Fabs has some good ideas here. I certainly agree with him on most of the ideas. When it comes to a lot of things in the outdoors...buy the best you can afford. especially when it comes to cold weather clothing..decoys & gear for safety. You'll never go wrong. When it comes to guns for field use just buy what you are comfortable with. Make sure it fits and if the model of gun has been around for a while...well it'll probably work just fine. Doesn't matter what it is. If it is a problem gun it won't last on the market long. Remington is finding that out now with the 11-87 3 1/2" semi auto. We all have out likes and dislikes so buy what you are happy with. He is also correct about nice expensive guns. You really do get what you pay for. I shoot a Krieghoff K-80 O/U for Skeet. Replacement cost on the gun is 8,000 for the basic gun..9,000 for the engraving, 7,000 for the stock...plus another 2,000 or so for the other accoutrements. Now understand I only paid a fraction of that when I bought the gun in the early 90's. I have spent exactly 275 bucks on maintenance since I've owned it. It has been shot approximately 275-300 thousand times.. yep you read that right. It gets cleaned sporadically and I have only had one parts breakage in all that time and the gun continued to work...in fact I won a State Skeet Championship with it broken. Quality really does count. In the course of guiding and shooting quite a few geese over the years...I used for the most part 3 guns.. Until the need to go to steel shot I used a model 12 Winchester and a Browning Auto 5(gag). After the advent of steel I used an 1100 or 11-87. Fairly cheap guns...but they almost always worked. Use what works for you and use what you really like.
As far as Fabs....I am afraid the hunting fields are going to be missing him what with all the work and the townhouse and the soon to be wife. It is a sad loss too. I was hoping to get him to take me huntin for those ol resident geese on the western shore of Maryland....yessiree bob...a sad loss indeed!! I remember doing the same thing myself..... lo these many years. Course now days momma's the only one workin so I just have to hunt a lot to get the larder filled with meat ...ya understand, I hope!
