Clay Shooting

[mdThanatos]

Ok so I have been looking at shotguns for a while and have seen all sorts of information and have taken it all into consideration.

One thing that I am interested in trying out is shooting clays, i guess trap would be the proper name for it. Now I have thought about what type of shotgun to get and have gone over more 500 vs 870 debates and topics and threads so don't worry this isn't another one of those.

My question is for a new person getting into the sport with the primary use of the shotgun being for the sport would it make much of a difference as to what type of shotgun to get, example an over/under versus a pump versus a side by side?

I have been thinking about home defense but I have my pistol that will work for that so I won't necessarily need the shotgun to fill that role, which is why I am more confused about what type to get.

 

[Oldnamvet]

Most serious clay target shooters will use an O/U with screw-in chokes. I have shot skeet and trap with all three types you mention and with practice, you can do well with all of them. Of course, the O/U and S/S shotguns are going to cost a good deal more than the pumps. In between those in price are the semi-autos such as the 1100, 1187, etc.

 

[spartanpride]

Of course, the O/U and S/S shotguns are going to cost a good deal more than the pumps.

I'm just curious as to why that is?
But conserning you question, if sport is the main purpose of it, I say a pump gun is a pump gun. Kind of like asking if you should get a Mustang or a Camaro, essentially the same thing with a few minor differences... (you know what I mean...)
(Sorry I can't answer your question better)

 

[Jon_Snow]

If you want a general purpose shotgun that you will use to try out several sports including trap, a pump gun is a great way to start. If you just want to try trap, I've found that the H&R single shot 12 gauges are great guns for the (low) price. You won't be able to shoot skeet or the doubles in sporting clays. I own an O/U that is my trap gun, but I also own an H&R that I use to teach my friends. For ~$140 brand new it's a great way to get into the sprot. You can always upgrade later when you have a better idea of what you want.

 

[Floppy_D]

For what little clay I shoot, I bring the same 870 pumpgun or 1100 semi-auto i would use for dove or quail. I frequently see guys who bring their "HD" shotgun out to do some clay work... the ones with regular stocks do pretty well. I've seen an old fart run the skeet field with a pump, and semi-auto's aren't that odd nowadays. If I were going to get into die-hard clay gaming, I'd move toward a stack barrel; but for now my budget constrains me to pumpguns and semi's.

If you're going casual, no need to specialize.

 

[jhallrv4]

If you're going to shoot doubles in Trap, an O/U is the way to go. For singles and Handicap, a single is fine.

 

[Sauer Grapes]

I guess you need to figure, how money you want to spend. If your going to shoot trap, you can do that quite well with a pump. Skeet, sporting clays and 5 stand, I would suggest an autoloader or an O\U.
You can shoot any of them with a pump, but the games needing 2 shots, without a good deal of practice, pumps can be a little tougher.
I shoot an auto and an O\U for my clay shooting. {and I shoot a lot} If your an average size guy like me, most guns will be suitable "off the rack." If your 6' 4", you'll need a gun with a longer "Length of Pull" most likely. Most field guns have a little shorter stock than a sporting gun.
Your budget will dictate what you buy. 3-400 will get you into a pump, 5-700bucks will get you into a nice used autoloader and 1000-1200 with get you a decent used O\U generally. You may find a nice deal on a Browning O\U for a bit less. If you think you are going to shoot clays a good bit, a quality gun will save you a lot of aggrevation.
Good Luck, have fun.....

 

[oneounceload]

First, there are several different and distinct shotgun games involving clay targets - trap, skeet, 5-stand, sporting clays, helice, and FITASC.

The top three, trap, skeet and sporting are as different as night and day.

For trap singles, a pump with a decent trap-style stock, will do fine. For trap doubles, skeet (has doubles), and sporting clays (MANY doubles) the pump, IMO, gives you an unnecessary disadvantage because the pumping motion tends to take your swing off the flight line of the second bird.

Less expensive than an O/U or SxS would be a good semi from the likes of Beretta.

Remember one thing - for target guns WEIGHT is your friend. Many companies make excellent field guns and target guns - while they usually look very similar, they tend to have weight discrepancies of over a pound or more. Light weight guns are great for walking all day and doing a little shooting. Target guns are great for shooting all day and doing a little walking.

The key to success in target shooting is FIT. Fit is not determined by going to a big box store and shouldering a gun once or twice. It would REALLY behoove you to get to a gun club and rent/borrow as many types of guns as you can and actually shoot them to see which one comes the closest. Then the stock can be easily tweaked to fine tune tie fit.

As to the other questions to why O/U or SxS costs more - two barrels - they have to be regulated to shoot to the same POI/POA. That is done by hand and adds a lot of labor costs. On better grade to higher grade guns, it also affects the handling and balance, which is the difference between the champions and those who try to come close.

You'll see many folks here mention and recommend a Stevens 311. I have its cousin the BSE. While decent, it handles like a pig on a shovel compared to a decent SxS like an AyA, Arreitta, or even an Ugartechea.

The same can be said for O/U - the cheap Turkish/Russian/Brazilian imports do not compare to the basic Beretta/Browning guns. And those don't compare to your better target guns like Kreighoff, Perazzi, and Kolar.

Bottom line - good target guns cost - but that cost is minimal over the long term to the money spent on targets and ammunition. If you buy quality once in the beginning, you'll never lose money if you decide to change or stop, it won't break as easily and as often, and your success rate will be better earlier on. Which is why I said to borrow/rent as many as you can.

Good luck, clay target shooting can get as addictive as an opiate - but it's legal and more fun!

 

[UKShooter]

I would recomend a Semi to get started. Its a nice middle ground and you can use it for hunting and as well.

Something like a Beretta Xtrema or Benelli M2 would be perfect if you can stretch to it.

 

[MisterHappy]

It's easy to go nuts and $pend on a gun for trap.
If you've never shot trap ( or skeet, or the other games) before you decide on which is right for you, try the games. Often a shooter will prefer one over another, to the virtual exclusion of the others (I'm a Trapezoid, and don't understand Skeeters...My son shoots both.)

Up here, in the Northeast, if a new shooter shows up at a trap or skeet range and says that they're interested, advice and loaners will be forthcoming.

Try the games, try the guns. at my club, there are a lot of shooters with O/U Trap guns, in the 5-figure range. There are also shooters with used autos, that cost less than $250 that don't let too many hit the ground.

The most important thing in a shotgun is fit. No fit, no hit.

Game, action type and cost can be figured out later.

Have fun!

 

[Al LaVodka]

O/U
Al