Right, nice try at making snide comments - but you have enough time for almost 20,000 posts - maybe you should try shooting some clays
Why? I shoot fine on birds. I have shot clays informally, just not going to dump 60K rounds at 'em in a year, not my thing. We're moving, i''m retired, getting a house in Barksdale, Texas. Well, I say we are, we're going through the paperwork, gonna sell here. Now, Edwards county population is something over 2K people, the WHOLE FRIGGIN' COUNTY, ROFL. It's kinda like expecting there to be a sporting clays range on mars. It can be there if you build it for yourself. I'm moving there BECAUSE of the sparse human population, actually, and all the outdoors things to do there. It's some of the best hunting around, good fishing there, lots of pretty scenery and twisty roads when I wanna get out on my little SV650S. I'm going to have plenty reason to get up every morning there. There is no gun range anywhere up there that I can find. Until I can get my place sold on the coast and buy some land up there, I ain't sure where I'll shoot my rifles and pistols. That's gonna be a bummer, especially if I can't play with my cap and ball revolvers.
And, I appreciate "quality" shotguns, but there's a limit. I won't take a nice wood/blued Browning, let alone a Purdy, into the salt marsh unless I could get it camoed and put plastic stocks on it. And, a gun out there HAS to have a sling on it. I was putting out deeks once, laid my Mossberg over some salt grass in an attempt to keep it out of the water, was 20 yards in front of it in the pitch dark and got walked up on by a hog that HAD to be 400 lbs. He walked right up in the pothole with me before he realized I was there, no more'n 15 yards from me and me mired in muck 20 yards from my gun. He went on his way when I screamed at him, but I sling my shotgun with 2 rounds in the magazine now when tossing out the deeks. It's easier walking with marsh chair banging into my slung shotgun and my decoy bag on my back if I have it slung, too, especially when I'm carrying a limit of birds on the strap. And, then, there's times I hunt across Buffalo Lake and use the kayak, sling required. I'm going to keep using my Mossberg out there, has held up for 20 years and I don't really care how many scars are in its camo paint.
The little Spartan, I've said before, I bought it for one purpose, to break down and stash in saddle bags for dove hunting trips. I have a college buddy that farms north of Waco and we get together every year to hunt doves at his place. I often take a motorcycle and the little Spartan breaks down saddle bag size. I've taken to the thing, though, and prefer it to my Winchester 1400 for doves in certain situations, but it'll also reach out there on long passing shots, just the 12 does that a little easier.
None of my guns are expensive guns, but I've had a few of 'em a very long time and they all still work and I'm sure my SIL will like 'em in a few years when I'm gone. I don't shoot clays and don't wear my shotguns that fast. I like 'em, I bought 'em for me, didn't really buy 'em for your approval.
