older browning citori?

[mka2278]

What would an older b/c go for? Nothing special just an average price / wear from 60s - 70's - 80s?
Are they worth it? What to look out for?
Opinions appreciated. Even the ones telling me I'm an idiot!

 

[Pinecone]

Too many possible models and grades to quote.

But Blue Book ranges from $450 to $5000.

 

[Redcobra]

Depends on model and grade. Gauge? Barrel length?

 

[teratos]

Salt wood?

 

[pbharvey]

What would an older b/c go for? Nothing special just an average price / wear from 60s - 70's - 80s?
Are they worth it? What to look out for?
Opinions appreciated. Even the ones telling me I'm an idiot!

I'd like to know too.
I have a 30" Citori from the 80's that is like new and I'm thinking about selling it because I just never shoot it.

 

[Pinecone]

Model? Grade? Condition?

 

[sxs]

Salt wood?

Citori's don't quite go back to the salt wood era...the it was the Superposed that had problems (primarily late 60's through early 70's).

Edited (I accidentally typed 70's through 80's) ...my touch typing sucks

 

[dendog]

Is it made in Belguim or Japan?

 

[max111]

What would an older b/c go for? Nothing special just an average price / wear from 60s - 70's - 80s?
Are they worth it? What to look out for?
Opinions appreciated. Even the ones telling me I'm an idiot!

Just a few things and older wise man told to me to look out for when shopping for an older o/u, or a sxs. With the gun closed, hold it by the wrist and grab the barrels in front of the fore end and twist. If there is any movement, walk away. If not, open the gun. It should not have excessive play when open either. The opening lever to the left of center when the action is closed is a sign of excessive wear also. Look at the wood. If the checkering is worn down, it's at least been carried a lot, and likely shot a lot. Look where the wood meets the receiver. Any sign of cracks? Walk away. If the wood is darker in that area, someone has used too much oil and the stock has soaked it up, it will be weaker there. Look at the metal - in areas where metal moves against metal, there should not be any galling or heavy scrapes. Ask them to take the barrels off, then carefully hang them from a finger, then 'ping' with your other hand, They should ring. If you get a 'clunk' it likely has a loose rib.
Those are just a few of the things to look for but they are all big issues when I'm looking, since none of those are cheap fixes.

 

[Pinecone]

Is it made in Belguim or Japan?

All Citoris are made in Japan.

Superposed are made in Belgium.

The Citori is marketed and distributed by the Browning Arms Company in Morgan, Utah. It is manufactured for Browning by the Miroku Corporation in Nangoku, Japan.

 

[sxs]

All Citoris are made in Japan.

Superposed are made in Belgium.

Yeppers!

 

[pbharvey]

That makes me feel better.
I thought I had a Japanese citori while other richer people had Belgium citoris.

 

[HarCo2ANewb]

Not owning a shotgun or knowing anything about them, all I see is Clit

 

[Pinecone]

Nothing wrong with a Japanese Citori.

My wife and I have Japanese made 325s. They are also European made 325s around. Now, I see references to Citori 325s, but ours are not marked as Citori anywhere.

But anyway, we have put literally 10s of thousands of rounds through ours. Between us, we fired 15,000 shells the first year we had them. And did not slow down for a while. At one point, our company became a Fiocchi distributor, just to supply ourselves with cheaper shot shells.

And they are still tight and shoot well.

 

[mka2278]

Thanks one and all.
Lots of good information!
I ask because I saw one that looked nice at a gun show. Think it was a 1980s, 12G 30" Nice, nondescript (not super fancy burled) bit not dinged-up wood. Looked like it had been used, but not too hard. Still pretty tight when you opened it, no wobble, and the opening lever was right of center.
Figured it may have been a decent gun, even despite the age and use, as I've heard they can run a ton of shells through them.

 

[rtse4me]

Nothing wrong with a Japanese Citori.

My wife and I have Japanese made 325s. They are also European made 325s around. Now, I see references to Citori 325s, but ours are not marked as Citori anywhere.

But anyway, we have put literally 10s of thousands of rounds through ours. Between us, we fired 15,000 shells the first year we had them. And did not slow down for a while. At one point, our company became a Fiocchi distributor, just to supply ourselves with cheaper shot shells.

And they are still tight and shoot well.

I have a European 325 that I purchased in the mid 90s. They are a nice gun for sporting clays. The main differences are the barrels weigh less and have no porting compared to the Japanese 325s. Much quicker handling.

 

[Pinecone]

Yes, they are nice.

I shot one when I took my first lessons.

 

[PJDiesel]

Thanks one and all.
Lots of good information!
I ask because I saw one that looked nice at a gun show. Think it was a 1980s, 12G 30" Nice, nondescript (not super fancy burled) bit not dinged-up wood. Looked like it had been used, but not too hard. Still pretty tight when you opened it, no wobble, and the opening lever was right of center.
Figured it may have been a decent gun, even despite the age and use, as I've heard they can run a ton of shells through them.

15-20K rounds without batting an eye.

If it fits you decent, isn't beat to death, locking lever is still towards the right and was less than $1k, I'd think it's a fair deal.

 

[Riley26]

First gun was a 525. It balances nice, has a smooth and strong action, goes bang every time, and will shoot shells with seemingly bad primers mis-firing coming out of a semi. It's easy to clean and has real nice ejectors. It's one of the firearms that would never be sold.

 

[mka2278]

15-20K rounds without batting an eye.

If it fits you decent, isn't beat to death, locking lever is still towards the right and was less than $1k, I'd think it's a fair deal.

You are spot on. The guy was asking $1k, "firm."

You go to the 3 bird?