a shotgun is a shotgun.....is a shotgun?

say you've got a 12ga. shotgun, and your buddy has a 12ga shotgun of a different make/model. what are the real differences? craftmanship? price? "accuracy?" will it last longer? or is it just the name plate?

i know nothing about shotguns, but it seems to me that since they blow shot in a pattern, you really aren't going to find one that is more accurate than the other, especially since the choke patterns are pretty well standardized. so is it just a matter of taste? why spend 1500$ for a shotgun when one for 200$ will do the same job? or will it?

i guess the question is: is the price difference more than simply gold inlays and fancy walnut?

Tas,

   King laid it out pretty good, the machining required, along with hand crafted work will always make the O/U's more expensive.

   There are other considerations also, durability being one - take a trap gun that you shoot 300 rounds a day with vs. a field gun and you'll soon know why. - Did you know real trap gun's don't have safety's?  When you competition shoot a shotgun subutle issues like a 1/8th inch in drop are major, and i mean major.  Kick is other that is affected by the stock angle, and drop along with barrel porting.  Possibly release triggers, moveable cheek peices and more like recoil compensators.   Shot gun competition shooter eat up money like crazy - 300 rounds, $100 for entry fees, and more if you want to practice. (oh thats one day of a 2 day shoot.)

  Last but not least you have field stripable for repairing firing pins' & such - along with reliablity - does it go bang when you want it too.  Break opens are better than this than others, however a good one is heavy too absorb kick - a field gun is the opposite weight.

I'd better hush up now.

Spot

Max, Not being an owner of one, I have always loved the Remington 3200. Since you have a few of the pricey Italian and Browning guns, you probably ought to let the 3200 go to its reward with a guy like me. LOL there it is, another offer......................Kingpin

By the way, how is it choked?

Kingpin,

The skeet barrels are .004 each. The single barrel was tubed by Briley. The small guage sets are all tubed.

I once opened up a safe to show a non shooting friend some guns. Trying to impress the quy I handed him a Superposed, then a Model 21 my father left me,  and then my ace in the hole show off piece-a single shot 8x65r Brenneke, full stocked with buffalo horn trigger quard and schnabel, set trigger and nicely engraved reciever with detachable claw mounts ( some one left it behind near Liege- never found the scope or mounts). The man handed each one back to me after looking them over briefly and asked," Don't you have any new ones?"

It is nice to know you are willing to take the 'old ' stuff off a man's hands. Thanks- I'll let you know if I have a sudden urge to up-grade.

max

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The big difference is fit and finish. Also to a degree, dropping labor costs, popularity = price. Think about it for a moment....

20+ yrs. ago you could barely give away an O/U or S x S, sure collectors or pro shooters would pay X dollars for some models, but average folks like us concentrated on what? Semi-autos and to a slightly smaller degree slide action (pumps).

Luckily, my father and I (cause I talked him into it), started buying old S x S shotguns. Glad we did. Geez the prices now! Dad also purchased, honest!, one of the first Ruger O/U's in 20 bore. Most of his friends thought he was nuts.

Nowdays is a great time to go out and purchase the old shotguns w/fixed chokes, etc. Heck, they're cheap and you would be amazed at what you'll find for very little $. For a fixed choke, go out and pattern it w/diff. loads and one might be suprised at one might find! You don't have to have choke tubes!

Geez, I could go on and on, but Kingpin has answered the question better than I have!

I’ve not been into small game hunting or much shotgunning for about 3 decades, but do have two shotguns in my collection. This is a little toy Remington that got added last Nov to supplement a Rem 11-87 12 ga. I’ll be using it for partridges in northern LP of Mich this fall. It’s an 870 Wingmaster in 28 ga with a 25 inch bbl and 3 chokes and weighs only 6 lbs. I fell for it as soon as I saw it. It’s the equal of a compact rifle in handling and carrying. I just have to get a lot of practice in this summer.

I believe you first have to pick the type of action YOU like in a shotgun! Then go look at the various models, weather that be single shot, a double barrel side by side, Over & Under, Semi-Auto Action, a Pump Gun, or the Bolt Action.....yes they make em.

I myself prefer the Remington model 1100 for an ALL AROUND type gun, which  is the semi-auto action. Some folks won't shoot anything but a Pump Gun!

If hunting with a group of hunters in a pheasant field, I like an O/U for safety sake (also like hunting with others who are carrying them too)

The pretty stocks on some of those shotguns make the price jump way up and fitting etc is also part of the deal on a custom gun. Gun Smith work or fitting gets expensive on any shotgun. Not to mention the inlay work in gold or scroll work on any shotgun drives that price upward in a big hurry.

My Turkey Gun is a pump gun, with a special choke for a tight pattern out to 45 yards using # 5 shot.