$5000 shotguns

[MCgunner]

LOL, Matagorda Bay, or the Lavaca Bay extension of it, is just across the street from me. Do a LOT of duck hunting down here from Lavaca bay to the island to Guadalupe Delta. Neat thing about my Mossberg is the camo finish. You can't tell the rust patches from the camo from 3 feet away. LOL! It's in decent shape, though, considering the near 20 years of abuse. Buddy of mine has an air boat he's rebuilding (have the carb in the shop, dual float four barrel Holly, motor is a 505 Chevy gas guzzler ) and as soon as it's done, we're going to build a couple of blinds in the bay. I've got close to six dozen deeks, half of which are weighted keel, so we're gonna have a fine old time next season. When we hunt the bay, I'll definitely be Mossberg armed out of regard for the finish on my Winchester. I don't worry so much about it down at the delta where there's at least no boat ride and the water ain't quite as salty and real sweet when there's been a lot of rain, though it is on the upper end of Heinz Bay.

My uncle had a JP Sauer drilling he picked up somehow during WW2, brought home as a war prize. It was really cool, but not a fowling piece in the grand tradition, of course, what with the rifle barrel and the heft of the thing. Fine weapon, though. It was 16 gauge over 8x57JR (rimmed case and slightly smaller diameter, think .318" vs .323", than the 8x57S. My cousin has it and he has no clue how to feed it, doesn't handload, but I can't talk him out of it. :banghead: He ain't much of a shooter, anyway. I doubt he's ever fired it, but I have. I've fired both the shotgun barrels and the rifle. Cool gun.

 

[Guntalk]

MCgunner, we were hunting with Chris Martin at Bay Flats Lodge.

Really enjoyed the variety of the ducks there. Fished in the afternoons.

Six or seven species of ducks, plus reds, specs, and wading with the dolphins!

 

[MCgunner]

I know where the place is. Hunt all around there and fish, too. I love this area, been here 24 years now, raised not far up the coast near Freeport, but all my mom's family is from El Maton and Port O'Conner, so, you could say I grew up hunting here, too. If you want the BESTEST of the BEST duck hunting in the entire US, go to Laguna to the "land cut". HUGE populations of big bull sprig and nice variety of ducks. It's quite remote. Me and my buddy run down there and over night on the island (all state land) and hunt the potholes. There is a spring fed hole there, drinkable water, cat tails, etc. The ducks just WANT to be there. We don't even bother with decoys hunting down there. I have NEVER EVER in my life had such fantastic duck hunting as that. We're planning at least a couple of trips down there next season. It is nice to get a couple of boats going. If you have trouble down there, you're all alone. It's quite remote, no roads, only accessible by boat. the area is just south of Baffin Bay. I tell people about this place and they think I'm lying, but it has to be experienced to be believed. I take the call just to get 'em to zero in on a feeding chuckle with their wings cupped. Don't have to worry about hailin' 'em.

Not too many people on this board can relate to the kind of rust I put up with down here, LOL! My old Spanish Sarasqueta used to be a nice lookin' gun for a low priced double, hand cut checkering, nice wood, deep bluing, some engraving even with gold plate triggers and color case hardened receiver. But, 15 years in the marshes and riding in boats, well, the gun still shoots well and looks almost decent considering the abuse, but the ol' grey mare ain't what she used to be. That's when I got into Mossbergs. But, for anything, but marsh/bay hunting, I really prefer a double or my autochucker.

 

[Guntalk]

>>Not too many people on this board can relate to the kind of rust I put up with down here<<

I know what you mean. I told someone that you can HEAR the gun rusting!

 

[Guntalk]

Just thinking about this idea of a $5,000 gun.

Buy a $5,000 car, and what do you get? What's it worth in 5 years? 10 years? Fuggitaboutit.

Buy a $5,000 gun, and in five or 10 years, if you take care of it, it's worth at least as much as you paid for it. Maybe more.

For five grand, you get a junker car that won't last many years. For $5,000 you can get a really nice gun -- either a new one (Spanish?), or a historic gun from a great British maker. Either way, you have something you can be proud of, that you can always sell if needed, or that you can hand down to a family member.

Honestly, setting aside the not inconsiderable issue of purchase price, one could make a strong argument that a fine gun not only makes you happy, but it's a smart buy.

Or, you could have three or four EBRs. <grin>

 

[seatofmypants]

rust

I dont know what it is (cheap steel I guess) but you can hear my BT-99 rusting if you look at it wrong!

 

[Pessimist]

My two favorite trap guns are a Beretta Silver Pigeon combo with fully adjustable stock (bought used for $2500 - probably close to $5000 for an equivalent new one) and a Remington 1100 Classic Trap (bought new for $850). I can shoot either about as well. I much prefer the Beretta because: I don't have to clean it as often or thoroughly; it's easier to manipulate the shells and save the empties, especially shooting doubles; it doesn't have all that distracting mechanical noise and monkey motion going on; and it just FEELS better in my hands. When you're shooting 10,000-20,000 targets per year, those things matter. As for whether the Beretta is really worth so much more money: that's strictly a matter of subjective opinion.

I have never noticed any competitive trap shooters "looking down" on the cheaper guns. Too many of them have been beaten by people shooting cheaper guns.