Over Under ..... problem's on cheaper guns?

K

kc567

New member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I am in the market for a new over/under for personal defence, basic plinking, maybe in the future grouse/turkey hunting in dense bush.

I really am leaning towards an over/under because of the simplisity .... would like my wife and kids be able to easily handle it safely, thus my looking at a break action. I am thinking 20 guage.

My concern is i see a lot of complaints on the great interwebs about many of the cheaper guns 'misfiring' on the second barrel, or sometimes firing both at the same time. Often people quote their gunsmiths as describing poor trigger design.

What do some of you more experienced shooters know about this problem?

KC
 
The only cheap double barrel I owned was a sxs Russian Baikal from the 1970's that was hell for stout but handled like a crowbar. It would have made a decent truck gun and was reliable but not a great game gun IMHO, but something like that might suit your needs.
 
I have had cheap guns from Baikal and lanber and have never had issues when using them on 28g ammo loads. Though only issue I did have was using 21g fitasc loads which were to light on recoil to successfully set the second barrel as it was inertia operated.
 
I have a khan 12g O/U.
Design seems solid, the selector/safety switch needed some work but 30 min of tinkering has it working very well. The trigger is another matter, heavier than I would like but not too bad and Ill work on that next.
For the price, no complaints.
 
Biggest i have herd with cheap double barrel shotguns is

Barrel regulation, both barrels not hitting the same point of impact.
Double firing or second barrel fails to fire.
sticky safety button or safety fails completely.
Broken firing pins.
Very heavy trigger pull weight.
Action/hinge wears out quickly making for a lose lockup.
 
Last edited:
Buddy has the Mossberg Maverick o/u and has shot it a LOT with no issues, just makes sure he cleans it really well after about 500 shots (including the firing pin). Never had any issues with it. Youll find bad reviews on every gun if you look long enough. Personally Id stay away from the Stevens as well.
 
Most of the Turkish guns are mechanical triggers. They're more likely to double fire however, as a field gun, If your first shot fails to fire, you can still pull of the next shot. As a quality competition gun, it can be tubbed for sub gauges. Inertia triggers need the recoil of the gun to reset the next trigger. The only benefit of this is to prevent a double fire but it still can happen. As a field gun it can be worse since if you have a miss fire on your first shot, you will need to hit the but of the gun on a rock or your hand to reset the trigger to take the next shot. However I've never experienced it. You shouldn't tube an inertia trigger gun because a sub gauge most likely will not have enough recoil to reset the trigger. Especially since tubbing makes the gun significantly heavier making it even less of a chance it will recent the trigger from lack of recoil.

Cz over unders are well made for the $. I'm sure the new Weatherby over/under, made by ATA, is fine as well. It's a Beretta knock off with Benelli 828u takedown. They also have a drop trigger.
 
I have a Baikal MP27-EM-1C Over Under Nickel reciever selective ejectors. Good gun for the clays course. A bit heavy to cart in bush for hunting, but can be done. Barrels are well regulated, no issues to speak of. It is built like a tank. You could have issues with any firearm that you buy. Do some searching and ask questions. For a gun you can load, shoot and not worry about dings and scratches. This would work.
 
Why not just get a double trigger O/U, and take the complexity (and cost) of the single trigger out of the equation. Baikal currently markets a double trigger model, and the price is quite modest.
 
Have a Hatsan Optima S12 over/under, only issue I have had and the guy before me had was broken firing pins from dry firing to take tension off the trigger springs. New pins and some snap caps and all should be well.
 
There is a reason why you rarely see a Beretta O/U for sale unless its an estate sale. Some people need to buy 3 or 4 of these crap guns before they figure it out.
 
I had a Stoeger O/U. It was decent for the price. I gave it to the brother in law. I put many 1000's of rounds through it without issue. I replaced it with a Browning Citori from Prophet River. No comparision for fit and finish but the Stoeger always went bang.
 
Seen many Turkish o/u come to the sporting clay range. Most of them suffer from a host of problems. Cracked stocks due to poor wood to steel fit up, failure to fire one barrel or the other, due to poor firing system ,or soft firing pins . One condor at the club, had a selector switch that was so loose it would jump out of position during firing and fail on second shot.
Take the stock off one and it becomes apparent, where the problems come from. Steel still has milling marks in it , not ground to spec. The steel that I Rockwell tested is soft, when compared to a B gun
Turkish imported o/u are made to be cost affective. Quality, not so much. I know what it is like to be tight with money. I at one time had a mortgage, two kids in school student loans to pay. However clay targets are a expensive sport. If you can't afford a used B gun maybe you should think it over. My first B gun I bought for 1500 used shot it for 7 years and sold it for 1300. Now I shoot a Italian gun and shoot 6000 rounds a year ,no problems what so ever.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom