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I would say that the "best buy" on an O/U shotgun today is a lightly used Browning Citori or Beretta 680 series gun with 30" barrels and choke tubes. You can get a very good deal on them and have a dependable gun to use for the next 10 to 20 years. At the end of that time, if you've taken reasonable care of the gun, you could probably sell it for more than you paid for it.

The Mossberg can always hold your boat still if you're duck hunting, great anchor!

Try the Lanber if you want new cheap. Look up the seller LBF on Gunbroker.com he has new SKB's for $995 and is the best guy to deal with!

Used Citori or Beretta is a great buy too.

Another second on the used Winchester Sporting guns, lot of Belgian gun for the money!

Mossberg is a piece of $#!+

A couple years ago, I was in the same situation...looking for an o/u in the $1k range. I looked at (I think) everything mentioned, and got it down to the final two...a used Browning Citori or a new Winchester Select Field (this is the FN/Belgian made gun...I think a predecessor to the current Model 101).

I went with the Winchester...it was a new gun normally retailing for about $1300, but I got it on sale for $999. I liked it better than the Browning because it is a bit lighter (I use it for pheasant hunting so I carry it all day and take just a few shots) and it was just a better 'fit' for me.

Those two guns, in my mind, were pretty clearly the top two. Third was a nice Ruger, but that gets a bit out of the identified price range...

Here it is. Right here on Shotgunworld classifieds. 900 dollars shipped. This gun is righteous beyond words. The pre Invector Plus Citori field models were, in my opinion, the high water mark of Citoris. This one even has 30 inch barrels.

viewtopic.php?f=69&t=196607

I've owned several of these type guns. Nothing wrong with the later model Citoris, but these were just a little bit heavier, nicer, and better finished,,,,or at least I think so.

The best buy in O/U's when asked is normally the ones you don't have the money for.

+1 keep an eye down in the classifieds and you'll find some nice guns.

There's also this beretta 686 essential for $600... you just can't go wrong

viewtopic.php?f=69&t=196294

Weagle

Don't forget about the Charles Daly NRA Diamond II and Diamond III. They are Marocchi made (Italy), have a lifetime warranty and are really the best value that CDNN is offering right now. I own a Diamond II and III and both work flawlessly. Better fit and finish than the Lanbers (I also own a Lanber 2098 Lux). Nothing wrong with the Lanbers either, also a good value.

Inexpensive doesn't equal "great value". The current crop of Charles Daly gun? No thanks!

Do you read posts before you react to them, drsfmd? Did I recommend a CD Turkish import? I don't think so. What I recommended is an Italian made gun by a manufacturer who currently offers nothing on the market new for less than $2500.00. That said, the special edition NRA Charles Daly guns MADE IN ITALY BY MAROCCHI are NOT worth $2500.00, but they are easily worth twice what CDNN is selling them for. I liked my first one so well I bought another.

I have never recommended a Turkish gun to anyone. I have never seen one that I would buy. These are not Turkish. They are not typcial "current crop Charles Daly".

Is that clear enough?

I'm going to throw in a used "Ruger Red Label". I have had one for 10 years that has been 100%. They come with 5 screw in chokes.

As a vetran traveler to Argentina and the RSA I can tell you that there are only two guns of quality that fit your description; The used Browning and the used Beretta. The Beretta has a week point and that weak point is the lockup. When the Beretta O/U wears, it tends to start springing open after the first shot. Of course this would only occour as a used gun, that is the only Beretta caution.

Were it me, I would find a nice used Citori. The guns are almost indestructable and like the enigizer bunny they just go and go and go. Find a nice invector plus gun and never look back. The only way you can hurt a Citori is to run over it with a truck.
Best,
Ed

My Lanber 2097 has been a rock star. Purchased it from CDNN for $499 a few year ago and it's been worth every penny. Not a single hiccup since day one.

Last night I visited a Bass Pro in Columbia, Missouri, where I handled about a half dozen brand new Citoris. A new Citori is still a good, solid, entirely nice over and under,,,,and you can buy a fairly plain one for $1,299 with some kind of Browning deer head etched on the side of the action. A really nice one is the Citori Light,,,which looked like the old Lightning model to me,,,,for $1,699. I don't mean to bad mouth the new ones, as Browning is doing a good job trying to keep the prices down,,,,but the ones I saw have declined noticeably in fit, finish, and quality of workmanship over the "Pre Invector Plus" models. If you laid a nice twenty five year old "long tang" beside a new one,,,you'd see what I mean in a hurry.

And, in my opinion the newer stock designs, even the new "target models", are no improvement over the old Invector Standard Hunting Models. The old Standard Models had a nice beefy semi beavertail forend, substantial stocks, and the famous Browning epoxy finish was beautifully laid over some really nicely grained "French Walnut",,,,,that looked suspiciously like Claro walnut to me,,,,but they were pretty whatever kind of walnut it really was. The newer ones have laser or some kind of machine made checkering, the wood quality isn't bad,,,,but it's down quite a bit,,,,and they don't have that same high gloss dark blue/black shine on all the metal parts as they used to.

My Standard Hunting Model was for sale in pawn shop for several years for nine hundred dollars. I could have bought it for eight hundred, but I traded three old pawn shop specials for it instead. It even came with some extra chokes. The old Standard Hunters aren't that expensive, but I honestly believe they represent the very best of the Browning Citoris, especially for target work.

Do you read posts before you react to them beammeupscotty? Did the word "Turkish" appear anywhere in my post? I don't think so.

I know you are talking about the Marocchi, and I'll still stand by my "No thanks!" comment. You can do a lot better than a Marocchi at that price point. CDNN sells off the junk and excess that manufacturers can't unload at retail prices. While such a company certainly fills a niche, there's also a good reason stuff ends up with them... it's usually either 1) Ugly 2) Blemished 3) Overpriced at retail relative to its competition or 4) Junk. I'll leave it up to you to decide which category the Marocchi fits into.

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that all those Browning Cynergys, Featherweights,and Citoris, the Winchester 101s , the Orions and all the rest were junk. I have to admit, this is the first time I have ever heard anyone declare ANY Browning, junk. I also have to admit this is the first time I have heard anyone declare a Marocchi, junk. I stand corrected and am in awe of your marvelous and vast expertise.

Not

I'd also be very happy to learn where one can do better than a CD Diamond II made by Marocchi for $549.99. Considering the fact that I actually own one while it is likely you do not nor have ever even seen one, and that it appears to me (with a machinst background) by all measures to be made the equal of any recently made field grade Browning I have ever inspected or shot, (the Browning of course costing at least $600.00 more) I would be very much appreciate learning what this gun that I can "do better" with might be because I will go out right now and buy one.

I will not however, hold my breath while waiting for your response because I know for a fact, having quite extensively researched the vast majority of ALL the budget O/Us offered in the U.S. today, that there are none better for less than five or six hundred dollars more than the Diamond II, in a new O/U anyway. Certainly there are better shotguns out there. There are not however, any better for anything near the price.

Not all of us can afford high end shotguns. As a single self employed dad with a son 11 y.o. who also shoots Skeet, I certainly cannot afford to buy $1500.00+ Brownings. I am really happy to know that there are quality O/Us out there like the CD Diamond II and III (though they won't be out there for much longer) and the Lanber 2097 and 2097 Lux that all cost less than $700.00 and give someone like myself and my son the opportunity to shoot a quality, dependable O/U shotgun at a price that does not preclude us actually stepping on a Skeet field and using them.

I am sure you are a much more experienced shotgunner than I, but I seriously doubt that you are any better at evaluating the quality of machine work or the level of fit and finish on ANY mechanical device. I have been dealing with such things my entire life. I am also likely more adept at spotting a great value, because I never seem to have the money to buy top of the line stuff (the whole single dad, self employed thing contributing to that). I suspect you never even bother to look at such things. Despite your insistence otherwise, the CD Diamond II is an exceptional value with a lifetime warranty and I would encourage any shotgunner on a budget to get one and try it out. I would do so without reservation. I would buy another one if I could justify it and afford it.

Finally, you did not indeed stay "Turkish" however, your insistence:

The current crop of Charles Daly gun? No thanks!

and considering ALL of the CURRENT crop of CDs O/Us are Turkish, it was a natural assumption you didn't know what you were talking about.

I still doubt that you do. Marocchis are junk? Really?

I can see leaning toward B-gun O/Us. I've got a couple myself. But to consider either Marocchi or the SKB-made Weatherbys "junk," seems silly to me. And, yes, I've shot both. They're quite decent O/Us. CDNN, BTW, has closed out plenty of Browning O/Us. Are they junk just because the middle-man is CDNN? Makes no sense to me.

If new, I would recommend a Browning Citori GTS grade 1. Very good cross-over O/U for an excellent price, imo.

That used Citori linked here does not look like a good deal to me. Make sure you have the seller give you pictures from the top down to the lever with the action closed. It looks worn to wear it needs gunsmithing to me.

I have a Citori 625 sporting and recommend it highly.

I was looking for an o/u to try used or a inexpensive new one.I have no experience with them so I remembered what alot of people on here said.Buy a name brand used maybe before the lower quality guns.I found a remington peerless used but like new for 699.00. What is nice about a better gun is you can make it extract or eject and I can change the safety to manual instead of automatic and of course barrel selection also.So far I am pleased with the features of this gun.I didn't want to spend a ton of money at this time and this gun will let me see how I like double guns for the future.

Thought I saw Savage Milano on closeout in Bass Pro flyer for just over a grand.( made in Italy by F.A.I.R. )
Them actually having one in stock could be another matter.

I've had a Charles Daly Diamond III (Marocchi) for a while and have shot probably several thousand rounds through it at sporting clays. I hadn't shot in years, and I wanted to get back into it and having never had an over/under, I looked at a bunch. Everyone was raving about the Baikal (Remington now) and the Mossberg. They were really rough in my opinion. The Fausti's I looked at were marginal.

I was looking in the $600 price range. Several people told me they see used B-guns for $600 all the time, but I never found one. So I went for the Charles Daly.

I think The Charles Daly is really a good value for the price from CDNN.

I have bought several guns from CDNN over the years. The S&W's, Sig's, Winchester's have all been just as described or new in the box. I agree they surplus lesser quality guns too, but just don't buy those.

That said, I am concerned about what would happen if you actually needed a part for the Charles Daly. They have a warranty and say to send it back. Haven't needed service yet though.

You need to look and find something you are happy with. By all means if you have the money or want to spend it, buy a Browning or a Beretta.