lovethebigguns

I'm really struggling with something. Please allow me to tell a small story!

For several years I wanted a GOOD O/U 12 guage, mainly for clays and some light upland game bird hunting. SO I saved and saved and about a year agowas able to buy myself a pretty nice brand new Browing Citori Super Lightning. This gun isa real beauty. I'm not going to bash specific brand name guns but I've shot several of the low price O/U's and as far as feel, quality, fit and general looks they don't hold a candle. I even went out and purchased7 brand new Briley Stainless extended choke tubes (which choked me when I saw the price)so now I'm set up for anything from skeet to long trap to sporting clays to doves to turkeys if I want. I'm truly in love with this shotgun. (Which is part of the below mentioned problem) I've since shot a few rounds of sporting clays, a half dozen rounds of skeet and lots and lots of casual clays behind the barn with a few buddies.

Then came my next toy. A new Winchester Super X3, 3-1/2" composite withthe armor coat finish. Thisgun came with a bunch of shims and I was able to basically "custom" set it up to fit me. MAN what an incredible shotgun, it's my first auto loader and every body that shoots it wants it! My father in law loved it so much he bought a walnut one only a few weeks after I bought mine!

So recently I've headed back to the sporting clays and skeet ranges and these times I've taken both shotguns and equally shot them both. With mixed emotion I've discovered that I CONSISTANTLYbust25% more clays with theSuperX3 than I can think about with my beloved Browning (and I seriously am not kidding about the 25%)

This truly is a problem for me. I can't say enough about how much I love that Citori, but I'm getting to the point that when I want to shoot a round of clays I want to leave it at home! It's way to nice a gun to use for an everyday, run of the mill huntin gun that will get scratched up and beat up. I'm now beating myself up wondering if this gun really has a place in my safe!!!

Can anybody comment on my situation? What are your thoughts on the fact that I can pick up the Super X3 and shoot so much better?

THANK YOU!

bronko22000

The Citoris are nice O/Us and from what I gather you seem to shoot it pretty well. (Or you really suck with it and shoot the X3 moderately well). But seriously, if I were you, I'd keep the Citori and use it for hunting. It is an excellent choice for upland birds with the instant selection of 2 different chokes. Use your X3 for sporting clays and take the Citori along as a back up.

Colorado Luckydog

If you can't shoot the Citori with the same or better accuracy than the Winchester, then you have a problem. You just need to figure out what it is and fix it. No way in hell that Winchester is a more accurate gun than the Browning. I'm not good enough to tell you what your problem is, but there are people that could watch you shoot just a handful of rounds that can. Chance's are it's not the gun, it's operator error. JMO! Good Luck!

nchawkeye

I grew up shooting a 12 gauge double side by side, this was in the late 60s...I hunted everything with either that gun or a Remington 552 from the time I was 12 until my mid 20s...I've shot it so much that I've worn the blueing off the receiver...

In the mid 80s, my brother sold me a Browing B-80, with both a 3 inch anda 2 3/4 inch barrel...
This gun just plain fits me to a T...My dove hunting scores immediately went up...It used to take me
2 1/2 - 3 boxes of shells to kill a dozen birds, now I will do the same with less than a box and a half and often just a box...

I think that with a semi, you have a little more weight and a little longer barrel and you just swing through better...

I still use my side by side, but that Browning has become my dove gun...

Hurricanespg

Sounds like the SX3 fits you better. I wouldn't worry about it though, take your Citori to a professional and have them fit it to you. Pretty soon you will be breaking them just as well as with the SX3.
As to the comment about the Winchester not being as accurate as the BrowningI just have to ask why? The company that owns Browning owns Winchester. The Winchester SX3 has the same internals as the Browning Gold and Silver. They are practically the same guns.

Colorado Luckydog

If they are practicly the same gun, why would one be so much more accurate than the other? I'm not saying one gun is better than the other, I'm saying they are both great guns that should shoot very well. It sounds like he is having a problem with the fit or with his form. I think his problem can be fixed very easy with the advice of someone who knows more than me.

vabyrd

Accuracy is not an issue with shotguns. There aren't any sights and you don't aim them. That bead is to let you know where the end of the barrel is. Your problem is just a matter of fit and feel. Shoulder your Citori with your eyes closed and see where everything lines up, then do the same with the Winchester. You'll probably see two different pictures. Also some guns shoot 50/50 some 60/40. Just depends alot on your particular style. Maybe take a look at a Winchester O/U and see if the fit is similar to your auto. I would'nt get too worked up about it,shoot them both and eventually you'll figure out where the difference is and how to correct it or compensate for it.

ThatArkansan

I am just getting into sport shooting and hunting, so I'm interested in this. What do you guys look for in a gun's "fit"? I understand the objectivity of this, and how it will vary from person to person. Should it just feel good to me? does it deal with body position? form?

lovethebigguns

After reading, I must agree it sounds like a fit issue. I'm going to shoot this weekend and I'll try the eyes cloesd test and see what happens. I'm also going to have some of my buddies that shoot a hell of a lot more than me watch to see if they see something that I'm doing differently with the two guns.

Maybe I'll need to get the stock worked on a little like y'all said.

Thanks!

lovethebigguns

OK,
I was just online looking up some of the spec differences on these two guns and noticed a couple of things. The drop at comb is 1/2" more on the Citori vs the SX3 and the drop at comb is 1/8" more.

Also, I have the stock on the SX3 shimed over to the left 1/8".

I'm sure these numbers make a big difference don't they?

Is it possible to shim the Citori stock up to match the SX3?