Suggestions for clays shotgun

[gotboostvr]

I'm currently looking for my first shotgun to use solely for clays.

I've spent a good amount of time behind a Mossberg 500 and Rem 870's as well as a completely worn out 30's era Ithica SxS. I'm not too sensitive to recoil, shooting 100+ shells in a day out of pumps never bothered me too much.

I'm mainly interested in sporting clays, but will probably venture into other arenas here and there.

I went and tried on a few shotguns the other day and had done a little research before hand. These are currently my top contenders:

Rem 1100

Felt pretty good, pointed as well as any other Semi-auto. Not too heavy. Probably going to be the softest shooting. Aftermarket everything is affordable and available.

Beretta 391

Felt very good, seemed more lively than the 1100. Dunno about keeping them running now that they're discontinued.

CZ Redhead

Felt and pointed really well. Really well. Only problem is they only had them in 20ga, or else I may have put one on layaway. I'm just unsure of their relibility being made by Huglu whom I'm not familiar with. Does the 12ga balance and feel similar to the 20ga?

I've played with Stoegers, but have never been impressed personally. I've never heard much online either to make me give them a serious chance.

I wanted to check out a Beretta A300 Outlander, but they didn't have one to try. I may try another place or two to see if I can. But it's something I wanted to try out since they get good reviews.

I also liked the look of the SKB RS300. It's about the top of my budget but looks like it has everything I'd possibly want in a sporting shotgun.
I could add all those bells and whistles to a otherwise normal 1100, but it's nice to have it all from the factory. I'd have to buy this sight unseen though, but with all the adjustability would this be a winner?

So, is there anything in that price range I'm missing that should be considered? The CZ caught me off guard with its quality, but I'm aware of the pitfalls of cheaper double barrels and didn't want a headache. If it's good to go, I may end my search there. But I'm seeing allot of $450-550 lightly used 1100's locally that are hard to pass up.

 

[toivo]

The Beretta Outlander 300 will do everything the 391 did. The Remington 1100 is also a good choice. Everything else on your list is Turkish, not that there's anything wrong with that.

My own experience is with an 1100 and a 391. They were both fine guns, but the 1100 would suffer ejection failures with lighter loads if it got even moderately dirty. The 391 has never failed with anything, whether clean or dirty.

 

[Kingcreek]

I don't know how different the outlander is but my 390 Sporting has been great for quite a few years. perfect fit and sweet shooting every time.

 

[kudu]

1100, good solid gun with lots of history of reliability, I would suggest the sporting model if that is what you are going to focus on.

Beretta 391, very soft shooter, reliable, many out there with 30 thousand plus shells through them. The 300 is newer but should still stand up to heavy shooting. I believe both of these have shim adjustments for stock fit.

The CZ's made by Huglu in Turkey are decent shotguns, and some have held up to heavy shooting but all that I have handled have very heavy triggers, I own 2 in the SxS configuration. If something goes wrong and the gun has to be fixed, you could be waiting months for a fix.

As toivo pointed out 1100's can have some feed problems when dirty. I usually clean my 11-87 about every 1000 rounds, and my 1100's at about 800 rounds. My 11-87 broke it's first O-ring last fall after about 25,000 shells. My 20 gauge 1100 has had 2 replacement O-rings, they went about 8000 rounds between breaking. My 28 and .410 have maybe 10,000 shells between them, no O-ring problems. I pretty much run super light loads in all my autos, 7/8oz in the 11-87, and 3/4oz in the 20 gauge. Light reloads in the 28 and .410.

I don't own a Beretta auto, but have shot several and really like them. If I didn't have a stable full of Remingtons, also have 8 or 10 870's, I would have several Beretta autos.

If you venture into other clay games like skeet you may be better off getting a quality O/U so you can go with sub-gauge tubes in the future.

 

[RPRNY]

A300 is the best value s/a for clays. If you are spending under $1500, a s/a is the way to go. CZ/Huglu make some perfectly good o/u field guns but they aren't meant for high volume clays over time. Browning, Betetta, Winchester 101 all make entry level o/u A new entry level o/u clay gunstarts at @ $2000. Older Citoris, used Cynergy, Winchester 101, SKB, and even some Betettas can be had in the $800 - $1200 range and will deliver long, reliable service if in good condition to start.

 

[Armored farmer]

I shoot an 1100 sport clays competition model. It is a great soft shooting gun.
I think that the Beretta owners love their autos too. I borrowed one to shoot in Florida recently, and liked to just fine.
I don't know much about the CZ , so I leave that to those that do.
I will say that the autos shoot softer than the o/u's.
Best wishes with your decision.

 

[redbone]

I've never shot sporting clays, but have shot a lot of skeet. Winchester 101s were the common, popular shotgun back then. Does anyone use them for sporting clays?

 

[entropy]

Beretta 686 Onyx Sporting Clays. I used a 101 for Sporting Clays once, shot well with it. I shot several different brands at a rep. demo shoot (the 101 was my own-another one I wish I still had....) and I liked the 686 Onyx the best.

 

[sappyg]

I'm a beretta A300 fan boy so take what I might say with a grain of salt. It's the pick of the litter IMO. Soft shooter. Very adjustable (especially the synthetic stock). Light. Maybe too light. I added weight to mine. Affordable. Brand new OTD for $650 or so. Reliable. Runs dirty but then again it doesnt get that dirty and can handle very light loads. You really can't go wrong.

I can't recommend a stoeger. I am only familiar with one example. It's never made it through a single round of skeet w/O failure. You'd be better off with anything else as long as it's a beretta A300

I like the 1100 just fine but it doesn't really do it for me. Mine just sits in the safe after the A300 came along. Did I mention that the A300 can cure the common cold?

The way I see it, the problem with the other guns mentioned is that they're not A300s.

Others to consider: weatherby SA-08? A fine gun that holds its own. This may be the only gun that rivals the A300 IMO. I really like this gun. Make mine a 20 and call it good. Why? Because beretta doesn't make the A300 in 20.

 

[Virginian]

The 1100 Sporting model is designed to run with lighter loads than the old field models, and from what I have seen they do quite well. I have 1100 but they are field guns and I am not a light load shooter anyway.

 

[gotboostvr]

Just wanted to post an update.

Thanks for all the advice in this thread firstly.

I ended up calling a bit of an audible and changed directions. I found a Japanese Winchester 101 for less than the cost of a new Glock and decided to snap it up.

 

[redbone]

Wow, that sounds like a great deal. What are the chokes? I've wondered about shooting SC with my skeet gun.

 

[entropy]

Win. 101 at a good price? Sounds like a winner to me!

 

[gotboostvr]

Wow, that sounds like a great deal. What are the chokes? I've wondered about shooting SC with my skeet gun.

30" Full/mod fixed. I thought it sounded like a good combination. Although I may have some thin walled chokes installed in the future.

I'm pretty happy with the deal I got.

 

[sappyg]

Congrats on the winchester. You're all set now.