Thinking of getting a Citori 525... thoughts?

Furync

Furync

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Hiyas,

I'm thinking of possibly getting a Citori 525 sporting but before I drop 3000-3500$ on the table for it, I'd like to hear the opinions from the pro's! :)

Should I save up a little more for another gun or is this thing going to put a major smile on my face? (it allready has though... lol I handled it in Wholesales)

I would use it basically for sporting clays, obviously, but I would shoot everything else with it too, trap/skeet, and the odd time hunting. Majority of the time is sporting clays though.

So what's the opinions, comments, suggestions??? :)
Thanks!
 
The only comment I can give it that with the trap gun I would assume it has 30 or 32" barrels. This is really hard to swing and follow upland birds let alone for Grouse in Montreal. Great gun for high flying geese and will hold a nice tight pattern.

If you could find something in a 26" or 28" barrel I find these are the best upland barrels. The 28" barrels are a nice all around barrel that will suit your needs.
 
RyanGSP said:
The only comment I can give it that with the trap gun I would assume it has 30 or 32" barrels. This is really hard to swing and follow upland birds let alone for Grouse in Montreal. Great gun for high flying geese and will hold a nice tight pattern.

If you could find something in a 26" or 28" barrel I find these are the best upland barrels. The 28" barrels are a nice all around barrel that will suit your needs.
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That's really interesting Ryan, I hadn't even put some thoughts into barrel lenght yet. This particular gun come in 28-30-32" and I would definatly go with either 28 or 30 inches. Would there be a big difference in feel between these 2? I think I would prefer 30" but I would go for the 28 if it would have an advantage... :) I do hunt grouse and I would like to hunt geese aswell in the near futur... But then again, I do have a 870 that can do them all. Too many choices! lol
 
If it fits you and feels good in your hands then it's an excellent choice for clay targets.

If your primary use is clays go with longer barrels. I'd strongly suggest 30" as a minimum. The trend in clay shooting is toward longer barrels because they help keep your swing smooth. I'd even try a 32" gun to see how it feels.

In the field I don't find longer barrels an issue. I sometimes hunt grouse with a 32" 28 gauge o/u and it's about the same over all length as a 28" pump or semi.

The only issue might be waterfowl hunting. If you feel you need 3" shells for geese and ducks, the 525 Sporting only comes with 2-3/4" chambers. Also the 525 Sporting is ported and if you really want to be unpopular in a duck blind use a ported gun. They are much louder. The 525 Field model comes with 3" chambers and isn't ported but if your primary intention for this gun is clay shooting then my advice is to get the Sporting version and use the 870 for ducks and geese.
 
With a 30 or 32" barrel there is no need for the 3" shells. All your delivering is a bigger payload on the target. With the longer barrels the shot is holding a tighter pattern at longer distances and there fore more shot is being delivered on target. I shoot ducks and geese with 2 3/4 and have never had one not go down because of the shells you just need to know your limits. I do more field shooting so the birds are a lot closer but I have done successful pass, and over water shoots.

I shoot a Rem 1100 with a 28" and it swings nice for me, I can take it to the range and shoot skeet, but when it comes to huns its a slow gun to swing. Personally I would only shoot a 26" for upland but wouldn't go shorter than a 28" for waterfowl with 30" ideal.

If your wondering about the barrel length go to the range and talk to the guys there try swinging a 26" 28" and a 30".

If you have an 870 already than go with the longer barrel.
 
RyanGSP said:
With a 30 or 32" barrel there is no need for the 3" shells. All your delivering is a bigger payload on the target. With the longer barrels the shot is holding a tighter pattern at longer distances and there fore more shot is being delivered on target.
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Barrel length has nothing to do with patterning. The days of the mythical 36" "Goose" barrled guns is gone. I can get just as good of patterns with a 18" bareled sxs as I can with an 1100 special trap.


As for the 525, I say buy it, try it and then send it to me for break in. I'd give my left nut for a 525 sporting. I'm stuck with my XS until I can justify trading it in.
 
RyanGSP said:
I shoot a Rem 1100 with a 28" and it swings nice for me, I can take it to the range and shoot skeet, but when it comes to huns its a slow gun to swing. Personally I would only shoot a 26" for upland but wouldn't go shorter than a 28" for waterfowl with 30" ideal.
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Ryan, the handling dynamics of an 1100 are often different than an o/u. All of that action weight up front tends to make them nose heavy and a little slower. While I like 26"-28" barrels in Remingtons, lighter barrels in an o/u tend to make them swing and mount faster. Also, a 28" Remington 1100 is longer than a 30" o/u because of the added action length. It's an apples and oranges comparison.
 
Well when I get my O/U in the morning I will let you know how it swings after a few rounds of trap. 28" Barrels on it but for bird hunting do you not want it to shoulder and move faster the same with trap? I have never shot an official trap course or whatever you call it but from what I can see is a gun that shoulders and moves fast benificial as well?
 
i bought a cynergy sporting a while back and i love it the trigger is awsome on it last weekend i shoot my best rounds of trap yet 96/100. i would look into the cynergy as its the same price as you listed and it comes with a mechanical trigger instead of the recoil operated ones in the citori. about the barrel length my cynergy has a 28" barrel i used to shoot trap with a 28" barrel pump it has almost 3 or 4" in length over my cynergy. when i switched to my o/u i had to learn to slow my swing down. i would just pick whatever felt best to you because there wont be enough noticable difference in the shot pattern to matter. if you find your behind the birds now get the same length or shorter in the o/u as what your shooting now. also check out brownings site if i remeber right a 30" O/u is still shorter then a 28" pump
 
Furync ...

The 525 Sporting Grade I is a few hundred cheaper ( +/- $ 2500 ) than the standard 525 Sporting, has a little plainer wood & standard Invector Plus internal choke tubes - but does have 3" chambers. Browning # 013193327.

Like Claybuster said, I would look at the 30"barrels as a "best choice" for an "all-round" gun.

The Citori's are a well-built and generally very trouble free O/U that will stand up to the target game. Over the last 12 or 13 years, my wife has pounded out about about 40,000 to 50,000 shells out of her 325 Sporter - no problems whatsoever and it's still going strong.
 
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