first time shooting clays - good starter shotgun?

[Sheepdog1968]

I've thought about his for a while. I agree that if you really want to get serious about clays, a quality firearm dedicated to the clay sport of your choosing is worth it. Ammo costs will far exceed firearm value. The trick is to determine how interested you are in this as a pursuit. You will need to,shoot some to sort this out.

I see two approaches. Go out and buy a pump of your choosing and use that for a while to gauge your interest. If you then decide say after a year or two this is the hobby and you have the funds, upgrade.

If you want something a bit nicer to start, Browning and Beretta both make excelled over unders in the 2-3K range. Another choice would be a semi auto.


Getting whatever you own fitted to you will be a worthwhile investment.

Money is tight right now for me and I've stuck with a Mossberg 500 pump. I hit about 20/25 in our weekly league and am happy. Someday I want an over under or side by side. Having said that I enjoy myself and the time spent with friends at the range near not worried about it. There is a range of shotguns that show up each week and more pumps as duck season gets closer during the year.

 

[SwaneeSR]

Anothernewb said

went to that semi local GS last night. They had several different ones there.

One of which I liked a lot - it was a browning citori "light" model. generally in good shape, bluing was great, but the stock was dinged in a few places pretty good. I have no idea about shotguns to judge wear on them, however. They had it for $750. I don't know if that's a good deal or not either.

liked it, but it was a very light gun - so light I sort of wondered about recoil. wasn't time enough to shoot it though.


So this citori you looked at had screw in invector chokes? What barrel length? 28" or 30"?

I wouldn't worry too much about the recoil, you can use lighter 1oz or less target loads.

That Citori might be worth the money.

 

[anothernewb]

Had a friend that knows more about shotguns than me look at the browning. When we left he said only,

it WAS a nice browning, but not anymore. So I guess it may have been more used than I suspected.

For now, I just got a longer barrel on the 870 and I'll play for awhile, and keep looking for a deal on a O/U.

 

[oneounceload]

The looking is always fun, but don't over analyze to the point you let a good one get away.

 

[jaguarxk120]

To totally confuse you start looking on Guns International web site. It's not a auction house but the dealers show what they are asking for the guns. There are some outstanding guns there but there are also the dogs.

Go back and look at the Citori and if you can shoot before buying then try it out you have nothing to loose except some time.

As for stocks they can be refinished or replaced.

Keep looking and reading, the more you know the better.

If you know more about the gun than the seller, you have the advantage!

 

[legendary_lawman]

You mentioned sporting clays in one post but your original post didn't indicate what type of clays you were shooting. All of these games have their own, specialized guns, designed to offer the shooter advantages for that particular game.

A Beretta semi-auto with a 30 inch barrel and an adjustable comb would be dependable and be versatile, should you choose to shoot more than one game with the same gun. There are good buys available in the used gun market.

 

[anothernewb]

I'm not familiar with the different types. I will try to describe what I did.
the local course has several stations set up with clays that come at you from multiple directions. one station has one clay coming straight at you from a tree line below a hill, the other comes at you up in the air. another station rolls them along the ground in pairs
one other station has a sort of passing lane. one clay comes along at aboout head level at a million miles an hour, then another one comes from the opposite direction a moment later. and another station has you sighting between a Vee in some trees, and a pair at the same time come from left to right, going down the hill toward the vee.

theres 25 "stations" and each one has 2 clays thrown at it.

Sorry for the crude description

 

[MrBorland]

For now, I just got a longer barrel on the 870 and I'll play for awhile, and keep looking for a deal on a O/U.

I'm in the same boat.

A bud and I shot some SC over the weekend with our 870s. The Berreta rep was there with loaner O/Us to use, so we each picked up a Silver Pigeon and shot another round - with essentially the same score. A bona fide sporting gun might make a difference once I'm better, but I figure I've got a lot of basics to cover until then.

 

[oneounceload]

A bona fide sporting gun THAT FITS, will definitely make a difference.

O/Us are nice, but if they are TOO cheap (as in price and manufacture) you're better off getting a good semi or a better used O/U. I see way too many folks come out with the really cheap crap from Dick's or similar and have lots of issues. If your gun spends more time in for repairs, then you do shooting it, did ya really save anything?

 

[MrBorland]

A bona fide sporting gun THAT FITS, will definitely make a difference.

Well, that's another rub - I read lots about how important fit is, but much less about what actually constitutes a good fit. IOW, at this point, I've no idea how it's supposed to fit in the first place. I find some guns mount easier than others, but that seems more a LOP issue - surely there's more to it than that.

 

[Rockrivr1]

So I'm sure I'll get flamed for this but check out Mossberg's Silver Reserve O/U. It had a bad reputation for years due to a firing pin problems, but that has worked itself out. I picked one up cheap, did some home polishing to smooth the action a little and she's a bonefide shooter now.

Last outing I did three rounds of trap. Scored a 23/25, 25/25 and 24/25 with her. You DO NOT have to spend big money to get a decent O/U. Do I get crap sometime when I walk up with a Mossberg? Yep. Do I get crap when I'm leaving with my Mossberg? Nope.....

Others may say to stay away but O/U are not all that technical. Sure I don't have all the bells and whistles of a $10K O/U, but she shoots the way I like and I have no complaints.

 

[toivo]

I'm not familiar with the different types. I will try to describe what I did.
the local course has several stations set up with clays that come at you from multiple directions. one station has one clay coming straight at you from a tree line below a hill, the other comes at you up in the air. another station rolls them along the ground in pairs
one other station has a sort of passing lane. one clay comes along at aboout head level at a million miles an hour, then another one comes from the opposite direction a moment later. and another station has you sighting between a Vee in some trees, and a pair at the same time come from left to right, going down the hill toward the vee.

theres 25 "stations" and each one has 2 clays thrown at it.

Sorry for the crude description

Not crude at all -- that's sporting clays. You need something that can easily shoot doubles -- pumps can do it, but it's not easy. I recommend a good entry-level semi-auto, like a Remington 1100 or a Beretta 390/3901/A300.

 

[PapaG]

If it is trap you want to shoot, start with an 870 trap gun (not field). I finally had to retire mine last month after 43 years of steady shooting, 12 club championships, one area championship and probably a lifetime average above 94%.
It was a TB, 30" full trap, straight stock.
I'm moving to my late brother's 870TC with montecarlo stock and another TB I've been saving.
Whatever you choose....don't get the idea you'll break more birds by trading up. Learn one gun and shoot it a lot.
I've been cussed at by more than one Kolar/Krieghoff/Beretta/Ceasar G/Perazzi shooter who couldn't believe a $500 gun could beat their $10K masterpieces.
I wish I could have started with a K gun but have never regretted shooting my Remmy.
First 25 straight, first duck, first deer, first 50, first 75, first 100 and a lot of bunnies, pheasants and quail.
I did have a few barrels to swap around.

 

[eastbank]

you were not beating their shotguns, you were better skilled than them. eastbank.

 

[oneounceload]

Mr. Borland -

check out ShotgunWorld.com and look for threads by Rollin Oswald - he is a gun fitter and a book author about gun fit

 

[jogar80]

I started shooting clays a few years ago and got hooked quick. Started with my winchester pump and then bought a remington 1100 which was a huge improvement. Then I wanted an o/u like the pro's but couldnt afford a good one. I ended up buying a Yildiz o/u at academy just to get rid of that itch. Now, 6 years later, im still using that Yildiz. Honestly it is actually a great gun.

 

[eastbank]

the experts here give good advise, take it or leave it. i have shot most all high end clays game shotguns and i could like them all if they were fitted to me. a straight out of the box shotgun may or may not fit you good enough to start shooting good scores if you are up to it. most white box shotguns are made to fit the average joe, rem,s-win-moss,s, ect as a field gun and if it does not fit you, you will have to adapt to the gun and while it can be done it,s harder to reach the level you wish to. i started with the remington line in the mid 60,s and still have them and shoot them, but have moved up to brownings and have been well served by them. i,ll never be a pro and shoot for my own enjoyment and i never run down or look down my nose at any ones shotgun, if ask i may offer help to a noobi on the line or let them shoot a round with one of my shotguns. the more shooters we have in any of the shooting sports helps us all in the long run keep the second admendment alive and well. this browning xs 20ga is fast becomming my favorite shotgun. eastbank.