Colonel Reb

got 6 out of 10

Have no experience with O/U, although I have ordered the Condor Comp. but it has not arrived. I do have first hand experience with the Baikal SxS (Spartan) and the Stoeger SxS. I would expect the O/U would have the same comparisons. They are both about the same in that they are a good buy for the money. The Spartans have tougher Russian springs. It is common for a person to have to break new Russian SxS's over their knee at first to open them. They do loosen up with time. The Stoegers open better from the start. In my opinion the blueing on the Stoegers is prettier, but Remington is making the Russians do a better job on their guns since they started Spartan, so it might be up to par now. For the price you can't go wrong with either one. Later on you can trade up for a more expensive brand if you don't like it. I love the looks and collectibility of Browning, but I've never been able to afford one. I've always shot cheap U.S., Brazilian, and Turkish makes and have not been disappointed. Personally I think 3 or 4 hundred bucks is plenty of money for a good shotgun with all the automated manufacturing processes we have now and Asians dumping steel for a song.

I started out as a child deer hunting. Dad and I didn't start duck hunting until I was grown. Boy we were missing out. I still go deer hunting on opening day most years. After that I just duck hunt. It's WAY more fun than freezing in a deer stand trying to stay still and quiet the entire time.

I've used a Stoeger side by side for cowboy action shooting, and I've also killed a turkey with it. The Uplander is an affordable side by side that would make a great pheasant gun. If they can stand up to cowboy shooting then pheasant hunting is no problem. Fit and finish for the price is awesome. Actually you will find that in all Brazilian made arms, whether they are Taurus revolvers, Rossi lever rifles, or Stoeger shotguns.

I was the same way, but for my club dues, I want to take advantage of everything they've got, so I just bucked up and asked for help. Everyone was new once, and I didn't know the first thing about how the trap counters and machines worked. They have been nice about showing me what to do. I have still yet to work the skeet houses or sporting clays stations, but I'll get around to it. Don't worry about not hitting targets, that's part of learning. There are some good books out there about shotgun sports. Singles trap is the simplest and easiest to learn, but most say skeet is easier to master as far as hitting the targets all the time. Sporting clays is the most fun and most practical but also the most difficult.