doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Not sure about alloy receiver, what say ye?

The story I have heard/read is that the Guerini boys were Batista Rizzini's nephews, and when they asked for a piece of the company he declined to give them an equity stake in the business. So, they took off and started their own company, named after another one of their uncles. So, not part of Rizzini, but there are links.

I suspect that pheasants in Alberta is a bit different than pheasants in PA. When I was younger, I used 7-1/2's on wild birds in California because that is what I had around. Then I started using 6's, and had a lot of runners. With no dog that can be a big problem. Then I tried 5's and finally moved to 4's. I don't use 6's any more. Depending on conditions, it's usually 5's in a Mod choke for the first barrel and 4's in a Full choke for the second shot if needed. Kills them in the air. Our shots are usually fairly long.

Here is a pretty thorough discussion of the inter-relatedness of these various Brescia makers:

Rizzini world

The Aurum is a very nice gun, but a new one is probably over your $2500 budget, and I'm pretty sure they use steel frames. Not too many of them available in the used market. If you want a steel-framed gun, it's a whole lot easier to find a Beretta, new or used. My favorite Beretta field O/U is the original Black Onyx, which can be had used for way less than your budget, and you might even be able to fit a set of Cole's upgraded wood and stay under $2500 total. The Beretta field grades are notable for their plain wood, but every once in a while a really nice one pops up. And a Black Onyx with nice wood is much more elegant than any of the fancypants guns that Beretta has brought out subsequently. From what you have described so far, I'd rule out anything from Browning or Winchester, just based on weight.

Tough birds up here. I will be going state side to Montana this fall to hunt pheasants, pretty pumped up about that. I think i will bring the old superposed in and have it properly fitted this week. She is a bit heavy for all day hunting though and have been drooling for a while now over some of these CG's and Berettas.

If i could import a gun from the states my troubles would be over, been seeing alot of nice stuff on gunsamerica and other sites.

HR,
I agree with you, birds up in the north are or seem to be tough. They will take hits and keep going. I've resorted to #5 shot. That seems to be enough.

I think your problem with the Superposed not killing is a fit issue as well. Some Supers will have a bit higher dimensions than guns like a 870. The higher comb dimensions will often cause high shooting. Try 'floating' your target/bird a little higher in the sight picture and see if the hits improve.

Regardless of the brand/model you get, you'll have to assure that the fit is right. If you happen to be 'John Q Average', you'll still encounter stocks too high or too low for you. A model 12 or 870 will often have 1 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 14 dimensions. These fit me almost perfectly. But there's a lot of guns that are 1 3/8 x 2 1/4 or even higher combs and some of the current makers are trending toward higher comb dimensions. I find I can compensate for a slightly higher comb when shooting clays, but not very consistantly when hunting.

Supers are choked very tightly and the 12 gauge Full I have measured are about 39 thousands constriction so with the ammunition of today give very tight patterns.
How is your Wingmaster choked or does it have screw chokes?
The Beretta UL has screw chokes and you could go to SKEET USA and SKEET USA.
You do not need 3" chambers and do not want 3" chambers. -Dick

HR,
I agree with Dick on this...you really don't need a 3" shell for pheasant. More than that, you will find shooting 3" shells will lead to heavy flinching and eventually you're likely to do worse than shooting more appropriate shells. Shooting a 3" shell in a sub 7lb gun will beat you up and second shots will be less accurate. Lightweight guns and big shells are a bad mix for accurate/consistant shooting.

Killing a pheasant doesn't take a huge amount of hits from the shot, but it takes penetration. That's where larger shot size helps. I go to the Dakotas every year with nothing larger than a 20g with one ounce loads, and lately more and more with a .410. But I use large shot.

A well fit gun by someone that really knows gun fit and some professional instruction and practice will go further in filling your bag than larger and larger loads.

My 870 is full choke with the longest barrel available on tjegun. ishould pattern the superposed, i can shoot trap very good with it but dont exactly dust the clays like my other guns. thanks everyone for their opinions. great site and posters.