Trap & Skeet - Mossberg

skeetman · January 6, 1999, 01:34 PM

I currently own a Mossberg pump-action 835 Ulti-Mag 12 guage and use it for hunting and trap & skeet shooting. It's a great gun but not very practical for trap & skeet. I've had my eye on a Beretta Silver Pigeon 12 guage (it's an over-under), which costs about $1,200. Given the size of the investment, I'd like to make sure it's going to be the most bang for the buck (pardon the pun). I've noticed a lot of guys at the range using semi-autos and was wondering whether I should buy one of them instead?

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There's no such thing as second place...only the first to loose!!

Rob Pincus · January 6, 1999, 01:45 PM

The best buy for all kinds of Clays shooting has got to be the Beretta AL 390. You can get them for about $650 if you shop around and you will never go wrong.

My wife shoots one, and many people that we have gotten started in clays shooting havebought them. I know of teo couples who got matching sets of 390s for Xmas this past year.
I suggest the 26 inch barrel.
If I wasn't set on shooting my Benelli just for the strange looks I get, I'd have one of these puppies.
If you want to spend an extra few hundred bucks, send it to Ballistics Specialties for a back-bore and a set of screw in chokes, then you'll really have the bees knees as they say.

------------------
-Essayons

K80Geoff · January 7, 1999, 10:24 PM

As a diehard O/U shooter I respectfully disagree with the suggestion that the AL390 is the best gun for clays. Of course I am biased and probably pigheaded about my choice of gun. The Beretta silver Pigeon is a fine gun, I owned a 28 ga silver pigeon and it worked just fine, although it had 26" barrels and was too short for me. I sold it to a buddy after he twisted my arm and he shoots it better than he shoots his Beretta 303 in 12 ga. The type of gun you shoot is a personal choice and everybody looks for different things. An O/U has many advantages and will be less prone to breakage and jamming than a gas gun. But gas guns kick less and are generally lighter and easier to mount and swing. I would suggest you arrange to shoot both the Silver Pigeon and a Beretta 390 prior to purchasing to get a feel for how the gun suits you. (This by the way is advice
that I have not followed and this has cost me considerable sums of money buying guns that I eventually found weren't suited to me).Most ranges will rent guns for a day and you should be able to get a feel for the guns after a day of shooting. Of course I would like to ban all gas guns from clays ranges but then I am biased.

Rob Pincus · January 7, 1999, 10:30 PM

Anybody with K80 in front of their name is automatically disqualified from a discussion involving "bang for the buck"

I consider the AL390 to be the best buyin sporting shotguns not the best gun.

Give me a Mach III for trap. A Krieghof for Skeet. A Browning Slug gun for deer hunting. A Citori for Sporting Clays. A Benneli Super Black Eagle for waterfowl and a Benelli M3 for everything else....
huh?
what?
oh, I need to pay for them?.... okay.. I'll take an AL390

.

------------------
-Essayons

K80Geoff · January 7, 1999, 10:59 PM

You only need two guns, a K80 for clays and an 870 for everything else. Plus plenty of barrels, stocks, choke tubes, sub gauge tubes etc. Besides, after paying for the K80 I cant afford anything else. I hate sharing a sporting clays butt with gas guns, they throw good hulls all over the ground and distract me while I am peering over the shooters shoulder trying to figure out how to take the shot. The only exception here is anyone who shoots a 28 gauge auto, those hulls are hard to come by.

Rob Pincus · January 8, 1999, 12:06 AM

I never figured it out before.. you guys are anal about the hulls because you can't afford shells after buying $5000 shotguns is that it?

You're probably a member of the ATA, aren't ya?

I love you guys. Could you even stand to shoot trap on the same line with a guy who shoots a 20" Benneli with a pistol grip, extended mag tube and a side saddle? (and breaks 22/25)

Just teasin, of course... If you're in the right part of the country please bring your K80 to the charity shoot in Ohio next summer!

K80Geoff · January 9, 1999, 01:42 AM

TRAPSHOOTER! Now i'm insulted

. The only time I shoot trap is when the sporting clays range is closed and I'm tired of skeet. Besides, I always shoot low gun and this drives the ATA guys nuts

. As to the hulls, I only pick up 28 ga and Nitro 27's. After all, one has to maintain a certain amount of dignity when you shoot a K80

.

Rob Pincus · January 9, 1999, 01:57 AM

God Bless ya! Now you simply must attend the charity shoot. (but don't touch the hulls.. we raffle them off for the charity after the shoot, but we supply the ammo, so the shooters don't lose anything).
100 targets of Sporting Clays on one of the best courses I've seen.
50 targets of 5 position Wobble trap ( a unique and challenging version of wobble trap)
50 targets of 5 stand.

We have 2 man flurry and trap side events, not to mention a pistol clays (using a .410 revolver) event and a BB-gun event.

There's no metalic shooting allowed at the club, or we'd do more.

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January 6, 1999, 01:34 PM	#1
skeetman Junior Member Join Date: January 6, 1999 Location: Fairfax, VA, USA Posts: 8	I currently own a Mossberg pump-action 835 Ulti-Mag 12 guage and use it for hunting and trap & skeet shooting. It's a great gun but not very practical for trap & skeet. I've had my eye on a Beretta Silver Pigeon 12 guage (it's an over-under), which costs about $1,200. Given the size of the investment, I'd like to make sure it's going to be the most bang for the buck (pardon the pun). I've noticed a lot of guys at the range using semi-autos and was wondering whether I should buy one of them instead? ------------------ There's no such thing as second place...only the first to loose!!

January 6, 1999, 01:45 PM	#2
Rob Pincus Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Hotels Posts: 3,668	The best buy for all kinds of Clays shooting has got to be the Beretta AL 390. You can get them for about $650 if you shop around and you will never go wrong. My wife shoots one, and many people that we have gotten started in clays shooting havebought them. I know of teo couples who got matching sets of 390s for Xmas this past year. I suggest the 26 inch barrel. If I wasn't set on shooting my Benelli just for the strange looks I get, I'd have one of these puppies. If you want to spend an extra few hundred bucks, send it to Ballistics Specialties for a back-bore and a set of screw in chokes, then you'll really have the bees knees as they say. ------------------ *-Essayons*

January 7, 1999, 10:24 PM	#3
K80Geoff Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 1998 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 3,639	As a diehard O/U shooter I respectfully disagree with the suggestion that the AL390 is the best gun for clays. Of course I am biased and probably pigheaded about my choice of gun. The Beretta silver Pigeon is a fine gun, I owned a 28 ga silver pigeon and it worked just fine, although it had 26" barrels and was too short for me. I sold it to a buddy after he twisted my arm and he shoots it better than he shoots his Beretta 303 in 12 ga. The type of gun you shoot is a personal choice and everybody looks for different things. An O/U has many advantages and will be less prone to breakage and jamming than a gas gun. But gas guns kick less and are generally lighter and easier to mount and swing. I would suggest you arrange to shoot both the Silver Pigeon and a Beretta 390 prior to purchasing to get a feel for how the gun suits you. (This by the way is advice that I have not followed and this has cost me considerable sums of money buying guns that I eventually found weren't suited to me).Most ranges will rent guns for a day and you should be able to get a feel for the guns after a day of shooting. Of course I would like to ban all gas guns from clays ranges but then I am biased.

January 7, 1999, 10:30 PM	#4
Rob Pincus Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Hotels Posts: 3,668	Anybody with K80 in front of their name is automatically disqualified from a discussion involving "bang for the buck" I consider the AL390 to be the best buyin sporting shotguns not the best gun. Give me a Mach III for trap. A Krieghof for Skeet. A Browning Slug gun for deer hunting. A Citori for Sporting Clays. A Benneli Super Black Eagle for waterfowl and a Benelli M3 for everything else.... huh? what? oh, I need to pay for them?.... okay.. I'll take an AL390 . ------------------ *-Essayons*

January 7, 1999, 10:59 PM	#5
K80Geoff Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 1998 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 3,639	You only need two guns, a K80 for clays and an 870 for everything else. Plus plenty of barrels, stocks, choke tubes, sub gauge tubes etc. Besides, after paying for the K80 I cant afford anything else. I hate sharing a sporting clays butt with gas guns, they throw good hulls all over the ground and distract me while I am peering over the shooters shoulder trying to figure out how to take the shot. The only exception here is anyone who shoots a 28 gauge auto, those hulls are hard to come by.

January 8, 1999, 12:06 AM	#6
Rob Pincus Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Hotels Posts: 3,668	I never figured it out before.. you guys are anal about the hulls because you can't afford shells after buying $5000 shotguns is that it? You're probably a member of the ATA, aren't ya? I love you guys. Could you even stand to shoot trap on the same line with a guy who shoots a 20" Benneli with a pistol grip, extended mag tube and a side saddle? (and breaks 22/25) Just teasin, of course... If you're in the right part of the country please bring your K80 to the charity shoot in Ohio next summer!

January 9, 1999, 01:42 AM	#7
K80Geoff Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 1998 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 3,639	TRAPSHOOTER! Now i'm insulted . The only time I shoot trap is when the sporting clays range is closed and I'm tired of skeet. Besides, I always shoot low gun and this drives the ATA guys nuts . As to the hulls, I only pick up 28 ga and Nitro 27's. After all, one has to maintain a certain amount of dignity when you shoot a K80 .

January 9, 1999, 01:57 AM	#8
Rob Pincus Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Hotels Posts: 3,668	God Bless ya! Now you simply must attend the charity shoot. (but don't touch the hulls.. we raffle them off for the charity after the shoot, but we supply the ammo, so the shooters don't lose anything). 100 targets of Sporting Clays on one of the best courses I've seen. 50 targets of 5 position Wobble trap ( a unique and challenging version of wobble trap) 50 targets of 5 stand. We have 2 man flurry and trap side events, not to mention a pistol clays (using a .410 revolver) event and a BB-gun event. There's no metalic shooting allowed at the club, or we'd do more.