MK38 32" vs Ultra XS 30"

Looking for opinions on these two, will be bought unseen.

A 1997 MK38 Grade 1 that has been Teagued, 32", its been fairly well used but top lever still fairly well right of centre. £925

A 2012 Ultra XS Adustable M/C 30" with very nice wood, its done nothing and is as new. £1200

I don't need this gun but for those that like buying guns for the sake of it will understand!!

I've not shot either before, I did shoot a 30" Ultra XT for a number of years that I had teagued which I got along well with.

I usually need a bit of cast so possibly would need to put an adjustable comb on the MK38.

I read a bit about the Ultra XS being very barrel heavy.

Any opinions from folk that have shot either? My heart says the mint XS with beautiful wood but my head says the well used MK38 with fence post wood but 32" teagued barrels. I'd appreciate a few opinions to help steer my decision!

Thanks!

Looks don't break clays, gun fit does.

Just my over simplified opinion, but can you shoot both first to see which fits you better?

AW13 said:

Looks don't break clays, gun fit does.

Just my over simplified opinion, but can you shoot both first to see which fits you better?

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No, I live fairly remote. I will get it fitted if necessary.

I would have the xs. Better gun everywhere than the mk. And , as you say , has done less work. Xs is barrel heavy but easily rectified.

Better barrel heavy than stock heavy.

The extra work to fit the mk with an adjustable comb negates any price difference.
Mk is a very good gun. Xs is a better gun. Check out the browning supported shooters on the website. Most are shooting xs.

jasper said:

I would have the xs. Better gun everywhere than the mk. And , as you say , has done less work. Xs is barrel heavy but easily rectified.

Better barrel heavy than stock heavy.

The extra work to fit the mk with an adjustable comb negates any price difference.
Mk is a very good gun. Xs is a better gun. Check out the browning supported shooters on the website. Most are shooting xs.

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+1 for this

The Miroku , is it a 30” Teague sporter , or is it a 30” Teague converted trap gun ? as there is a world of difference . If it’s the trap gun the barrels are lighter , the gun will have a higher stock as standard , and have no palm swell . 38 fixed choke trap barrels and MK60 fixed choke barrels are in my humble opinion the best barrels bar non from the Miroku Factory , so with a Teague conversion better than any Invector plus barrel . At the end of the day though it’s about what you feel happy with .

MartynB said:

The Miroku , is it a 30” Teague sporter , or is it a 30” Teague converted trap gun ? as there is a world of difference . If it’s the trap gun the barrels are lighter , the gun will have a higher stock as standard , and have no palm swell . 38 fixed choke trap barrels and MK60 fixed choke barrels are in my humble opinion the best barrels bar non from the Miroku Factory , so with a Teague conversion better than any Invector plus barrel . At the end of the day though it’s about what you feel happy with .

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The Miroku is a 32" 1997 MK38 fixed choke trap gun that has been teagued. The stock is unaltered, I would probably want to put an adjustable comb on it as I usually need a bit of cast and gives me options POI wise. But it's fairly well used and plain.

The XS has a great bit of wood on it though and is literally as new! Midas chokes are extremely heavy I read, I could perhaps swap for some internal titanium teagues to lose a bit.
It's also a 30". ( Maybe with it being a bit barrel heavy that is not necessarily a bad thing? )

There are at least 3 iterations of the Ultra starting more than 20 years ago. The first was a souped up 425 and therefore very nose heavy, just at the time Beretta was introducing sporters like the Gold E and DT-10 with light barrels. Eventually Browning worked it out and changed it to a souped up 525 instead.

Later Ultras are, as Jasper says way better and have become pretty decent sporters at a competitive price point. I haven't shot the Pro but I have tried a friend's Titanium version which weighed exactly the same as my CG at 8lb 3oz. I quite liked it and even the triggers were acceptable which is more than I can say for any of the several 725s I've tried. As I've posted before, if I absolutely had to have Browning or Miroku, the Ultra XS would be 1st choice and the 2nd choice being the MK38 trap as I like high combs.

I’ve put some Teague made flush Invector Plus titanium into my MK11 game gun as I thought it felt muzzle heavy with the standard Browning steel units .
I’ve got the long Teagues in a converted 38 trap in 32” . I also like the fact that the trap gun doesn’t have the swage at the muzzles that Invector plus guns have , but that’s just a personal thing . I also like the trap gun pistol grip rather than the palm swell on the browning .
With regard to 525 triggers it’s interesting that Miroku have fitted these into the MK11 which uses a 725 frame rather than the mechanical 725 parts ,

farmer7 said:

Looking for opinions on these two, will be bought unseen.

A 1997 MK38 Grade 1 that has been Teagued, 32", its been fairly well used but top lever still fairly well right of centre. £925

A 2012 Ultra XS Adustable M/C 30" with very nice wood, its done nothing and is as new. £1200

I don't need this gun but for those that like buying guns for the sake of it will understand!!

I've not shot either before, I did shoot a 30" Ultra XT for a number of years that I had teagued which I got along well with.

I usually need a bit of cast so possibly would need to put an adjustable comb on the MK38.

I read a bit about the Ultra XS being very barrel heavy.

Any opinions from folk that have shot either? My heart says the mint XS with beautiful wood but my head says the well used MK38 with fence post wood but 32" teagued barrels. I'd appreciate a few opinions to help steer my decision!

Thanks!

Click to expand...

MartynB said:

I’ve put some Teague made flush Invector Plus titanium into my MK11 game gun as I thought it felt muzzle heavy with the standard Browning steel units .
I’ve got the long Teagues in a converted 38 trap in 32” . I also like the fact that the trap gun doesn’t have the swage at the muzzles that Invector plus guns have , but that’s just a personal thing . I also like the trap gun pistol grip rather than the palm swell on the browning .
With regard to 525 triggers it’s interesting that Miroku have fitted these into the MK11 which uses a 725 frame rather than the mechanical 725 parts ,

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Mk 38 trap with Teague chokes can’t go wrong , the xs is barrel heavy and it’s only a 30 inch . Personal opinion less weight in the barrels but more in the stock fantastic handling gun the miroku . That y over the years most of the better shots use them . But it’s a personal choice. Iv have 2 800 mirokus 50 years old and still going strong. Good luck

I have an anomaly'
A Mk38 grade 1 trap with a factory fitted adjustable comb and a palm swell.
Had it taken out to3/8 and 3/8 handles like a dream and crushes anything.
Having had an Ultra XS titanium i would go Miroku trap

Personally I didn't find the XS Titanium barrel heavy - and it was a 32" model. I like a slight forward bias to the weight so that a gun balances between my hands but that's not what I mean by barrel heavy. Now, the old 425 based mark 1 XS was seriously barrel heavy, pity they didn't use the 325 barrels.

Love my original 30” XS and agree with the comments that it is very barrel heavy. For me, 3 oz of weight in the stock and light Muller chokes and it balances on the hinge. It has proved 100% reliable over the years and I wouldn’t be without it.

Thanks for the replies and insights, still haven't managed to decide - going back and forth between them!

The MK38 32" is 7lb 12oz which sounds much lighter than most MK38's, will that be very barrel heavy? Easily sorted with some weight in the stock I suppose.

The Ultra XS 30" is 8lb 3oz.

Which one would handle better in a pigeon hide??!

farmer7 said:

Thanks for the replies and insights, still haven't managed to decide - going back and forth between them!

The MK38 32" is 7lb 12oz which sounds much lighter than most MK38's, will that be very barrel heavy? Easily sorted with some weight in the stock I suppose.

The Ultra XS 30" is 8lb 3oz.

Which one would handle better in a pigeon hide??!

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The 30”XS, 32” barrels can be a bit cumbersome in a pigeon hide.

farmer7 said:

Looking for opinions on these two, will be bought unseen.

A 1997 MK38 Grade 1 that has been Teagued, 32", its been fairly well used but top lever still fairly well right of centre. £925

A 2012 Ultra XS Adustable M/C 30" with very nice wood, its done nothing and is as new. £1200

I don't need this gun but for those that like buying guns for the sake of it will understand!!

I've not shot either before, I did shoot a 30" Ultra XT for a number of years that I had teagued which I got along well with.

I usually need a bit of cast so possibly would need to put an adjustable comb on the MK38.

I read a bit about the Ultra XS being very barrel heavy.

Any opinions from folk that have shot either? My heart says the mint XS with beautiful wood but my head says the well used MK38 with fence post wood but 32" teagued barrels. I'd appreciate a few opinions to help steer my decision!

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Having had both guns I’d probably lean towards the mk38. It’s a little top heavy price wise but they do seem to have gone up by a couple hundred pounds lately can’t find a nice one for 750 anymore. You’ll never wear a browning or miroku out so wouldn’t worry to much. Depends on handling but the mk38 always handle well in a 32”

farmer7 said:

I don't need this gun but for those that like buying guns for the sake of it will understand!!

Click to expand...

In that case, why choose?