Considering Purchase....

[Wes]

Hey everybody,

I am new to shooting and would love some advice...

I have talked to a number of my friends who have got me into shooting, and I think that a Stoeger O/U Condor might be the best way to go. It would be my first gun and I would love to hear what ya'll think of your guns

p.s. ("ya'll" means "you all" in southern, or "you's guys" in new york

[jimbop]

I've had mine about three months now and love it. I was my first shotgun. I'm like you, I have a friend who got me into upland hunting and now I also shoot trap, skeet, and sporting clays. I think the condor is well suited for these. I just purchased a Franchi 912 to compliment the Condor. The Franchi will be used for waterfowl and turkey and probably trap. I went from no guns to 2 in less than three months! Man this is addicting!

[mr.surveyor]

Well, it is only my opinion, but I believe that a Stoeger is a good first gun purchase for the price. Don't get hung up on the Condor, the Uplander SXS is also a very serviceable weapon. You need to ask yourself how much you think you are going to use this new gun, and for what purposes. Then you can look at price, brands and type. If your not sure that you want to dive right it in and drop a bunch of cash on something that you might use once in a blue moon, then the Condor is a good option. It is about the cheapest O/U on the market. That should tell you something about the quality. Don't get me wrong, I recently bought a Condor myself and love it, just know that you are not going to get things like a burled maple stock for the Condor price. All in all it is a perfectly good firearm that will give you years of successful use. One last thing, though, if you are going to get the Condor, I would recommend the Supreme model, I think it is well worth the extra money.

[Wes]

Thanks for the advice. I would probably use it rather frequently like once every week or two...More for skeet and clays and less for actual hunting, I would love to get into that, but it is some time down the road.

Thanks for the advice about the supreme...I agree, it is well worth the extra money

As for the burled maple stock, I couldn't care less about what it looks like if it works well.

Oh by the way, I shoot at the riverbend gun club, mr.surveryor, ever been there?

[mr.surveyor]

If you are interested in the supreme, you might have some difficulty finding one around Atlanta. I had to look far and wide for mine. Dick's Sporting Goods has good prices on Stoeger's, but they have no control over their inventory ordering. I found a place in Gainsville called Shuler's Great Outdoors. I placed one phone call to them and in about a week, they called to let me know my Supreme had arrived. The people there are knowledgeable and friendly and I was amazed at their in house selection of firearms. By the way, I have never been to the RiverBend GC, but I hear it is a pretty nice establishment. Happy shooting.