upland gun help

petew said:
I read lots of problems about the Silver Reserve but have not met anyone that personaly had or has problems. I have run into several shooters that had issues with th Citori , CZ , and other o/u's. My 12 ga Silver Reserve served my brother without issues for many years before he passed it on to me , and I have not had a single issue with it. A friend has a 20/28 combo Silver Reserve and has not had any problems.

Browning has an excellent reputation for warranty and repair service , and that makes me wonder how so many Citori shooters are familiar with Brownings warranty if the gun is so good. ???
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The Citori is likely the most common shotgun model in use for the clays sports, this makes it easy to see why there are some issues now and then. As for the Silver Reserve, I have seen them double, and fail to fire within 1000 rounds. I have yet to see a Silver Reserve last 50,000 rounds, either they don't see a lot of use, or the owners got rid of them.
 
I had a friend posted to Lahr when they had to disperse assets for the base shotgun club.
There were about half and half Citoris to 101s with oodles of shells fired out of them.
They got a gunsmith look them over and in his opinion certainly the Citoris were capable being repaired at reasonable cost each one. The Winchester 101s not so much. They sold them at near scrap pricing to club members. I believe the repaired Citoris made thier way back to another Canadian base shooting club but I could be wrong.
 
stubblejumper said:
The Citori is likely the most common shotgun model in use for the clays sports, this makes it easy to see why there are some issues now and then. As for the Silver Reserve, I have seen them double, and fail to fire within 1000 rounds. I have yet to see a Silver Reserve last 50,000 rounds, either they don't see a lot of use, or the owners got rid of them.
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Who needs a gun to run 50,000 rounds for upland hunting. Enlighten me please
I bet most of mine don't have 100 rounds through them and the ones used most maybe 1000
Yes I have a silver and a citori both in 28ga and apples and oranges but both go bang and I use the silver more since I don't want the crap beat out of the other in the brush
Cheers
 
3macs1 said:
Who needs a gun to run 50,000 rounds for upland hunting. Enlighten me please
I bet most of mine don't have 100 rounds through them and the ones used most maybe 1000
Yes I have a silver and a citori both in 28ga and apples and oranges but both go bang and I use the silver more since I don't want the crap beat out of the other in the brush
Cheers
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I don't need an upland gun to last 50,000 rounds, but I do want a reliable gun, and I have seen the Silver Reserves fail in very few rounds. One doubled in the first few days that it was fired.
 
stubblejumper said:
I don't need an upland gun to last 50,000 rounds, but I do want a reliable gun, and I have seen the Silver Reserves fail in very few rounds. One doubled in the first few days that it was fired.
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I would be shocked if any one did and to me yes buy the best you can afford BUT
I just have one silver a 28ga just because it was a 28ga but it goes bang so far
I guess I have seen worse
Cheers
 
I hunt upland game with doubles, pipes stacked vertically or horizontally... but if you are only going to consider cheap low end doubles, I would go with the BPS or Franchi. Shytey doubles are bad economy... my best advice is to find a beat up Citori for the same money and call it good... she might not be pretty but it won't let you down and you won't mind pushing through the brambles with it.
 
This is why I love this site, everyone has experience with different shotguns, I was speaking to the guys at Ellwood Epps and they said they have sold many Mossberg silver reserves and also many IGA Condors and that they have had a few come back but less than 5 %.
I would like to hear from anyone using either for hunting a few times a year not skeet or trap as I don't do that anyway.Thanks
 
They are crappy... I know many guys at the club that have gone that route, mostly new or young shooters... any I have talked to have regretted it... including those that are primarily hunters... but if you are determined to buy one, shoot it for a year and then post a review (complete with tears).
 
My first upland gun was also my first duck and goose gun; a Winchester 2200 pump in 12 gauge. I carried it for a lot of miles after birds. My second upland gun was a 20 gauge Ugartechea English-style boxlock, much lighter and far better balanced. Killed a lot of sharptails with that gun. Other guns I've picked up for the uplands are a Remington 31 in 20 gauge (love it), Winchester model 12 in 20 ga (didn't like it), Remington 1100 Special Field in 12 gauge (great balance and fast, but on the heavy side), a Ugartechea sidelock 12 gauge (lovely, just lovely), and recently a little Turkish 20 gauge semi (under 6 pounds, balances and carries like a dream).
 
I used a 20g Mossberg Silver that belonged to a friend. It is far heavier than I prefer for a 20g upland gun. The trigger pull was BRUTAL and the gun itself was not well balanced imho. Like others have said, I would put my money towards a used Browning or Beretta....whichever of the two that fits you best. If you already have the Franchi, use it before buying the Mossberg or Stevens. Good luck
 
A few are fairly fortunate to spend plenty of days in the field, heavy loads and opening and closing the gun will take a toll over time.
 
So far I lean towards Hoytcannon and Grouse Man here. But don't take my word for it.
Do yourself a huge favor and before you open your wallet give a wander through shotgunworld as there is another nearby nation with about twelve times our population.
Research research research.....
 
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I'm a bit late to the party, but having owned a few, I'll play anyways.

I owned an IGA/Stoeger 12 OU. Shot a dozen clays and two grouse a year for 10 years no problem, but then I moved to Nova Scotia and got addicted to pheasant hunting. Started shooing a few hundred clays and a few dozen shots at birds and the gun soon started having trouble. Issue was both firing pins dropping at once. Ouch. I spend 1/4 the cost of a new one on failed repairs and then got rid of it.

Got a mossberg silver reserve at Delta dinner. Took it out of the box and was so unimpressed by fit/finish/operation that I decided to sell it NIB. So can't comment on reliability.

Got a Stevens OU goldwing and it immediately would not fire second barrel. Workmaship was even worse than the mossberg.

THEN I JOINED CGN. Went to the EE every damned day until I found a well used Beretta 686. Bought it, hunted it, love it. Then did the same with a 687 SPII. I was supposed to sell the 686, but I couldn't part with it.

*So my advice is just that - bide your time looking for a used Beretta or Browning OU on the EE and elsewhere*

Other perhaps relevant comments - someone above mentioned the short barrel of the BPS not being ideal for pheasants etc... - more of a dense cover gun. I agree. With fast moving birds in open cover swing is everything - 26 or 28" IMO. Having handled and shot the BPS upland I find it a bit of a beast. Can't comment on the Franchi.

Cheers,
-Dave
 
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