12ga Skeet Gun Suggestions

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hehehe, I'll take an 1100 any day of the week over the Smithsonian Grade A5!! LOLOL... :)

PS: this is my skeet shooter!
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I will readily admit that the "Humpback" was the first successful autoloading design and its fans are legion. The Model 12 Winchester dominated on skeet and trap ranges up into the 60's because it was faster. Other pump guns did well also. A "Sweet 16" is unrivaled as a repeater for quail and rabbit hunting. The gun however does recoil more than a gas operated shotgun no matter how well it is set up. The gun's design also suffers on the skeet range at station 8 because of that humpback.
 
make no mistake, I would love to have a mint condition Sweet 16, just to admire and shoot infrequently. The best of the A5's IMHO...
 
I'm not seeing lots of A5s being ridden into various Clays Halls Of Fame, but I do see lots of happy A5 owners out using old Humpbacks. Some shoot them very,very well.

Get an A 5, install new Friction stuff and springs every 10K rounds, shoot it forever....
 
Dave, do you ever shoot at Loch Raven Trap and Skeet near Hunt Valley? I get there every now and then. Very nice facility, especially on week days, not to crowded...
 
"Got a Miroku skeet gun just like that in 20ga."

Outstanding!!! Miroku makes some of the best engineered guns irregardless of price...
 
So for pure skeet, is the 20/28ga preferred? I guess what I'm asking is do users typically hunt with the 12ga, and then tube down to 20ga for skeet? Effectively making the gun into "dual use" ? Is that better than simply using the 12ga 1oz low-recoil loads?
 
Depends.......I USED to have 12, 20 and 28 gauge guns, reloaders, components, etc. Once I saw how easy it was to download my 12 and 20 to 28 levels, I had no need for that third gauge. 95% or my shooting is at clay targets, so a 12 is my primary choice. I also have 20 guages I use for occasional targets and mostly bird hunting.

Skeet is a 4 gauge game - 12, 20, 28 and 410 - if you are going that route. Some folks only shoot in the 12 gauge event, but they might shoot a 12, 20, or 28 doing so.

What's going to work for you? Are you mostly a hunter looking to stay sharp in the off season shooting skeet? Are you interested in trap or sporting clays? Lots of things to consider.

If your primary objective in life is upland birds like dove and quail, get your nice 20 or 28 and shoot skeet with it to stay sharp.

If your primary objective is skeet competition and hunting in the fall, get the 12, a set of subgauge tubes in the other gauges and go have fun
 
Hardly ever.Unc. PGC Trap and Skeet is 20 minutes away from Casa McC. Great range.

I have shot a little at Marriotsville, but not recently since I do little trap lately.
 
Most skeet shooters reload and they practice with a 20ga because the hulls are cheap and readily available. 28ga is a joy on the skeet range but the hulls are pricey and scarce. I'm referring to target grade hulls designed with multiple reloads possible. The 12 can be loaded down as Oz.load says but at those pressures they won't cycle your A5 12ga and have to be taylored to cycle an 1100 or other gas repeater.
If you are going to reload for skeet by all means consider the O/U in 12ga, and a Miroku made gun is an excellent choice. Tube sets are going to cost as much as the gun budget you have however.
 
If you plan to just shoot skeet on a casual basis and don't reload alot, I think a Remington 1100 is an excellent choice. If you think you will get into competition shooting and/or reloading, the over/under is the way to go. As someone else mentioned, to shoot full competition you need 12, 20, 28, and 410. With the O/U in 12 Ga you can have tubes fitted for the other guages but they are expensive so don't buy a cheap shotgun that wont hold up over the long haul.
 
I bought a 20 gauge Miroku O/U skeet gun, because I liked it and thought it would be perfect for quail. I was correct. I had a Remington 11-58 16Gauge
skeet gun also perfect bird gun. Do they not shoot 16 any more for skeet?
 
They never did shoot 16ga registered targets. The 16 like the 20 or the smaller gauges can be shot in any class for a larger gauge. I believe your Remington was a Model 58 not a 11-58. The 11-48 was a streamlined Model 11 which is pretty much an A5. The 58 was an early gas gun that you could manually adjust the amount of gas diverted from the operating system.
 
The load restrictions for registered NSSA skeet targets were 1 1/8oz for 12ga, 7/8oz 20ga.,3/4oz for 28ga. and 1/2oz for 410. Of course there are no restrictions for how light a load you may shoot. I admit that I haven't shot skeet competitively in years so those weights may have been reduced since then.
 
Hopkins your right, had a knob for hi brass/low brass on the front of the fore end.

Held 3 shots. Hows Sportsman 58 Skeet ,sound to you? :)
 
Now you have it. You had me scratching my head for a while on that 58. They were Remingtons' first success with a gas operated repeating shotgun.
 
I'll tell you what else, I told Dave McC, I had a 11-58 trap last week. It was also a Sportsman 58 TRAP in 12. :eek:
 
The guns were innovative for their time and did bleed off a certain amount of recoil. I have an FN-Fal that has an adjustable gas system and you can really dial down the recoil on a .308 with it.
 
Well, glad to report I had a great Club meeting tonight. Just as I got there a fellow member was walking out with 3 shotguns and 2 Mec reloading setups. He had 2 top-of-the-line Brownings and a 12ga 1100. The Brownings were way out of my league, but the 1100 was very nice. An "1100 Skeet" model with a ported barrel. Apparently he's selling them for another deceased member's family. The gun is well used, but clean and with just the tiniest of nicks. Obviously it had been loved on. And the price???.... half of anything on Gun Broker !!

So I really appreciate all the tips and pointers. I'll keep looking for the elusive $500 Citori, but until then I'm going to get some skeet training with my new toy!

;)
 
So the 1100 won you over for now? Congrats. You will enjoy the gun and should get you into the world of skeet. Just read up a bit on some of the common issues that can easily be fixed, and if you arent familiar, a quick rundown on the cleaning, and figure out if you are going to shoot it "wet" or "dry"
 
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I predict 2 results from your purchase. 1. The dove will be in significantly more danger in Georgia. 2. Very few of those dove will succumb to your 16ga. Congrats on a well considered purchase that you won't regret.
I meant by the #2 statement that once you are acquainted and familiar with the 1100 on the skeet range you will find it difficult to leave it home when you go dove shooting.
 
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If any Georgia doves die while I'm in the field it will be because if laughter and not lead. :D

After saving so much on the gun, I about decided to get one of the Mec machines next month. Pretty soon I'll be saving so much I won't have to work!


Again, thanks for all the help with the beginner questions. ;)
 
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