Loss of faith in gun

[amschind]

The Cynergy fixed most of not all of the issues with double triggers. I love mine and wouldn't trade it for anything. That said, Browning chose to make it hideous in a market full of buyers who value a very traditional aesthetic.

That, said, I have spent a LOT of time fighting autos to make them run right, which is why I generally prefer bolt or break open guns.

 

[Tbitty]

Not quite the same as losing faith in a gun, but i once bought a Franchi 28 gauge semi auto that I thought would be a fun quail gun. No matter what ammo I put through it, that thing kicked like a mule and even simple target loads for clays was severely worse than shooting a 12 gauge with 3.5" magnum turkey or goose loads. I'm not generally recoil sensitive, and that was when I regularly shot about a case of shells per week. But I hated shooting that gun, and traded it in at a gun show for a small profit and a huge headache lifted.

 

[Rafiki]

When I started clay shooting, my father, who had been into regional and national trap shooting competition with very positive results for long time, told me to buy as my starter weapon either a Beretta 680 series or a Perazzi. Anything else wasn't worth to be considered in his opinion.

At that time I was unsure if I would have enjoyed or not clay shooting, so I chose to stay low on budget and away from Perazzi, and got myself into a 2004 Beretta 682 Gold E Sporting. I did my research and any reviewer was positively talking about this over under shotgun.

The gun came with a selective trigger commanded by inertial block, but I soon found there was no way to make that trigger reset on upper barrel after first shot on lower barrel. Otherwise choosing to shoot first upper barrel, the trigger would correctly reset on lower barrel with absolute reliability. The worse thing was that more I digged into the problem, further I found forum threads, discussions and other topics talking about that same issue experienced by shooters all around the globe. It was pointless to have it tried by other shooters, it wasn't an issue due to shotshells or my shooting stance.

I guess the reason is one of those mysteries yet to be solved, but if I knew this before I wouldn't have chose this gun in the first place. It seems that people having this issue only solution is to convert the inertial to mechanical trigger. That's exactly what I had to do in order to solve my problem with the gun, and have it consistent.

I also have a Beretta 6xx Ultralite and it also has an inertial trigger. I got a Beretta double trigger set installed almost immediately just because I happen to like double triggers. First time out both barrels fired; the grouse almost exploded. Minor adjustment and all's well.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Some better part of 25 plus year ago I just had to have a Browning Citori. But I also couldn't afford one just yet. I ended up with one of the original Benelli SBE's. But after shooting in a trap league, I finally gave in and added a Citori and decided to use it lieu of the Benelli at the next trap season.

Well I couldn't hardly manage to hit the stink on a steaming pile of cow shit with it. My trap scores (which normally ran a modest 21-22 out of 25) plummeted to mid to upper teens. Midway through the league season I put the Citori away and returned to my SBE which had become an extension of my arm in hunting season. My scores went up and I sheepishly accepted most improved shoot for that season.

The Citori went away to someone I can't even remember. The Benelli is still in my cabinet and functions as flawlessly today as it did then. I've no idea why I was so awful with the O/U. The idiot in me keeps wanting to try it again, perhaps with a 20ga this time.

Please talk me out of this insanity!

 

[BeeMaa]

The Cynergy fixed most of not all of the issues with double triggers. I love mine and wouldn't trade it for anything. That said, Browning chose to make it hideous in a market full of buyers who value a very traditional aesthetic.

That, said, I have spent a LOT of time fighting autos to make them run right, which is why I generally prefer bolt or break open guns.

If you are having problems with semiautomatic shotguns, I can highly recommend the Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 and the Beretta A400 Extreme Plus w/ Kickoff. I own both but prefer the SBE3 for the fit and inertia action, however the A400 is softer shooting.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Some better part of 25 plus year ago I just had to have a Browning Citori. But I also couldn't afford one just yet. I ended up with one of the original Benelli SBE's. But after shooting in a trap league, I finally gave in and added a Citori and decided to use it lieu of the Benelli at the next trap season.

Well I couldn't hardly manage to hit the stink on a steaming pile of cow shit with it. My trap scores (which normally ran a modest 21-22 out of 25) plummeted to mid to upper teens. Midway through the league season I put the Citori away and returned to my SBE which had become an extension of my arm in hunting season. My scores went up and I sheepishly accepted most improved shoot for that season.

The Citori went away to someone I can't even remember. The Benelli is still in my cabinet and functions as flawlessly today as it did then. I've no idea why I was so awful with the O/U. The idiot in me keeps wanting to try it again, perhaps with a 20ga this time.

Please talk me out of this insanity!

I have a Citori 12 gauge I picked up on a good deal a few years ago. I refinished the wood in oil and made a cherry wood case for it. Beautiful to behold but I don't shoot it nearly as well as the old A5 brute goose gun. This week, inspired by this thread, I wiped years of dust off the case and took it to shoot skeet. First thing I noticed is it's much lighter. Recoil was VERY noticeable and so whippy from low gun I finally had to give up and shoot it mounted. I think I broke twenty once. The other two rounds were a waste of ammo.

 

[Rafiki]

I have a Citori 12 gauge I picked up on a good deal a few years ago. I refinished the wood in oil and made a cherry wood case for it. Beautiful to behold but I don't shoot it nearly as well as the old A5 brute goose gun. This week, inspired by this thread, I wiped years of dust off the case and took it to shoot skeet. First thing I noticed is it's much lighter. Recoil was VERY noticeable and so whippy from low gun I finally had to give up and shoot it mounted. I think I broke twenty once. The other two rounds were a waste of ammo.
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Never cared much for Citori. They seem clubish.

 

[amschind]

If you are having problems with semiautomatic shotguns, I can highly recommend the Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 and the Beretta A400 Extreme Plus w/ Kickoff. I own both but prefer the SBE3 for the fit and inertia action, however the A400 is softer shooting.

I actually grew up hunting with an SBE2. I like the Benelli, and my stepdad still has it, but I prefer the balance and simplicity of the O/U.

 

[BeeMaa]

I actually grew up hunting with an SBE2. I like the Benelli, and my stepdad still has it, but I prefer the balance and simplicity of the O/U.

I had a Cynergy, but the balance is exactly what turned me off of it. Sold it to @Mekaniks who has been putting it to good use.

As for the SBE2, I had one of those as well. Had it give me the "Benelli click" a couple of times so that one went down the road as well. Other than those couple of times, I never had another problem with that shotgun even when shooting light target loads.

Glad you like the Cynergy, at least you are getting some good use out of it.

 

[Mekaniks]

I had a Cynergy, but the balance is exactly what turned me off of it. Sold it to @Mekaniks who has been putting it to good use.

As for the SBE2, I had one of those as well. Had it give me the "Benelli click" a couple of times so that one went down the road as well. Other than those couple of times, I never had another problem with that shotgun even when shooting light target loads.

Glad you like the Cynergy, at least you are getting some good use out of it.

Yes sir
I just got back from our yearly crane and goose hunt with the Cynergy.
Buddies had a SB2 that failed to function 50% of the time and one had a REM 1100 that failed more than that.
The Cynergy went “bang” every time…

 

[BeeMaa]

Yes sir
I just got back from our yearly crane and goose hunt with the Cynergy.
Buddies had a SB2 that failed to function 50% of the time and one had a REM 1100 that failed more than that.
The Cynergy went “bang” every time…

Glad the Cynergy is doing well for you.

Not sure what the problem is with your buddies SBE2 but I hope he gets it figured out. Mine was a very reliable weapon with the exception of the bolt not always going FULLY into battery. My guess is that he could sort that out pretty easily.

As for the R1100, I'm not surprised at the failure rate...especially in waterfowl conditions. Depending on the year, condition and chambering he could make it better but it will never be great. If he likes gas operation, I'd recommend the Beretta A400 Xtreme with Kickoff if he's serious about waterfowl.

I have no complaints with the SBE3, especially considering the treatment it survived over the past week of goose hunting. I'm just about to do a detailed cleaning.

 

[amschind]

I actually like the heavy barrels on the Cynergy for its intended use in a duck blind. Combined with the short action relative to an auto, the balance is still good AND the barrels are a lot more resistant to "Oh &$#@*" moments in the darkness. Now for an upland gun or a pure clay buster, an Italian gun with thin barrels and an aluminum receiver is unbeatable. There's a similar discussion on this in the Franchi Instinct thread, and I highly recommend them. I'm not sure I know anyone who is a good enough shot to do better with a Guerini or Perazzi vs an Instinct.

Ultimately, I bought/made the 16 ga from my shotgun thread to fill this gap for myself, but there's a heavy dose of nostalgia there and an Instinct 20 would've been a cheaper and more practical choice.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I had a few unfortunate incidents with less than perfect firearms over the years:
- Had a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum Remington Model 700's extractor break during a Cape buffalo hunt.
- Had the ejectors fail on a .458 Winchester Magnum Belgium made boxlock ejector during a Cape buffalo hunt.
- Had the magazine floor plate of a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum FN Mauser pop open & dump the remaining cartridges at my feet while test firing it at my white hunter's camp in Mozambique.
- Had the ejector of a 12 gauge Pakistani single barrel Sikender shotgun fail repeatedly (including when I shot two man eating Royal Bengal tigers with it).
- Had a Remington Model 11-87 fail to cycle quite a few times during a high volume driven pheasant hunt.

I had some other issues with a few firearms over the last 64 years of my hunting life... but these are the ones that come to mind the most prominently.

 

[HankBuck]

Yes sir
I just got back from our yearly crane and goose hunt with the Cynergy.
Buddies had a SB2 that failed to function 50% of the time and one had a REM 1100 that failed more than that.
The Cynergy went “bang” every time…

@Mekaniks - I’m a big Benelli FAN but the SBE2 was problematic and seems inferior to the SBE original and the improved SBE3. I think they rushed out a few too many SBE2’s and cheapened them up a bit with more “plastic” in trigger guard, and too focused on a nice new Camo pattern etc.. I would readily by a used SBE 1 over any SBE2. I’ve also heard good things about the SBE3. The famous “Benelli “click” never bothered me and only had it happen a few times in 25 years shooting/hunting with the SBE1, you get use to just checking and “pushing the bolt forward” as you sit in the duck blind etc..….still it would be nice to eliminate that issue for good. The Remington 1100 earned it’s keep on the Skeet fields but was always a “jammer” in a duck blind, cold/wet weather, or if you didn’t clean it “constantly”.

 

[steve white]

Several mentioning not doing well with O/U make me think of my difficulty with them--crossfiring eyesight. The off eye picks up the taller profile of two stacked barrels and takes over focus from the master eye, mystery miss resulting. Hope my explanation makes sense. I sent a nice Beretta O/U down the road for it.

Nephew loaned his prized, lights out accurate .22lr Rem sporter weight bolt gun to his father, who happened to clean it in front of him, getting the patch so stuck he arched the cleaning rod hard as he pushed on it. Probably didn't hurt anything...but....anal obsessive nephew sold it and bought another just in case the gilt edged accuracy had been affected. They were both shooting a lot of BR 22 matches at the time. His gun wasn't even "good enough" for that kind of competition, anyway!! And very possibly the new gun wasn't as good as the fluke that got cleaned wrong. Wish it had been offered to me for sale...I forget the model, but it was the most expensive one they sold at the time, and mega squirrel gun choice.

They spent thousands $$ on the most precise, heavy barreled rifles money could buy, with adjustable harmonic balancers and all bells and whistles. If they heard of some rare Suhl made 22 that became available, they bid on it. Knew famous barrel makers on a first name basis, literally. Much of it may have been for a psychological boost, dunno. But a guy could do worse than find one of theirs for sale which they had become disenchanted with.