Citori 825 and Montefeltro Still Top the Upland Shotgun List
Outdoor Life Guns just published its roundup of favorite bird hunting shotguns, and two names sit at the top: Browning's Citori 825 and Benelli's Montefeltro. The October 23, 2026 list adds a custom side-by-side from Upland Gun Company, a featherweight Beretta over/under and a 20-gauge Ruger built by Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company. The picks came from the magazine's staff working with longtime shotgun columnist Phil Bourjaily. The criteria were simple: the gun has to carry light, mount fast, and swing smoothly. None of these guns is cheap, but a working upland hunter can still justify the money.
Key Details
The list breaks down into specific hardware, and the numbers matter more than the marketing copy.
- Browning Citori 825: The reviewer pegged it at about 6 pounds with 28-inch barrels. The receiver sits lower than the 725's, and the bore axis drops too, which should cut muzzle jump and speed up follow-up shots. The gun features a glossy American walnut stock, quail and dove engravings, and an ivory bead.
- Citori locking system: The tapered locking bolt is designed to tighten itself over time to offset wear from heavy shooting.
- Benelli Montefeltro: First introduced in 1983 and updated in 2023 with an easier-locking bolt, a two-piece shell latch and revised grip ergonomics. The 20-gauge with a 28-inch barrel weighs 6.1 pounds. The 12-gauge at the same length weighs 6.6 pounds.
- Upland Gun Company Zeus: Built by RFM in Italy and imported by Upland Gun Company, based in Remer, Minnesota. Buyers book a fitting, pick stock dimensions, chokes, barrel length and wood, then wait nine months to a year for delivery. Options range from free to upcharged, including higher-grade wood, double triggers, extra chokes, case colors and blued frames.
- Beretta over/under: The 12-gauge version weighs 6.4 pounds. Beretta reached that number by skeletonizing the 690 action, using plastic inserts, thinning the stock and dropping the side ribs.
- Ruger 20-gauge over/under: A resurrected affordable American-made design, built for Ruger by Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company.
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Background
The Citori has a clear origin story. Browning introduced it in the early 1970s as a Japanese-made alternative to the Belgian-built Superposed designed by John Moses Browning. That formula, quality at a price a working hunter can afford, still defines the gun today. The Montefeltro followed a different path. Benelli built it around an inertia action, which avoids the gas system and lets the forend stay slim. Inertia guns have a reputation for reliability with light loads and for handling fast swings in dry cover, while they tend to struggle more in mud and sand on waterfowl marshes. The Upland Gun Company story starts with two rivals from the Upper Midwest shotgun scene. Jerry Havel, once a Remington representative, and Dan LaFond, who repped Mossberg, eventually teamed up to build the side-by-side guns they both wanted to shoot.
Why It Matters for Gun Owners
If you hunt pheasants, grouse or quail, weight and fit decide how many birds you make. A six-pound gun that mounts naturally gets a second and third shot off before a flushing rooster clears the cover. That matters most in the Dakotas, Iowa, Kansas, Montana and Minnesota, where upland seasons draw hunters into long walks through cattails, CRP ground and shelterbelts. Before you buy any of these, shoulder the gun in the store. Check where your eye lands on the rib. Ask whether the stock length suits your coat and your build. The Montefeltro and the Citori both come in 20 and 12 gauge, so you can pick the chamber that fits your hunting and your shoulder. If you want a custom Zeus, budget for the wait and the upcharges. Price the options before you sign, because the difference between a fair-priced custom and an expensive one often comes down to the wood and the trigger.
DownRange Analysis
Bruen does not touch this story. Choosing a bird gun is a matter of ergonomics, not constitutional scrutiny, and the Second Amendment protects your right to own the Citori, the Montefeltro or the Zeus without regard to the magazine's ranking. The more useful question is what these picks say about the market. Browning and Benelli keep production guns in the sub-$2,000 lane, and the custom Upland Gun Company build shows that buyers will pay more for a gun that fits. Nine months of waiting is a cost, but it is also a signal that handmade shotguns still have a buyer base. My advice is simple. Shoot before you buy. Put your hands on a Citori 825 at a shop with a trap field. Run a Montefeltro through a few quick swings. If the gun comes up on your cheek with your eye over the rib, buy it. If it does not, keep looking. The best bird gun is the one you will carry for twenty years and shoot every fall.
