Beginner Trap & Skeet Gun

[mmc45414]

Sounds like just a good semi 12g is gonna cover a lot of bases for you. Sounds like the budget is on the lower end, that you just want something you can grab and give it a try. You want to shoot Sporting Clays, and maybe 3gun, and at some point will want to try skeet and trap. Someday you might end up hunting birds.

Now the tricky part is there is so much out there and so much of it is good that it makes deciding tough. I would think just a basic 11-87 gives you a lot of options. Extra barrels are cheap, it would be cheap and easy to toggle between clays and 3gun. And if you want something else there are more people that would be in the market for a used one than some others.

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[LSP972]

Relatively speaking, skeet guns have shorter barrels than trap guns...you'll probably want to split the difference. I went with a 30" barrel for versatility; that Stoeger looks quite a bit on the short side to me.

All extra barrel length gives you is a bit more weight and steadiness for your swing. My Beretta 682 Gold E has a 34" single barrel for singles/handicap, and 30" O/U barrels for doubles. But I do better on doubles with my Beretta 3901 youth gun; which has a 26.5" barrel. Its quicker-handling and easier to get on that second bird with. Both shotguns have stocks fitted to me, which, as was mentioned earlier, is the most important aspect of wing shooting with a shotgun.

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[rob_s]

Sounds like just a good semi 12g is gonna cover a lot of bases for you. Sounds like the budget is on the lower end, that you just want something you can grab and give it a try. You want to shoot Sporting Clays, and maybe 3gun, and at some point will want to try skeet and trap. Someday you might end up hunting birds.

That's about right. I want what I used to tell people didn't exist in the AR and handgun world, and then realized that the Colt 6720 with an Aimpoint and Glock 17 with a decent holster actually would serve people quite well for the variety of pursuits most duffers are likely to encounter, and suffice until they perhaps get themselves obsessed enough to need purpose-built gear.

if the Stoeger 3-gun shotgun would work for all of the shotgun pursuits, and if I had a good handle on exactly what I'd be sacrificing to do so, I'd like for that to be the answer. The primary downside I see to pressing the same gun into a variety of pursuits is the length of the barrel and the length of the mag tube being so variable.

At the same time, if I had to buy a $500 O/U to shoot various flying things 2-3 times a year, and just put off the $-gun shotgun until I actually plan to shoot a match, that wouldn't hurt my feelings either.

What I'm not going to do is spend $1k+ on a shotgun for something I *might* do 2-13 times a year. My days of stuffing the safe full of expensive toys I *may* use in the future are long since past. if shooting flying-things with a shotgun REQUIRES a $1k+ gun to do so then it's just one more game I'll abstain from.

that said, I do not like borrowing gear, and right now I get invited to go often enough that I turn it down based solely on the fact that I don't have the equipment. Were there a budget, or all-in-one, shotgun option in the safe I might get out more often.

[LSP972]

. What would I be giving up, if I used this for clays or trap?
http://www.stoegerindustries.com/node/1561

Durability. There is a whole raft of "economy" O/U & gas guns, made in Turkey, out there. I used to see a lot of them at the trap and sporting clay fields. Some are still "running"; some gave it up in less than 500 shells.

O/Us are "cool", and easier to be safe with on a crowded field because you can break the action and keep the muzzle down comfortably. But unless that stock is precisely fitted to you, a gas gun is going to be more comfortable to shoot over the long run.

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[JV_]

Does the club not offer rental guns?

[rob_s]

Does the club not offer rental guns?

No clue. There are several different clubs in the area, and the invites usually come with short notice. I'd prefer to just have something of my own. "rental" goes with "borrow" for me. I'm the guy that's damn close to buying my own bowling shoes just so I don't have to use the shoes at the lanes when we take the kids.

[joshs]

Durability.

I haven't heard of or experienced any durability issues with the M3000. It is becoming a lot more popular in 3 gun because of its reliability and durability. It's pretty similar to a Benelli M1 with the recoil spring around the mag tube instead of in the stock. My example seems well built.

[JV_]

"rental" goes with "borrow" for me.

In general, I'd much rather rent than borrow. Plus, renting lets me try different ones to see what I prefer/like. Rentals at trap/skeet ranges seems pretty common around here.

I'm the guy that's damn close to buying my own bowling shoes just so I don't have to use the shoes at the lanes when we take the kids.

No argument there.

[spinmove_]

In general, I'd much rather rent than borrow. Plus, renting lets me try different ones to see what I prefer/like. Rentals at trap/skeet ranges seems pretty common around here.

I gotta agree with JV_ on this one. If I refused to rent any pistols and just started buying them up to try stuff out I would have been bankrupt a long time ago. Sure it's not the same as being new and perfect, but its also a heck of a lot cheaper and gives you a good idea of what worn in sample would feel like once you had one of your own and broke it in. My philosophy is rent/borrow/try anything and everything as often as possible and be ridiculously picky before actually fronting the coin for your own. If I had done that from the get go I would have saved a ton of money.

[LSP972]

I haven't heard of or experienced any durability issues with the M3000. It is becoming a lot more popular in 3 gun because of its reliability and durability. It's pretty similar to a Benelli M1 with the recoil spring around the mag tube instead of in the stock. My example seems well built.

Okay. Perhaps they make different grades; "Best", "decent", "nimrod"...

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