Shotgun selection

[puma guy]

I personally would not recommend the Yildiz Academy shotguns.

Why not? Please elaborate. I've read the over-under guns are pretty decent, (for the price tag).

I bought my wife a Yldiz in 20 gauge a few years ago. It keeps developing rust spots on the breach face and on the opposing chamber faces. The gun shoots OK, but the opening and closing of the action is quite stiff, and the action release thumb lever on the top of the receiver was never quite centered from the factory. When I bought it, I was given a choice of wood selection from the several of the same models that they had in stock, and I chose the one with the prettiest wood, not noticing the thumb lever until after I got the gun home. My bad. But I also own a Stoeger O/U that I bought used on consignment for about the same price as the new Yldiz, and it has been pretty much problem free and is a much better made gun.

Speaking of which, if you have considered buying used, I have two shotguns for sale here: http://www.texaschlforum.com/viewtopic. ... 6#p1134906........ a 26” Stoeger Uplander Side by Side 12 gauge Shotgun, and a 27” Remington 870 Express 12 Gauge Pump Action Shotgun.

The cross bolts on many O/U SG are tapered to allow for wear and the lever may be slightly right of center at first and move to center with wear on the cross bolt. I have a couple of Charles Dalys that are that way.

[Pawpaw]

The cross bolts on many O/U SG are tapered to allow for wear and the lever may be slightly right of center at first and move to center with wear on the cross bolt. I have a couple of Charles Dalys that are that way.

As is my Browning.

[1911 10MM]

I saw where grab a gun has my 12 gage semi auto Weatherby SA-08 with synthetic stock for 486.00

[n5wd]

So my daughter is in FFA and she comes home from school telling me about a shooting group that will be shooting sporting clays. I have no firsthand knowledge in this area. But it seems a good excuse to buy her a shotgun that she can learn with, and decide if she likes the sport.... Any help would be appreciated as I want to help her, but I'm just not knowledgeable in this area.

Scott,

You've already received some great advice - the best of which, IMHO, is "wait until you get a chance to meet with the coach of the team." I sponsored our high school's clay targets team for the last four years, and based up on that, and working with our team coaches, lemme add some thoughts:

Generally, you're going to want an semi-auto gun. I love my Mossberg 500, but trying to hit a pair of clays coming from opposing sides of a field and remembering to pump the shotgun without losing track of a flying clay is hard. Eliminating one failure point is a good thing. Quite a number of over/unders were also being used by the shooters.

Longer 12 ga. guns - 30-32" are quite popular. The extra length goes a long way (for someone who is physically able to handle such a gun) in smoothing out the movement of the gun from one clay to the other. Very few competitors in our league (Youth Target Foundation, which covers middle and high schools in and around Texas, Oklahoma, and I believe, Arkansas and Louisiana) were shooting anything but 12 gauge. Yeah, removable chokes are a must.

But, like I said - check with the coach, first. The team may have some club guns (ours did) that competitors can use, and getting some experience with the various guns available is a good idea. The coach may also have some discounts available (our coach was an FFL who would sell a gun at coast to one of our team).

Sporting clays can be (will be!) expensive - she'll go through lots of ammo. Expect organized practice a couple of times a week, if they're serious about competing. It's a great experience for the kids, and there are enough scholarships floating around out there that, if she's any good, she may be able to pay for part or all of her college. One of my previous students got a four-year full ride at a medium sized church school with a shotgun team.

I'm winding up my teaching career in the next couple of years or I'd still be sponsoring our team - they're great kids and were not only serious about shooting, but keeping their grades up as well since we maintained a no-pass no-play rule (If you're in Texas, there is no UIL sanctioned shotgun sports, yet. Perhaps in the future, but we still kept the no-pass no-play rule regardless that it wasn't mandated by the UIL).

Wayne

[SQLGeek]

[
(If you're in Texas, there is no UIL sanctioned shotgun sports, yet. Perhaps in the future, but we still kept the no-pass no-play rule regardless that it wasn't mandated by the UIL).

Wayne

In a way, that's a good thing. The less meddling done by the UIL, the better.