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Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 1044 Location: Minnesota

What’s this gun worth?

Grade III citori
16 ga
28”
Original box
IC & Mod choke tubes
Very nicely figured wood
Wood was professionally stripped of the high gloss finish are re finished with a satin oil type finish. Ahlmans in Mn did the wood work.
Has a thin black recoil pad that replaced the plastic butt plate. The stock was not cut and I have the plastic plate that could be re attached.
It’s in excellent condition and functions normally.

Just a swag...~$3k +...maybe

Not sure what the mods will do to a collector price. Sounds like a great shooter though.

Year?
Long tang?
Black or silver receiver?
Straight grip, lightning or full pistol?

My apologies if you've included a pic, I can't see that from my work computer.

Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 1044 Location: Minnesota

MX in serial number, I believe that means 2003
Silver receiver
Has lightning round knob grip
Short tang

Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 1044 Location: Minnesota

Sorry duplicate

That's the configuration I based my swag on, so I would say $3k is in the ballpark. The wood grain will probably have the most effect on sell point. Feather crotch wood will probably be the most desirable, but then that is really a preference. Weight is also a factor, but again, up to preference for the intended use.

Low gun guys like me like a light gun; I prefer 6 to 6.5 lbs. Traditional skeet guys usually like a heavier gun. A guy (or gal) who hunts preserve quail can bring a high wood grade gun out for a hunt without worry. Some of the places I hunt will never see much more than a straight grain stock due to pricker bushes, etc. But I've seen some hunters with absolutely beautiful guns out in the thick stuff.

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 935

We purchased an as new 16ga Citori White Lightning from Jaquas for a little over $2100.00. It has really really nice wood on it. Came with Midas Grade extended choke tubes. Mine has grade 3/4 wood, oil finish. Maybe 2 boxes of shells through it

This is the link to it

https://www.browning.com/products/firearms/shotguns/discontinued/citori-white-lightning-16-gauge1.html

Browning also has a grade 2/3 wood WL

https://www.browning.com/products/firearms/shotguns/discontinued/citori-white-lightning-16-gauge.html

Go look on Gunbroker and GunsInternational. Based on what I bought, MSRP for the grade of wood, what they are being asked for, and depending on where the lever is at wear wise

1800 to 2000 if the lever is very far to right. If your gun has wear on it and is closer to center, probably closer to 1800 or a little less.

This is mine. The 2nd picture is the White Lightning stock on my blued Hunter 16ga. just to see what it looked like

https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/shotguns/browning-shotguns-citori/rare-uncatalouged-2001-browning-citori-16-gauge-grade-iii-gorgeous-cased.cfm?gun_id=103437112

Double post

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 935

If it is one of those it changes the value a little, but if it is one of those, and as was stated, the finish stripped off, just like in the world of cars, if it isn't original, it doesn't carry the value.

The OP states original box, that listing states those guns came with a fitted case. Does original box translate into fitted case ? If not, probably not one of those guns and if it is and the fitted case is gone, the value is further diminished.

Pictures and further clarification are needed.

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 935

Here is a post about a "Grade 3" 16ga.

With all the negatives, non-original finish, case or no case ?

Realistically is becomes a used White Lightning as it has lost its collectors value

https://doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=635021&page=1

This one shows pictures

Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 1044 Location: Minnesota

It came in a regular cardboard box with end label with correct info about the gun. The figure in the wood shows much better that when it had the shiny urethane finish.
I’m not a pic poster, but would fwd pics if someone would be so kind as to post them.

I also have a 2003 16 ga grade 3 lightening with original cardboard box with end label matching the gun. I bought it to shoot trap so had an adjustable comb added. The value means nothing to me as I plan on shooting it the rest of my life( I`m 71).

df, check your PM

drcook,

With respect, I disagree but not entirely. You may be right, but this is all about opinions at this point, and I am no pro when it comes to gun values, which is why I said it was a swag.

I think the GI listing may be a bit overpriced, maybe by $500 to $1000. Original case and finish is definitely worth more, but that is a collector gun, or a non-brush cover hunting gun for special days by a meticulous person who readily takes care of their guns. We will not know for sure how much that gun sells for, as you can cut deals with the folks on GI. I know this because I have done it and saved myself a few hundred dollars.

I think df has a nice shooter that appeals to a different aesthetic than a collector. When I bought my 2003 Gr6, it was a tough choice about the engraving between the Gr6 and the Gr3. I personally like the engraving on the Gr3 better as it is more in line with the birds I prefer to hunt, being quail & partridge IIRC. The Gr6 has mallards and pheasants, and though I do enjoy shooting ducks, my focus at the time was grouse & woodcock. Nothing wrong with wild pheasant, but all I've ever "hunted" were the pen raised chickens my state stocks that get largely eaten by raptors & wild canids...not my cup of tea. But I ordered the Gr6 with the intent of holding onto it as a contingency investment...at least that's how I explained it to the wife so I could buy it. Back to the point, there are folks like myself who prefer a shooter gun that has been modified tastefully so that there is no guilt in modifying it further.

I search GB & GI almost daily for a number of things concerning the 16 (as well as the 10 gauge now, God help me). I watched a totally refinished (not "restored") Sterlingworth with great dimensions and some minor mods sell for what I would pay for a Fox AE, and I do regret passing on it. Most of the dedicated skeet guys in my club look for guns with the adjustable butt & comb already installed and will pay more for it than the unmodded exact same gun next to it in the rack. How much more usually depends on the quality of the mechanics and the overall fit & finish. With the gun that df has, in my opinion as a shooter, you start with the fact that it's a Citori (O/U, hidden bite, ejectors, single selective trigger, invector chokes, good weight, special steel barrels, reliable), add the fact that it's a Gr3 with bird engravings, the crime of a butt plate has been replaced with a pad, and then whatever the finish is on the grade 3 wood (and if you prefer oil finish you don't need to have it done!). Maybe you subtract the fact that Citoris have a FTF issue occasionally.

Again, this is just my opinion as a shooter in terms of what I look for in a potential slightly fancy shooting gun of reliable quality. I don't consider myself a collector, like many folks.

Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 1044 Location: Minnesota

I noted the “crime” of replacing the hard plastic butt plate with a thin rubber pad . I did this, not for recoil issues but to avoid chipping the toe out of the stock in the event the gun gets dropped on a hard surface. I’ve seen it happen. The stock was not cut and I have the plastic butt plate and screws. It’s easy to reinstall the plastic butt plate.
I’m waiting on the arrival of a higher grade 16 ga citori. When it arrives, I’ll likely put this one up for sale. If it sells , fine, if it doesn’t, my son will inherit both of them.[/u]

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 935

In the world of collector items, it doesn't matter what it is, gun, car, etc originality is what drives the value.

Removing the buttstock without damaging the stock is nothing. The original can be put back on. Removing the finish ? Now it is not an as issued specimen. So it lost its value.

Same as the '65 Corvette I had. It had been redone a bit when I got it 44 years ago. The work I put into it allowed me to sell it for $15,500 in 1991. Today that car can't be bought back for 50-60 thousand.

Had it been all original, as delivered from the dealer, in pristine condition, we are talking 10's of 1000's more.

There are a few 67/68 Corvettes with a unique set of options that have sold for well over a million recently.

But they are all original, numbers match.

So that Grade 3 of the OP's became a shooter instead of a collector piece when the finish was stripped. Even if there were some nicks in the original finish it still could have filled a lower level collectors hole in his collection as an example of the Grade 3's.

But to show the gun off to other collectors, they would immediately know.

So, based on being a shooter, it falls right into what it can be compared to. A White Lightning. And to buy a used White Lightning 16ga is 1800-2200 based on condition and if all the choke tubes are there.

After all, there is nothing any different between the two other than the engraving pattern and the White Lightnings come with (depending on where you buy them, or they came with the gun) 150 to 180 in choke tubes.

I own a Browning Hunter Grade 1, a Grade 2 and the White Lightning in 16ga. Browning released the Hunter Deluxe in 16ga with very nice wood and engraving, but it was selling for $2400.00'ish new, with warranty and no shells through it.

I got the Grd 1 by watching Bud's for a little over 15, new. The Grd 2 on clearance from Cabelas for 18 and the aforementioned WL bought for me by my wife for not dying on her.

Does the OP's gun do anything any better ? No. Does it look any better than the WL, no, they both have a higher end oil finished stock. The WL has a higher grade wood to help justify its price. I am not a Browning collector, I just want a nice gun that goes bang.

But if I was and I was trying to fill a hole, I would buying one that was as shipped.

To step up in today's offerings out on the listing websites are the Gran Lightnings in 16ga. They have grade 5 to 6 wood, and a unique finish. They range from high 2's on up, depending on who and how bad they want to sell and barrel length. It seems the 28" barrels carry more value than the 26's.