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SKB 500... I like it better than my Citori....

I learned my lessons regarding O/Us long ago on Spanish and Italian guns. Those experiences allowed me to let others try the new kids in the block while I observed. I have saved a lot of money and even more frustration this way.

What I have most closely observed has been the CZs owned by members of my sporting clays team over them last few years. 5 of them own 8 CZs of which 3 of them have had problems. All three had issues with at least one barrel not firing. Two had extractors or ejectors break with little use. Two of the guns were sold shortly after return from the manufacturer. The third has been sent back to CZ four times for the right barrel not firing without the problem being corrected. Twice it has been sent to Pat Laib but he hasn't been able to fix it either. The gun has not gotten him through a full 10 week sporting clays season nor a hunting season without problem. He would get rid of the gun but it was a gift from his wife and he doesn't want to make her feel bad.

Three of the five guns left were sold/traded before they were used enough to determine reliability. The other two have not shown to have any issues but none have been shot even a moderate amount (>1000 rounds) with the one probably having not much over 100 rounds through it.

As has been said already, you will be looking at a used O/U in your price range if you want one that is reliable. If you insist on new, then you will be better off with a semiauto or pump gun for quality.

In an O/U that says Beretta. Now if you are really going to do that, then it says pump. Old Rem 870, Win Mod12 or Ithaca 37.

No where will it say CZ O/U.

Woodmaster, those are the kind of first hand facts I was looking for. Thank you for the information. Battue, I'll look into Beretta O/U guns. I believe I shot a round of sporting clays with a rented on years ago. I currently have a family hand me down Remington model 11 20 gauge that sees most of my shotgunning use. After a few trips to the range my wife and oldest boy have taken a shine to it. Picked up a used Mossberg 500 and it just doesn't fit well. I just have the feeling I'm done with pump guns, that little model 11 has culled many big heavy pumps for me!

I like the old model 11. Never owned one, but they look and feel pretty dang solid.

Kid0917 I love ours, three generations of my family have owned it and it's never failed to feed or go bang to my knowledge.

Few 12gauge O/U’s will go under 7pounds. A Remington 870 will go around 7 and a Ithaca ultralight 6.5 pounds. That extra barrel on a O/U doesn’t come as free weight.

true, dat. My go to gun was a Citori in 12 ga for decades, but I am at the point where less weight is desirable. Killed a lot with that old gun. Now I usually go with a 20ga 870 in the LW Mag setup. I have a full and a modified barrel for it.

Battue the Ithaca featherweight is about the only pump that appeals to me. I'd like to handle one.

Not sure if this is regional, but the local Dick's Sporting Goods has Franchi Instinct O/Os on sale for $800. That is a lot of shotgun for the scratch if you're set on an O/U.

Check out SKBs.... Here's a couple inexpensive items: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/736971816 and https://www.gunbroker.com/item/736872124


One thing about SKBs - they have excellent quality internal parts and they function very well.. I've shot SKBs since 1968.. Other than a couple mainsprings and maybe a firing pin - I've had zero issues otherwise..

SKB has long been a sleeper for deals on a great quality firearm. An even better deal has been the Weatherby Orion which was made by SKB. Weatherby has not been recognized as a shotgun company and resale of its shotguns has reflected that. I have bought several Orions over the years as gifts to relatives who really wanted an O/U. They tend to run 25-30% less than a comparable Browning or Beretta gun. Parts can be difficult as SKB has had some difficulty keeping distributors but the Internet has made finding the replacement for the rare broken part much easier.

The Beretta Ultra-lite is a nice carrying gun but one can get a bit punch drunk if shooting a fair volume of shells through it. The Essential by the same company is a little heavier and is a very good field gun. I've bought two and wish I would have kept at least one.

Browning has/had the Citori Featherlight which had a steel breach face with alloy receiver. It was about the weight of the Essential so was a decent field gun and could do a good job on the range with lighter loads. I used one for most of two upland seasons and a bit of skeet the summer between. It is another one I should have kept rather than give back.

The Browning Cynergy is a shallower receiver much like the Beretta. It feels lighter to me than a Citori but that is probably more subjective than actual. I've used them in 12, 20, and 28 ga and kept the 28. The other two were very nice handling guns but they were made for the European market and had fixed chokes. The 12 ga was also recalled for a problem with the safety which made it easier to give up.

I have not used a Franchi O/U in decades so can't really comment on them first hand. A couple people who's opinions I trust somewhat think the current guns are a decent value for the price. If I found one cheap enough I might give one a try but it is unlikely I'll find one that cheap. The same guys thought the same of the Verona 900 and even 800 series of a few years back so it might behoove one's self to keep an eye open for them. The Verona name isn't well known and most think of "cheap" when recognized so a deal might be found.

Other than the Berettas, they can all be found in 20 ga along with 12 ga. The 20s are generally built on a smaller frame which will be lighter than the 12. Most will have 3" chambers too so one can rocked good if desired. I liked the longer chamber as it allowed me to load up decent 12 ga steel loads when chasing roosters on Federal wetlands. For the handful of shells shot in a day the recoil was not too onerous. In the 20 I liked the other types of nontoxic 3" shells as they were the more effective option. I also felt 3" lead was a better choice day in/ day out for wild pheasants too.

The only SKB I've ever seen was an Ithaca 500 I handled today in a local shop. Pointed and swung great, not crazy about fixed choke guns but the price was pretty good on it. I'm definitely keeping my eye open for used Browning's after perusing a half dozen shops and fondling as many Browning's.

Find an good used Beretta S56E

I bought a Franchi Alcione in the late 90s. I had been shooting Browning Citori based target shotguns and found them heavy for all day upland hunting. I went to a LGS that had a good selection and told them to just hand me O/U field guns. After lifting several the Alcione felt the best to me and so I bought it. Price new was about $1K. I used it for pheasants, ducks and geese. It saw lots of hard use and bears the scars. I knew it was not a high volume gun, but it never failed and I killed a lot of birds with it. Can't say anything about any other Franchi models, but the Alcione was a worthwhile purchase.

Any parts needed for SKBs can be obtained from Ron Sharp in Ontario, Canada.. And the man knows his SKBs - he was the shop's manager when they closed, and bought their entire inventory...

The M500 does indeed have fixed chokes, but the M505 has tubes.. I would not be afraid of fixed chokes in these guns - I've won a LOT of turkey shoots with a few of 'em, notably a M700, M800, M880 Crown Grade and last, my M85TSS Trap Combo....the latter is the only one with choke tubes..

Being choked Modified and Full doesn't frighten me at all. I seem to kill more birds and clays both with modified in my single barrel guns anyhow. The gun was well used but priced Right, I am going to go back and give it another look.

That's a good one.

Be sure to handle some Beretta 686 series before you purchase. They have a different "feel" due to a shallower receiver and lighter weight. You'll either like them better, or you won't.

I haven't found any used Berettas here locally yet. Going to hit Cabela's before too much longer and fondle some new guns also.

I would suggest saving your clams a bit longer and buying a gun for $2k. That’s really the bottom of the good guns. I’d suggest the 686 Beretta, but others like Brownings. The Turkish guns are great value for money, but are not known for endurance. If all you are going to do is shooting a few game birds a year, they will likely serve you well.

https://www.joeletchenguns.com/berettan.htm