They were the Stoeger Condor I and the American Arms Silver I. There aren’t many over/under shotguns that retail for under $630, but we did manage to find two such imported hunting models. They hold the promise of the advantages of an over/under shotgun at a cost many shooters will find manageable. This basic rationale governed our selection of the guns we included in the examination that follows. So the challenge to the shooter is to find the over/under shotgun that delivers a quality shooting experience at a reasonable cost. And top of the line imports, such as Beretta, don’t offer the pocketbook any relief. Less expensive by tens of thousands of dollars than a Purdy shotgun for certain, but still pricey enough to eliminate anyone mucking along with minimal, or fixed, disposable income. A sporting clays version of the Peerless lists at $2,500 a Woodside Red Label with Circassian walnut stock: $1,675. The lowest cost Ruger retails at about $900, the Remington about $1,000. All of which you know and prove by crafting such guns with exquisite precision.ĭespite those and other advantages, the only American-made over/unders on the market are Ruger’s Red Label and Remington’s Peerless. It’s because the over/under gets a second round off quicker than a pump and with less disturbance to the sight picture-be the target clay, feathered, or four-footed. It’s because of that sighting plane down the upper barrel and quick target acquisition. It’s because the side-by-side double has vanished, sadly, from the production lines of the major American manufacturers. “I say, it’s not as though you chaps had eyes placed one above the other.” No, gentle-men. If you can hold off, keep saving and every couple of hundred bucks gets you a significant step up in quality.The makers of Britain’s best side-by-sides have been known to wonder aloud why American shooters lean toward the over and under configuration. So, if all you have is $300 and want an O/U, then a Stoeger is better than no gun at all and you stand a better than not chance of getting a solid performer even if its a bit ungainly and ugly. But you have to be able to wait until you saved the money. These are guns that will last you the rest of your life if you take care of them and is obviously the way most would recommend. Lanbers and Verona's can be had for 500-600 if you search.Īt about three times that much you can get into the Winchester Field new or a used field grade B gun. If you can hold off and save more money, you can do a lot better for twice that price. So, I would say it was a pretty good $300 spent given that is all he had at the time. I will also tell you that my son's started real tight because of the poor fit of the parts and has now loosened from use to the point of where it is sloppy.īUT - that is after about 10,000 rounds. So it won't be the greatest and you might get a loser gun, but chances are you will get a serviceable, working shotgun that is a bit clunky and only moderately well assembled. However, if you really want an O/U, a lot of people that have them are perfectly happy with the gun - particularly if you realize you just paid $300 for a style of gun that can cost 100x that easy. I think you will find overall the attitude will be that if all you have is $300, you are better of with a pump.
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