Over/Under 12 Gauge Recommendation

[badkarma6]

Question: What is the best over/under 12 gauge shotgun for hunting?

Background: I've never owned an over/under. I've always used a Browning semi-auto. I hunt pheasants once a year in South Dakota. I hunt doves in Virginia and North Carolina. I do go to Arkansas for duck hunting but I'll stick with a semi-auto for that. I do like shooting trap and skeet but the purpose of the gun is to be hunted with. I'm basically looking for a high quality upland bird gun. This is a gun that I intend to spend a fair amount of money on and keep. Got a little boy on the way, hand it down to him one of these days.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Question: What is the best over/under 12 gauge shotgun for hunting?

Background: I've never owned an over/under. I've always used a Browning semi-auto. I hunt pheasants once a year in South Dakota. I hunt doves in Virginia and North Carolina. I do go to Arkansas for duck hunting but I'll stick with a semi-auto for that. I do like shooting trap and skeet but the purpose of the gun is to be hunted with. I'm basically looking for a high quality upland bird gun. This is a gun that I intend to spend a fair amount of money on and keep. Got a little boy on the way, hand it down to him one of these days.

Get @BrentD or @Ben Lamb to find you a classic used side by side in 16ga in great condition. One of these days that is what I am going to do - my problem is the stock, I need a bunch of cast off which can be hard to find.

 

[rwc101]

Ignoring that you really need to handle a bunch to figure out what you like, a Citori.

 

[MThuntr]

You're really going to need to handle a few of them but agree a Browning Citori seems to be a standard for many. A vintage Charles Daly made in the Miroku Japan factory (same place as the Citori) can be had for a good price. It also depends on what you want or need...fixed choke or choke tubes, extractor or ejector, gauge, etc. Budget will dictate a lot.

Get behind as many as possible.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Get @BrentD or @Ben Lamb to find you a classic used side by side in 16ga in great condition. One of these days that is what I am going to do - my problem is the stock, I need a bunch of cast off which can be hard to find.

German guns usually have a generous cast off, fyi. Fat germans liked that.

16's are great upland guns. Lots of oomph and carry like lighter gauges if the receiver is properly scaled. I'd not hesitate to use a 12 though, which is my main upland shotgun.
Depending on what you want to spend, you can look at Ceasar Guerrini's, Berettas, Merkels, etc or dive into the world of used British guns and there are some good American companies that are building guns now as well, like Griffin & Howe or Connecticut Shotgun Manuf Comp.

Italian guns are pretty flashy, and well made. German guns are a little less flashy, but are an incredible value for what you get (these are my personal picks) and then you have the newer makes that are nice, but not quite up to snuff for collectibility, etc (CZ, Franchi).

So, let's start w/budget, type of finish desired, wether or not you know your dimensions, and if you'll want to shoulder the gun before you buy, etc.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Make sure you have someone who actually knows how to fit a shotgun along with you. You can’t really fit by feel - feel involves too much of you adapting to the gun. A properly fit shotgun is a perfect extension of the hunter with little to no adjustment by the hunter.

 

[6mm Remington]

I agree you need to go and handle quite a few in a store someplace just to see what fits you and feels right in your hands. For me it was a CZ over/under. It really feels great in my hands and seems to be well built. The wood on it is very nice also and has a lot of figure in it. I'm happy with my CZ.

 

[WNC2500]

I love Brownings. I have an A5 as well as a Citori. You will not be disappointed. I have used it for dove and duck in SC. Shoot skeet and trap with it in NC, and killed my first pheasant with it in MT. It is definitely a gun that you will love and be able to pass along. Congrats!

 

[MJE2083]

Browning and Beretta are probably the two most popular by far. Like others have said, handle them and see what you think. If possible, I would highly recommend going to a dedicated shotgun store with someone that knows how to properly fit a gun. In terms of a "high quality" O/U most quality manufacturers seem to have their entry level guns priced right around $2,000. Some Brownings can be had for $1,600-$1,800 if you find the right deal, but I would stay away from anything less than that price.

 

[Gila]

I dropped 2K on a citori.....I couldn't be rid of it fast enough. Am 4th generation South Dakotan. Retired down here in New Mexico. Hunted Pheasant and grouse over my Brittany. Also on a Trap team for a number of years. I was fortunate to find a used Fausti. http://www.faustiusa.com/

 

[buffybr]

I ordered my first shotgun the day I left Vietnam in 1969. It was a Miroku O/U 12 gauge field model with fixed modified and full choked barrels. It's been my primary upland bird gun ever since.

In the mid '80s we put in our first Skeet field at our range. I had been using my Miroku for doubles Trap, but it was choked too tight for Skeet, so I bought a Citori trap model 12 gauge with Browning's screw-in Invector chokes so I could use it for both trap, skeet, and also some sporting clays shoots. When I got serious about skeet, I got it fitted with Briley 20, 28, and .410 tubes. I've shot well over 200,000 shells through it with only replacing the hammer springs.

Make sure you have someone who actually knows how to fit a shotgun along with you. You can’t really fit by feel - feel involves too much of you adapting to the gun. A properly fit shotgun is a perfect extension of the hunter with little to no adjustment by the hunter.

This is very important with shotguns as your eye is your rear sight.

Shortly after we installed our first skeet field, we had John Shima, a top skeet instructor at that time, give us a lesson. When I first got my Citori, I cut the comb down so it fit the same as the BT-99 that I had been shooting trap with. The first thing that John did in our lesson was to check the fit of our shotguns. He had a box full of moleskin that he used to build up the combs on quite a few of the guy's guns.

While I was waiting or my turn, I told one of my friends that I hoped my gun wouldn't need to be built up with moleskin as I had just cut the comb down. John heard me say that and he smiled at me. He didn't change the fit of my shotgun, and at the end of the lesson he told me to never sell that gun. I ended up doing very well with that shotgun in various skeet and even a few sporting clays competitions around Montana. I still shoot skeet with it every week.

 

[Mako]

I have a Beretta 686 pre onyx that I received as a birthday gift some 30 years ago. It has been my upland bird gun ever since. I have a Benelli semi-auto as well, but it never sees any action. I just enjoy the Beretta way too much.

 

[Doublegunner]

Once you go to doubles it's hard to go back. For upland bird I like 20 gauge. With 3 inch chamber and 28 or 30 inch barrel's and choke tubes. I shoot more 20 than anything, including clays. Look at Browning, Beretta, Benelli, Fausti, Ceasar. There are others, those are the ones that come to mind. Used Weatherby Athena's including the Italian variants are particularly good values. I have a grade 5 Weatherby Athena D'italia that came with a fantastic piece of wood. Had that gun been a Beretta or Browning I would have paid at least $3 or 4 K more for what I got. I agree with everyone about making sure it fits. Shotgunning is more of an art than science. If you can go to a range and try some guns I would do it. It will be worth the time. You don't want to drop serious $ for a gun that you ultimately don't like. I got into doubles a little more than 10 years ago. My first was a Beretta BL 4 in 20 gauge with 26 inch barrels. When I got it I thought it was the best fitting gun I had ever used. Over the years what I learned is that I like a little more barrel weight so I have gravitated towards longer barrels. Too each his own. My favorite double is a Beretta 20 gauge Silver Pigeon III with 28" barrels with extended choke tubes. Love the swing and it fits me.

 

[406dn]

I've had a Beretta 686 Silver Perdiz for maybe thirty years now. It felt better to me than a Citori by a mile, maybe more. It has been a great gun.

 

[Mako]

Once you go to doubles it's hard to go back...

My best friend for years would only use semi autos, and would laugh at me when we would go hunting together for using an “old mans” gun. A few years back he bought a Beretta O/U on a whim. He now comments on how he wishes he’d boughtt one decades ago. I finally brought him over from the Darkside lol.

 

[MaddH]

Browning Citori and have it custom fit for you. I ran bird dog challenges for a long time and having your gun fit for you makes the difference between first and last . Plus when you finally find the chukars you don’t want to miss

 

[buckbull]

No love for the Ruger red label?

 

[F250]

My wife and I both have Beretta 686s. I can't tell you how many ducks and geese have fallen to those two shotguns. We had them fitted to us by a gunsmith.

 

[88man]

See I'm a shotgun nut so > Gotta have the trap gunOU and the sporting clay OU gun and the skeet gunOU. Hunting ducks/geese/pheasant I like my Beretta semi. I have a 28ga Ruger and killed alot of pheasants with it and very little range shooting and its just not the quality very worn and loose. That gun would never hold up as a range gun if you were serious. I like my Browning Over unders and the beretta semis.

 

[Seamaster]

For me the choice was Beretta. I simply shot it better than the Browning. Both are fine shotguns that should be appreciated by the next generation, or two.