoys shooting and having the right guns for the occasion. I'm not a huge clay shooting guy and don't think I'll ever be putting multiple thousands of shells a year through the gun...but definitely looking to step it up this year and hit the range more for skeet and trap.

The used market near me (and in general) isn't great but I'm keeping an eye on it.

Right now I'm leaning towards a Huglu ventus or a Churchill/Akkar 812. I know they're Turkish, but it seems they are good?

I'm willing to step up the price a bit...but the next best I've seen is the entry level 686 silver pigeon field for about 3k on sale. 3 times the cost as the others for something I'm not going to be using to it's potential.

Thoughts?
Ive got a huglu S12E and its an amazing shotgun, beautifully made, deep bluing, wood grain and fit is incredible
 
Lots of great insight here. Please keep it coming. I'm still on the fence...still eyeing the "higher end" turk stuff like Akkar and Huglu but I'm definitely looking around at some higher end stuff now too.

Not many stores local to me that I'm aware of carry many over unders so hard to get a good feel for a variety of them in the hand
 
I have several Federation Firearms O/U, they all have great metal/wood lines, all have choke tubes (except the .410) and they fit! Great curvature on the pistol grips, really decent wood, and are very reasonably priced. Green Peak are the distributors, have had nothing but great service!
 
I currently own an Akkar-Churchill 812 Oxycap, my first O/U. I have been shooting it for two seasons of Trap now and I’m happy with it. When I decided to give Trap a try a couple of years ago I didn’t want to drop 2K or more on a new “B” gun until I was sure I would like it. The 812 has performed flawlessly, I’m probably at around 5k in rounds thru it presently, has been loaned out at club shoots for women and youth and run hard all day on numerous occasions, I would not hesitate on recommending it at all.
I have been pretty fortunate to have lots of guys offer and let me shoot their Trap guns, from 1100’s to Citori’s, and even a Kreigoff once( shot a 23 with it). I am currently looking at stepping up to a higher quality O/U, but the Churchill has served me very well and I’ve got no complaints
 
I currently own an Akkar-Churchill 812 Oxycap, my first O/U. I have been shooting it for two seasons of Trap now and I’m happy with it. When I decided to give Trap a try a couple of years ago I didn’t want to drop 2K or more on a new “B” gun until I was sure I would like it. The 812 has performed flawlessly, I’m probably at around 5k in rounds thru it presently, has been loaned out at club shoots for women and youth and run hard all day on numerous occasions, I would not hesitate on recommending it at all.
I have been pretty fortunate to have lots of guys offer and let me shoot their Trap guns, from 1100’s to Citori’s, and even a Kreigoff once( shot a 23 with it). I am currently looking at stepping up to a higher quality O/U, but the Churchill has served me very well and I’ve got no complaints
I have had the opportunity to shoot a couple of Churchhills , one of them a fully adjustable rib and stock model.
I was impressed with the workmanship of them in general, especially when I took several apart at the local CT and compared them to other Turkish guns .
However, I recently sold an older Browning to a good friend who paid less for it than his new Churchill trap gun, and he was surprised at the quality difference between the two- there is NO comparison !
Cat
 
Last edited:
I have had the opportunity to shoot a couple of Churchhills , one of them a fully adjustable rib and stock model.
I was impressed with the workmanship of them in general, especially when I took several apart o=at the local CT and compared them to other Turkish guns .
However, I recently sold an older Browning to a good friend who paid less for it than his new Churchill trap gun, and he was surprised at the quality difference between the two- there is NO comparison !
Cat
You are absolutely correct, the Churchill, while a fantastic representation of a Turkish O/U simply cannot compare to any of the “ B” guns in terms of fit and finish. Not sure you would ever get 100k rounds thru a Churchill lol, but it has certainly served the exact purpose I bought it for so I’m happy 😊
I am currently looking to upgrade, and though not everyone’s cup of tea, I find myself drawn to the Browning Cynergy line, just need to actually handle one and check the fit
 
Back
Top Bottom