Charles Daly 202A O/U 12 Gauge 28″ 3″ Walnut

About this product

What is the Charles Daly 202A O/U 12 Gauge 28″ 3″ shotgun? It's a Turkish-manufactured over/under shotgun with chrome-lined barrels and a checkered walnut stock, built for intermediate shooters who need one gun for clays and upland birds. The 202A represents a specific value segment: you trade some refined handling and longevity for immediate access to a classic layout and modern chokes at a price point that's notably lower than legacy American or Italian brands. The action is robust enough for years of casual range and field use, but the parts fit and finishing won't satisfy someone accustomed to hand-fitted competition guns.

What is the Charles Daly 202A O/U 12 Gauge 28″ used for?

Its primary uses are casual sporting clays, skeet, and upland bird hunting for pheasant and grouse. This is an entry-to-intermediate crossover gun, not a dedicated competitive or waterfowl tool, capable of handling a full spectrum of target and field loads up to 3-inch shells. The included set of five choke tubes gives you the flexibility for a 16-yard station or a 35-yard crossing shot, though the fixed fiber-optic front sight is optimized for fast acquisition on clays rather than precision work like turkey patterning.

How does the Charles Daly 202A compare to the Stevens 555 Sporting O/U?

The Charles Daly 202A offers a slight edge in choke tube selection and action design over the Stevens 555. Where the Stevens 555 ships with a more basic three-choke set, the 202A includes five tubes, giving you a dedicated Skeet tube for close-range clays and an improved modified for mid-range presentations. The trigger is also a mechanical-reset single-selective design, which cycles more consistently under rapid fire than some inertia-based or transfer-bar systems found in other Turkish imports. However, the Stevens 555 often has a cleaner factory finish on the wood and tighter ejector timing, making it a better choice if initial fit and finish is your top priority.

What does it weigh and what are the dimensions?

Unloaded weight sits at 6 pounds, 14 ounces, with an overall length of 46.5 inches and a length of pull measuring 14.25 inches from the trigger face to the center of the recoil pad. Those dimensions and weight create a neutral swing weight that favors smooth follow-through on crossing targets over rapid snap shooting. For context, that's approximately 4 ounces lighter than a similar barrel-length the Stevens 334 centerfire rifle, but the mass distribution keeps muzzle flip manageable with standard target loads.

Who is this NOT for?

This shotgun is not for high-volume competitive shooters running 500+ rounds per weekend, waterfowlers facing corrosive salt marsh environments daily, or collectors seeking heirloom-grade fit and finish. The chrome-lined barrels handle corrosion well, but the alloy receiver and its internal heat treating aren't engineered for the sustained thermal cycling of tournament-level use. If your annual shell count pushes into five figures, invest in a purpose-built competition model from Browning, Beretta, or Caesar Guerini. Likewise, hunters who primarily use 3.5-inch magnums for geese or pass-shooting turkeys need a 3.5-inch-chambered gun.

What's in the box?

You receive the assembled shotgun, a set of five steel choke tubes in Full, Modified, Improved Modified, Improved Cylinder, and Skeet constrictions, a choke tube wrench, a basic owner's manual, and a hard-plastic transport case with two keys. The total package weight with the case and accessories is just under 12 pounds. A notable omission is a 12-gauge bore snake or cleaning kit, which you'll need to purchase separately. Verify the tube markings match the wrench pattern before first use to avoid galling the threads.

Is the Charles Daly 202A worth it at $521.99?

At $521.99, it represents solid baseline value for a first-time over/under buyer or a secondary field gun where higher-end models would see excessive wear. You're getting functional chrome-lined barrels, a serviceable walnut stock, and a full choke set for roughly $100-150 less than a comparable Stevens 555 Sporting model. The trade-off is in longevity and finesse—the ejector springs may weaken faster, and the extractor claw may need smoothing after a few thousand shells. For the occasional shooter putting 200-300 shells through it per season, that's an acceptable compromise for the price.