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Suggestions for a good pheasant gun?


dockrocker

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Rank newbie to the forum here, hoping I can get some guidance. I've recently returned to hunting after a 10+ year hiatus and am shopping for a new shotgun (my old guns were stolen by some POS crackhead in Houston, TX, never to be seen again... ).

 

Looking for a good 12 (or 20?) gauge shotgun, primarily for pheasant (so light weight is an advantage) but also the occasional duck and/or deer hunt, though this is not essential as I'm not opposed to buying additional firearms for these type of hunts. We are limited to slugs and/or buckshot for deer in much of Michigan.

 

Would prefer to spend around $500-700, street price. And I'd love an over/under or side-by-side, but don't think there is much in my price range.

 

Suggestions?

 

Many thanks!

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If you really like the O/U's, the Franchi Diamonds (exclusively at Dick's Sporting Goods) are getting very good reviews.

$ale price is typically $700, I believe.

 

Otherwise, there a number of great semi's in Benelli and Franchi lines.

 

Benelli's M2 would probably be your best single gun choice, because of the availability of additional barrels and aftermarket accessories.

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Thank you. I'm planning to do something in the next couple months, just gathering information now. My love of the O/U may be somewhat irrational, as I've never even fired one. But if practicality and objectivity ruled, we'd all use flat black pump guns with no bells or whistles at all. Some things you just have to have, just because, you know? smile.gif

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You could look at a DeHaan O/U as they start at just under $650.

 

Or if you wanted to stick with the Benelli family you could look at Condor series by Stoeger.

 

Plenty of O/U's out there for less than $700. Can't vouche for quality but I've heard good things about the DeHaans, mostly due to the guys customer service and how well he takes care of his clients. You can see what people have to say about him in this forum, and you can check out the Stoeger group in our forums here.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Upland Hunting is pretty much all i do. Being i'm cheap i've had great sucess with the Stoeger series of guns. I have a condor (over/under 12ga) and a model 2000 semi-suto. oth guns i have put over 6000 rounds each because of the weekly trap shooting i do. Both guns have been awesome. The condor i bought new at the local gun shop for $310 and the model 2000 was $449. The only thing outside of cleaning i've had to do was on the condor i had to have the stock tightened up once. My gunsmith actually changed washers, did a little sanding and refit it for a better fit (cost me $45). These guns have worked flawless for what i do. i didn't want to spend a bunch of money for field guns because they get all banged up and abused. I highly recommend the Stoeger series of guns. Affordable and very durable

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I'm very happy with my Stoeger Condor O/U. Just got it about a month ago @ a Dick's Sporting Goods for $300 (on sale, reg price $320). I did alot of research before I bought it and for the most part, the only people that had anything bad about them were those who think that any O/U under $1200 is automatically a POS. Almost everybody I spoke with that ACTUALLY FIRED ONE was very pleased. Especially with the price.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Originally posted by dockrocker:

Rank newbie to the forum here, hoping I can get some guidance. I've recently returned to hunting after a 10+ year hiatus and am shopping for a new shotgun (my old guns were stolen by some POS crackhead in Houston, TX, never to be seen again... ).

 

Looking for a good 12 (or 20?) gauge shotgun, primarily for pheasant (so light weight is an advantage) but also the occasional duck and/or deer hunt, though this is not essential as I'm not opposed to buying additional firearms for these type of hunts. We are limited to slugs and/or buckshot for deer in much of Michigan.

 

Would prefer to spend around $500-700, street price. And I'd love an over/under or side-by-side, but don't think there is much in my price range.

 

Suggestions?

 

Many thanks!

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I'm a 58 year old lifelong pheasant hunter also from Michigan. I've owned every make of shotgun but the real high end over $3000 guns. For me the Franchi 48AL in 20 guage or Benelli's Montefeltro Super 90 are the Lexus of light beautifully balanced autoloaders. Both are around $800-$900 and worth every penny. Hate to sound anti American but both guns make say a Remington 1187 feel like a tree trunk. Good luck. DJ Dan Flint MI

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  • 1 month later...

i agree with 147 grain as to the nova pump. if you're going to use the gun for upland, waterfowl and deer you need to have something that's durable and you're not afraid to stick it in the mud. forget how it looks. i grew up hunting pheasants, grouse, and partridge in the heat and ducks and geese in the snow and sleet. i shot an 870 up until a year ago when i bought a nova. now i use the nova for everything cuz i can beat the **** out of it and not worry if i'm going to scratch it. it comes down to how the gun fits you and how hard you're going to use it. i've resisted the urge for a fancy gun a million times cuz i know i'd be disappointed when i got home and it was beat to **** or it failed me in the field. there's my 2 cents.

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DJ,

there is a lot of good advice there, if you with an auto, the SBE1 is hard to beat they are a little cheaper now, since the is a SBE2. I use my SBE for everything :D I have shot everything from dove to crain with it, 100% reliable !! last year was a good preasant year, and the gun was used verry hard. there were no jams due to dirt in the action. The shim kit is the best part, benellis point just as well as doubles because of it. there is my 2 cents

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i would have to agree with dan, the al-48 in 20 or 12 are too sweet. but they are expensive. 839 @ cabelas. they are very light, with very little recoil. i did recently buy a charles daly for 279 at wal-mart. more out of curiosity than anything. its a mule, itwill kick the crap out of you even with light loads.

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  • 1 month later...
Originally posted by tucker301:

If you really like the O/U's, the Franchi Diamonds (exclusively at Dick's Sporting Goods) are getting very good reviews.

$ale price is typically $700, I believe.

 

Otherwise, there a number of great semi's in Benelli and Franchi lines.

 

Benelli's M2 would probably be your best single gun choice, because of the availability of additional barrels and aftermarket accessories.

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Tucker301

I was reading an old post about after market accessesories & barrels for the m-2 benelli shotgun.I bought one about 3 years ago and have been unable to purchase a 1/4 inch recoil pad,I would also like to have a 28 inch barrel.If you have the address of the company I would appreciate it .

Thanks

Brittany man

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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.

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