Picking out an over/under shotgun

[JasonW77]

I have always loved the look and feel of a o/u shotgun.This will only be my fourth year bird hunting. And I'm now starting to look at getting one. But not sure what I'm looking for. I currently use a semi auto 12ga for pheasants, quail, and chukars. There are so many brands and models out there I'm really not sure. I have been to my local gun shop and have looked at some. But was wondering what others think of the ones they own?

Is there anything i should be looking for in a field gun?

The other area I was hoping to get some help on is understanding the differences between chokes that you can get for you gun. My semi has a Mod. barrel.


Thanks

[Benny]

Hey Jason,
great questions. The right answer is always just whatever feels right and sparks your eye, but it has to be backed up with quality of course.
I don't know what your price range is, but I think since you've been holding out for 4 years you deserve something in the middle to upper range in terms of quality. Unfortunately usually quality has a strong relationship to price.
I read this post a few weeks ago and looked up these guns on their website. Haven't held one, but it sounds like the prices are reasonable and exceed the quality:price ratio is high.
viewtopic.php?f=86&t=17188

As for the chokes, could you be more specific? Are you just looking for good choke selection for upland birds? The great thing with the O/U will be your first shot can be out of a more open choke and the second shot can come out of a fuller (or tighter) choke.

[ScottG]

I actually went through the same thing myself the past year. I spent a lot of time reading about different o/u's and deciding what features I wanted.

How the gun fits you is the number one thing.

Besides that, I also like a light field gun. 6.5 lbs or less. On a typical hunt, I may walk five miles and shoot five times. The recoil reduction that the extra weight provides really isn't much of a factor for me.

I also like a mechanical set trigger as opposed to a recoil set trigger. If you have a bad round (or forget to stick a new shell in the gun), the mechanical set trigger will allow you to fire the other barrel. With a recoil set trigger, you don't get to shoot the other barrel unless the first fires.

Ejectors are also a nice plus. I initially thought that I wanted extractors (which just raise the shells from the chambers) because I pick up my shells, but with ejectors you can just have the gun pop the hulls into your hands and you don't have to worry about pulling the empties from the chamber. Ejectors are pretty standard on all but the cheapest doubles.

This is just starting to get picky, but I like the Berretta style safeties. On a lot of doubles, you push the safety to the right or left to select the barrel to fire first. I've had trouble before trying to push the safety up the middle on a flushing bird. With the Berretta style safety, there's just a little tang in the middle of the safety that slides back and forth.

Larger gauges will allow longer shots. Most any gauge can work if you can take wise shots. I personally prefer a 20 gauge. It doesn't have the bulk of a 12 and still is plenty of gun for the quail I mostly hunt.

Most new shotguns will come with interchangeable screw-in chokes. The chokes help constrict your pattern so that you (hopefully) have the optimal pattern for the distance to your target. One of the big advantages of a double is that you can have a different choke in each barrel. Theoretically at least, you can use the barrel with the better choke in it for the shot.

I finally picked up a Savage Milano 20 gauge. I watched the internet auctions for awhile until I found a good deal on one. That in itself is half the fun. Good luck in your search.

[JasonW77]

As for the chokes I guess I really never understood which should be used for what and what each style does.

[Benny]

Well, that is a great question too. Even after you hear all the big lecture about muzzle restriction and the arguments over flush vs. extended chokes, or those fancy ones with twist, the best thing you can do is grab a bunch of white paper from Office Depot and hit the field. 8x11 is fine, bigger will allow you to see what your cylinder choke is doing at 40 yards, though. Taping paper together will be helpful later.
This sounds time consuming, but I think you'll be really happy if you can muster an hour or two to drive out and shoot paper. Get a board or something handy for you to duct tape or pin the paper to as well.
I'm sure you've heard the term "patterning," and that's really all there is to it. Best to use the loads that your going to shoot in the field; so if its steel 2 shot for ducks, pattern with steel 2 shot on the paper. Find out whats going on at 30, 40, and even 50 yards with all the chokes you've got. With a extra-full choke you'll see how tight that pattern can be at 30-50 yards, and with a mod. or IC choke you'll see that paper peppered from corner to corner and well beyond.
If you want to get into the technical aspect without seeing it for yourself, you could just google "shotgun chokes" and find tables that indicate the restriction parameters, but its pretty useless until you see what it can do.
Then, start drawing with a magic maker about a 30" diameter circle (you'll need a few pieces of paper for this taped together). Bring in your chokes a bit and see what kind of percentage of BB's are falling into that circle.
Helpful?

[vikings269]

As for the chokes I guess I really never understood which should be used for what and what each style does.

You can wreck your mind thinking about chokes or just adjust loads or both. With a double barrel i would probably choose improved cylinder and modified and use the same shot size in each, obviously using improved cylinder barrel first. It's not as complicated as ya think. its about range and spread pattern, for instance improved cylinder and #4 shot may be similar to full choke and #8 shot but not exactly! I'll take the more open choke and heavier shot every time as that increases range, range can be increased with tighter chokes but its still tiny shot. #8 shot might bounce off a pheasants feathers at 90 yards even if many hit it but #4 holds twice the energy, i only change loads never change chokes, with the exception of turkey hunting.

[Windyhills]

How much you looking to spend? That would help with recommendations I believe.

Re: chokes, it can be confusing. Styles vary--flush mount, extended past the barrel, some of the more expensive ones have a longer distance between cylinder bore and the final choke. Probably not worth worrying about too much for you unless you are into competitive clay games.

They can vary slightly between manufacturer's too. One's 12 gauge improved cylinder might be a shade more open than another's IC.

Re: constriction, each gauge has it's own differences...a modified choke in a 20 gauge will not be the same diameter as a modified in a 12...it's all about what percentage of the pellets the gun shoots within a defined circle at the same distance, usually a 30" circle at 40 yards. The tighter the "circle" of the choke diameter at the end of the barrel, the tighter the circle of pellets on the paper.

Ammo used to be made in a fashion that tigher chokes were an aid for field work much of the time--older guns would often come with modified or full chokes, more rare to see them in improved cylinder.

These days many factory ammo loadings have designs that by themselves lead to a tighter pattern. That allows you to shoot some pretty open chokes in some guns and still get good performance. The only way to know for sure is to pattern your gun as described already, but I wouldn't discount a cylinder or skeet choke for the more open of the two in your over under if you encounter birds in the 25 yards and closer range much at all.

Then there's non-toxic ammo. It can often pattern even tighter. For steel for example a common recommendation is to move to a more open choke.

It all varies with what you are hunting. If you had just two choices you could do OK with IC and modified, my preference would run more towards skeet and light modifed.

The more common upland bird designations in order of widest to smallest diameter are cylinder (no choke at all), skeet (some manufacturers will have two skeet designations, one being a bit more open than the other), improved cylinder, light modified, modified, improved modified, full.

[vikings269]

I think ya just complicated it further when it doesnt need to be that complicated.

[jbraun]

I really like the Franchi line of guns. You can get a sharp looking, well made, reliable gun that you can use for a lifetime and still be proud to pass on to the kids. From your avatar it looks like you will be shooting over pointing dogs. I would go with 26" barrels and cylinder, improved cylinder, or modified chokes. If you are going to do some pass shooting at doves or waterfowl I would suggest 28" barrels.

You can get more information than you would ever want to know on the forum section of shotgunworld.com.

[Benny]

I would go with 26" barrels and cylinder, improved cylinder, or modified chokes. If you are going to do some pass shooting at doves or waterfowl I would suggest 28" barrels.
.

I asked my grandpa one time about the the difference in range between a 26" and 28" barrel. He looked at me and said "Well, about 2 inches."
When it boils down to it, a lot will depend on the loads you're shooting and the size of shot. Pattern Pattern Pattern!

[lightonthebay]

I reloaded shotgun shells more when I was a kid. I used to use a piece of sheet metal for patterning my shotguns. After each shot I would swipe the face with old latex paint (you have some in your garage) and on warm days the paint would dry enough in a minute or less to pattern again. If you could not get a piece of sheet metal a car hood will also work. (your wife has one on her car) My friends and I used that piece of sheet metal for patterning our guns for many years.

[gar-dog]

The important thing about chokes is to get a shotgun with interchangeable chokes, not fixed chokes. That makes your gun a lot more versatile. All they allow you to do is control how much spread in the pellet pattern there is at a given range. A full choke has the most constriction, and shoots a tighter pattern. Cylinder choke is the most open and throws a wider pattern. For most upland game, improved cylinder is the way to go.

These are the typical chokes from tightest to widest:
Full
Improved Modified
Modified
Improved Cylinder
Cylinder

Really though, dont think about chokes too much for now. First off, determine your gun budget. Then do a little research. Try to hit a Cabela's or the like on a day when they aren't crowded and try to shoulder as many as you can in your price range. Shoulder a few cheaper and a few beyond your price range. I can almost promise you that there will be a gun that just feels right - better than the others. I also recommend you stick with the tried and true brands. Tell us your budget and I am sure we can recommend good guns in that range.

[BillB719]

Terry Boyer has a good description of chokes, shot and guns in Shotguns for Upland Game as well as a discussions of the selection of a shotgun that fits an individual's needs. I am in the process of selecting an O/U also and have found it helpful.

[donnie_19]

IF you are not sure check these out. For $400 bucks you can't go wrong. Comes with 5 chokes, lightweight. A cheap chance to see if you like an o/u.
http://www.academy.com/index.php?page=c ... 04706-2028

[splucinski]

I was in the market for one last year> I really wanted a Citori, but I just couldn't justify that kind of money. I ended up buying a Weatherby Orion Upland with 26" barrels from CDNN. It's made by SKB and comes with skeet, improved cylinder and modified choke tubes. I took it out to shoot sporting clays this past weekend and it shot great. Nice gun and well worth the $979. I still want the Citori though.

[vols fan]

i own 3 skb 585 o/u .i shoot the 20 guage on pheasant and a 28 on quail and grouse. i like that the safety and selector are at 2 different places. i shoot open on bottom(1ST) AND MOD ON TOP (2ND). GREAT GUN FOR THE PRICE.

[reba]

You can not beat the semi-auto on quail and chukar. When using the OU on these birds I always find myself with the action open just as a few more birds flush.

I do however use an OU on pheasent and sage grouse.

In picking an OU if you stay with a Browning, Beretta or Benelli you will be happy.

All three also make find semi-autos;-)=

I see no need for anything larger than a 20 ga for any of these birds.

Buy all means get yourself an OU and use it as you please.

[prairiefirepointers]

i own 3 skb 585 o/u .i shoot the 20 guage on pheasant and a 28 on quail and grouse. i like that the safety and selector are at 2 different places. i shoot open on bottom(1ST) AND MOD ON TOP (2ND). GREAT GUN FOR THE PRICE.

They are indeed. I have a SKB 785 Sporting Clays I traded one of my Benelli's for. Picked it up for 1300 bucks in mint condition, which is a great deal on a $2200 gun new. Although its mainstay is for Trap and Sporting Clays, I'm sure I'll leave my Legacy at home sometime to bang a few roosters and some quailies with it.

[setterbud]

Jason, before you go buying a 2-hole gun ask yourelf how many times do you shoot three times, if you are QUAIL hunting two is never enough. remember you will get what you pay for in any gun. don't know abou chukars, 2 is probable ok for pheasants but when you get that two hole gun you only get two shots
good luck i would vote for a Citori or a Beretta, $13-1500, or a 101a CZ
bt the way i shoot a 20 A5 cyl choke and a 12 Benelli Monte. 3 and even 4 in the Benelli shots

[mcbosco]

are the weatherby o/u guns made by one of the Rizzinis?