few questions on a sporting gun

[oneounceload]

Like Jim, I put away the flush ones - not that they aren't any good, but changing them is a PITA at times when you're ready to go on station. On my 1100 in 28 - the threads are a shallow square cut design - the only thing I have found that works on them is the teflon pipe tape.....I snug it down and it will stay put.

Remember, whatever chokes style you go with - they need to be removed and cleaned when you clean the gun - both the threads inside the barrel, the threads on the tubes and the inside of the tubes

[RoscoeC]

While I am certainly not anywhere near the august standing of a lot of the other shooters that have posted, I will throw in my two cents worth. I am at that intermediate level, and frankly at my age I may or may not move beyond that.

I was fortunate enough to find a very nice Beretta A390 used for $450.00. It has been flawless and it will be mine until I pass and my son gets it.

I spent a year shooting skeet or sporting clays just about every week (about 5000 to 6000 rounds a year). Lately I haven't been able to find the time for quite that much shooting. If I am ever able to stop working I will likely get more shooting time in and move on to a nice O/U.

Until then it is the A390. With a set of Cole Gunsmithing springs it can be set up to shoot anything including the lightest of loads.

[TexIndian]

I played most of the shotguns games seriously for quite a few years, but that's been more than 10 years back so I'm not up on the latest gear, etc.

Skeet was more of a fun game and cross-training thing for me, but O/Us were the dominant gun where I'm from. Some guys liked the lighter guns (Winchester 101) for quickness, but I was a heavy-gun guy (Browning) because of the smooth swing and follow through. (I will say I picked up a Browning Synergy Citori the other day and it was MUCH lighter than my 14-year old Sporting Clays Special with the same specs. It was also $3400. I put it back down.)

I started skeet shooting with a field grade Citori w/ 26" barrels. I never missed longer barrels until I moved over to the trap fields (and later sporting clays). I finally settled on 34" for trap singles and 30" for doubles and sporting clays. Once I got used to the 30" Citori, the old 26" hasn't seen much action, even at skeet. BTW, the longer barrels aren't for greater range, but to give you a longer sight line at the more distant targets.

I think you'll like the Browning. Not to bash any other guns, but the gun you've got will likely last longer than you do. After tens or hundreds of thousands of rounds each, mine are looser to break open, but there's an adjustment feature in my older forearms if it gets to be a problem (I haven't touched mine). I've spent a grand total of $15 in repairs on all of mine in over 25 years.

Here's what's still in the safe:


And here's a leather bag that only cost me several years and a few thousand bucks:

[SeekHer]

txag09 what everyone else has said but one thing to consider...

There is a huge difference in a 2K gun and a 1K gun but less so between a 3K and a 4K...I'd save for a few more months and pick up something in the 2.5K to 3K--you'd have a greater selection of much better guns...

[Waterengineer]

Tex:

Tell us about that adjustable rib on the trap gun. Is that an aftermarket item? I do not believe I have ever seen one of those on a "stock" Browning.

[willthecowboy]

make sure the spr310 has the treads for changing choke...otherwise worthless for skeet.

[SeekHer]

Waterengineer -- Tex: Tell us about that adjustable rib on the trap gun. Is that an aftermarket item? I do not believe I have ever seen one of those on a "stock" Browning.

Check the Browning site...

Stock gun!

[Hank15]

If I remember correctly, O/Us are favored for skeet because you can use two different chokes. i.e. full choke for the first shot, mod. for the second. I am not 100% on the choke selection, but it's something along those lines.

Another purpose of O/Us is quick second shots. Although most people who shoot for fun probably won't notice, some will find the autoloading action of a semiauto to be undesirable. Some people even claim that the heat dissipation from semiautos affect their vision.

Those two aside, I think everything else is just personal preference. Most dedicated trap guns will come with a monte carlo stock, but I've seen people swap it out for a field stock. Some people can follow through with the 28" Wingmaster light contour barrels, while others will screw up with any barrel shorter than 30".

Just try out some guns before you make your purchase.

Many people on the forum prefer the Beretta 39Xs while others are happy with their 1100s. I would try those two before any other gun. Also, if you are willing to spend $1400+, you can consider the Benellis. They seem to have their fair share of positive reviews.

Other guns such as Stoegers, Spartans, Mossbergs, etc. receive mixed reviews. If you're lucky, you may end up with a wonderful O/U for less than $500. If not, you may find yourself with an expensive blunt object.

If you want to stay under $2000 for an O/U, your choices are pretty much: 1. used B guns 2. Ruger 3. the ones I mentioned above.

[BigJimP]

Not a big deal Hank - but for Skeet / most of us use a "Skeet" choke or an " Improved Cyclinder" at the tightest - and on one of my guns I use a wide open "Cyclinder" choke. 90% of the time I shoot "Skeet" chokes -in all 4 gagues ( 12, 20, 28ga and .410 ) in both barrels.

For Trap ( from 16 - 20 yard line a Modified choke is probably the most common ) - from 20 - 24 yards probably an Improved Modified / then 25 - 27 yard line a Full choke ......

Sporting Clays of course depends on the shot / but IC or Mod are common chokes.

[oneounceload]

Yes, Hank - BigJim has it.....for skeet or other close targets, a skeet choke, even an IC is all you need; Full and Mod work better for trap doubles. Even FITASC, which is sporting clays on steroids, usually requires no more than a mod or improved mod at best...

Just shot 200 sporting today - one course is more open and longer shots - needed and IC/IC for 11 stations and an IC/LM for the other 3. Second course is more in the woods - was SK/IC the whole way.....All depends on the targets you're shooting...........

[Hank15]

Thanks for clarifying guys .

I chose not to start skeet because the majority of the shooters/gun store owners I've talked to told me that an O/U is essential to be successful in skeet.

So if choke selection isn't a major issue, why is it that O/Us are good/ideal for skeet?

[BigJimP]

O/U isn't essential to shoot anything - including Skeet .....

O/U's are common on registered Skeet fields - because the guns get a lot of use ( 8 - 10 boxes a week are common / or 10,000 shells a year )...and a good O/U will last for years with that kind of usage.

But that isn't to say you shouldn't shoot Skeet with a pump gun or a semi-auto if that is what you like / and the gun fits you.

Personally, my all around gun for Sporting Clays, Skeet and bird hunting is a Browning Citori O/U, ported barrels, 30" barrels, with a parallel comb and an adj comb insert. I like an all around gun to be around 8 1/2 lbs - so it swings smoothly - well balanced - and for me that is a Browning Citori XS Skeet model. I happen to have that 4 of these guns - one in a 12, 20, 28ga and a .410 / while 4 guns may not be optimal - it works for me.

But my backup Skeet gun, traveling bird gun, bad weather gun - is a Benelli Super Sport 12ga, 30" barrel, semi-auto. It does everything pretty well.

For Trap, I go to a longer and heavier gun - a Browning Citori XT O/U with 32" barrels, ported and around 10 lbs ( with a parallel, adj comb ). Trap has less left to right barrel movement - so a heavier gun is a plus. Its not that, the XT isn't ok for sporting, etc - but with 32" barrels and 10 lbs - its a little like trying to swing a big ole sewer pipe at hard crossing pairs like on station 4 in Skeet.... but it can still be done.

O/U's are reliable - if you can shove a shell in the chamber and close the gun - it will probably fire. You can have 2 different chokes. If you reload - your hulls don't hit the ground ( and get dirty and wet )..., triggers are good on the better guns, there are more stock options ( like adj parallel combs ) ......

[BigJimP]

Browning O/U's in my opinion are work horse guns - not spectacularly pretty guns / but decent good looking guns :

My primary bird hunting, Skeet and sporting clays Guns:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...1&d=1236031020

Some of these guns are 12 or 13 yrs old now / thousands of shells thru them / and hundreds of Quail and upland birds .... They are all 30" barrels / and the 20ga, 28ga and .410 are all identical in weight -built on the 20ga receiver. But they are all XS Skeet models. I really like all 4 of them / gives me some guns to train the grandkids with, etc .

------------

2 of my Trap guns:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...9&d=1243443556

The fancier one I actually bought used a few years ago for around $ 3K / it has a very special Turkish walnut stock upgrade and a Gra Coil recoil supression system in it. It shoots great and I really like it. The other one is just a stock Browning XT Trap - both are 32" barrels.

[BigJimP]

But if I didn't have the O/U's I'd still shoot Skeet with a Browning BPS pump gun ( BPS Hunter model, 28" barrel ) - and I happen to have them in 12ga and 20ga -- but they've served me well for many years.

If you can cycle a pump gun - without dropping the gun from your shoulder - keep it on line and cycle it and shoot it ... I can shoot a pump gun as fast as an O/U or a semi-auto. I have long arms - and it would be tough to do, if you didn't have long arms - but most men have the strength to do it / they just don't practice it. I'm 6'5" and 290 / but even some of my grandkids can cycle a pump gun ( at 14 or 15, some of them were 6' - and skinny - but still had enough strength to do it ) - a pump gun for the most part is around 7 1/2 lbs is all - so its not a big deal / and the technique will pay off when the Quail or Doves start flying around ....

[zippy13]

Originally Posted by Hank15

If I remember correctly, O/Us are favored for skeet because you can use two different chokes. i.e. full choke for the first shot, mod. for the second. I am not 100% on the choke selection, but it's something along those lines.

Another purpose of O/Us is quick second shots. Although most people who shoot for fun probably won't notice, some will find the autoloading action of a semiauto to be undesirable. Some people even claim that the heat dissipation from semiautos affect their vision.

In reality, Hank, O/Us are favored in Skeet because most folks shoot better scores with them. It's a combination of many things; and, at the top of the list is a smooth swing and next is probably reliability. If you're a serious shooter you'll probably reload. And, with reloads the autoloaders can be finicky. Personally, I have more confidence in my O/Us than in my autoloader; but, it has more to do with my reloads than the guns.

Don't let folks tell you that you can't shoot Skeet with an autoloader. Just screw in a cyl or skt choke and go for it.

[oneounceload]

Skeet shooters are usually major reloaders - having an O/U let's them capture their hulls. It also allows for some much needed weight-forward balancing aspects that help keep swings smooooooooooth.

Where an O/U really shines,IMO, is on the sporting/FITASC fields where two targets at at time may be presented in combinations that work better with one open and one tighter choke.

Another aspect is the visual safety look. With an O/U broken open ANYONE can tell, even from a distance that the gun is safe

[BigJimP]

Zippy and OneOunce both bring up good comments - and while many of us, who are trying to give questioners some honest input - none of us want to say you have to have a good O/U to be sucessful ......

But to some extent, no matter what your hobby or pastime is - woodworking you need good tools, golf you need clubs that fit, shooting you need guns that fit .... and quality never hurts. It isn't necessarily how much money you spend - its all the features - the adjustability of the gun (for cast, for length of pull, for point of impact, the weight, the smoothness of the trigger - and for many of us, that means a quality O/U with a good trigger, some adjustability ( unless we can afford a truly custom stock ), a gun that is heavy enough to swing fluidly and not be a big ole sewer pipe ( for me about 8 1/2 lbs ), etc .....

and whether Beretta, Browning, SKB fit you ..... or Perazzi, Blaser .... or Krieghoff or Kolar ..... it doesn't really matter.

When many of us were younger - we made do with other guns - 870 Wingmasters, Model 12's, Browning BPS - etc / and at some point, I wanted to get into a better gun, that fit me better, and would give me that 100,000 shell capability with no problems ...... but I've made some very bad choices of guns (based on appearance ) - and one was the Browning 525 series - great looking gun, but because of the drop at comb and heel being way off for me, it beat the daylights out of me - and I shot it mediocrely --- and moved onto guns that had the dimensions I need. So some of this is about all that ....

A young shooter that just wants an O/U - without really knowing what guns fit him or her - is probably wasting their money. Just wanting a Semi-Auto may be a waste of money unless it fits you ( and you have to pick up your hulls, etc )....

Gun Shops usually - know little or nothing about Gun Fit - and while I blame them a little / most customers don't take the time to educate themselves - they just want what looks cool, and tell me the price .... and the gun stores sell customers what they want... If you think you want a different gun - hang around and talk to some of the better registered Skeet, Trap and Sporting Clays shooters at your local clubs - ask them what they're shooting - why did they buy it - ask them about fit - ask them if you could put a few shells thru their gun under their supervision .... you'd be really surprised how helpful people will be, if they know you're serious.

But don't feel like you have to go that route - a good pump gun can be made to fit you - ( with add on pads, etc ) and you should be confident enough to go anywhere with it - be courteous, be a gentleman - and shoot Skeet, Sporting Clays, Trap, etc / don't get too hung up on brands and the look of a gun. Its great to have nice guns / and my hope is that everyone, at one point in their life, can spend as much money as they want on any gun they want - and as many as they want ..... and sometimes waiting and saving your money is a smart option...

But please don't just look at all O/U's as the same ......learn about Point of Impact, How to Fit a gun, etc too. It'll save you a ton of money / and make the shooting sports more fun.

[zippy13]

Another aspect is the visual safety look. With an O/U broken open ANYONE can tell, even from a distance that the gun is safe

A point well noted, oneounceload.
I think most experienced shooters are much more comfortable with newbies shooting O/Us than stick guns. One of my least favorite sounds is that of a pump being cycled when the shooter isn't on station -- it's a warning that the shooter isn't totally familiar with his gun and/or the safety rules.