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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,031
Campfire Tracker
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OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,031 |
What do you think? I want a field-grade 12ga SxS for quail, grouse and pheasant and my budget is not a cent over $900 all up...including tax, shipping and Brady.
Where do I go with this? Ithaca Flues? LC Smith? Ithaca/SKB 100/200/300? Charles Daly/Miroku Model 500? An old Simson Suhl? One of the many brands from Turkey?
I don't like heavy shotguns and I don't mind loading light 7/8 oz loads for quail and the occasional clay target, so I'm thinking max weight 7 lbs.
In addition - it either has to have choke tubes or be bored IC/Mod or, if one of the typical older shotguns with Full/Full or Mod/Full, have a low enough purchase price so I can pay my gunsmith open up the chokes. Or as I did with a Miroku 20ga O/U a couple of years ago, have someone machine the barrels to add thin tube chokes.
There it is - what do you think?
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing -- Edmund Burke
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,249
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,249 |
I have a Ugartechea 28 ga that weighs five pounds and I shoot it well. I like them, I think a 12 is still maybe 6.5 pounds with a straight grip and a splinter forend.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 37,066
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 37,066 |
I have an Uggie Model 30, 12 ga. that's a solid hunting and no frills gun.
You'll have to find some of your mentioned list used to stay below $1K.
DF
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,510
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,510 |
My son-in-law bought one of these in 20 ga. a couple years ago and just loves it... http://www.cz-usa.com/products/view/bobwhite-202-b-case-hardened/Have to say, pretty darn impressive shotgun for the dollar. The action is even color casehardened. Definitely worth a look.
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,109
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,109 |
czech,
If you were considering a 16 or 20, I was going to suggest a Winchester 24. They will never quite be "good enough" given their enevitable comparison to the model 21, but I think they make a good reliable "blue collar" man's SxS! The 12 gauges however are just a little too bulky in the hands for me.
I'd vote for the SKB or the Miroku. I had an OU Miroku 20 gauge that was a real nice gun... don't know why I sold it other than I like SxS's better! If the Miroku SxS's are anything like their cousins, they are probably pretty nice... ? like Browning BSS's perhaps?
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 56,083
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 56,083 |
I've got an old Stevens 16 gauge, model 311 or something like that. Yours for $999.00 + shipping - good guy discount of 15% + FFL fee - irritate liberals discount of 12.5%. Haven't a clue what that adds up to, let me know if you can figure it out.
It has perfect bores, metal and wood about 90% +/-.
I am..........disturbed.
Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,731
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,731 |
I think you are on the right track already. Browning BSS is a nice gun, tough to find bud nice. I like Miroku they do a great job. The SKB is worth every penny. You didn't consider the AYA made in Spain. Hard to beat some of your choices.
NRA LIFE MEMBER
GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS
ESPECIALLY THE SNIPERS!
"Suppose you were an idiot And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself."
-Mark Twain
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 15,565
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 15,565 |
I like the CZ as well.........
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,190
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,190 |
I have a 12 gauge BSS and love it. It shoots where I look, but it is not a particularly light shotgun. I also have an SKB 280E 20 ga and it is light as a feather and handles beautifully.
If I were you I would be looking at either a new CZ or an SKB on the used market.
Life is like a purple antelope on a field of tuna fish...
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 15,640
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 15,640 |
I'd look for a used 280 SKB (the English/straight grip style) on G/broker. With their 25" ic/mod, they're really handy.
NRA Life,Endowment,Patron or Benefactor since '72.
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 37,066
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 37,066 |
The used market may be the OP's best bet. The BSS sailed past $1K a while ago. SKB's are really nice, solid guns, but used would be the only way to go with the budget and that would take some luck.
DF
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 19,822
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 19,822 |
I'd look for a used 280 SKB (the English/straight grip style) on G/broker. With their 25" ic/mod, they're really handy. I wish I had never sold mine. Like a dummy I thought I HAD to have something else.   Ed
"Not in an open forum, where truth has less value than opinions, where all opinions are equally welcome regardless of their origins, rationale, inanity, or truth, where opinions are neither of equal value nor decisive." Ken Howell
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,065
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,065 |
I'd look for a Sauer Model 60, their basic boxlock. Most are quite light yet still balance well, and never shoot loose. Mine weighs 6-1/4 with 28" barrels. It's choked the typical "old German" tight and tighter, but it sounds like you're handloading anyway, and it's easy to make spreader loads. Mine's my favorite shotgun, and have used it on everything from doves to turkeys.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,281
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,281 |
Wish your budget was over $900 because http://www.hillrodandgun.com/archive.php has a potpourri of SxS's for sale. I've owned two from there and have been very pleased. His shop is a huge walk in vault one floor up from a bank. If you're ever headed by Bozeman, call ahead and see if you can stop in. You'll be in SxS heaven. Alan
Last edited by GSSP; 10/07/13.
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 25,088
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 25,088 |
I'd look for a Sauer Model 60, their basic boxlock. Most are quite light yet still balance well, and never shoot loose. Mine weighs 6-1/4 with 28" barrels. It's choked the typical "old German" tight and tighter, but it sounds like you're handloading anyway, and it's easy to make spreader loads. Mine's my favorite shotgun, and have used it on everything from doves to turkeys. I love my Suhl built SxS. Fortuna, Simson, Sauer, Merkel are all Suhl built, plus a few others. Solid guns.
“Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die.”
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,065
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,065 |
Yep, any of those will do. I suggested Sauer because there seem to be more of them. And unlike light British guns, they very rarely loosen up.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,972
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,972 |
I'd look for a Sauer Model 60, their basic boxlock. Most are quite light yet still balance well, and never shoot loose. Mine weighs 6-1/4 with 28" barrels. It's choked the typical "old German" tight and tighter, but it sounds like you're handloading anyway, and it's easy to make spreader loads. Mine's my favorite shotgun, and have used it on everything from doves to turkeys. I love my Suhl built SxS. Fortuna, Simson, Sauer, Merkel are all Suhl built, plus a few others. Solid guns. A few months ago, I picked up a nice Merkel model 8 for $650. Deals are out there if you are patient.
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 69,164
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 69,164 |
CZ / Huglu's are pretty decent guns for the money. Nothing fancy, but I've never had a problem with them. If money was no object, I'd buy a Merkel
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston
Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,065
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,065 |
Well, yeah. My wife and I both have CZ/Huglu side-by-sides, and I have a Merkel. There is a lot of room in between.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 28,172
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 28,172 |
A good Simson for around $850-$1,000 is about on par with an $1,800-$3,000 used Merkel.  Patience and some shopping buy a good importer on your behalf will get you a very fine SXS at a reasonable price.
Hunt with Class and Classics
Religion: A founder of The Church of Spray and Pray
Acquit v. t. To render a judgment in a murder case in San Francisco... EQUAL, adj. As bad as something else. Ambrose Bierce “The Devil's Dictionary”
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