I think you need to look realistically at just what "competing" means to you. I can also tell you the great satisfaction of a guy with an old Auto 5 totally smoking the guy that has this old gun that only holds two rounds, and is so poor he can't afford a new jacket, he has patches all over it, I guess it was getting really moth eaten. The patches are even all different, Say things like Benelli, Remington, Winchester....all kinds of bright patches all over the thing.
Hope you see where I am going with this, but just incase it needs to be clear, and now a' days it has to be said out loud.
The equipment is not going to help you if you don't have the skillset to use it to its full extend.
If the OP is walking up to the line for the third time. It really is not going to matter one single bit what he is shooting, it needs to be safe, reliable, and FIT THE SHOOTER.
Find a nice Viper for sub $500 and spend the rest on shells and range fees. Do that for a year, see if you still like it (fit fit fit fit fit) and then if you WANT something else you can get it. Toss that Viper in the back of the safe for when the kids want to shoot with you. That is what we have done.
Personally yes it is cool to have a cool gun, if if that is what you need to do it, go for it. You don't need to spend a lot of money to have a lot of fun with this.
My bad habit is to watch the clay after I hit it. I will still after 20 years, have the wife yell THAT WAS A DOUBLE....oh, yea but did you see how that one flew after I hit it....that was cool....it actually spun UP.
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