My son competes in 4h and NSCA shoots and has saved all year and is looking for an afordable O/U Shot gun. He would love to have a another Beretta like his A 400 xcel however he does not have 3k to spend these are the to guns he is looking at. any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Franchi Instinct Sporting Shotgun
CZ Sporter G2

Check the classifieds, there is a good deal on a Browning Citori, Briley Tubes.

Go with a used Beretta, Browning, or SKB. Don't waste your time with lower price new guns. But seriously, the O/U wont buy him more targets. Top notch instruction will. The Beretta auto will suite him fine unless he is looking to reload.

The gun I shot best was a field grade Beretta 390. id like to have that one back!

Watch gun broker and other for sale sights. Should be able to find a Beretta Silver Pigeon 1 Sporting or a Beretta White Onyx Sporting in good condition for around 1600. Still high but less than 3k

Feel matters more than the technical specs.


I would ask why he wants and over/under. If he wants one save up for the one he wants.

Thanks guys he breaks lots of clays with his A400. I told him don't cheapen the sport, if you want a beretta save up for it he already had 1200 from mowing lawns. His coach tells him that he is doing great with his guns but i think it is the mistique of the O/U he sees the top shooters with the O/U and he want to look the part. Thanks again for all the input.

CDNN in Abilene often has some deals on shotguns. Check them out.

Bought a Stoeger Condor O/U in .28 gauge 2 years ago. Absolute pleasure to shoot. Zero issues.

The Franchi is a nice shotgun. These are made in Italyand owned by Beretta.

Citori

Don't overlook the Ruger Red Label.

Take him to a GOOD shop that handles several makes and models and find one that fits him. Then let him work on saving enough to get a new or used version. The A400 is an excellent shotgun and I'm guessing it fits him well. Going to an O/U, the fit will be equally if not more, important.
Not knowing how old your son is or his size, any 'growing up' he has left to do will have an effect on the fit as time goes on.

Some brands to look for:
Beretta
Browning (Citori and the Cynergy)
Lanber
F.A.I.R (one of the Guerini family)
Caesar Guerini
Antonio Zoli
Blaser
Or, just to keep you and your son busy, here's a web listing a BUNCH of manufacturers. aka = shotgun porn: http://shotgunning.tripod.com/

Firma Armi Isadoro Rizzini.
The link to Guerini is more distant than to any of the other Rizzini
All of the gunmaking Rizzinis are closely related. Battista, Isadoro, and Emilio are brothers, and they are nephews of Guido and his brothers who founded F.lli Rizzini. The Rizzinis are also related to the Guerini and Fausti families of gunmakers. They are all located in the Val Trompia region of Italy.
http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=69662

Here's one on the classifieds that wouldn't be a bad one for your youngster:

http://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/5828355/Yildiz_SPZ_ME_20_gauge_O/U_$40#Post5828355

It's nothing fancy but Yildiz are actually pretty decent guns. And the 20 gauge shouldn't be too hard on anyone.

Yildiz are not sporting clays guns, they are field guns.

Check this one out http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-fo...un_id=100572894 It's a 29" skeet gun with extended chokes and adjustable comb it also comes with a Briley subgauge set. If you look at my link on Rizzini you'll find that this Verona most likely was made by Rizzini.

A few thoughts. You have received a few opinions, most of them are worth what they cost. TDK is on point, buy a used "B" gun Browning or Beretta. Avoid cheap O/Us, they may be OK for hunting, but they will break down with the volume of shooting that comes with competitive shooting. Also, don't go with a field gun, they are too light. A typical tournament will have you shooting 200 or 300 shells in a day, an O/U less than 8 1/2 pounds will beat your son up.

For a reliable entry level O/U, take a look at the Browning Citori Crossover Target, you can find them new for $1,600-1,700

Crossover Target

TDK, I'm always trying to learn...why not a Beretta auto if he's going to reload?

Yes, but they can be used as sporting guns as well. For a youngster in 4-H, it may just be what they need/want at this stage of the game.
Key is to find one that fits him.

Solid advice here. Sounds like he's close to having this much in the bank.

Simply because autos throw hulls into the next county and one must be a little more careful with reloads. If you don't mind picking up hulls off the ground and are okay with the minimal limitations with reloads an auto is fine.

If one shoots a lot its an inconvenience.

my two cents worth

Have your son ask to shoot some of the guns he sees the others using, most guys will be more than happy to "show-off their guns to a young man that is looking to buy.

Heard this a long time ago. "It's not the arrow, It's the indian"

Not sure this will help or not, but I just recently listed a Browning Cynergy synthetic on Texas Gun Trader in Houston for $1390. It's in your budget and in great shape but some people don't like the synthetic stock look in an over under. Also, it has 28 inch barrels and some prefer a longer barrel. Drop me a line if you want more details. Just so a search for Cynergy on the TGT site if you want to see the ad.

Dan's giving out some good advice here. Don't cheap out more than this or you'll be spending again later. Been there, done that, got the buyers remorse that goes with it.

Of those two Franchi hands down. My son has an instinct and has shot 4h for 2 years with it putting well over 7000 rounds through it. We have had zero issues with it. He loves it, but now needs something bigger so we are looking hard all over.

Whatever you get has to fit him now and be re-configurable to fit him in the future. Have him shoot as many as possible. My son has always wanted a browning 725, but after shooting one at state absolutely couldn't stand it. That would have been $3500 out of pocket for something he didn't like!

Good luck with your search!