what is the BIG deal about charles daly?

Charles Daly, as a company, seems to have spent the last 30 years or so trying very hard to earn a reputation of importing inexpensive, and often cheaply made firearms of which they have done a commendable job. These guns often have little customer support as they are made on contract and the company that made a particular model this contract may be replaced with a different one for the next contract. This may not be all bad except that the guns are not made to a particular specification but to a certain price point. This can make finding even simple parts an impossible task which often requires one to have a part machined at rather high cost. Two large sporting goods stores that I am familiar with stopped carrying these models as they had a number of them returned and it was too time consuming dealing with the importer to get replacements or to have repairs done (as Charles Daly is only an importer, they sent the guns back to whereever to have them repaired). As a Remington imported gun, these same stores carry the minimum number of models they can get by with and feel the customer support is a bit better as Remington actually has a physical presence greater than an office cubicle.
At $375 in today's dollars (the extra money for the Superior is in cosmetics and not function), I would have great reservations regarding this model based first off on the price of materials followed by labor and machining. To get this low of price corners need to be cut someplace.
I know it stinks to not have as much disposable income as one would like but it is also expensive buying lower quality items regardless of what they are. I personally would continue to save and keep my eyes open, deals are continually popping up for those who look and are patient. The Beretta 390 series guns should still be available from Wal-Mart at not much more than the CD Superior as well as numerous used ones. These are proven guns with a long history of dependable service along with readily found parts if needed. Same goes for the Remington 1100/11-87 series of shotguns and I have found used Browning Golds in this same price bracket recently. One should also look at pump guns, they can be found in this price range or lower and a much higher degree of quality can be found in them per price point than in an auto. From long and personal experience, I strongly feel one should by for quality rather than price. It is a real hardship and not very cost effective when one goes well over several months waiting for a simple part to get a gun back into working order. It also sucks when you can't get even 50% of the original purchase price back on a straight out sale as the shop will not accept your gun on a trade at any price.
These are my experiences, and those of others I know well, with not only Charles Daly but other inexpensive imported guns. The amount of money in finding parts and time in lost use would have more than paid for the difference in cost for a better gun of the same type. Prior to 1975, Charles Daly imported high quality working guns at very decent prices. I have owned a number of guns from this earlier era and regret ever selling any. It is a shame that this tradition and reputation has been lost.

It's not what it does after the first box of shells it's what it does after a few cases of them! Any autoloader should be trouble free after a few boxes, the real test is reliability after a few cases. I just traded a Winchester SX-2 for the new SX-3, Why? The SX-2 was without a doubt the best auto I ever owned never not once did it fail to cycle but after 5yr's and after trying the new SX-3 I traded off the SX-2. I am very happy great gun. Now my nephew bought a Daily auto and he has had issues with the gun. The bolt operating handle broke off after the 2nd box of shell's used a screwdriver to finish the hunt, the gun then became a single shot half way into box #3 these were good quality duck load's winchester supreme 3in. fast steel. He waited 2week's for the replacement bolt handle there was no charge for the part. But the gun was returned to the dealer for the cycling problem and he got it back 2 week's ago. He made sure it was working ok and then sold it at a considerable loss. After begging his wife she told him to go ahead and buy a SX-3 we took it to the gun club yesterday put 2 boxes thru it and yes it still work's and nothing broke! Do it right the first time! There's a reason the SX-3 or any premium gun is more money, it's built to last!

I had a black syn 12 ga field hunter, I only paid 290 for it new, back when they first came out. I shot it for two years duck hunting, and had no problems. I then sold it for 190 so that I could purchase whatever gun it was that was my whimsy of the month.

The fit and finish on my gun was quite good, I thought, certainly much better than a Remington 870 Express, which sold for about the same money at the time. Oh well, for every good experience you hear about with these guns, I'm sure you'll hear about one or two bad ones, thats the way it seems to go.

To me though, the price you quoted, around 500 seems a little steep for one of these. For 529 you can buy a Beretta 390 at Walmart. Its a time proven design, that will almost without a doubt provide you with excellent service for many years, at nearly the same price.

Jeff

well guys i jus dont know... after reading all these posts, i still dont know what to do... ive looked into all the used guns at the stores around and ive even handled the CD and i like it... this gun wont get a ton of use, i only duck hunt maybe 2 or 3 times a yr bc i do mostlye fishing down here in fl... but my buddies at college n i do hit the clays prolly 2-3 times a month! idk really, the guy at my shop said that even tho CDs dont have that great of a rep their materials r getting better and the CD doesnt look that short of an 1100 either... plus they do come with a lifetime warranty to if it were to break i'd send it back... i understand u get what u pay for 100% but it is exactly what im lookin for, a cheap auto to shoot clays and occasionally duck hunt a couple times a yr... this gun isnt gonna be put thru any outrageous stress like some of u lucky hunters who get to hunt endlessly thru the yr... i am going to keep looking tho nd kep my options open since i am still saving up... thanks again for all ur input guys its greatly appreciated... any other comments r welcome!

zac

A life time warranty does not mean much if there are no service centers to do the repairs. Charles Daly is only an importer, not a manufacturer, of firearms so they themselves have no means nor ability to make repairs. They may have to send the gun back to whatever country the manufaacturer is located in and there is no telling how long that may take. I've had personal experience with similar imports (not CD as they were in one of their bankruptcies at the time) and it has left a very bad taste in my mouth. That you are not looking at using the gun much does not mean a whole lot as with cheap products they can break beginning with the first use. As mentioned earlier, it would be money ahead to buy a pump gun of a known quality than a cheap auto of questionable parentage. By waiting, saving and keeping their eyes open, one can often stumble into a deal on something better either used or new. There is a saying that goes something like, "Only a rich man can afford cheap products as only he can afford to replace or be without them."