STOEGER
Some call them entry-level guns. Others refer to them as no-nonsense, rough-duty knockabouts. Regardless of how you chose to describe the doubles imported from Turkey by Stoeger, you will have to admit there is a place in the hunting scheme of things for such guns.

The single trigger on the $400 Condor Special is nonselective (bottom barrel always fires first) but for $60 more you can buy the Condor Supreme and decide for yourself which barrel will be first to fire. Both have screw-in chokes and are available in 12 or 20 gauge as well as two-barrel sets in both gauges. As a rule, side-by-sides cost more than over-unders but it’s the other way around at Stoeger. The Uplander side-by, as an example, lists for less than $375 compared to about $55 more for the least expensive stack-barrel gun. It is available with 26-inch barrels in 12, 16, 20, 28 or .410 and its chokes are fixed at Improved Cylinder and Modified. A youth version with a 13-inch length of pull is also available. (Contact Stoeger at 301-283-6300, www.stoegerindustries.com)

STEVENS
The Stevens Model 411 side-by-side is back. Well, okay, it is not exactly the same gun you and I bumped off cottontails with when we were kids but considering its low price, it is close enough to suit me.

While it is sold by Savage like they used to be, this one is made in Russia and it is intended as an economical knockabout. Bluntly stated, it is the kind of gun you won’t mind seeing your muddy dog sit on in the bottom of a duck boat.

Available in 12, 20 and .410, today’s Model 411 has 26-inch barrels, a single-selective trigger, an automatic safety, and it comes with three screw-in chokes, IC, Mod and Full, all capable of handling steel shot. Nominal weight is said to be 61?2 pounds although the one I put to my shoulder felt about half a pound heavier. A walnut stock with curved grip and a splinter forearm, both cut-checkered, give you something substantial to hang onto. I will have to have one of these to use on those days when the weather won’t allow me outdoors with my Purdey. (Contact Stevens/Savage Arms at 413-568-7001, www.savage.com)

TRADITIONS FIREARMS
The Traditions’ line of Italian-built upland over-unders comes in 12 and 20 gauges. All feature three-inch chambers, single-selective mechanical triggers, automatic ejectors and walnut stock and forearm. Blued barrels are matched up with either a blued or chromed receiver.

Some models have fixed chokes while others come with interchangeable screw-in chokes. Barrel lengths of 24 and 26 inches are standard on the field guns while the sporting clays gun is available with 28- or 30-inch barrels. The 12-gauge Waterfowl and turkey versions wear a camouflage finish and are chambered for the 3 1/2-inch shell. The same gun without the camo finish is called Mag Hunter and its satin finish makes it quite acceptable in the turkey woods or in a duck blind. Latest in over-unders is the Real 16 with its receiver scaled to the 16-gauge shotshell.

As side-by-side doubles from Traditions go, my pick of the litter is the Elite Field DT, partially because I like its price of less than $900 but mainly because it has two triggers. Those who’d rather pull the same trigger for both barrels will choose the slightly more expensive Elite Field ST. Both have 26-inch barrels in 12, 20, 28 or .410 and guns chambered for any of the latter three weigh less than six pounds. (Contact Traditions at 860-388-4656, www.traditionsfirearms.com)

Weatherby Athena in .410 with Iceman pointing California quail

WEATHERBY
One of my proudest possessions is a Weatherby Athena over-under three-barrel set in 20, 28 and .410. Among other things, I have taken the grand slam of quail (six species) with that gun and its .410 bore barrels. Despite the fact that it has also suffered through numerous poundings in sporting clays and low-gun skeet, it keeps on ticking. This is one durable over-under! Due mainly to more engraving on its receiver, the Grade V Athena is a bit more expensive than my Grade III but both are sideplate guns.

Basically the same gun without the sideplates, the Orion is less expensive than those two. The hunting version is available in Upland grade, Grade II Classic Field and Grade III Classic Field, the latter with gold-filled game birds on a nitrated receiver. You can also buy the Orion in SSC (Super Sporting Clays) dressed with target stock, schnabel-style forearm and barrel length options of 28, 30 and 32 inches. Orion and Athena field guns are available in 12, 20, 28 and .410 and some models are available in multiple-barrel sets with either one or two extra barrels. Additional-cost accessories include extra screw-in chokes with various constrictions and custom-fitted hard cases covered with canvas or leather. (Contact Weatherby at 805-466-1767, www.weatherby.com)

WINCHESTER (USRAC)
Three versions of the standard Winchester Select over-under are now available, all in 12 gauge. The regular field gun is the one I prefer because it has a forearm of more conventional shape. The two higher grades have the slimmer schnabel-style forearm, one with regular cut checkering, the other with its checkering arranged in what I can only describe as an interrupted, multiple-oval pattern.

Two brand-new versions of the same gun are designed for those who keep their wingshooting eye sharp during the off-season on clay targets. While shooting the Energy Sporting I decided it would work equally well at skeet. The same goes for the Energy Trap, especially the one with a height-adjustable comb on its stock. The clay target guns would be equally at home in some hunting fields although I doubt if their ported barrels will become very popular with bird dogs. Barrel lengths are 26 and 28 inches for the field guns and 28 and 30 inches for the clay target guns. (Contact Winchester at 800-333-3288, www.winchester-guns.com)