[Powersauce]

I've been shooting clays but have been using a friends shotgun. Now I want one of my own...so...my qestions are.


What do chokes do?
I'd prefer a singer barrel semi auto but is there any advantage having a side by side or over/under instead?
I noticed a lot of shotguns are rather pricey...Are there any decent semi autos in the 4-500ish range?

 

[Adler]

If you are not serious about getting into competitions with the gun there are plenty of Semi AUtos out there for relatively cheap.

Go to gunbroker.com or Auctionarms.com and look up these

Winchester 1400 or 1500
EAA or Remiongton Spartan MP 153
Verona shotguns
CZ 712- Have one
Lanber- Had one and it was great
Mossberg 9200- Had one, a bit heavy but good
Harrington and Richardson/New England Firearms Co Excell 5 Auto- Got good reviews for an imort.


These should run you around 300-400 and all have screw chokes

If you want a good old used one look at the Remington 11,11-48, Sportsman 58, Savage 720, 745,755. They will all have fixed chokes or have been equipped with a poly choke which allows you to adjest from one to another. Just be aware that you will not be able to shoot steel loads in them without sending them to a smith to have steel ok chokes put in them.

Chokes basically just constict or spread out your shot. To get good with clays as prep for huntin I use nothing less than Modified or Full. Thats when you get them to turn to powder.

 

[MrMcCrackin]

If you are not serious about getting into competitions with the gun there are plenty of Semi AUtos out there for relatively cheap.

Go to gunbroker.com or Auctionarms.com and look up these

Winchester 1400 or 1500
EAA or Remiongton Spartan MP 153
Verona shotguns
CZ 712- Have one
Lanber- Had one and it was great
Mossberg 9200- Had one, a bit heavy but good
Harrington and Richardson/New England Firearms Co Excell 5 Auto- Got good reviews for an imort.


These should run you around 300-400 and all have screw chokes

If you want a good old used one look at the Remington 11,11-48, Sportsman 58, Savage 720, 745,755. They will all have fixed chokes or have been equipped with a poly choke which allows you to adjest from one to another. Just be aware that you will not be able to shoot steel loads in them without sending them to a smith to have steel ok chokes put in them.

Chokes basically just constict or spread out your shot. To get good with clays as prep for huntin I use nothing less than Modified or Full. Thats when you get them to turn to powder.

nothing to add here


if its just for sporting clays - why do your want a semi?

i have found that i can cycle a pump faster and with less recoil than most semi's

 

[$N][P3R]

yea, hmmm.... id say mossberg 500, it worked 4 me

it was my first shotgun

 

[Jeremy]

Stoeger also has a good semi for a resonible price.

A pump gun is ok for shooting single targets but it's hard to hit the second of double trap, the recoil and cycling the gun make it hard to stay on your lead.

If your thinking about more than just recreational shooting, you want a "trap" gun. O/U's, semi's or single shots mostly that hace the barrels set for "high trap" so they shoot high. this allows you to " float" the clay on the tip of the barrel. Most hunting guns shoot low at 35yds ( the average range where people break a single) so the barrels is covering the clay making it harder to hit.

The down side is these guns can be outrageously expensive, on the up side there are a lot of wanna be up and coming shooting greats with more money than brains out there that change guns several times a year becuase they suck and think it's the gun. So there are a lot of quality used guns out there for very good prices.

http://www.shootata.com/index.html

Check out local ranges and clubs and ATA events in your state/area you may find a great deal.

 

[Adler]

I used my Lanber and CZ for clays all the time with great success. Both are really light recoiling and point very well on target.

Trust me those are quality guns that use the Franchi gas system, are easy to clean, and relibale. All for really cheap as well.

With modern alloys the O/U has lost its number one edge....lightweight.

 

[Adler]

Oh and if you want to go American Made...Look around for a Remington 1100...they work really well and since they have been made since about 1963, they are nto hard or too expensive to get.

 

[Jeremy]

For sporting clays and busting clays in the back yard any gun is good, I use my Mossy 835 pumps and have a blast amd actually do better with it than my trap gun that cost many many times more. But on the trap range it's a whole different story. trap guns have a big advantage. I didnt think there was much difference until I bought one and I averaged 5 more hits per round the first time i used it.

 

[Jeremy]

I've been shooting clays but have been using a friends shotgun. Now I want one of my own...so...my qestions are.


What do chokes do?
I'd prefer a singer barrel semi auto but is there any advantage having a side by side or over/under instead?
I noticed a lot of shotguns are rather pricey...Are there any decent semi autos in the 4-500ish range?

We should have ask this before, What shotgun have you been shooting and how did it feel. Did it feel comfortable, heavy, kick to hard, etc...

 

[Adler]

The best thing to measure is the length of pull when you find one that works for you. If you buy a gun with that same LOP then it will shoot good for you.

To measuer LOP, its simply the length from the trigger to the end of the butstock.

 

[Powersauce]

I've been shooting clays but have been using a friends shotgun. Now I want one of my own...so...my qestions are.


What do chokes do?
I'd prefer a singer barrel semi auto but is there any advantage having a side by side or over/under instead?
I noticed a lot of shotguns are rather pricey...Are there any decent semi autos in the 4-500ish range?

We should have ask this before, What shotgun have you been shooting and how did it feel. Did it feel comfortable, heavy, kick to hard, etc...

I have been shooting a friends Mossberg(500 I think?)...the cheapest one you can get at Big5 that comes with the additional short barrel. The kick and weight wasn't bad..but I felt I couldn't cycle the second cartridge fast enough. Then I was able to go to a range where they rented shotguns and I was able to use a Remington(not sure what model) it was as over/under. The price tag on the gun was just under 1K. That seemed like I hit the clays better when I took the upper barrel shot. There was a bit more kick on that gun than the Mossberg...but I did like not having a pump.

 

[Jeremy]

If you like the O/U the Remington spartan, Mossberg silver reserve and Khan tm-12 are reliable guns that cost under 500$ new

If you want a semi, I'd still reccomend a used gun. You can find very good used guns in the 4-500$
Franchi 612, 530, The new I-12 will cost a little more
Beretta 391,390,
Rem 1100, 11-87
Benelli Cordoba, super 90.
Win Super x 2 trap

These are some of the more common big name guns that cost 800+ new

Another point to consider is that if you start shooting more sooner or later something on the gun will break/wear out and need replaced and it's a lot less headache and hassle to get the parts for a "common" name gun. The range you rented from most likely can get any part for these guns in a day or 2 if they don't have them on hand.

 

[Adler]

I just saw WInchester 1400 autos the other day on Gunbroker for 250 in excellent conditions.