Beginner Trap & Skeet Gun

[rob_s]

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.

My experience has been that many people *think* they need the special snowflake item, but the truth is that there's a single make/model that satisfies 75% of the needs of virtually everyone buying that one thing. They chase around after "fit" and "feel" and other things that might matter to the 1% of high-end users but doesn't mean doodly-squat.

I just don't think I'm that special. My first new-bought semi-auto handgun was a Glock. I'd have been well-served had I spent the subsequent 20 years only buying Glocks. My first complete factory AR was a Colt. Four of them, in as many months, in fact. Still have all of them.

What I'd like is the Glock or Colt of the Sporting Clays world, but not if it's going to cost me $1k+. If that's the price of entry I just won't go. not to mention, I don't know if all of the places rent, don't feel like having to research that in the moment, etc. I'd much prefer to show up with my own gun, no matter how shitty it might be. Even if that gun is the equipvalent of the Olympic Arms, so long as I know that and know what I'm giving up.

To that end, I'm curious about sub-$1k shotguns, the more "sub" the better. I'd really love to hear about what I'm giving up by using a $450 Stoeger O/U or $600 semi-auto from the same company. If someone asks me that question about an AR I can give them a list of things, and let them make up their own mind.

[vaspence]

If I were only going to shoot a half dozen times a year or so I agree with the guys who said to rent. My club rents really nice Browning and Beretta shotguns. I take 12-15 guys who never shoot or have never shot through the sporting clays course every summer. They all use the rentals and even the worst can usually break 40+ birds out of 100. If I had to own my own shotgun and wanted to shoot 3gun and clays with not much budget I'd buy an 870 with 2 barrels.

FWIW my clays gun is a Browning Citori Lightning choked LM/Mod with 26" barrels. My oldest son still prefers to use a Benelli M1 with a 26" barrel and a skeet or improved choke. I used to use the M1 in 3gun with a 21" barrel. It was my go to hunting/game gun for a few years.

ETA: Head over to shotgunworld.com it's a good source of reviews.

[vaspence]

My vote for the Glock or Colt of the sporting clays world at under $1000 is a used Beretta 390 or 3901. I've owned a few of them and still regret selling the 390 youth 20 gauge. My club still has a 390 in the rental safe I use when I'm up and don't bring a shotgun. I cannot guess at how many 1000s of rounds have been through it.

ETA - Talking to a buddy about this just now and he pointed out the Beretta Outlander A300 is sort of the next gen of the 390/3901 series. New under $1k.

[mmc45414]

My experience has been that many people *think* they need the special snowflake item, but the truth is that there's a single make/model that satisfies 75% of the needs of virtually everyone buying that one thing.

To that end, I'm curious about sub-$1k shotguns, the more "sub" the better. I'd really love to hear about what I'm giving up by using a $450 Stoeger O/U or $600 semi-auto from the same company. If someone asks me that question about an AR I can give them a list of things, and let them make up their own mind.

11-87 Sportsman looks like $555 and you would have Rule One covered. If you want a different stock they are all over. If you chop yours up a replacement is cheap. You can buy a second barrel for next to nothing. Spare chokes are $20 and you can pick one up when you are buying groceries. If it breaks spare parts are just a mouse click away. If you want to upgrade to something later you can sell it to a buddy for $100-$150 less than you spent.

Stoeger makes good stuff, but parts and accessories for Remingtons are everywhere. And cheap. I like Beretta, and have three, but a spare barrel would cost as much as the Remington.

If you like this you will want an O/U, and the Rem becomes a dedicated 3gun setup.

You sound just like me, you want to get started, but will know you want something nicer when you know.

One thing not mentioned about an O/U is that an auto is just like a DI AR, they shit where they eat. An O/U blows the dirt out the end of the gun. If you start doing it every week you will get tired of cleaning the gas system, that was when I started shopping O/Us.



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[Hambo]

What I'd like is the Glock or Colt of the Sporting Clays world, but not if it's going to cost me $1k+.

Remington or a used Benelli.

[ubervic]

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.

If you're just looking at getting into shotgunning and do not plan to shoot more than a dozen times per year, I would either rent or, if you are opposed to renting, buy the Stoeger. Or decide to focus on a certain shotgun based on your intended pursuit (i.e., 3-gun, home defense, etc.).

I rented shotguns at my local range for my first couple of years and only decided to purchase when I started to become good at skeet and 5-stand---the old salts at the range suggested that I was pretty good but would not be great until I could shoot the same gun at every visit. Only then did I feel it was worth it to focus on selecting a shotgun based on length of pull, weight, type of bead(s), drop at comb and heel, options to change chokes, etc.----but you have to experience shooting different guns to experiment with these variations. These areas matter more for someone who shoots low-gun rather than calling for the bird with the gun already shouldered.

I really don't think any of these things matter much for someone who simply wants a shotgun to explore different shotgunning sports and/or home defense, whereas they do for someone who wants to be competitive.

[rob_s]

ETA - Talking to a buddy about this just now and he pointed out the Beretta Outlander A300 is sort of the next gen of the 390/3901 series. New under $1k.

Thanks for that. Looks pretty affordable.
http://www.gandermountain.com/modper...otgun&i=612363

[rob_s]

[QUOTE=ubervic;411100 someone who wants to be competitive.[/QUOTE]

I think this is an important distinction. I couldn't care less, right now, about being competitive. I just want to show up and have fun with the guys, and I need a shotgun to do it. I'd prefer to have my own than to rent.

[ubervic]

I think this is an important distinction. I couldn't care less, right now, about being competitive. I just want to show up and have fun with the guys, and I need a shotgun to do it. I'd prefer to have my own than to rent.

Cool.
I recommend considering a used shotgun. I shot skeet and clays for many years and owned 5 different shotguns yet never bought new.

[spinmove_]

My experience has been that many people *think* they need the special snowflake item, but the truth is that there's a single make/model that satisfies 75% of the needs of virtually everyone buying that one thing. They chase around after "fit" and "feel" and other things that might matter to the 1% of high-end users but doesn't mean doodly-squat.

I just don't think I'm that special. My first new-bought semi-auto handgun was a Glock. I'd have been well-served had I spent the subsequent 20 years only buying Glocks. My first complete factory AR was a Colt. Four of them, in as many months, in fact. Still have all of them.

What I'd like is the Glock or Colt of the Sporting Clays world, but not if it's going to cost me $1k+. If that's the price of entry I just won't go. not to mention, I don't know if all of the places rent, don't feel like having to research that in the moment, etc. I'd much prefer to show up with my own gun, no matter how shitty it might be. Even if that gun is the equipvalent of the Olympic Arms, so long as I know that and know what I'm giving up.

To that end, I'm curious about sub-$1k shotguns, the more "sub" the better. I'd really love to hear about what I'm giving up by using a $450 Stoeger O/U or $600 semi-auto from the same company. If someone asks me that question about an AR I can give them a list of things, and let them make up their own mind.

Fair enough, and after screwing around with different "flavours of the month" for a while, I've essentially come to the same conclusion. That said, I run a Mossberg 500 All Purpose pump for sporting clays. The only thing I've added to it was a sling. I seem to do just fine with it.

That being said, that's what I would suggest going with personally. That or an 870. If you want a semi-auto, I've heard that these do a pretty good job https://www.slickguns.com/product/mo...lek-10shot-599