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Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 260 Likes: 85
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 260 Likes: 85 |
Hello. By which I mean, hello again. A few years ago, I joined this forum and posted here about having acquired, on a whim, an early-production 12-gauge Browning B-SS (28", single non-selective, Modified/Full, pistol-grip, made in Japan) and subsequently trying it out for American Trap and, even, ahem, just for giggles, Olympic Skeet. Your comments, suggestions, and insights were welcome, wonderful, and useful. They helped me have loads of fun shooting the thing, and I haven't forgotten them. But then life and other priorities and COVID got in the way, sequentially, and I guess I haven't fired a shot out of anything proofmarked in about five years.
But now, the veil has lifted, somewhat. I got a small bonus from work in June, and decided to rashly spend it on something that would give me an excuse to get out in the autumn forests and/or society again. I determined that the antithesis to my big, heavy 12-bore would be the answer. I started looking at smallerbore shotguns. And then I spotted a well-respected Canadian dealer's consignment sale for a 28-gauge CZ Ringneck. I scratched my head. It's pretty. It's small. It's not too expensive. It might be just the thing as a grouse defence shotgun. But what the Hell is it?
So, as some of us who know no actual people are wont to do, I consulted the Internet. Therein, I found confusion and contradiction. "It's made in Turkey! Turkish shotguns are fecal!" "Never had a problem with mine." "The firing pins break!" "The forends drop off if you fire both barrels in close sequence!" "A Turkish double ate my baby while she was swimming off Cape Cod!" "I've shot a thousand rounds of trap with mine, and though I've failed to ever break fifteen, the firing pins have never failed." "The Turks have never forgotten Gallipoli! It's a trap!!" "Need I remind you that the Czechs developed the BREN, and then outsourced production to England. Trust their practical judgement."
That last statement, by a paid spokesman, made me trust them. I examined the advert with renewed intent.
Consignment - CZ 28 Ga/2.75"/26" - Ringneck - 201A Mini -Turkish walnut - Prince of Wales stock - Unfired - in Beretta fitted luggage case - $950
That's 950 Canadian dollars. I scratched my head. And sent two questions to the dealer. 1. How many chokes does it come with? 2. Is that a lockable fitted Beretta hard case?
The answers came back as, 1. Three chokes, Improved, Modified, and Full, and 2. Yes.
I knew, because reading, that these shotguns shipped with five interchangeable chokes, and figured that the dealer, because volume, had neglected to count the two that might have been screwed into the barrels by the factory. I was also in dire need of another decent double-gun case, because recent-purchase Winchester Model 1892 Takedown reasons, which we shall not otherwise discuss here. And as for "unfired", well, probably not, but these things can happen. And they're reputable. So I figured, ahh, at that price, roll the sodding dice. And I bought it.
And it has arrived. And this is what I wrote a distant, cross-country shotgun friend about my unboxing:
That "unfired" CZurkish 28-gauge has arrived. No trace of casehead marks on the breechface, so maybe they weren't lying. Arrived with all five chokes instead of the three they mentioned in the ad (they failed to count the two screwed into the bores, which I'd gambled on), choke wrench, two plain snap caps, two weird snap caps with fuzzy white chamber swabs on them (hadn't known those existed- what are they?), velvet socks for barrel and buttstock, an unopened tube of Brian Enos pistol lubricant (which is handy, because I can't find my bottle of Militec), the original cardboard box & owner's manual, *and* an unused lockable Beretta double gun hard case, leather-covered, that sold for $459 US in 2015 (the previous owner's order printout was in it. The little red plastic anti-rotation pins are still in its combination locks. EVERYTHING IS NEW OLD STOCK.
It has selectable single trigger, extractors only. (So far, my only regret is that it lacks ejectors.) Much daintier and daintier-handling than the B-SS. Trigger pulls are a bit stiffer. It's a very well-drawn little shotgun, by my eye. And I can see myself walking the trails at the lake with it; it's not too heavy. Oh, and the barrels *are* 26 inches, breeches to muzzles.
$950 CDN. Huh. I think I got royally screwed.
Local trap & skeet club is hosting a Browning open house on Saturday. It's gonna be sunny. Guess where I'm going. I'll be bringing both.
Last edited by Fudd; 07/07/22 10:42 PM.
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1 member likes this:
BrentD, Prof |
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Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 548 Likes: 86
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 548 Likes: 86 |
Nice buy! The leather case may be worth what you paid for the whole CZBANG!
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 13,146 Likes: 1146
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 13,146 Likes: 1146 |
Sounds like you did well. As owner of a couple Turkiish made S X Ss, I expected your trigger pulls to be harder/heavier the BSS, which I also own one of.
What you paid would be $731.54 USD, according to the latest numbers. I'd have done the same thing as you, exactly.
If you find the trigger pulls too heavy for good shooting it's no big expense to have them reworked to lighter weight pulls.
May God bless America and those who defend her.
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Joined: Jun 2022
Posts: 34 Likes: 18
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jun 2022
Posts: 34 Likes: 18 |
I have owned 4 CZ SxS guns, I had problems with all 4. CZ SxS's have an inherent problem with the triggers and firing pins, I had light strikes on all 4 guns. Good news is CZ has the best warranty reputation in the business, and they will take care of you. If they couldn't fix my gun, they replaced it with a new one.
If I wanted a SxS in that price range, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another, but I would know going in I might have problems. FWIW not all turkish guns I have owned have had problems, I own two Dickinson Plantation Sportings and have had zero problems with either. I also recently bought a Fausti DEA (Italian) and it quit shooting after the 5th shot, it has been sent back for warranty to Fausti USA.
I have had problems with Beretta's, Brownings, Winchester's, and a few more. Any gun can can have problems, it's how the company handles the problem that counts.
Last edited by Jusanothajoe; 07/08/22 07:15 AM.
My wife lets me buy all the guns I can hide.
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 384 Likes: 9
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 384 Likes: 9 |
I have CZ's and a Turkish SKB w/o serious problems! One was a custom shop 12 gauge hammer gun with custom wood. My only issue was with a 16 gauge with fixed chokes. I sent it to Briley for screw in and had to have a barrel trued to match the other so that chokes selected would match my desired results. Hard to beat the prices! These recent imports seem to have better QC than Turkish imports of 20 years ago.
PULL! Hal M. Hare
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 352 Likes: 33
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 352 Likes: 33 |
I've had the entry level CZ 12 gauge Bobwhite G2 for a couple of years now and I'm pleased with the gun. Yes the gun is tight out of the box and the trigger pull is heavier than on the guns that most of you shoot. Compared to the Stoegers and TTNs which I see a lot of at cowboy shoots, the build quality and appearance of the CZ is much better. I know other shooters who have bought the CZ O/U and semi-auto shotguns and they are also happy.
My only criticism of my gun is that it doesn't like shotgun shells with soft primers, like Federal or Estate, which make the gun hard to open.
Last edited by Chantry; 07/08/22 06:16 PM.
I have become addicted to English hammered shotguns to the detriment of my wallet.
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Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 221 Likes: 109
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 221 Likes: 109 |
You are going to enjoy 28 gauge very much, but the first thing is to know it well. Choose the gun you prefer now to know this lovely gauge and later I'm sure you choose better shotguns.
Good luck!
28 ga, hammerguns and all shotguns and rifles made by hands. Waidmannsheil 🌿📯
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 9,739 Likes: 97
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 9,739 Likes: 97 |
be careful swimming off cape cod...
keep it simple and keep it safe...
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 6,482 Likes: 390
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 6,482 Likes: 390 |
That's a hell of a buy. As a Canadian I wish I'd noticed the ad. LOL
The world cries out for such: he is needed & needed badly- the man who can carry a message to Garcia
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Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 260 Likes: 85
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 260 Likes: 85 |
So I went to that Browning open house shindig. Shot two rounds of trap like a sandbag with my B-SS, feeling very rusty, then tried (I think) 5-Stand with a demo 12-gauge Citori Hunter. My first time shooting an over-and-under. And my first time shooting 5-Stand. Gawd, it was chaos! Clay pigeons coming outta the goddamned walls! Leaping out of the ground! Hissing in over my shoulder! Hit mostly nothing. Shotgun felt like a bus in my hands. And then, figuring I was at least warmed-up, and that it couldn't get any worse, I decided to shoot two more rounds of trap with my new CZurkish 28-gauge shotgun. 7/8 oz #8s, with the Modified choke screwed into in the starboard barrel, at the club coach's recommendation.
Holy damn.
Even though I'd been away from the game for five years, I well and truly crushed a bunch of 'em with that little thing. Got more than half, both tries. Most of the ones I hit well were going-away, and I smacked them, hard, with my brain turned off, just as they left the bunker. They just burst. "PULL!"SMASH.
That thing points like my finger. My Browning points like a train, in comparison.
Bonus: That Plain Jane little side-by-each stops people in their tracks when I walk past them. Several conversations were started, and acquaintances were made. I don't regret a dollar I spent on that spindly little shotgun.
It was a nice day out.
Now I want to try it at Olympic Skeet. How should I choke it?
Last edited by Fudd; 07/09/22 06:02 PM.
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