I am looking to purchase a 20 gauge O/U and have narrowed my search down to two guns.I am concidering a Franchi Veloce with 26" barrel and English Stock or a Citori Superlight Feather with 26" barrel.I have chosen these guns based on price (I dont want to pay more than $1500), light weight, reputation/workmanship/quality, English stock availablity, and intercahngeable chokes. Also, I have hunted with the Citori twice and shoot well with it so I used it as the base of comparison when researching other guns. Which would you chose and why?What should I expect to pay for each (I know the MSRP of both and was quoted $1389 (500 below MSRP)from a local dealer on the Citori but wonder how that rates)? I have looked at a lot of other guns including Daly, Ruger, Beretta, Huglu, Remington, Perazzi, etc but would appreciate any other recommendations based on the criterea I listed above.Thanks for your helpScott:smokin
Franchi vs Citori
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Scott,i was in the same situation as you. i'm going to buy a beretta blackwing 20 gauge for 850 dollars. i liked this gun more than the others but i'm also getting a deal on it. i have seen it in stores for around a $1000. however it doesn't have the english stock you're looking for. of the two you have chosen i like the citori better myself. i saw the franchi for $1050 at a store here in wisconsin. both are good, if it were me i would probably buy which ever one i got a better price on. "The early bird gets the worm ,but it's the second mouse that gets the cheese!"
Bird Hunter,Thanks for the info. I like the Citori as well and it would be my first choice for that price range. I live in Washington but now I have a better idea of what kind of price to expect on the Franchi. I will see if my local dealer has a Franchi Veloce I can check out in person. Then I'll make my final choice.scottr
I was looking at the Alcione in a sporting version, one of the extras that I liked was the changeable side plates...has nothing to do with the fit of the gun it was just a nice addition. I already have a Citori and was happy with what I saw in the Franchi o/u's and would have bought one, 'cept I found an H&K Fabarm at a steal. May still have to end up with one of them.....'cept now there is a bigger problem, I got to shoot a K-80 this past weekend. I don't recommend doing that, they are far superior in balance and many other things, but you get what you pay for in a $10,000-25,000 shotgun.
I avoid buying Japanese guns.Don't get me wrong... I drive a Camry,watch a Mitsubishi and listen to a Sony (granted, not as loud as I used to)I just have a problem buying firearms from them after all their "American Gun Culture-bashing" they've done in the UN (not that I consider it a valid institution anymore). Heck, their own civilians can't own arms.They can talk all high-and-mighty, but they continue to export guns to us....screw 'em. I'll send my firearms $$$ elsewhere. All or part of the offerings of Win, Browning, SKB, Howaetc...are off my list....Which brings me to my next firearms dilema....that Winchester Model 70 Super Grade 25-06(made stateside). I've been drooling over it for a year. Problem is....Winchester is still, as far as I know still owned by GIAT, a conglomerate/holding company from...pardon my French here......FRANCE!
As far as I know the HERSTAL GROUP has products under the brand names FN HERSTAL, Browning and Winchester, the Herstal Group designs, manufactures and distributes a full range of firearms and accessories for defense, law enforcement, hunting and marksmanship. The Herstal Group has its headquarters in Liège, Belgium, the heart of Europe, and offices in nine other European countries, North America and Asia.The Herstal Group includes Herstal, parent company and two main subsidiaries , FN HERSTAL, active in the Defense and Law Enforcement fields, and Browning / U.S. Repeating Arms Co., specializing in hunting /shooting marksmanship and outdoor sporting goods.Each subsidiary has it own research, development and manufacturing components, and its own global distribution network. I looked in Janes and didnt see a link between GIAT and FN...not to say that they arent a subsidary or some such, its hard to keep up with holding companies.www.fnherstal.com/html/Index.htm There is a fine line between hobby and insanity.
Are the Franchi guns made in Japan? Have you ever been to Japan? I don't want to get into political discussion but I would like to point this out as I have been to Japan. What ever the Japnese Government says in the UN in any other political forum, the average Japanese citizen could give a rats *** about the "American Gun Culture". Japanese laws (most likely dating back to the time when the US was helping to re-build Japan after the war) strictly control firearms ownership but you can buy toys (if you can call them this as they are more like a BB gun) that are exact replicas of any gun made" Glock, Uzi, Tech-9, Mac 10 what ever. They use compressed gas and shoot hard plastic BB's. These things are sold everywhere so I would guess it is the Japanese government that has a probelm with it's people owning guns and not the people themselves.In the end I just want a quality shotgun and don't care that it may be made in Japan.
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