I won a shotgun

[Sixgun]

A couple of years ago I won a Weatherby Orion OU, NRA Gun of the year, at a Friends of NRA Banquet.  I felt really lucky but I shoot Silhouette, not shotguns.  I do hunt pheasants and quail and sometimes turkeys but I really don't feel good about taking this gun out in the field.  As a result, I take it out of the box and put it together and look at it or show it to friends, but it has never been shot.

I just don't know if I shoud take this out hunting or take up shooting clays of save it for posterity.  Does anyone have a good Idea of what it is worth and is it just a shooter or should I keep it new or try to sell it and buy some guns that I will use.

Sixgun

[Graybeard]

The Weatherby O/U guns were nicely made guns. I think yours likely was made by SKB in Japan and is a well made gun. The ones they made for Weatherby were much more nicely finished than those for Ithaca or under their own name.

What gauge is it? I think they sold for around $1000 when new but price does vary by model within the Orion like. My Gun Traders Guide lists them used from $750 to $1000 for the trap model. I'd assume yours to be a field model and it being a DU gun adds no real value unless someone might be a collector of DU guns. My book shows a Field I, II and III as well as Skeet II, Sporting Clays II and Trap II.

[dougk]

A couple of years ago I won a Weatherby Orion OU, NRA Gun of the year, at a Friends of NRA Banquet.  I felt really lucky but I shoot Silhouette, not shotguns.  ...
Sixgun

Sixgun
if I won a really nice gun and if it fit me well, I would consider it manna and pick up the sport.  Depending on the configuration it would probably be sporting clays or skeet.

Heck if you dont want it donate it back to the NRA...

Good Luck.  Once your try sporting clays you never go back. I just made that up .... 

[huntswithdogs]

Personally, I'd be shooting it. I can't stand the thought of gun not being shot! That shotgun would work well in the bird field or on a clays range.
If you're thinking about getting rid of it, take it to your local clays field and annouce that it's for sale and get ready for the stampede. If you try using it for trading fodder at a gunstore, remember they aren't gonna give ya much more than they can buy a new one for from whatever warehouse they normally use.


HWD

[Graybeard]

If you try using it for trading fodder at a gunstore, remember they aren't gonna give ya much more than they can buy a new one for from whatever warehouse they normally use

Actually they are a lot more likely to offer less.