28 ga O/U which one?

[6.5s4ever]

I haven't posted here in quite a while, and decided it's time to get back on track and start shooting again! I have got the bug for a 28 gauge Over/Under but don't want to break the bank on one.

Does anyone know of a good used one for sale? I was looking for the longest barrel length I could find , seems 28" is the longest out there . Does anyone make a 30" barrel?

I was looking at a CZ but am unsure about it , Mossberg makes one but only in 26" and Beretta is more money than I want to spend. Anyone know anything about the Savage Milano? Other suggestions!

Thanks 6.5s :)

[TreeDoc]

I've got an older Ruger Red Label.....but you can't have it!

It's the little guy on the bottom of the Pic. It's a great gun and I just love shooting it. I think it's a well made gun with a good fit and finish, better than what you'll find on the CZ's or some of the other foreign jobs. You could never go wrong with the purchase of a Beretta, Browning, or Franchi either. These O/U's are getting damned expensive these days!


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e143/TreeDoc/2004-05UplandLineup1.jpg

[muledeer]

Hey is that couch for sale?:p
muledeer

[TreeDoc]

Mule, for YOU, it's FREE!

I still have that POS and the only one that uses it is Jack. It's a sleeper sofa, too. I'll even deliver it! :D

[fabsroman]

TD,

I knew there was a reason I loved your posts. You are hilarious.

As far as O/U's being expensive, I never remember them being cheap. I haven't looked at the price tag on an O/U for over 5 years now since I bought my 682 GoldE skeet gun. I'll probably have sticker shock.

Then again, it doesn't seem like anything at all is cheap anymore. I don't usually do the grocery shopping, but went to Target to buy a gallon of milk the other day and almost fell over when I saw it was $4. I thought I was buying some fancy milk and I kept looking for the "regular" gallon of milk.

Luckily, I raised my tax preparation rates this year too. First time in 5 years, and it was about time.

[TreeDoc]

Yeah, Fabs, I agree on the "always" expensive but I guess I'm just thinking it wasn't that long ago that I was looking at Citoris and Onyx's with price tags in the $1100-1200 range. That was a while back obviously. I was recently in the market 'cuz thought it would be great to have a designated O/U "Duck Gun" and went looking for a new, camo version just for that purpose. When I started seeing $1800-2000 for most specimens, I changed my tune and bought used instead. I'm glad I did 'cuz the break open action on an O/U does NOT lend itself to a good pit blind shotgun. I used it for a month and just traded it off for an SBE.

Oh...and the best deal on milk? Costco! It just went up to a little over $6 for two, 1 gallon containers and the best thing is they're protected in a cardboard box so they don't get light oxidized and that funny taste that clear plastic container milk gets in the grocery stores. If I can't get to my Costco, I have to buy it in those half gallon square cardboard containers. I'm picky!

Glad to see you're raising your prices. I need to as well. Problem is, I'll probably lose work when I do it 'cuz I tend to have to bid work that goes to lowest bid and I'm always dealing with the losers that just fail to completely account for their true expenses and low bid everything. We'll see how that goes.

[fabsroman]

I could have told you that an O/U is absolutely no good in a pit blind. I used one once in a pit blind and that is what made me start using my BPS for waterfowling, until I figured out I couldn't hit anything with the second and third shots, and that is what made me buy the SBE 10 years ago. God, it is hard to believe that the SBE is 10 years old and that I haven't bought any new guns for almost 5 years now. Man, I'm slacking.

I had a granite contractor as a client that tried to beat everybody's price. He just didn't understand that sometimes, you just need to let certain jobs go. He isn't doing too well nowadays and I let him go a little over a year ago Christmas of 2006.

I thoroughly understand that sometimes I need to let certain clients go. Sometimes, they just aren't worth the headache. I am at the point right now where I let them go if they pay late or if my rear end puckers up while I am driving to meet them. All of this reminds me that I need to draft a letter to a client to tell them they need to get a new tax preparer. I've been doing their returns for 3 years now, and I make about $150 from them each year. It is a very simple return. Of course, they think they can deduct everything, and they argue with me about it every time, and we argue about the same things every year. They scheduled an appointment with me right before the end of the year for some tax planning advice, and my $150 invoice is still outstanding. If they weren't a friend of mine's in-laws, they would have been gone a long time ago, but I have finally had it with them this year.

Pick good clients and you will stay in business for quite a while.

[Rapier]

6.5s4ever,
Browning makes a 28ga OU in the 525 with a 30 inch barrel. They are a real beauty on the clays range and do very nicely on skeet. I have a 3 barrel set but will not show pictures, do not want you to loose sleep and all.

Fabs, 24 years ago, April 1, I went through every client I had. I dropped the bad ones and refused to chase the deadbeats. Changed to a cash up front program and today, I sleep at night and the business is 6 times its size in 84. I found that my word of mout advertising is better now that we spend our time helping our good clients that listen and pay.... We spend not one second on bad clients or chasing bad credit folks. I also tell my folks if they get a bad feeling or hit resistance from a new client, drop them like a hot rock.
Ed

[fabsroman]

Ed,

What do you do for a living? If you don't want the entire board to see the answer, send me a PM and I'll keep it private. After yesterday, I'm seriously wondering about which clients to keep.

[TreeDoc]

It's nice that you guys are in a business where people come to you and you can pick and choose. That'll never happen in my line.

[fabsroman]

TD,

You are probably right. If you were in the landscaping business, you might be in the same shoes as Ed and I, but I don't know too much about the arborist business. People don't need trees cut down on a yearly basis, so it is hard to maintain anybody as a consistent client. For me, I have had some clients now since I first started on my own 6 years ago. Those are my best clients.

[Rapier]

TreeDoc,
One word "Hurricane." Around here we go looking for tree folks on a regular basis....:D
Ed