Anyone know anything about the "invector" choke system and whether these guns are desirable? I've had one in 12 ga. for almost forty years; been fired very little. It may go in with a number of other guns I want to dispose of. I have no idea of value, but seems it was about $500-$600 new.

They are worth more today. First came the invector chokes in the 1980’s then all gauges except 16 went to a longer choke, invector plus sometime in the 90’s I believe.

Most people want the invector plus, of course but if yours is in good condition it should bring close to $1000. Shorter barrels more desirable for hunting and the longer ones for trap and sporting clays. I have a 1988 lightning model in 16 gauge and will never sell it

Kelly

Thank you for the response and information. Surprisingly, at least to me, there is a scarcity of these on Gunbroker completed auctions, the first place I generally look to get a rough idea on prices. I also bought a 20 ga. Citori Invector about the same time, but I may keep that one.

Solid brand over under shotguns generally appreciate faster than other "non-hot" guns. With Browningcollector, I would expect to pay well over $1,000 for a good Citori. Most people don't sell their quality over under shotguns. I would regret selling mine.

I had an Invector equipped Citori Superlight I gave to my nephew. Only shotgun I wish I had held on to. Pricing advice mentioned seems solid.

Around here (central coastal Virginia) the Citori is like hens teeth. When you see them for sale they are $1400 (older fixed chokes) to $2200-$2500 with the Invector/Invector Plus.

I've been on the lookout for one in 12 ga, but even at the higher prices, it seems the guns were sold (maybe by heirs or estate liquidation) and the guns are nice BUT missing the spare trigger and chokes that they came with!

Makes it worse than a fine S&W without box, docs or tools. Unfortunately, being Browning Citoris, I haven't been able to wangle any drop in price for the missing spare trigger and chokes.

Pic below is what I think the spare boxed items should look like, but not many around here can recall. One of my friends has a 12 ga Citori Superposed that was really big bucks when he bought it around 2010 or so and it came with the spare stuff.

Maybe you Browning Citori owners can chime in on this...it may help my search too.

For the OP....again...my opinion is that yours is worth more than $1,000.....pics would help...but I'm saying $1500 - $2000 in the condition you noted.

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Charlie B
SWCA#3083, SWHF#570

Probably not an apples-apples comparison, and admittedly I'm a newbie O/U shotgunner. I had SxS and pumps, but this is the first O/U.

I just bought a lightly used Browning XT for $2100. I understand the XT is a Citori but set up for trap. It came with Briley chokes, the originals were nowhere to be seen. No extra triggers either. It does have an adjustable comb and an aftermarket Gracoil adjustable recoil reducer/buttplate.

At $2100 for the XT I think I did all right. I'm surprised that a stock-standard Citori could go that high. But, what do I know????

A lot will depend on your particular gun. For example, some of the early versions had no engraving on the receiver, and that, along with barrel length, will make a difference to individual buyers. The Invector choke system may be an older system, but I always thought it worked fine. I would not really discount it in a hunting shotgun, if lead will be used. I don’t know enough about steel shotshells to comment on that matter. I’d just say if your shotgun is in nice shape, and it sounds like it must be, $1000 certainly seems on the light side, to me. Depending on the model, vintage, and barrel length, I’d guess $1000 at the bottom end and upwards from there, possibly by as much as $500, or even a bit more.

Well, as far as being desirable, I guess they have some following. I put them in a class with SKB, and Weatherby Athena/Orion. Box lock Japanese guns.

As for experience with them, I have fired 2. One was brand new, bought by a friend and walked to the trap line. 3 class A and AA shooters could not break more than 10 targets.

We did a point of aim test on it, and it shot left and low by about a foot. Dealer took it back and sent it back.

Shot a few rounds from another one. Did not like it. Forearm does not feel right. Both guns had lousy triggers for comp guns.

I do like older beavertail forend BT99's. The ones made in Belgium, but the triggers are still not great.

Another thing is that if Browning suspects any modifications they will not work on the gun, or they will return it to original specs.

Humph, guess I am not all that fond of Brownings.

The Belgium rifles and pistols are nice

If you look on the bottom of the receiver, where the barrel lugs come through, it may say which Citori model it is. and the shape of the wrist or pistol grip are all important factors in pricing. If a "325" or "425" those are Sporting Clays guns. Some early 325's have one fixed choke and one screw in. That seems odd and a detriment; WRONG! For older Clays guns those are the highest sought after!! Most 325's went to England, some to France and very few to the USA. Current numbering is 725!

Lightning is a highly desirable hunting gun but is usually 8 ounces heavier, A Superlight is very light, straight stock and 24" barrel, They look cool but are hard to hit with and kick a little extra! Then there is the Upland Special (I have 2!) 26", English stock and very sleek! Mine are older fixed choke models and in 20 and 28 gauge (Grade VI). These are just about the ultimate in O/U bird guns. But I wouldn't want one in 12 gauge. The screw in chokes require a certain diameter and these sleek guns have to have the barrels flared to accommodate the tubes, thereby ruining the fine lines and maybe balance. (still not near as good as a small frame Parker or Smith SxS! But at a fraction of the price!)

Any "Blue Book of Modern Gun Values" will help you figure out the exact model, but is worthless establishing fair market value!

My remaining 12 gauge Citori is a 30" 425. A previous owner used it for waterfowl hunting in salt marshes! It has a tendency to rust in the cut engraving. Otherwise, great gun! My 20 gauge 425 is 28" and is considered a little short for Sporting Clays and long for Skeet, balderdash! It is the most balanced and lively Citori I own! (I also have two Superpose from Belgium, there is NO comparison!)

I'm sure this is more than you ever wanted to know, but I hope it helps.

Ivan

No, I welcome any information as I know little about these guns. Thank you-

I have a fairly nice and unmolested Citori Superlight 12 gauge, 2-3/4", mid-1980s, with plain invector tubes, about six of them. It has never been taken hunting, used only for Skeet and a little trap. A very sweet shotgun which fits me well. I have not used it much for the past 15 years, and thoughts about selling keep creeping into my mind. Not long ago I did some pricing research and decided a comfortable asking price today would be in the neighborhood of around $1500-1800 but I would probably accept a range of couple hundred less. One problem in selling shotguns today is that many want at least 28" barrels, and will not even consider buying shorter lengths. I do not know why, but it is a fact of life. And mine has 26 inchers.

I was unaware of the longer barrels being more desirable. My Citori has 26" barrels, plenty long enough for someone like me who is not a shotgunner.

I have a Citori Special Sporting Clays, 12ga. I bought about 19 years ago, and it has the Invector Plus choke tubes. It did come with three different triggers which could be swapped for personal preference. I also have a Citori 20 Ga with Invector Plus tubes. It would take at least above the $2000 range to even start a discussion of selling these.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

It is true nonetheless. I have always preferred shorter barrels, many I know believe the longer, the better. But I seldom shoot any shotgun these days, aside from occasional hand-thrown clay targets with the grandkids. 6 Things You Need to Know About Shotgun Barrel Length | Field & Stream.

The modern choke system makes any threaded shotgun work at any range
with a pattern that the shooter, is happy with.
From Cylinder to a extra full, Turkey choke, tou can have the pellet count,
just right for any yardage.

Just make sure that the choke Dia. is correct and the proper length, for your shotgun.

Thank you for that advice; I wasn't aware that chokes nowadays were so versatile.

While on that subject of chokes tubes ...some years ago, I sent my almost fifty year old 870 barrel to Carlson's for installation of choke tubes. I have never fired the gun since installation and likely won't. Is the Carlson choke tube system a decent setup?

I was thinking the same thing about my 30” gold letter GTI with Invector Plus chokes. Have to be in the $2,000 range to even consider letting it go.

I have 4 Citoris. 3 with Invector chokes and 1 with Invector+. None of them will be for sale in my lifetime.

I consider them priceless. I bought them all used from $900 to $1000, but those prices are 10 years out of date. I would consider $1000 low these days.

I got my Citori from my father. I love it. If you want to sell yours for $500 I'll take it.

Not sure what the purpose of the extra trigger is/was. I do not have one. Neither do I see any reason why the Invector+ should be superior to the plain Invector tubes. Pricewise, I don't believe I would even consider selling my Superlight for any less than $1500. And the only reason I would sell it is because I will probably never use it again at my age. Not enough stamina to do anything strenuous like hunting.

The invector choke system is a shorter choke with a standard barrel. The Invector Plus is a long choke with a back bored barrel. The Invector Plus system usually gives better patterns so is in more demand than the older invector guns.

There are certainly opinions to the contrary as to whether back boring actually lives up to the claims made about it. I cannot say one way or the other as I have not performed any controlled comparative patterning tests. About all I can say is that back when I was shooting a lot of Skeet over 25 years ago, the Citori with IC Invector tubes did a pretty good job of breaking birds.

In 1977 I was torn between buying a Citori and an engagement ring. The ring won out. For the first few decades "wow, I could have bought a Browning" slipped out on occasion.

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Front sight and squeeze

Be aware that a 40 year old Citori is likely to have 24 or 26 inch barrels and this will have a real negative effect on value. At that time the typical Skeet gun came with 26 inch barrels because people thought that a super responsive short barreled gun was mandatory for shooting Skeet. Then Beretta introduced and proceeded to dominate Olympic Skeet with shooter using 28 and 30 inch barrels. Over time barrel length preferences got longer and shoppers today primarily are looking for 28 inch and longer barrels and won't even consider anything shorter. As for why, it's all about Stability and the longer the barrel the more stable they are. I have a 20 gauge that originally had 28 inch barrels and my average with those barrels was a lousy 16. Eventually I got fed up with that and ordered a 30 inch barrel set for it and it increased my average by 6 points.

You will also want to determine the date of manufacture for your gun because late 60's to early 70's is when the Salt Guns were being made. If yuo do a bit of digging on the Browning web site you can find a serial number/Date code chart to get very close on the manufacturing date. Note, these were salt cured stocks in an effort to avoid dry aging the wood for 5 or 6 years. Salt curing did cut the curing time but those salty stocks caused the receivers and barrels to rust badly. One quick way to get an idea if you have a Salt Gun is the pull the stock and look for rusting in areas when the stock contacts the receiver. A more certain test is to have the stock and forearm tested for salt content. If you have a salt gun you'll need to replace the stock and forearm wood before selling it or sell it without any wood. Note there is no "cure" for a salt stock, smiths who are presented with salt gun for re-stocking will either burn or crush the salt wood no matter how pretty it is.

I have a 20ga 26" Invector. I love the bbl selection on the tang safety. Light and fast for upland such as AZ Quail. I think they retailed for around 1600$ 20 yrs ago.

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

The Salt Wood issue was with Belgium made Superposeds not the Citoris. I do not know if Browning is still replacing salt wood stocked Superposeds but that was the norm for those guns. Send them back to Browning and let them do it on their nickle.

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I miss my early Citori 12ga w/26" barrel and Skeet1 and
Skeet 2 fixed chokes.
A great skeet and upland bird hunting shotgun.
I regret 25 years later selling it.

I haven't done any scientific testing either, but at our family range the back bored guns have generally seemed to pattern better than standard barrel guns over the years. So much so that they've now had to ban any non factory barrel work in the card shooting match due to complaints from participants. I doubt it makes much difference on busting clays, but on paper it usually shows. The back bored and over bored guns seem to generally perform the best in the N*** shoots as well.

I have an older Invector gun that does the job hunting, but if the option was given on new guns, I'd go for the Invector Plus everytime.

Which sort of confirms what I earlier said about short barrels. Not based on personal experience, but I have read many stories that a shotgun having short barrels is treated today as though it has a combination of leprosy and Covid by serious shooters. Which I think is idiotic. But no one cares much about what I think.

Cant help but love a Citori as it was my father's choice as his only hunting gun. I have fond memories as a youngster thumping across the bay on a frosty morn with his Citori awash in a combination of salt spray and bilge water. We knew nothing of the effects of steel shot on fine double guns and that Citori has digested cases of the stuff with no apparent ill affects. It rests today in my cabinet, still tight and ready for a day afield; it is my go to turkey gun. I suppose it may not be a target shooters dream, but you could definitely get by with it on the trap range in a pinch. I know Dad did!

Just wanted to clear up some misinformation:

The Citori did not come with an extra trigger, maybe someone is thinking about Perazzis.

The Citoris are made by Miroku in Japan, the Superposed was made by FN in Belgium. They are completely different guns.

The Citori came with Invector chokes from about 1988 to 1995. Before 1988 they had fixed chokes and after 1995 they have Invector Plus chokes.

The Citori Model numbers started in 1993 with the Model 325. Before that there was the Standard or Hunting Model, Lightning, Upland Special, Superlight, Sporter, Skeet,Trap, and several other models. Some of them came in different Grades I, II, III, IV, V, VI. If I remember correctly, the Model numbers took some years to catch on.

In the Invector era, Beretta and Browning were the two "go to" O/Us if you were looking to buy a working man's gun that would shoot well and hold it's value. There were other good guns but these were the standards. Brownings tended to be heavier and the Berettas were lighter.

If you wanted a Citori but money was tight, you would look for a used Miruko made Charles Daly from the 70's. It was similar to the Citori (one difference was they used flat springs instead of coil) and tended to have nicer hand engraving.

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

I have heard about the "extra trigger" the Citori allegedly had. Mine never had one, and I never understood why a shotgun would need an extra trigger. I guess it didn't.

The only other O/U I ever owned was an Antonio Zoli with fixed chokes, which I used for a while for Trap. It didn't fit me too well and was very stiff to open and close. I didn't keep it too long. I mostly used a Winchester 1200 for Trap, I still have it.

I have;

425 30" 12
425 28" 20
Upland 26" 20
Upland 26" 28 grade VI
Feather XS 30" 28
Feather XS 30" 410
725 32" 410
As well as 1966 Superpose Lightning 30" 12 (F&F)
1967 Superpose Lightning 28" 20 (M&F)

Of all the 12-gauge Browning O/U shotguns I owned (8 to 10), The 1966 Superpose 30" Lightning is the "Liveliest"! Even though it is fixed F/F, I use it for Sporting Clays with shells that spread, and It has taken shots that nobody else hit that day!

About 8 years ago I was at Richland County Fish and Game, they were having one of their few Sporting Clays shoots. The first station was 3 true pair, from behind you and 4 or 5 yards right. I shot 2 rounds that day and was the only shooter to break all 12 birds! (An older friend got 11 using a old 26" skeet Citori 12 gauge) I was using a 30" Feather XS 410 and AA 410 sporting 8's. Lots of people say that 30" is too long for close birds and aluminum actions are too "Whippy", But I now days do better with a 410 than a 12!

9 O/U's
4 SxS's
5 Pumps &
2 Autos

Not planning on selling any of them yet!

Ivan

Years ago when Sporting Clays was starting to get popular, the highest score on one day went to a grizzled Sheriff deputy shooting a cylinder bore 18" barrel 870. Guess he didn't read the memo on longer barrels and using only over unders.

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