16ga.com ~ View topic - FS: NEW IN BOX Citori 16ga SUPERLIGHT 28" invectors

Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 14

Very rare to find NIB citori 16 superlight 28" invectors. never been assembled and still in factory grease. nice wood. these are much better than the featherlight version and browning will not make any more of these. $1800

Joined: 23 Jan 2008 Posts: 224

What makes these "much better than the featherlight version"? Just curious...is it the English style stock? or are these not prone to the firing problems the Lightning Feathers had?

Alloy break opens are much more subject to wear and tear than steel framed break opens. The alloy receivers must handle the same stress, wear, and ignition forces the traditional steel receiver does.

It is the stress of the ignition forces that wear on a break open much more so than on a pump or autoloader. The breakopen barrels are hinged to the frame or receiver. The ignition forces tend to force the barrel down and away from the breech face. Ignition forces are directed more in line in an pump or autoloader and have less mechanical advantage on the system. This is why less stoutly built break opens develop end shake and why the barrels eventually will go off face.

This might beg the question of why then do gun makers use alloy for autoloaders and pumps with complete success. The answer is because all the alloy receivers of the modern pump and auto designs currently being made merely hold the barrel and bolt in alignment with the trigger group. The bolt locks up directly into the steel barrel, so the receiver is never subjected to the ignition forces generated by firing the gun. Except for being more subject to exterior wear and dings, a well designed repeater with an alloy receiver should last as long as a good steel framed repeater. Most will do exactly that.

Joined: 23 Jan 2008 Posts: 224

So how is the Superlight made to be a lighter gun? Is metal removed from various places in the receiver, similar to how the A-5 sweet 16 was lightened by removing metal here and there?

How do the weights of the Superlight compare to a Lightning Feather, assuming the same barrel length?

Sorry for all the questions, I just have no experience with a Superlight. I am familiar with the Lightning Feather, as I have one in a 12 ga.

Joined: 03 Jul 2005 Posts: 370 Location: Amarillo, Texas

The Citori Feather series are upland game guns with aluminum actions. I have a Superlite Feather in twelve gauge that weighs 6pounds 2oz and is an excellent gun for dog-pointed Bobwhite. I wouldn't want to shoot 20,000 rounds through it at clays because of the recoil but it is certainly strong enough for many bird-seasons worth of 1-1/8 oz 1200 fps game loads - and will outlast me without going off-face.

Another reason for guns going off-face is pin and hook wear. Grease and grit make lapping compound and if the grease/grit isn't cleaned off and replaced with fresh clean lubricant it is easy to wear a couple thousandths off of the metal. I have a Browning Superposed that my Dad gave me in the early 80s. It was brand new when I got it and it has gone off-face even though it has only had a few cases of standard 3 dram 1-1/8oz loads. Superposeds are relatively difficult to disassemble and I didn't know to change the grease so-to-speak. I also hunted with it 18 years in a very dusty enviroment.

A dump truck is built a lot stronger than a Porsche but that doesn't make it better, just better for hauling heavy loads.

Best,

Mike

Joined: 03 Jul 2005 Posts: 370 Location: Amarillo, Texas

I certainly was not criticiizing the gun advertised here. 6 1/2 pounds is a fine weight for a game gun. Just wanted to make the point that "much better" is in the eye of the beholder. in the 1920s Charles Askins (Senior) wrote that if he could only have one gun it would be a sixteen gauge with 30" barrels and weigh 6-3/4 pounds. And of course he was writing about game guns.

Best,

Mike

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

Ol' Charlie was right on the money and ahead of his time Cool

Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 14

Ive read alot about the superlight feather with alloy receiver on other forums and there are alot of people who did not like the superlight feather version which has the alloy frame.

to answer another question-I was told that the last batch of 16ga superlights were made in 2007 and that they werent making anymore. This could be wrong, but thats what the browning dealer i bought this from said and you rarely see the 16ga superlights for sale NIB anymore.

I got my 26" standard GD I Superlight slightly used at a very fair price. It was listed as an Upland version, which was not correct. The 26 and 28 inch Superlight models sell faster than the 24" Upland. The gun I bought sat for a bit, I made an offer, and bingo.

Check the listed barrel length in any of the Upland model listings. The gun might actually be a Superlight. It is a fairly common mistake because cosmetically, the two models are identical.

Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 694 Location: MN

Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Kansas

Is this gun still available?

Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 14

gun is still available. someone is missing out on a great 16ga

Joined: 14 Jul 2006 Posts: 15

I'm still a bit confused. Just to be clear:
Superlight = Alloy
Superlight feather = Alloy
Featherlight = Alloy
Lightning Feather = Alloy\

What are the all steel models called? I'm so confused! Rolling Eyes