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What's your experience with O/U shotguns?

Bowhunter57

Bowhunter57

Senior Member
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Roaming the country side....Retired.
I'm considering the purchase of a less expensive O/U shotgun. My choices have been [my first choice]>>> Stoeger Longfowler (30" barrels), Stevens Gold Wing (28" barrels) and Savage 555 (28" barrels). My primary use for this shotgun will be sporting clays. However, I'm not ruling out waterfowl hunting.

What's your experience with O/U shotguns for sporting clays and waterfowl hunting?
Thank you, Bowhunter57
 
I’ve got a browning citori in 20 gauge that I’ve shot skeet with but mostly use for rabbit hunting. It handles real well but other than that, I can’t help....never took it for sporting clays or waterfowl. Would definitely get a 12 gauge if I were to go duck hunting.
 
I've got no experience with waterfowl. I have enjoyed my O/U for sporting clays and have used it for turkey hunting. Franci. Not the cheapest. Far from the most expensive. For a $700-900 price range it has been impressive to me. I will also be the first to admit I have never done a side by side comparison to anything else. If you lined up 3-4 comparables, I might spit on it. Someone on here has got to be better versed in O/U's than I am.
 
I’ve got three. A Baretta that I bought from Geezer. A Stoeger that Mason bought at a Pheasants Forever banquet and a Mossberg Silver reserve They are all functional. And they all shoot just two shells when occasionally I’d like to shoot three. I’ve used them exclusively for dove and pheasant hunting, with only a limited number of rounds fired at backyard clays. Sorry I’m not more help.
Here is an “action” photo of one of them. It looks like the silver reserve but I’m not certain.
2CC455BA-7FBA-4554-B510-32F13D3D42D0.jpeg
 
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Mossberg silver Reserve here as well. Got mine from COB years ago. It’s a .410 but it’s a great shooting gun for the money. Mine was used exclusively for rabbits and it worked perfectly for that.
 
I had carried a couple in the field over the years. I find they swing almost as fast as a single barrel pump or semiauto. Surly faster than my old side/side
( which swings like a 2x6. lol) Not sure why that is since they both have 2 barrels... I see more used in upland bird than waterfowl.
As far as only having 2 shells... well that's part of the style or rather beauty of carrying it. Its esthetics.
I know you have traveled down numerous rabbit holes with different guns and such as hand gun deer and such.
I enjoy the gun. You should get one.
 
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Geezer II said:
Guess Remington owned that patent - dad gun must of been a remington then
Click to expand...

Browning came up with the basic design and sold it to Remington. Remington tweaked the design and called it the m17. Ithaca jumped in when Remington’s patents expired.

to the OP look at the CZ O/U. Many guys don’t like O/Us for waterfowl because they are clumsy to open and close in a blind, 1/3 less shots, and the SAs tame the recoil on heavy loads. But for clays and upland game O/Us are hard to beat.
 
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I’ve got a citori feather in 20 gauge. Great gun but definitely not in the low or mid range categories. But like Brock said, they all shoot two shells and get the job done. It’s simply a matter of preference. If I were to buy a sub-1000 dollar over under it would surely be a CZ.
 
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Tuesday, I picked up my new Remington Versa Max, 26" barrel and Real Tree HD camo. I'd like to shoot a couple of sporting clay events, before making the decision to purchase an O/U. :unsure:
Having a 3rd shot won't influence my decision to take the O/U hunting for geese. In my opinion, most hunting shot situations lend themselves to 2 good shots. Anything prior or after those 2 good shots are "praying for rain" or "blind luck". Knowing that you only have 2 rounds, will make you bare down and take a better quality shot....much like hunting with a single barrel shotgun....ya gotta make 'em count. :)
Everyone misses, but knowing you have 3 shots and your shotgun cycles in 3 tenths of a second, may not promote a person to take quality shots. Having said that, I prefer a semi-auto vs. a pump action, due to how the action of pumping the shotgun seems to unsettle me and I need to re-shoulder the shotgun before taking another shot. :rolleyes: This is a "just me" situation and I've learned that I need to either shoot a semi-auto or an O/U, to get better quality second and third shots.

I appreciate all the information, so far. (y)
Bowhunter57
 
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My thoughts... You can shoot sporting clays with ANY shotgun, just fine. I have scored just as well with both autoloaders and O/U's. And regarding 3 shots for geese... Yea, I'll take all 3 shots. I've tripled on geese multiple times. And I've used that 3rd round to finish off cripples multiple times too. When in a great goose field, it's more important to get in and get out as quick as you possibly can, than to look good shooting an O/U. Don't get me wrong, I do LOVE a good over/under shotgun. But I don't fall into the delusional mindset that they are the best tool for the job in any hunting scenarios. I don't care what critter or target you're chasing, an autoloader is generally the best tool for the job. Choosing to shoot an O/U, at least for me, is usually just because they're pretty and are fun to carry.
 
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78F96A9F-FC6A-41B9-8394-DEFB0B89EE25.jpeg
this Is a nice waterfowl o/u, the only disadvantage is it not having a sling and it’s a little heavier than my super vinci,.it shoots nice, I shoot 3.5’s out of it the recoil doesn’t bother me. I’ve seen a couple of used cynerges under a thousand, nice gun
 
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Well, I've shot a couple of sporting clay events with my new Versa Max and my score showed improvement. It fits and feels good, swings nice and is a pleasure to shoot. :cool: It's definitely a keeper and will remain in my collection. I purchased a Patternmaster Code Black Goose choke tube for it and it patterns turkey loads, very well. I have another shotgun that's specifically for turkey hunting, but it's good to have a "back up" shotgun. (y) I need to purchase some waterfowl loads and pattern them, before the season gets here.

As for the O/U...well, it's on my "maybe" list, if I have any money left over from this "stimulus" check. :rolleyes: Three weeks ago, I was at a Bass Pro (Rossford) and physically handled the Stoeger Longfowler with the 30" barrels. I like it...a lot.

Bowhunter57
 
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