First time shooting shotgun and clays (Remington 310 Spartan o/u review)

[seeds76]

So I decided to try some clay shooting and picked up a Remington Spartan 310 28" O/U shotgun from a sports store. Paid about just under $400 for it. I took it home, broke it apart, cleaned off the grease and oiled it...

Whoa is that bad boy pretty stiff. The break action is pretty damn tight. I figure I just need to break it in. So off to walmart to buy some Universal Winchester 12GA 7 1/2shot.

Never shot a shotgun before so I was expecting the thing to practically explode in my shoulder. After making sure I braced it well in the pocket of my shoulder and under my cheekbone it wasn't that bad.

I shot 4 rounds of American Trap and scored the following:

17/25
16/25
17/25
21/25!!!

Whoohooo! My Remington 310 Spartan ain't as pretty or expensive as all the other O/U's people had at the range but it seems to get the job done for a beginner like me. My only complaint is that the break action is REALLY stiff even after oiling. Hopefully it'll loosen up after several more hundred rounds. All in all I think it's a great inexpensive O/U for a beginner.

 

[Milkmaster]

Congrats on the new Shotgun! My son uses the Spartan 310 now for a couple of years with his trap team. I wrote a review soon after we first bought it that also mentions the stiffness of it. Some will make light of your inexpensive double gun. I doubt the clays will know the difference when they explode!

We had some luck with a couple of modifications you can do yourself to make it a little easier.

1. Disable to automatic safety feature. Only one trip to the trap range gave the reason for doing that. Calling for the bird and forgetting to flip off the safety is a pain in the rear.

2. Cut a couple of coils off the ejector springs. Our gun has a selective choice to use the ejector or extractor. (Read your manual on how to choose) The ejectors would throw the hulls 10 feet behind you! I cut off a few coils on each spring thereby making it easier to break open. My son also only uses the extractor position for the trap range, so he doesn't need to throw the hull at all.

His gun is still a bit stiff but easier than when it was new. He has in the neighborhood of 5500 rounds through it now. It has been a while since I counted his practice rounds and actual events together. I kind of quit counting after 5000. The gun still performs well.

Enjoy your new hobby and be careful

Here is a link to the review...

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=264733

 

[seeds76]

Here is a link to the review...

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=264733

Actually, I bought my Spartan 310 based on YOUR review!!! So thank you for sharing it! I'll try to cut a couple of coils at a time and test it out.

Cheers

 

[Milkmaster]

Nothing like putting the pressure on me!

I hope all works out well for you.

 

[seeds76]

Shooting a 21/25 the first day shooting trap, let alone the first time shooting a shotgun... your review was spot on! I'm completely satisfied with my new addiction.

 

[mgkdrgn]

21 / 25 and =never= fired a shotgun before??

Do you buy lottery tickets?

 

[seeds76]

21 / 25 and =never= fired a shotgun before??

Do you buy lottery tickets?

Never. I'm telling you, i thought it was going to blow my shoulder off. I only stand at just over 5'. I'm even left eye dominant shooting right handed so I was expecting horrible things to happen. Maybe it's helping me?!?!? Maybe it's beginner's luck... or maybe I should be playing the lottery.

All I know is that it's damn fun with a score of 21/25 or 2/25 and I'm probably going to be broke this summer with a ton of empty shotgun shell boxes in my recycle bin.

 

[seeds76]

Nothing like putting the pressure on me!

I hope all works out well for you.

P.S. Cutting about 4-5 coils loosened it up for me a bit and the hulls still eject over the shoulder. Yet, I prefer to extract since that's what the etiquette is with all the shooters at the range.

Thanks again for the tip.

 

[seeds76]

Some will make light of your inexpensive double gun. I doubt the clays will know the difference when they explode!

That actually happened today with some old timers hanging out in the club when i walked in to sign up.

Later in the day they didn't have anything else to say when my score beat theirs!

 

[mgkdrgn]

Never. I'm telling you, i thought it was going to blow my shoulder off. I only stand at just over 5'. I'm even left eye dominant shooting right handed so I was expecting horrible things to happen. Maybe it's helping me?!?!? Maybe it's beginner's luck... or maybe I should be playing the lottery.

All I know is that it's damn fun with a score of 21/25 or 2/25 and I'm probably going to be broke this summer with a ton of empty shotgun shell boxes in my recycle bin.

you should look into reloading ... or send me your empty hulls.

 

[AllAmerican]

My son will waste all them birds with a Maverick 88.

He's really good. Sounds like you are too. Good job.

 

[Glockorama]

How do you disable the auto safety feature on this shotgun?

 

[Milkmaster]

The simple answer is to take this link out. The safety will still work, but be manually operated.

The best answer if you aren't savvy about such things is to take it to a local gunsmith and have him do it for you. I really don't want to take mine apart again to show more pictures. Takes about 10 minutes for the gunsmith.

Good luck!

 

[MCgunner]

The Spartans are back to being Baikals again. Never-the-less good, strong basic guns. I don't really need pretty in the field. I don't have anyone to impress.