Mossbergs Silver Reserve O/U

[6.5s4ever]

Hi Guys! , Has anyone purchased the new Mossberg Silver Reserve O/U Shotgun? If so how do you like it? Was looking at this shotgun and for the price it looks like a very nice firearm. Our sportsmans club has recieved a grant from the NRA for $2500.00 to use to buy 5 shotguns for a Youth Day Trapshoot. We were considering this gun in a 20 Gauge with a "26 barrel. The local dealer price here in PA is $399.00 This is a heck of a buy by the looks of it. Opinions wanted! Thanks Roy

[6.5s4ever]

Here is a picture of it!

[fabsroman]

I cannot believe that you can get that type of engraving on a gun for $400. That is utterly amazing.

[DaMadman]

Originally posted by fabsroman
I cannot believe that you can get that type of engraving on a gun for $400. That is utterly amazing.

yeah I agree and the website has a Suggested retail of around $600-$700

http://www.mossbergintl.com/pages/firearms.htm

[kt]

well i guess there is at least one mossberg i would consider buying, thats a real beauty, the engraving is nice too, just for conversation fabs, when a gun has that kinda looks, what is it that makes that gun less than half the price of a low end beretta double? is it in the balance, the machinery what? because i can almost see my diploma and with any luck some graduation money may have one coming my way? and i wanted to say as far as the price you should check out the Franchi or is it traditions line at wally mart, very nice looking gun for 5-600
(i would still rather the beretta)
kt

[fabsroman]

You can dress guns up on the outside to make them look really appealling, but that doesn't mean they are of the same quality. The Beretta engraving is better than the Mossberg gun, but you will also be spending close to $2,000 for a o/u gun with engraving on it. I spent $1,300 on my Teknys and they have some engraving on them, but no game scenes.

What makes a Beretta a Beretta, and not a Mossberg, is in how the gun is manufactured. I haven't compared the Beretta o/u's to the Mossberg, but the first thing you want to do is check the quality of steel used and how the barrels are made. As far as barrels are concerned, check to see if the interior of the barrels on a o/u are chrome lined. This prevents the barrels from rusting on the interior if you happen to not clean the gun immediately after shooting. I have a Browning Citori without chrome lined barrels and that thing is a POS. The barrels rusted up once because I didn't clean the gun right after shooting and that has pretty much been a pain ever since.

You also need to look at the machining of the gun. A Beretta is pretty tight when it comes from the factory and it needs a lot of oil when you first start shooting it because it is actually a little tough to open. Don't worry, over time it will wear in, but it will stay tight for quite a while. Some of the lower end guns might not have that tight tolerance.

Also, look at the balance of the gun. The Berettas tend to have slender receivers which make them easier to handle and point. Some of the other higher end shotguns have this too, but I don't know about the Mossberg.

Lastly, look at the artistic detail. Most Berettas, with the exception of the very entry level o/u's come with swirl polishing on the extractors. My Teknys auto has swirl polishing on the bolt and the shell feeder.

I also think the Beretta o/u's are extremely easy to clean. The Citori and my dad's Winchester 101 are a pain to clean inside the receiver.

Look at the two guns very closely. Shoulder them a bunch of times. Take them apart and imagine having to wipe them down to get out small particles of powder and dirt. If you are like me, you will be shooting and cleaning this gun for a lifetime.

I bought my first Beretta 682, a trap combo, about a year after I graduated. I was about 22 then. I am now 33 and I am still shooting that gun and I still love it. One of my better purchases even though a lot of people think I was crazy to spend $3,000 on a gun. For the most part, you get what you pay for, but the Mossberg is a very nice looking gun for the price and it allows people to buy an o/u that cannot afford the higher end ones. My buddy, who doesn't shoot or hunt a lot, owns a Mossberg pump and he wants an o/u pretty bad. In his lifetime he might shoot as many shells as I shoot in a year. He has never bought an o/u because his wife would kill him if he spent $1,000+ on a gun. However, the Mossberg might fit his budget and his needs and he won't have to pick up his shells at the range.

[Steverino]

Good post,

Fabs brought up some good points to consider. I'll be honest 6.5, I was unaware that Mossberg even offered an O/U model but it does look like a nice shotgun for the money.

There are alot of entry level imported O/U's and SXS's entering the US market now as firearm distributors have wisely done their research and recognized that most of the regular working joe-slobs of this country would love to own a nice double gun but don't want to have to take out a second mortgage to do it!

Buyer beware though-there is alot of garbage out there so you must do your homework and be somewhat discriminating as well as honest with yourselves. How will you be using the shotgun? Will this be a dedicated clays/trap gun that you will be using to shoot several hundred rounds out of each weekend or will this be a gun that use occasionally? What type of repair center is in place to perform warranty work? How about their return policy.

There are fair deals to be had but you must be realistic. I personally own a couple of shotguns from Dehaan-(manufactured by Huglu of Turkey) One is a 20 ga. SXS and the other more recent acquisition is a 12 ga. O/U. I admit that I was very apprehensive initially -especially hearing about varying quality issues with broken firing pins, poor barrel regulation, etc.

If you visit most any shotgun shooting website though, there will always be some posts on components that fail. We're talking machined parts here-there's gonna be some failures at some point based upon heavy usage. The question is, How are these companies handling their customers? How is their service. I can say that I have heard both good and bad stories (as is usually the case) from all the "B" manufacturers and own a little from each. I also have spent the better portion of my twenty year career in manufacturing so I know a little somewhat as to how metal is manufactured typically from looking at it.

The more expensive shotguns have alot more detailed handwork done to remove tool marks and fixturing. Some of the less expensive offerings do not offer this (and typically won't) for the cost associated with the process. Bluing, plating, and polishing are also something that someone will pay more for in a finer shotgun. Overseas manufactured guns can still be a value because much of this handwork is facilitated at a much cheaper labor rate (not too unlike much of what is imported into this country) It will be interesting to see what if any outcome the declining US dollar will have on this market. Will they work? Most of the time they will, albeit they may not be as ornate but functional nonetheless.

I have been insofar, very satisfied with my own purchases from Dehaan. Both shotguns shoot very well to point of aim and serve their purposes very well. One is an early season pheasant gun that sees action only a few times annually and is a pure joy to carry afield, the other is an occassional club trap gun.

Neither gun will ever hold their value well compared to more established manufacturers but they are indeed worth far more to me for their value and service. Good luck to you sir!