used o/u shotguns

[swamphunter]

I joined a local skeet club a few months ago, and am getting tired of picking up empties after shooting with my semi.  I saw an ad in a local paper that had a Browning Superposed and a Beretta S56E O/U shotgun listed.  I went to see both guns. Both are 12 gauge with fixed chokes. The Superposed has been well used, with a lot of bluing gone from in front of the trigger/barrel area, also some pitting on the barrels and the finish on the stock is not great.  The gun seems tight.  Price $750Cdn.  The Beretta looks to be in better condition, but has double triggers.  Price $575 Cdn. I don't know much about either gun, the guys at the skeet club said that the Superposed guns were very good.
Any advice greatly appreciated
Swamp

[Graybeard]

You really don't want a double trigger gun for skeet. You do want the most open chokes available however. You didn't mention the chokes of the guns but since they are fixed you are more limited in what you can do about them. It might be possible to find a smith to install screw in chokes or it might not be but if they are tighter than IC and skeet is your primary use for the gun you'll likely want to have a smith open them for you to at least IC and SK or Cylinder bore is better yet.

The Browning Citori is mostly a copy of the Superposed but I actually prefer it to the older Belgian made guns. Still there is nothing wrong with either. The Browning guns fit me better than the Beretta guns do and in the end fit is more important than anything else in hitting those flying clays.

As much as it might pain your wallet you'd do well to look for a gun new or used that seems to fit you and has the proper open chokes used in skeet if skeet is what you want to do with the gun. Try to borrow guns from other club members to shoot a round with and try them to see what works well for you. At least around here where I am members are happy to let others try their guns to see how well they work for them. Can't say if that's common other places or not.

[Questor]

I think you can do better than that. Don't by a worn out old Superposed; that may be worn as it is because it's a heavily shot target gun. Get a newer Citori. I don't recognize the Beretta model. But any of the 680 framed guns (like 682, 686, etc) will be fine. The Berettas will probably be more expensive than the Brownings. I regularly see Citori skeet guns in used but serviceable condition for about $700 US. Given the choice of the two guns, I'd pick the one that's made for skeet and fits the best.

[SHOOTALL]

Winchester has a skeet gun for some one starting out or the casual shooter , i used one while my Browning was being repaired ( their service is not a strong suit ) .

[dstegjas]

I agree with GB on two issues. The double triggers are going to be a problem if you are using this gun for clays. I have two O/U shotguns that I use. One with double triggers and the other with a single trigger. I use either for hunting but only the single trigger gun for clays. To me it's just less to be concerned about while I am trying to concentrate on that clay target.

The second is borrowing a shotgun to use. I can't tell you how many times I have let someone use my Winchester. Whether it was for just a few stands or the whole round. The other option is that the range I shoot at also has rental guns available. They charge $10 for the whole day. It might be money well spent if they have the same type of gun sitting in the rack that you are looking to buy.

One other thing to consider while you are looking for an O/U. The link below is to a product that I used about 25 years ago when I was shooting skeet with my Winchester Super X1. I am not trying to stop you from buying a new shotgun. Heck everyone could use a new gun. However it might be something that you could use in the mean time until you decide on what you want. It worked well on my semi auto back then.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=23143&title=SAVE-IT+SHELL+CATCHER

Jim

[SHOOTALL]

Check out the SKB guns also , i have one i hunt with and like it alot .

[Jack Ryan]

I joined a local skeet club a few months ago, and am getting tired of picking up empties after shooting with my semi.  I saw an ad in a local paper that had a Browning Superposed and a Beretta S56E O/U shotgun listed.  I went to see both guns. Both are 12 gauge with fixed chokes. The Superposed has been well used, with a lot of bluing gone from in front of the trigger/barrel area, also some pitting on the barrels and the finish on the stock is not great.  The gun seems tight.  Price $750Cdn.  The Beretta looks to be in better condition, but has double triggers.  Price $575 Cdn. I don't know much about either gun, the guys at the skeet club said that the Superposed guns were very good.
Any advice greatly appreciated
Swamp

A shell catcher would be a lot cheaper.

[james25889]

yes ive seen shellcatchers for about 8 bucks but i belive he was talking about shooting skeet cant use a shellcather for shooting doubles

[dstegjas]

James,
This is an older post so I'm not sure SwampHunter is even watching it any longer. However the shell catchers can catch 2 empty hulls. On occasion the second shot my slip out, but it falls at your feet. So at least you aren't chasing it all over the place. Like you would be without it. Surprisingly enough for something that cost a few bucks. They seem to work pretty well.

Jim

[james25889]

all the ones i use on my 1100 trap will only catch one,you cant even put 2 shells in the gun,never seen one catch 2 but thanks for the info