Mark74 Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 All, I'm in the market for an cheap auto for use pigeon shooting. Had a Beretta many years ago which never let me down and new A300 outlanders seem to be priced about £800, which is good but an Armsan comes in at half that. I guess the old adage goes "you get what you pay for" - has anyone got/had an Armsan that they could either recommended or not? Never had any qualms about buying S/H O/U but I'm a bit wary of buying second hand auto - can anyone give any recommendations or advice on things to look at if buying secondhand autos? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 I have the a612s, with the red action,absolutely love and it nice and tight no floppy rattley carrier like the Hatsan.I picked it up for £350 and it had never been fired I think they retail at about £550.For the price I thought I'd have a stab and needed a cheap pigeon gun to get me by while I saved up for a Maxus. Blew away by the quality and performance and even though I went with intension to collect the Maxus last week I came away with the money in pocket.The Armsan a612a is spot on for me so the Maxus money will go towards a holiday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesP Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 I bought an Outlander a few weeks ago. It happily copes with 70mm 32gram cartridges down to 24 grams, and i've run a box of 30 gram 67mm cartridges through it, too. No misfeeds, misfires, or failures to eject in several hundred shots. It does have a habit of working loose the trigger group retaining pin, due to a missing tiny 'D' spring. That spring will arrive tomorrow. I don't suppose the pin would ever actually drop out, but it needs fixing. The gun comes with a three year warranty, extendable to 10 years from GMK for an extra £50. I'm very happy with the gun, its stock adjustment works very nicely and is a solid method that instils confidence with an angled shim between action and stock with a spacer around the stock bolt; so it's located firmly in two places. The gun's internal finish is reminiscent of my Urika. It shoots well, and cycles very rapidly. My neighbour boaught an Armsan 20 bore auto just before Christmas. That came with a three year warranty, too. It's currently back with the RFD, having exhibited a failure to chamber a fresh cartridge on fairly frequent occasions. Last Tuesday he had 5 failures in 50 shots. The problem appears to be a sharp lip on the barrel tang where the extractor tooth on the bolt impacts the steel, this has created a sharp chisel edged protrusion that catches and digs into the plastic of the cartridge preventing it from being chambered. The stock adjustent is by shim alone, which to my mind isn't as secure. The gun appears good value, it handles, points, and shoots well. In my opinion the Outlander is a much better quality item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun4860 Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 there is a nice SX3 in private sales for £600.....very good price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich1984 Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Im with davyo, i love my armsan a612. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly47 Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 I bought a weatherby sa-08 second hand two years ago and its been faultless, I've put at least 5000 carts through it and its never jammed.... use it for occasional clays and pigeon /crow shooting no matter what the weather's like..... Best of all it was in "as new" condition when I got it with a case and chokes..... All for the grand sum of..... Wait for it ...... £200. Best 200 pound I've spent on a gun and if you don't believe me check out YouTube.. Cheers tedly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark74 Posted February 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Thank you all for your inputs 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Rather but a secondhand beretta than a new hatstand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sishyplops Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Beretta 303 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickB65 Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Armsan A612 - mighty fine gun and worth every penny...... and more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanz Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 hi mark I,ll repeat what ive said b4,i have an outlander and armsan a620s,both good guns,but the beretta is twice the price but not twice as good.you wont go far wrong with the a612. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesP Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Update on my Outlander Bl***y foresight bead dropped off today. Normally I would just carry on, but the clever matte -smooth-satin finish of the barrel and rib mean they're invisible. As it's fairly new to me I couldn't get a decent sight picture so I came home. It's still a nice gun but after all this hassle (see other posts) I have to say that my "New Beretta Outlander Buying Experience" has been pants... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark74 Posted February 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) Thanks for input lads Edited February 27, 2015 by Mark74 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterBen Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Cheap auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterBen Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Beretta outlander is a great gun mine has shot over 3000 shells and never done wrong even on 24g loads......my front bead also fell out tho... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet1747 Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Beretta 303 I had one of these very good guns I couldn't get on with it , I got a camo hatsan magnum for Xmas great gun easier to strip and clean shoots owt I put through it , still can't hit owt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead eye alan Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 I had one of these very good guns I couldn't get on with it , I got a camo hatsan magnum for Xmas great gun easier to strip and clean shoots owt I put through it , still can't hit owt Bent barrel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris1961 Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 (edited) Mines a 70s frenchi falconett does the business any time and only paid 150 pounds for it that's a bargain Edited February 28, 2015 by chris1961 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a303 Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Beretta 301-303. Absolutely bullet proof, cracking build quality. And best of all cheapish although prices to seem to be climbing. Got a field model my lass uses and a sporter that I use for pigeons. Both have digested thousands upon thousands of carts and have had absolutely no bother other than cleaning em. Just make sure you get a Mobil choke barrel and your set whether it be clays, pigeons etc! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velocette Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 Just out of interest,,I've just bought an old A300 for a song,,fantastic wood and built like a brick privy inside. I thought my trusty A302 was solid but this one is outstanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billytheghillie Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 franchi affinity one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCat Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 My al390 hasn't let me down yet. It's shot thousands of rounds from 67-70 mm and 24g to 36g without issue. Well worth a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
margun Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 My A390ST is for sale in the trading post. You won't go wrong with that ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass301gmh Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Franchi Affinity - £540 with a 7 year warranty. Easy to strip and clean and seems bomb proof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TONY R Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Just been trhrough this with my young lad, he has got right into pigeon shooting hes only 12 and he got going last year with a 20 bore hatsan i got when the kids started, there is only me uses that now. He wanted a 12 nothing i had spare suited him, so i started looking, he was dead fussy knew exactly what he wanted. We looked at a new Hatsan Beretta A300 and a whole flock of used stuff remington 1100s 1187s some nice Beretta 303s which i realy pushed him hard to buy, but he was just cold about any of them. Nothing new inspired him he wanted a in his words classy gun something thats going to last. The eldest has a franchi 3 inch magnum the old type in mint condition i think this gun was was the type of thing he was wanting, and when we looked at a tidy used franchi 912 i thought he was going to go for it but no he decided against that too, his quote it feels cheap . Several saturdays latter and a great many miles finaly we get to the gun he has to have, a near mint Browning Hump back auto 5 A late one vent rib invector choke magnum, a big heavy gun but he is happy and he is hitting well with it. It was 425 quid and i will say its a proper well put together gun, i cant see him ever parting with it, he looks after it like its made of gold. A nice used gun like the one my lad picked up, can offer a good option rather than the new stuff out there, and this old Browning is the japanese steel proof model too so allthough he hates wildfowling at the moment he has a gun he can do anything with, and cheaper than a bargain basement new gun. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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