doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Best entry level in a NEW side by side

My vote goes for the Baikal (though it is a little lumpy) and definately one of the CZ's by Huglu. I have a 28 ga. and love it. Keep the price under a grand. Chops

That selection would be hard to argue with Chops and their prices are very attractive. On some of the other boards you see constant arguments back and forth over their overall quality. Mainly you hear someone said he got a real good one and another said he got a real stinker and that in itself strikes me that their over all quality assurance programs may have to improve. Similar to the Ruger Red Label where you have some people swear by them and some swear at them. But for an entry level NEW side by side the Huglu is hard to beat, especially when they are sporting one of those outrageous pieces of Turkish walnut.

I've heard of a couple people that have had problems with CZ's. A shooting friend bought a .410 Bobwhite in which his reloads and at least one brand of factory loads wouldn't chamber well. He sent it back, figuring they'd probably polish the chambers a bit. They sent him a new gun. From what I've heard about CZ, if you do have a problem, their customer service is excellent.

Why would anyone CARE what was the best buy in a new sxs when used buys are so much better? The world seems to have lots of SKB 100's for $1K and less, a great gun and worlds better than a new Baikal or CZ. New prices on Uggies are to the moon, but used ones can be had all over the ballpark, and straight grip, double trigger Uggies in 20 ga are a very svelte, good handling gun! If you really must have a new gun, my nomination is the 20 ga S&W from CDNN, $1190 on closeout! Problem is, the S&W isn't a proven, trouble free gun, like the SKB's and Uggies.

I've got three of them - baikals, that is. One is new - same thing as are on the market today. What can I say? It works, never failed (double trigger non-ejector - what's there to fail?), it's strong, patterns great. But it doesn't feel like a sbs ought to. In fact, it feels like a log. Even Benelly semis balance better.

Now, the old ones (1958 and 196something) - they're OK, they feel like doubles, a bit too much wight-forward, but a definitly sbs feel. And the quality is much better. So, while Baikals are quite good value as compared to other brand-new offerings, the feel is all there is about a sbs. So I'm with danross70 - older is better.

While the used SKB's and Uggies are indeed good guns, they lack the flexibility of choke tubes. A person purchasing his first SxS might be better off having choke tubes so that he/she could hunt ALL GAME, and shoot any or ALL of the clay games.

The CZ/HUGLU gets my vote as the best new SxS under $1k.

I very much agree with Dan, on this one. A used, good gun is always a better buy than a poorly made, cheap, new one. JMO. You can buy Browning Superposeds and BSSs for around $1000

Or better yet you can find very nice 12 gauge Fox Stelingworth's at about the same price. Sorry to say a 16 gauge will be about one and one half as much and a 20 gauge will be about double but both are well worth it. And with the Fox you are getting a true American Classic, not some import without soul.

I also agree with Dan. I have a model 30 Uggie and a model 100 Ithaca. I think either is better than the new entry level turkish guns. As far as choke tube go, I think they are vastly over rated. I shoot a lot of sporting clays and rarely switch chokes.

Cabelas has Smith and Wesson Gold elite shotguns on sale for $1300.00! They are normally $2500.00. I bought one I consider it a steal of a deal.