I had a Stoeger 20 gauge sidey for about 3 hours once. Pulled the trigger and it was like dragging a stick across a cinder block. Took the trigger mechanism out and looked at it, it was junky cast parts put together by monkeys. It went right back to the store.

 

Guess ya get what ya pay for sometimes. All the stoegers I have shot (all 2 of em) have worked just fine. Including my cousins 20 gauge side by side. He puts everything through hell and back. The type that doesn't take care of they crap. Anyway he's had it for at least 3 years and still shoots great. Great gun to throw in the truck, or throw in the mud cuz it dont cost that much[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I picked up at Red laber 12 guage o/u with 26" barrels similar to that one except it was in the wood grain with blued barrel combo. It was used and had 14 shots fired through it. I paid 750 for it and it had 5 chokes (2 of which were only used). I used this gun all this year shooting sporting clays twice a week as well as many outings in the field shooting pheasents and chucker behind our 3 year old Field Bred English Springer Spaniel. The gun has performed flawlessly and I do not regret ever purchasing it. I am presently looking for a 28 gauge o/u to match it.

My dad has shot a 20 guage citori he has had for years and that is the gun I first started using for pheasent hunting. It is a great gun and points very well too.

The main gun my dad has been using is a 12 Browning Citori XS Feather in a 30 inch barrels. This gun is amazing. It is very lightweight and points unbelievable. The only thing he had to do was cut the stock 3/8 of an inch to make the reach better, after that it was perfect. This gun has had many rounds through it and it just keeps going and going. Whenever we shoot clays people will ask to see the gun and they always have positive comments to say about it or wonder where they can get one. He ran across it at a local gun shop in Madison, WI and fell in love with it. Oddly enough we have never seen another one like it. If I ever run across another one I will most likely buy it.

 

Nice guns Hybrid....good price on the red label....they used to be $850 new when they first came out, now they are $1000+, thats why I stayed away from them. I got the Farbarm (H&K), which is made in Italy, for $900, which is dealer cost.

Here is the Italian site for Fabarm, names are different than USA models, but have nice pics so you can see how nice these guns are:

Fabarm 20 gauge

Read down at the bottom about the 'Tri-bore' system, sweet guns....

had mine out today trying to find some quail....the quail are hard to find in NM, seems like the drought has taken its toll, not where the birds usually are so we went to different spots....nothing....going to take the ATV in the next few days and can cover more ground to try to find some coveys...

dave

 

The Fabarm and H&K guns are really nice. Last year when I was at the Ducks Unlimited Outdoors festival in Oshkosh, WI I was to shoot a 12 guage o/u and a 20 o/u in the demo area. I was quite impressed with them.

Before I purchased my Red label I was looking at getting an H&K in a 12 guage that had 24 inch barrels on it. I held one at the DU the year before and it felt great, but the price was pretty high at that time. I was also looking at a Franci Alcione 12 guage o/u and was in the process of ordering it but then I found the Red Label.

I was talking to my dad about his XS Feather Citori and he said that Browning didn't make a lot of those guns because hunters wanted a gun that had more weight to it as opposed to lightweight field gun.

 

The 24" Fabarm was most likely the Max Lion, can be had with 24" barrels, more money than my Silver Lion...although I'm not sure the difference.

The Citori Featherweight/Lightweight would be nice guns....I like a lighter gun in the field...

 

Funny thing is, I bought a 20 sidey from my father in law this year for 130 bucks, it's an old two trigger job made by Boito in Brazil for K Mart. Fairly old gun, handles like a dream, fits great, nice triggers, busted a rooster at 40 yards DRT. I love that thing.

 

We have 2 Wetherby Orion Uplands 12 and 20 guage. I love the smooth feel of the 20 guage IMO

 

I have always wanted one of the really fancy English double guns like a Purdy or Holland and Holland. I have had the chance to handle a couple of old German made doubles from Merkel and JP Sauer. Those guns were truly extraordinary and I wish I could have afforded them. One, the Sauer if I remember right, was over 10,000 dollars. The Merkel was a little less. I once handled a truly beautiful 40,000 dollar Parker. I was scared to death I would drop the thing. The owner made me wear white cotton gloves when I touched it. He was the same guy who had the Merkel and Sauer. Big time double gun collector. One of the better hands with a shotgun I ever hunted with either. He would tote around beautiful double guns in the field and here I would be with my old reliable stand-by Remington 11-87SP. He always offered me the use of a "proper" double gun but I always declined. Knowing me I'd drop it or trip and jam the muzzle into the dirt and break the thing in half or something.

 

I picked up a reuger red label o/u 20 ga at a gun show in Marfa for 450.oo was used, but very little.

Just a sweet, smooth, well made weapon IMO.

Wood work is great, and it really brings in the doves out here in West Texas.

I had a Weatherby 12 ga o/u that I sold. I recently had shoulder surgery, and coundn't take the slamin of the weatherby, but it was a nice shootin weapon..