Sporting Clay Shotgun recommendations

[texanron]

I volunteered today at American Shooting Center in Houston for a Hope for the Warriors sporting clay event. After talking to numerous participants about how much they enjoy it I have decided I want try my hand at this. If any of y'all can make recommendations on shotguns, loads and other gear to get started I would appreciate it.

[mr surveyor]

there are many guns out there with a wide range of price tags, but, keep in mind the price/quality of the gun don't necessarily make it a shooter in everyone's hands.

the first thing to consider with a shotgun is FIT!

try a lot of different guns off the shelf and you might find one that just points naturally, or depending on your personal budget you could spend a wad on a gun to have the stock fitted to you.

I've gone through about a dozen different shotguns (all under $1k or much less) in the last 10 years trying to find something that fits and points naturally. I have normal length arms, but have had a shoulder injury, neck injury and being visited by the "Itis Boys" more and more in the last few years. When younger, the standard 14-1/2" LOP of an off the shelf gun was tolerable, but I could always handle a rifle with 13-1'2" standard LOP better. I thought about it for a couple of years before experimenting with a 13" LOP Mossberg 500 "Bantam" to try the short stock theory for a better fit. Even though our dove hunt a few weeks ago was the least productive of the last 7 years, my personal kill ratio with the short stock gun was improved by 40-50%. Now I'm in the market for a replacement stock for my favorite Beretta AL2 that I can cut down an inch.

Fit is crucial.

jmo

surv

[texanron]

Thanks surv. I have another reason to the gun shop now!

[mr surveyor]

you never know, you may even find that an old classic side by side works for you. I wanted the SxS to be my bird and clay gun, and tried 3-4 of them, but never had one that "fit". In retrospect, I should have cut the stock down on one of the lower cost guns to see if it would work better with my stove up body parts.

Try as many different platforms and sizes as you can get your hands on, and don't let anyone shame you for trying a "junior" size gun. No matter what the gun is, if it fits it wil point naturally at what your eyes are focusing on, and as long as you have the proper lead on the target and follow through you have a much better chance of hits.

If I had understood this thirty or forty years ago there would probably be several custom fit shotguns in the collection.

[rusty86]

If you are looking for strictly (or even primarily) a Sporting Clay gun, Over/Unders and Side/Sides are hard to beat, 12 or 20 gauge. O/U are much more abundant these days so you could probably find one easier. If money is no object, Browning's Citori O/U is a sweet gun. However, if you are trying to keep it less than that, you'll want to look at some other brands. I know the Yildiz is very reasonable at Academy and supposedly are good guns for the money (~$400).

However, if you want a versatile gun you can do a lot of stuff with, sporting clays being one, I would go with an Automatic 12 gauge. They hunt well (duck, turkey, dove) and will still do pretty well on skeet. Much more versatile so if you are going to have one gun for a while, go with an Auto.

Those are just my $.02. Of course you could always go the "all of the above" route and get a 12 and 20 O/U for skeet, and an Auto 12 for duck/turkey/etc. It's always easier to spend someone else's money...

[Rugerboy50]

I went through the same thing about 6 months ago.

I needed to stay within a reasonable budget.

I wound up purchasing a Browning 12 ga. 28" Silver Hunter (Carters Country) It's a semi auto and shoots pretty soft with #8 Remington gun club target loads.

While i may one day own a o/u this gun is all i'll technically ever need.

Shooting clays are a lot of fun but not as easy as i first assumed it would be.

Buy a Browning or Benelli or Beretta and if you don't like it you will get your money back if you decide to sell.

Good luck on your search.

[mr surveyor]

another suggestion is to browse the pawn shops for deals. The shelves in most are full of good shot gun deals. While trying to find a "fit" in off the shelf guns, don't pay new gun prices. I have never lost a dime buying good quality used guns... actually I'm probably several hundred bucks ahead and got to try quite a few shot guns along the way. That's how I scored my Beretta AL2 in near 95% condition for $300.

[texanron]

Thanks for all the information fellas. I'm going to try and stay under $700 and either go with a semi-auto or O/U. I don't see a problem with staying under budget since I'll be going the used shot gun route. Thats about as whittled down as I have gotten so far.

[texanron]

Keep an eye out for any OUs made by Miroku of Japan - very good shotguns (I have one), and many stores let them go cheaply second-hand as they don't seem to realize how good they are.

Thanks for the heads up on those Andy!
I have never heard of them and would not have even considerd purchasing them.

[cajunautoxer]

There was a Browning Citori on TGT last week. I think he had it listed at $790. He probably sold it by now. Just keep looking around and a deal with pop up. That's how I got my Citori.

There's nothing wrong with cheaper OU. They just don't hold up if your going to shoot thousands of round thru them. There was a place that was selling a Mossberg OU for $400 new. I'll have to see if I can find it

[rusty86]

There was a Browning Citori on TGT last week. I think he had it listed at $790. He probably sold it by now.

that's not bad at all. I wish I had seen that. But I'm kind of glad I didn't...

[Rugerboy50]

Carters Country has a Beretta 3901 on sale for $599.00