Recommended O/U or Semi Auto

[Teal]

Hi guys, basically I'm after a pigeon and rabbiting gun, second hand to save on money. I know some guns hold their value a lot more than others and there is the old saying "you get what you pay for". £400 was the figure I had in my mind for this gun, but I may be able to get a bit more if it's really worth it. Looks of the gun don't bother me, need a solid good workhorse. Is it worth getting above 28" barrels, and how tight should the chokes be. Thanks. Had a look on gundealer and went into a couple of shops and saw in Adenbourne Fieldsports a Lanber Premier Game for £495, but I wasn't sold on it. So any recommendations or advice appreciated.

[ProteuS]

i bought a bettinsoli o/u , ejector multichoke for 225, now it's not the prettiest gun but it does appear to be pretty rugged, once i got the firing pin problem sorted, it's quite chunky but it shoots well and i'm not too bothered if it gets scratched. also the uni clay club has one exactly the same as mine with a slightly different stock, and it shoots around about 250 cartridges , in a couple of hours , week in week out. i've not had mine long enough to give it a long term report though.

 

HTH

[arjimlad]

Hello Teal.

 

2 guns which seem to hold their value if treated well : -

 

I think you won't go far wrong with a Beretta 3-series auto. I have just acquired one which has been asleep for 15 years, and it shot 250 shells (5 people each doing a 50-bird sporting) with one minor misfeed only, and I think that was due to a duff shell.

 

What about a Laurona for durability ? I've not owned one but understand they are really durable & popular with wildfowlers.

 

Just my thoughts.

 

Jimmer

[Guest Mr Pieman]

Hi Teal,

 

a Beretta 686 or 687 should outlast you. My preference is a 'Game' rather than 'Sporter' but it would be useful if you could try both to see which suits you best.

 

Either multichoke or fixed at quarter and half should suffice for most things.

 

IMHO I would look to the u/o market for your purchase - although lots of people use semis I feel the style of gun has no class or style I can't ever imagine a 'Best English' semi being produced!!!!!! I aslo like the option of a tighter choke pattern for my second shot, rather than having to select one choke in what, in effect, is a repeating single barrelled shotgun!

 

28" barrels are the most common used by rough shooters and pigeon chasers. 30" tend to snag a bit more in the hide and add weight to the gun. However, the extra weight might prove useful in controlling your swing if you are a big fella, and don't mind the extra weight.

PP

Edited March 18, 2005 by Mr Pieman

[TX Sniper]

for that money i would go for a new baikal, multichoke and baikals are as tough as they come. semi wise maybe a fabarm euro lion or a remi 1100. as for choke 1/4 3/4.

hth

[Browning]

Hi Teal,

 

I'm with PP. Over/Under all the way. If you can, scratch and scrape the extra cash together and go for Beretta 686/687, or maybe a Browning 325/425. Both are excellent guns and should outlast you.

 

One other thing on the O/U versus Semi. Semi's are frowned upon on many

game shoots (I beat on 3 and they are not allowed on any of them, even beaters days).

 

p.s. I'm also a fan of Adenbourne Fieldsports....they will always "do a deal" and I get

most of my kit from there now.

[dodeer]

If you see a gun you like contact me and i'll see how much cheaper i can get it for you from the trade.

[dunganick]

like said above, any of the berreta's in the 300 series, there was a topic in the pigeon shooting section about the 390, which i think 2nd hand is around the 400 mark, so might be worth keeping an eye out

[the last engineer]

To add to Mr P and Browning , My 2 cents worth wait and save the money for either of the following 325/425 686/687, all are very good quality firearms and as stated will last you out ,my only preferance would be the sporter rather than field .

 

My reasoning simple ,i believe the field gun is a good quality gun as is all ,but to be specific a target/clay gun has been built to withstand a higher shot usage than field guns (hence price differance) this is not to slag off all you field gun user's

this is my own opersonal observation and factual findings here.

 

Another reason for target over field ,the majority of target guns have lengthend forcing cones and also backbored o/s bores (Browning especialy) therefore reducing recoil,and not tiring the shooter out

 

of all the field guns i have shot and seen shot at the ranges on clays they become looser faster than the sporting/clay specific gun .

i firmly believe the quality of the target gun will give you greater life than a field gun but will do the job just as well IMHO

 

this is just my view and is no way out to **** anyone off .

 

Martin

[M ROBSON]

It might be worth waiting and getting a second hand Xtrema, now that the MKII is out the MKI will drop in price.

 

Mark.

[deadeye]

i can find some agreement with every post here. in essence, if you are at this time limited to one shotgun, i would agree with mr. p, browning, and the last engineer in the idea that a 686/687 beretta or a 325/425 browning would be hard to beat. in fact in my humble opinion for the money you can't beat them. i personally shoot a beretta 687 sporting for both clays and alot of my hunting/shooting needs. it is a superb overall shotgun accessible to the working man. i am fortunate in that it fits me out of the box. if the browning had fit, i would be using a browning. in short, take your time and get a quality gun that fits you. the almighty did not make two of us exactly alike.

 

i also have used autos and pumps extensively as i am an american living in the southeastern u.s.. i like the way an autoloader or pump loads in a duck blind, or someother type of hide, boat , or blind. in a cramped situation they are easier to load than a break action gun. in fact, i just bought one of the new xtrema II by beretta and i look forward to using it for duck, geese, deer, varmits , dove and wild turkey.

 

in short, i like and enjoy both types of guns and really believe that they just like tools in a tool box each have their place. if i was forced to only have one gun for the rest of my life i would without hesitation choose my beretta 687 silver pigeon sporting. its great for clays and it is a killer when it comes to flying game.

 

p.s.

 

for clays or skeet the break action gun is inherintly more safe because when the gun is broken open it is totally impossible for it to discharge while you are waiting your turn to shoot etc.. having said that, no gun or tool or any other damn thing is safe in the hands of a fool. i shoot clays with both an 0/u or auto as i see fit. just my .02 cents. one last comment---the british have pretty well perfected the art and science of shooting flying game with a shotgun. i sincerely hope from the bottom of my heart that those miserable ******* in the socialist wing of the labor party will not steal your heritage as a british sportsman.

[Teal]

I have heard the wood quality is better for the 687 is there any other discernable difference between it and the 686?

[dodeer]

Wood and engraving is better on 687.

I have a vgc 687 Silver Pigeon up at £695. It has 30" barrels with 3"magnum chambers along with 3/4 and full chokes. It is a game not a sporter and weighs in at 71/4lb. Nice bit of wood too.