Yesterday I bought me a Franchi Instinct L.

I had been looking for one for a while, but every store I went to either only had 20 ga in stock (Bass Pro Shop and Scheels), or a display model that had blemishes (Cabela's and Sportsman's Warehouse).

I stopped by a Jax Hardware store yesterday, and lo and behold, not only did they have the model in 12 ga, it was $50.00 lower than all the other stores!

After the purchase, they gave me a $20.00 coupon to use in store within the next 30 days!

I think I will make Jax the first place to start looking for a new firearm.

I wanted to get an O/U for use on pheasants so I could switch chokes as needed.

I had owned a Beretta 686 for decades and really like the gun, but after shouldering the Franchi, it seemed to mount more naturally for my build.

I chose the L model, because I don't care for the bright chrome choke tubes sticking out of the end of the barrells on the SL model.

Besides being almost $1000.00 cheaper than the Beretta's I really like the entire look and feel of the shotgun.

The safety is a little stiff, but I figure that will loosen over time.

It also comes with a 7 year warranty for mechanical failures.

This morning I judiciously applied a little oil to the metal parts, and a couple of drops of linseed oil to the wooden parts.

Looks like a million dollars!

I decided to go with an IC choke on the top barrel and a full choke on the bottom.

Once pheasant season kicks in, I plan on using 6s in the top and 5s in the bottom.

Before then I need to shoot a couple rounds of sporting clays to see how the thing shoots.

BH63