The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Dave McCracken Memorial Shotgun Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old November 28, 2013, 10:45 PM   #1
DarthVader
Member
 
Join Date: June 30, 2005
Posts: 58
I am going to shoot skeet for the first time:

I have a 32" Citori XT Trap, 26" Maxus, and 26" Nova all in 12 gauge. I also have a 26" 1100 in 20 gauge. Which would be the best to bring to the skeet shoot? Also, I figure I should have a IC choke, right? Thanks.

DV
DarthVader is offline  
Old November 28, 2013, 11:12 PM   #2
Chad.C
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 15, 2013
Posts: 100
I'm no pro when it comes to skeet shooting but I would bring the nova or the maxus because of the shorter barrel but that's just me also the only things I know about the guns is the barrel length the weight and size will also play a factor it boils down to what works best for you
__________________
Life is not like a box of chocolates... It's more like a jar of jalapenos: What you do today might burn your a** tomorrow!
Chad.C is offline  
Old November 28, 2013, 11:21 PM   #3
mxsailor803
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 8, 2010
Location: SC
Posts: 1,344
I'd take the 1100. Just my preference.
mxsailor803 is offline  
Old November 28, 2013, 11:26 PM   #4
Ruger480
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 23, 2013
Location: Central Iowa
Posts: 720
Hey Darth, love your shows. Quick question...how does one come own those particular firearms and never have shot skeet?
Ruger480 is offline  
Old November 28, 2013, 11:31 PM   #5
ammo.crafter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 25, 2006
Location: The Keystone State
Posts: 1,967
skeet

Don't shoot skeet but do enjoy sporting clays and use my Remington 1100 in 20ga with one ounce 7 1/2 loads @ 1200f/s.
__________________
"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".
--Thomas Jefferson
ammo.crafter is offline  
Old November 28, 2013, 11:53 PM   #6
DarthVader
Member
 
Join Date: June 30, 2005
Posts: 58
Quote:
Quick question...how does one come own those particular firearms and never have shot skeet?
Just never did it. I have the XT Trap for trap; the Nova and Maxus for turkey hunting; and the 20 gauge for when my girlfriend (or a new shooter) comes along and wants to shoot trap. I look forward to learning to shoot skeet and probably buying another shot gun!

DV
DarthVader is offline  
Old November 29, 2013, 03:23 AM   #7
Arocholl
Member
 
Join Date: October 30, 2012
Posts: 42
I am going to shoot skeet for the first time:

If it were me I'd bring the Citori. Personally, I use a Beretta with 30 inch barrels and they are not to long for the skeet range.

But overall, bring whatever gun "feels" the best in your hands.

As far as chokes go, you'll want them to be relatively open. I use skeet chokes but plenty of people use cylinder and improved cylinder in there over unders.
Arocholl is offline  
Old November 29, 2013, 04:31 AM   #8
Virginian
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 11, 2012
Location: Williamsburg, Va.
Posts: 1,528
Either the Maxus or the 1100 should work fine. I cannot shoot anything but trap with a trap gun myself. I started with a 12 gauge 1100, but use a 20 better than 90% of the time now. There is less than a 1% difference in the top scores between 12 and 20 events.
__________________
What could have happened... did.
Virginian is offline  
Old November 29, 2013, 11:48 AM   #9
BigJimP
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 23, 2005
Posts: 13,195
In terms of chokes....IC is a little tight for skeet / I shoot Skeet chokes...but IC is ok.

XT is a little too heavy and too long to be versatile for Skeet...good Trap gun...but not really intended for games like Skeet or Sporting Clays or 5 stand where you have a lot more left to right / or right to left barrel movement....

In general, a Skeet / Sporting clays gun ...or a field gun....for me is a gun around 8 lbs, 30" barrels ---changeable screw in chokes ...so one of your semi-autos is just fine.../ there is no real disadvantage to a 20ga in Skeet ...a lot of us shoot 7/8 oz loads even in our 12ga's for skeet and Trap singles...

If a gun is too short or too light ....I tend to "slap" at targets vs making a smooth shot - with a smooth follow thru. But I'd go with a lighter shotgun before I'd go with a heavier shotgun like a 32" Citori XT( my own 32" XT is about 10 lbs )...so it just feels too clumsy to swing smoothly for Skeet or Sporting.../ while I could shoot the XT for skeet, if I had to -its not optimal.

I like my all around shotguns ( Skeet, upland birds, sporting ..) right around 8.5 lbs...and in O/U's with 30" barrels...I've tried the same style of gun at 8.5 lbs and 32" barrels like the Citori XS Special and while it was balanced - it just felt too long / so for an all around gun I go with a Citroi XS Skeet model in 30" barrels for my optimum all around gun ....if I go really light ( around 7 lbs ) then I go with a Benelli super sport model in 12ga with a 30" barrel ...the extra length of the 30" on that light semi-auto helps me smooth out my shot execution vs slapping at a target.

Remember a semi-auto with a 28" barrel is about the same overall length as an O/U with a 30" barrel ( receivers are longer on semi-autos and pump guns / than an O/U )....

Take the 20ga and a 3 or 4 boxes ...and the Maxus and 3 or 4 boxes ..and just have fun ( understand the clubs rules for safety ) but just focus on having some fun vs your score. 7/8 oz of 8's or 9's is a good Skeet load..in either a 12ga or a 20ga.../ if you can't find 7/8 oz loads for the 12ga then go with 1 oz loads ....

Last edited by BigJimP; November 29, 2013 at 02:15 PM.
BigJimP is offline  
Old November 29, 2013, 05:45 PM   #10
TomADC
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 14, 2009
Location: San Diego County
Posts: 795
Skeet either a 12 or 20 ga, 26-28 inch barrels and open choke IC works well.
My 12 & 20 are 26" barrels O/U and bored skeet 1 & 2 but they are old school bought back in 1970. My 28ga is a SKB O/U 28 inch barrels I use a ic & skeet choke.
__________________
US Navy Retired,NRA Life Member,SASS member, Time magazine's Person of the Year 2006!
TomADC is offline  
Old November 29, 2013, 08:14 PM   #11
seansean1444
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 28, 2010
Location: ithaca, new york (home of the ithaca shotguns!)
Posts: 395
i would personally try all of them and whatever you shoot best is what you should stick with for skeet. or take the gun you usually shoot best and im sure you will do fine
seansean1444 is offline  
Old November 29, 2013, 09:36 PM   #12
zippy13
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 23, 2008
Location: SoCal
Posts: 6,442
From the guns you've listed, I'd go with the Citori. Why? Because all of your other shotguns are stick guns. For your early outings on the Skeet field, you'll want the simplest gun possible -- a hinge gun. I've shot my trap O/U on the Skeet field, it works OK and the trap chokes vaporize Skeet targets. For your first outing, your 32-inch barrels will work fine. Screw in some Skeet chokes for optimum results. I've seen new shooters have tons-o-fun with a single shot gun -- they just shoot singles at the doubles presentations.

Before you shoot, I hope you have a chance to observe some good shooters. See how they position themselves on the various stations and where they start their guns. With your 32-inch barrels, your hold point should be about a quarter to a third of the way from the window to the center stake.

For Skeet, you want a shorter barrel so the gun can accelerate quickly, but you want a longer barrel so it will swing smoothly -- obviously barrel length selection is a compromise. Of my Skeet guns I prefer the O/Us with 28-inch barrels. Big Jim likes longer barrels, but he's bigger than me and doesn't shoot with tubes. All of my Skeet O/Us have Briley old-school tube sets, and when I shoot with the tubes out (12-ga events) I use a barrel weight. Back in the 60s, my first Skeet O/U had 26-inch barrels and I was never able to run a 100-straight with it. Years later, I got some 28-inch O/Us and started shooting 100s. These days 30-inch Skeet guns are popular. I got a 30-inch O/U a while back; but, for me, the swing is a little slow for the Skeet field.
zippy13 is offline  
Old November 29, 2013, 10:05 PM   #13
Fisher
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 14, 1999
Location: Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Posts: 329
Darth, generally speaking the shorter the barrel the better when it comes to skeet shooting. The distance that you will be shooting from station to station are much shorter then in trap. Not to mention that you will have several stations where the clay target will be traveling at almost a 90 degree angle to you and then directly over top of you and very close at other stations. So the wider your pattern the better when it comes to the variety of stations you will see. As for using a 12 or 20 gauge, a semi auto or O/U. That's' is just a personal preference. I have shot both and have no complaints about either.

Jim
__________________
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and passed on ... or we will spend our sunset years telling our children's children what it was like in the United States when men were free."
~ Ronald Reagan
Fisher is offline  
Old November 29, 2013, 10:13 PM   #14
DarthVader
Member
 
Join Date: June 30, 2005
Posts: 58
Thanks to everyone for the posts and useful comments.
DarthVader is offline  
Old November 29, 2013, 10:46 PM   #15
myfriendis410
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 30, 2011
Location: Lompoc California
Posts: 274
I too would suggest the 1100 for skeet. I will disagree that you want a light gun for skeet shooting. My personal skeet gun--a 682 with 28 inch tubes--weighs 9 lbs. 2 oz. without shells in it. It has numerous 100 straights and 1 world championship in the .410. 28 or 30 inch barrels are common on the skeet field and you rarely see a 26 inch tube. Light loads would be the preferred shell; use a 7/8 oz. in your 20 with either skeet or IC and you will be ahead of the game.
myfriendis410 is offline  
Old December 1, 2013, 11:45 AM   #16
Dreaming100Straight
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 3, 2013
Posts: 1,235
I only shoot a bit of skeet but the trend over the past few years has been to go from 26" to 28" barrels and now to 30".
Dreaming100Straight is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:08 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.08172 seconds with 8 queries