Yep - A Browning is a Miroku A Wetherby is a SKB A Spartan is a Baikal A Condor is a Boito

Re-badging guns - its like re-badging of motor cars !!!!! Con

In fact, I have done research into Dehaan guns and it was that same research that lead me to NOT buy one when I was thinking of it.

I know several guys who have spent a lot of time in Turkey via the National Guard and many of them would come home with Huglu guns after each trip. THey seemed like a good value but in time they just about all had issues with them.

I had started to hear about DeHaan guns and thought of buying a side by side from him. I called the DeHaan sales room and got the low down on guns.

They are Huglus and are compeltely built and assembled by co-op of Huglu. They are merely made to different specifications than the guns that Huglu exported under their own name. They are made by the same people with the same machines and the same technology.

DeHaan is merely an importer. They DO NOT rebuild the guns with their own parts when they get state side. They merely have them constructed to different specifications. When I asked about what specifics specifications they demanded from the factory they basically told me guns are made to standards higher refinement.

So I asked, basically better wood and nicer finish? They told me that was right. I asked if they were the same mechanically and they told me one word..."essentially" if I rememebr correctly.

So that is why I chose NOT to buy a DeHaan. Eventhough it was a lot prettier wood and scroll work and 900 dollars more...in the end it was still just a Huglu.

Now lets all be real here. If Mark DeHaun actually looks over every gun he imports before he sells it he either doesn’t sell many guns or is the busiest man I can think of. To say that is just absurd. I mean really! Who does he think he’s kidding?!

Now what part in shooting do these budget shotguns play in the shotgun world. I think that is largely yet to be decided. From many here and from other sites there have been reports of Huglus,Bakails,and Khans not working reliabley. Are they the norm? If a mechanial man made device is only equal to the sum total of its parts when coupled with good engineering, what seperates a Beretta or Browning, from these budget guns? Its more than safe to assume that the difference is great. Probably these budget guns will fit into a marketing niche where people want to experience a shotgun with a moderate level of reliability and crafsmanship that will work adequately for what it is. If they are left there they will probably do fine. Dehann,Remington and Mossberg are all working hard to gain a good share of that market. But to confuse the product or the market they wish to occupy with the next level up is a huge error. A Huglu is what it is,a Dehaan is what it is and a Bakial and a Khan are what they are...nothing more or nothing less.Its as simple as just thinking,is someone going to sell a new Beretta or Browning for 500 dollars? No! Can Spartan or Dehaan ask 2000 for there guns? No! Why? Because one is worth more than the other. Just shoot your budget gun and enjoy it for what it is but please please dont make the giant leap in trying to equate them with either one of the two B's. I dont think even Mark Dehann himself would claim his shotgun is equal straight across the board to either a Browning or Beretta.It is what it is bro.....

If you read my post above I DID call DeHaan and I am not sure who I spoke with, but they gave me NO clear answers as to the specifications made to higer standards than a Huglu other than cosmetics. Granted the look is much nicer, but NO ONE could convince me that the internal mechanism were anything more that what Huglu is capable of machining in their Co-op and subsequently what Huglu is putting in the guns with their name on it.

In the end it's a Huglu. And the people at this great little firm couldn't tell me anything to make me believe otherwise. I appreciated their honest completely. I respect it actually.

So, that is in essence why I would not buy one.

I also have one of their SXS (Model SO2, if memory serves me) in 28 ga. that I got for bird hunting, but shoot some skeet and Sporting with, 4K rounds and not a hiccup.

I'm not claiming they are the best guns, but I think for the casual shooter who doesn't want to spend a lot of $$$ on a gun he won't shoot much, they are an alternative.

Yeah, and the gentleman that I mentioned earlier and myself both have a good selection of Browning and Beretta O/Us to use, as well as good autos, but we use the DeHaans just for laughs! We're just a couple of "old farts" having fun!

BobK

That reminds me of a guy who used to post on this forum about the virtues of Baikal. The guy had one and was convinced the gun was just as good as any other O/U because he had no issues with it after 5K rounds.

Now, the gun sits in his safe...the victim of poor mechanics...totally useless.

That's my story. I made an uneducated purchase and will never do it again.

No! I have never owed a DeHaan. And as I posted before, with what I believe to be a valid explanation, I never will.

It is a Huglu through and through and NO ONE at DeHaan was able to convince me that ANYTHING substantial is done to these guns at the DeHaan shop before it got to my hands should I choose to buy one. Outside of a thorough inspection to make sure no glaring defects are present there was no changing of parts and the like...as you suggest.

And Steve hit the nail on the head...if they are so sure Huglu makes a good product, why the need to stress that they go over it.

The folks I know who have Huglus know exactly why...Huglus are built poorly.

SO if owning a gun is the litmus for having an opinion about it...then the point of forums like this are in question.

I for one am glad I don't subscribe to that BS, because I just may have blown my money on a gun that the verdict is frankly still out on. And from the witness testimony of what I have heard, from Huglu owners...I made the right choice pumping 200 more dollars into a Weatherby Orion.

Call me a fool.

But I am making the point that I (personally) disagree with the comments, and you are not the only one who says this, that DeHaan does something special to these guns when they arrive to Huglu to make them a higher quality gun then they are.

Yes, they look very good cosmetically. And I am sure that alone is big selling point to a person looking for a good. Heck, that is why I looked hard into them.

But in the end I just contend that DeHaan is not doing anything very special to upgrade what Huglu sends them mechanically and that is what bothered me about the purchase. And that is from what I gathered straight from them.

So when I say...in the end...it's still just a Huglu. I am not bashing the gun...or Huglu. It is.

The guys I know who have Huglus have all outlasted my Baikal. But they have all had their share of issues (albeit not as major) in the end.

So my final point is this. These guns have a place and I think that place is tucked right in the cost relative to quality position they are in right now. They are no better than their cost commands and most certainly not worse.

After the second time bird hunting we noticed that the checkering on the forearm was "breaking" off to the touch. after 2 more weeks almost all the checkering was off the gun, stock and forearm.

He set the gun back to Beretta which was not easy, customer service gave him the runaround accusing him of "mistreating" the gun. never the less, they agreed to look at it if he sent it to them; on his dime. after 3mths the gun returned looking perfect because they had to replace all the wood. He was so excited to go out and knock down some clay's so we went out the next week. After only a 100 round course we were putting our guns away and thats when we noticed a CRACK down the left side of the forearm....

Now Beretta is not willing to do anything to help this situation out.

I understand many of you will say it was an isolated incidence and this is not the norm. You are correct, however it happened 2 times with two new guns. My Dehaan has been put through the ringer and is still no hiccups.

I am still a Beretta and a Browing fan, but its not how much one spends on a "toy" its if it is right for what you intend it to do. My Dehaan is a manufactured in Turkey and it is not manufactured to the high standards as the BB's but boy it has been a fun gun for me, and only cost a third of my buddy's!!

Stay safe and have fun!!