Hatsan Escort vs Weatherby SA-08 12G

[NitroJoe]

Looking for opinions on the above 2 shotguns. I will be pigeon, duck and clay shooting with it and it will be used most weekends and cleaned frequently. I preferably want nice wood furniture and have a budget of up to £800. Personally I'd like to buy new rather than a second hand Beretta.

Obviously the Escort is cheap and well liked but the Weatherby appeals to me aesthetically more and I also like the magazine cut off ability. (Does the escort have this?)

I plan to handle both this week but wondered if anyone had experience of both and can say whether the Weatherby is worth the extra?

[phaedra1106]

Nothing between them, both made in Turkey so not the best quality, Escort has a 3yr guarantee from Edgar Brothers and the Weatherby (I believe) is from Sportsmans Gun Centre who are either great or terrible depending on which shop you use.

Do you really want a semi-auto?, Bettinsoli make a nice range of O/U at reasonable prices and Lanber would have been another option but have gone.

Just to be clear I'm not knocking the Hatsans, I have 3 of them (all synthetic stocks) and they all do the job they were bought for and for less than half of your budget.

[Chuck]

Hatsan - because I am biased as I have had a few and they all worked well, despite the mistreatment meted out to them.

Come over to turkey on yer hols and buy one locally...bound to be cheaper than the UK - but you will need to re-proof it if you sell it on - if you do so.

Fact they are made in Turkey is irrelevant, lots of stuff is made there - some for "names"!