Mossbergs Silver Reserve O/U

[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.