New guy from north GA. Anyway, I joined a gun club close to the house, my dad and I have been shooting sporting clays and are having a blast. Right now we both shoot Beretta auto loaders and we are wanting to make the transition to O/U's. I know absolutely nothing about them and I was gonna buy him one and me one. New or used, it doesn't matter. My budget for both guns would be about 4k-5k max. He has no idea I'm gonna get him one, he will be shocked.

We did go look at the Beretta SP and the Brownings not sure which one it was.

We would like to go try skeet and trap as well.
Again we are just having fun out there no serious competitors here.

Thanks for any input.

Choosing any gun has to suit your style , it's such a individual Thing ! You would be fine
with either line of O/U's , just try the one that fits you best . Most who shoot them will let
you try theirs out so be inquisitive at the Club , ask around about what they are shooting
and see what you like Best ?

Browning and Beretta both make good guns. For O/U's, I prefer the Browning Citori guns. For semi-auto, I prefer the Berettas. Keep in mind that felt recoil will generally be a bit harsher with an O/U than with a semi-auto of the same weight, so I generally add weight to my O/U's to reduce the felt recoil. I also add weight to my SA's too, but perhaps not as much. I like about an 8.5 pound gun for clays usage.

Thanks for the input.

There are a number of O/U’s that you can get a pair of in that price range. Any chance you could shoot some different brands yo see which one(s) fit you best. In reality, guns in that price range are all built very well, just finding which one you can hit the best with. One thing you will like is not having to chase empties near as often.

Buy a Browning or Beretta. First gun should be 12 or 20 gauge (probably 12). Make sure you barrels are at least 30 inches long.

That's all I've got.

Gun selection and fit is very personal. If you are confident the store has a wide enough selection of brands and models, I suggest you buy him a gift certificate from there for $2,000. Not too much, not too little. You get the pleasure of surprising him with the gift, and then he can go into the store and get fitted with the gun that works for him and appeals to him best. You don't want to show up on his doorstep with a gift gun that can't be returned.

Only about one in ten can say they found an off-the-shelf gun that fits. New guns are factory configured for shooters 5'10" high and about 170 pounds, an average sized person. If you ain't average, then the gun will need to be fit and the POI set to personal preferences.

Maltz

Maltz, I agree completely. Off the rack gun fit is the big lie. Funny I demonstrated it myself just the other day. I was shooting my left-handed 687 (highly modified with a lowered and swiveled butt plate) with a friend who shoots a dead stock right-handed DT-11. By mistake on one station I picked up his gun when it was my turn and started shooting it just fine. Very uncomfortably, but I was hitting targets. I was scrunched up on the stock to get my eye over the rib, but not thinking about it too much. It occurred to me something was wrong, but shooting the wrong gun never occurred to me. Finally my friend noticed and made a joke about it. I was so embarrassed. I switched to my gun, and what a difference, not so much in results, but in comfort and ease of mounting the gun to the eye. Classic case of fitting the shooter to the gun instead of fitting the gun to the shooter. No worse mistake in all of shotgunning, and no easier one to make, especially for rifle shooters. You can surely do it, but why would you?

Browning 725 or Beretta 692 in that price range, and get 32" barrels. You'll want to shoot them both since they have different stock configs, and then you can pick the one that bangs your face the least -- seriously.

If you can step your budget up a little, you should be able to get into a couple used Ceasar Guerinis -- which offer a lot of gun for the money.

Again, 32" barrels only. Don't be tempted by a good price on a used 30" gun -- it's usually being sold because the guy got further into competition and realized he shot 32's better.

I’m still shooting with my 870 exoress amd was looking for this exact thread!

Cartman , do you have a "style?"

Probably not yet. Try several different guns and see what suits you best. It needs to be comfortable and not kick you too much.

Over the long haul , for the clay games , an O/U that weighs over 8 lbs and has 30-32 inch bbls will work best for most people. BUT do not go blow $$$ today. Do some experimenting 1st.

I appreciate all the advice and keep it coming.

I started with a SP1 12 gauge as my first O/U. Liked it so much I bought a SP1 20 gauge. One of my shooting buddies had a Browning 725 12g and offered it to me at a deal I could not turn down so picked it up in a moment of weakness. They all shoot great and I don't regret any of them. I probably shoot the 20g more now than any; I have found in my older years that a 20g is just so much more fun to shoot - clays or quail. Been debating a 28g though.

Try to find one you can try out first to be sure you like the "fit"; but either Beretta or Browning will give you years and years of pleasure.

Cartman, there is a lot of wisdom in Sera's "style" advice -- here's my story to help put it in perspective...

I took up sporting clays in 2012 and bought myself a new Browning 625 with 30" barrels because it felt and looked so much more "competitive" than my Beneli semi field gun. I bought a flat of Rem GN 1-1/8th oz 1300 FPS loads and took it out for it's maiden voyage with high hopes of breaking every target that flew in front of me. I called for my first target, bang bang for a swing, two misses and loose teeth. I could not believe how hard it kicked me. I quickly learned 1oz 1200-1250 loads were my friend. I also added an ISIS recoil device and adjustable comb to my Browning to try and tame it for my face structure -- that lasted all of two or three months and I was into a target Beretta semi. I moved up a few classes with the semi in 2013, then migrated to a Krieghoff K80. It came with a 30" barrel that I pretty quickly replaced with a pair of 32" barrels. (I've even more recently moved to 34" barrels, but I'm a big guy.) Anyway, after finally developing a pretty solid "style" I made M class pretty quickly -- went B to M in one season with that gun. After a couple years of middle-of-the-road shooting in M, I bit the bullet and had my K80 custom stocked. The wood and stockwork cost more than the new Browning AND target Beretta combined. But it was worth every penny. I can shoot full on pigeon loads (1-¼ oz 1350 FPS) and hardly notice the added recoil over my 1oz target loads. That custom-fit stock was probably the best money I've spent toward actual shooting improvement -- well that and professional lessons. By professional lessons I mean from sporting clay pros and known sporting clay instructors that coach for a living...

Point is two-fold: 1) Developing a style takes TBG (Time Behind Gun), and 2) you probably won't end up with the gun you start out with

FWIW only...

Stick with the auto-loaders....The O/U won’t gain you a single target....You stated you were not into competition......go with less felt recoil!.......

The two guns I'd recommend are the Browning 725 and Beretta Silver Pigeon.

Fit is the most important thing. Usually, people find that one or the other of those two guns will fit them, but not both.

You can go to a gun shop and see which one fits you. But it may not fit your father. Unless you're trying to surprise him, take him with you and see which gun fits him.

If you ARE trying to surprise him, buy one of each. You've got a 50/50 chance of getting it right. Work a deal with the dealer that you can return one unfired and get the other brand if necessary.

Another thing that will help you if you go with a Silver Pigeon Beretta is make sure to get the sporting model...... The main feature that I personally would want is the safety doesn’t reset every time you open the breech unlike the field model.. one less thing to worry about. The only time you should ever have rounds in the gun is when your in the shooters box for your pairs anyway. The other thing they do is send the gun with an extra fiber site if your into that kind of thing. Good luck. My vote is Beretta SP1- sporting