Now that I’m over 50 and my children are becoming teenagers, it’s time to hand off my Remington 870 12-gauge pump shotgun to my son, and get into something I can grow old with. I’m thinking an over/under 20-gauge with chokes I can change and being able to pick which barrel fires first. I’ve seen guns with chokes sticking out the end, and I don’t want that. Any of my Backfire brothers or sisters have suggestions for brands of shotguns I should look at? Would prefer to stay under $1200 (preferably a lot less) and I prefer a used gun that I can use without fear of denting or scratching it. Just thought I’d check here before heading to my local Scheels or Sportsmans Warehouse. I have done zero research. In fact, I recently learned that you can pick which barrel shoots first and can have different chokes in each barrel. As a child in the 1980’s I had a side-by-side cheapo with two triggers and if I pulled the wrong one, both barrels would go off. So, it’s taken 40 years to go back to a double barrel. Any advice???
Oh man, shotguns are tough. Because of the fact you’re doing instinctive shooting the gun really has to fit you perfectly in order to shoot it real well.
Any skeet or Sporting Clay classes near you?
Several years ago my wife got me a Christmas present which was a Sporting Clay teaching course in the NC mountains. I took my O/U, but I ended up shooting one of the schools guns more because it fit me better. The instructor also told me that every so often they will start to sell off their collection in order to pick up some new guns and they offer them at very good discounts.
I’m partial to Beretta’s and winchester’s. If you’re okay with used then you can probably find one in your price range.
If you find one that has a choke that is sticking out the front of the barrel, you can replace that choke with a more flush mounted one. The reverse is true also
From what Ive heard, Stoeger has an over under called the Condor. Very Very reasonably priced and will do the job for well under that 1200$
Mossberg Silver Reserve or CZ Drake are both affordable over-unders (made in Turkey I believe). Contrary to some belief, not all Turkish made shotguns are terrible, it does help to get one from a good company like Mossberg.
If you could find the original Weatherby Orion O/U made by SKB, or SKB, or even the new Turkish made ones orions, as that’s the route I went… the other one I got I love! Is my Rizzini it is a fantastic balance O/U. LL Bean guns are made by Rizzini and the Sig Sauer guns are also made by Rizzini so sometimes you can find them cheaper the the real thing on gun broker
I have a Weatherby Athena. It is beautiful, wonderful, and I am terrified to take it in the field. I use a Franchi 720 semi auto instead.
Not sure this will respect your budget but you should be able to come close with a bit of patience. I’d look for a used 680 series Beretta. Lots of variations of the same bulletproof action. I still travel with a 682 Sporting that I bought in 1984. I shot competitively with it for years and I’ve put 150,000 plus rounds through.it. The 20 gauge frame with 30” barrels is beautifully balanced. A lovely lifetime investment.
It will be tough to find a high quality OU shotgun under $1200. I have read some positive reviews about the CZ guns made in Turkey, I agree with @alexfields not ALL Turkish shotguns are garbage, but you do have to be careful. Some are! If you are looking for a gun that you can “grow old” with and maybe pass down later, I would also consider the Browning Citori. I am still hunting with my Winchester pump, but looking at a OU myself. My pheasant hunting buddy shoots a Browning 20 ga and loves it. My son was a competitive trapshooter in high school He shot a Browning BT-99 single barrel, but unless you jump to a Krieghoff or Perazzi or something like that, most were shooting Brownings.
Over the years I have owned a lot of shotguns, including a Remington 870 or two along the way. I am not a fan of any break action shotgun, first you only get two shots and when the ducks come into the dekes it’s no time to be trying to reload to get off another shot. In my old age I have finally settled on a Remington 11-87 in 12 ga 3 inch mag. They are readily available everywhere, extremely reliable, easy to clean and take care of. Shoot any 12 ga shell interchangeably and with a Carlson extra full waterfowl choke that is OK for steel shot works on anything you care to shoot. I use it to shoot everything from Trap to Turkeys as it is. Recoil is mild, even with magnum loads and even lighter than most 20 ga shotguns with a Limbsaver recoil pad, and pretty much guaranteed to be lighter than your 870 was or any over under you might want to shoot. In good condition you can find them anywhere between $400 and $600.
I agree with @Tabby, if you’re going to be hunting water fowl. I have hunted duck and goose with a pump gun, but just get a good semi-auto. However, for upland game, I’ll take an OU every time.
Ruger red label OU hard to beat if the still make them. lol
Sorry, didn’t realize they are that expensive now.
I bought a Franchi L sporting clays ou for Christina and it’s really nice. Tight of the box and It dusts clays swings nice after I balanced It not huge money was like $1200 nice wood good fit and polish and it’s a real gun. Chokes do extend and that’s great for me so you can tighten through a round by hand
I stand by my previous comments on Beretta but recognize that they don’t fit all budgets. Just returned from five days of perdiz/pigeon shooting in Uruguay. We’ve been shooting with the same outfitter there for years and last year one of my buddies decided to stop bringing his own gun and opted for the outfitters rental Yildiz O/U”s - one of the less expensive models with an alloy receiver. He is a very experienced competitive shooter with a safe full of pricy shotguns. He liked it so much he rented it again this year and liked it just as much. I can attest that it was very unpopular with the pigeon commumnity!
The outfitter has two of them and he says they’ve been shot a lot for two seasons (pretty much equivalent of a lifetime’s use for your average guy) with no problems. The one my friend shot still felt tight, had nice dimensions and balance, cost less than $1000. What’s not to like.
I have a Tristar 12 gauge. It’s a cheaper option (500-700) some can get higher or lower in price but that seems to be the average. They have some options in 20 gauge as well. Mine runs great, it’s not as smooth as some of the expensive options but I have no issues with it. It ejects shells every time, you can choose over or under for first shot. I run a mod choke under and full choke on top. I shoot under first, then over.