over/under

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kscountryboy11

New member
alright..So ive mad a decision that i need a new shotgun :D

i used to shoot a cheap over/under and really like the gun, but had to retire it, it kicked like a mule and was fairly heavy. ive already got my mind made up that i want another o/u but i dont have alot of knowledge when it comes to o/u's. im not wanting to get just some cheap gun, ive been savin some money here and there, and would like to get a good o/u after the season. im looking for something that is fairly light and a good gun overall. any suggestions? i kno the big names(benelli, beretta) but i kno nothing about their o/u's. any help and suggestions would be great.
 
kscountryboy11 said:
alright..So ive mad a decision that i need a new shotgun :D

i used to shoot a cheap over/under and really like the gun, but had to retire it, it kicked like a mule and was fairly heavy. ive already got my mind made up that i want another o/u but i dont have alot of knowledge when it comes to o/u's. im not wanting to get just some cheap gun, ive been savin some money here and there, and would like to get a good o/u after the season. im looking for something that is fairly light and a good gun overall. any suggestions? i kno the big names(benelli, beretta) but i kno nothing about their o/u's. any help and suggestions would be great.
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FYI, Benelli doesn't make O/U's. Browning and Beretta are a couple of good ones you will want to look at. Thre are also a number of other good O/U's on the market. I would encourage you to head to a store like Cabelas or a good gun shop that stocks a lot of the various models. Try shouldering them and see what fits you the best. The Browning Citori comes in a number of different models and each may feel a little different. You said your old O/U "kicked like a mule" and you also say you want something "fairly light". Be careful here, the lighter the gun, generally the more the felt recoil will be.
 
I would recommend any field Beretta or a lightweight citori, stay away from the Red Label a nice gun but way to heavy to carry in a 12. Many nice Italian o/u if you want to pay some dollars, not that Beretta's are cheap, but they do have some nice entry level models that are very nice,
 
I shoot a Citori lightening and love it. That being said, the best shooting O/U I've ever shot was Remington Peerless. My brother used to have a Red Label, but it kicked like a mule, and I've heard the same complaint from several other people. We didn't think the Red Label was as study as the Citori either.

Really, go in and shoulder a bunch of them. You'll find that the Berettas shoulder very differently from the Brownings. Beretta, Browning, Ruger, Remington, Weatherby, any of those are good guns; just find the one that you like.
 
If you are considering used guns there are some real nice SKB's out there. And they are a solid gun. But they do handle and feel different from some others. You have to shoulder it to see for yourself. Good luck.
 
You have a choice. An 8lb O/U will be heavy to carry but tame the recoil of heavy field loads. Under 8lbs, it will be nice to carry but belt you pretty good with those same loads (unless you actually like the pain).
 
What I do is look at a ton of em first and find a brand that pulls up and fits nice with out modification, that helps resale down the road if you don't hack a gun up. The light weight guns are nice but you will maybe want to look at some sporting clay guns with ported barrels. The reason is they kick less and you can go lighter that way. A longer barrel is also helpfull with kick and swings nicer. I have a Cortona Grande Sporting, and love it, it fits perfect. I take the factory recoil pads off and put on a Limb saver and that helps as well. Some as browning etc. have those special recoil pads in them if the gun fits. For me none did unfortunatly. Some finer guns will even have wooden or hard pads, but if it's the right gun, you can change that out easy with out changing the integrity of your gun. You can spend a little more on one that fits any way because if you pay less for one that doesn't, you won't shoot well, or will have to pay more for modification. For me a Cesar Gerinni, Rizinni, Cortona, and couple Huglu's or CZ's fit well. The CZ I bought first because of cost. Deadly gun for me, but got heavy. So thats the reason I ended up with what I have. And it took allot of shopping around and looking to figure it out. No matter how many times I tried, a Browning for example, that did not fit at Scheels, would not fit at Cabelas either.:D Then one day I opened my eyes on some and it was all there. It is fun looking all of them over for the right gun.
 
Kscountryboy,
All of these suggestions are good and a lot of merit to them, what you might considering doing is getting with some friends, family or ? and asking them if you can try one of their O/Us and see what works best for you. What is nice here close to where I live a sporting clays range here has some of the guns reps come out to their range with their new guns for the year or last couple of years back and for I believe $5.00 you can try any off their guns at I believe 10 clay bird. Might look for something like that around there perhaps.
 
Fausti is a fine Italian made gun. CDNN has some of them on sale and I have one in 20 gauge I use all the time. Check them out if you can on the CDNN website.......Bob
 
If you are looking to purchase pretty quick you might want to check with a store call specialty sports in colorado springs. They have a lot of o/u on sale at the moment and they usually have good prices to start with. For example a Browning cynergy field is on sale for 1299 or a ceasar guerini woodlander is 1900 (same gun is 3200 at bass pro shop). Might be worth a call if you know what you are looking for. They probably have a ton of o/u in stock.
 
blueweim said:
If you are looking to purchase pretty quick you might want to check with a store call specialty sports in colorado springs. They have a lot of o/u on sale at the moment and they usually have good prices to start with. For example a Browning cynergy field is on sale for 1299 or a ceasar guerini woodlander is 1900 (same gun is 3200 at bass pro shop). Might be worth a call if you know what you are looking for. They probably have a ton of o/u in stock.
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i wont be purchasing for another couple months, i want to make to sure im completly happy with a gun and it shoulders right and everything, i jus made a post to see what others opinions on recoil and weight ratios on o/u's since i dont know alot about them, just like i wasnt aware that benelli didnt make o/u's( told u i didnt kno anything bout them :D)but all these post have gave more knowledge and now i just gotta find the right gun. im not worried about $$ , i just know about spending a ton of money, and getting my gun beat up.
 
good luck with your quest.

I can attest to the light gun kicks like a mule. I just purchased a 12ga guerini that is about 6.5lbs with a wood butt plate. I figured it can't be that bad. Shot a box of shells at the gun club no problem. Went hunting with prairie storm loads and after 14 rounds in 3 days my shoulder was killing me. I found myself not shooting if it was a questionable shot on the 3rd day.

The problem is I really like how it shoulders with the wood butt. It just slides right into place where my other shot gun has a soft recoil pad and at times it gets caught on the way up. I think I am going to try the browning recoil pad that goes in your shirt because the gun is just so quick that I just can't give it up.
 
I'll vote for a Caesar Guerini. I have the Magnus, just under 7lbs. I like the wood butt plate also. Shoot Prairie storm, golden pheasant, federals PF, and Hevi shot 3in. I have never noticed recoil, but I lift boulders for a living and have been hit many times in one form or another so I might not be the best judge about recoil. CG has come out with some new o/u the past two years that look pretty nice. Shoulder a few SxS's also. Have some fun shouldering those guns.
 
Right On

CRP said:
You have a choice. An 8lb O/U will be heavy to carry but tame the recoil of heavy field loads. Under 8lbs, it will be nice to carry but belt you pretty good with those same loads (unless you actually like the pain).
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Right on I only shoot my o/u on sporting clays and doves. I carry a full size 12 ga gas auto that only weights 6.2lb for huntting wild Pheasants.
 
I actually have 3 Citori's (20/16/12) but only hunt with the 20 and 16. They each weigh around 7lbs and the recoil is tolerable. The 625 12 GA is for clays only with 7/8 and 1 oz. loads. With an O/U, you don't lose your hulls.

My main field gun is a Browning Maxus. It too weighs 7lbs for ease of carry but the gas system cuts the recoil, even with 3' loads.

If you can stand the punch delivered from the light O/U's without developing a flinch, then go for it!
 
I just bought a franci rennaisance from sportsmans for 899.00 after rebate its a 12 and weighs 6lb 3 oz, havent shot it yet:)
 
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