Skeet Gun - O/U or Semi-Auto?

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ColinB23

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Hi guys, new to CGN.

I currently own a 12 ga Beretta O/U trap gun but have recently fallen in love with the game of Skeet as well! Of course my trap gun won't work for skeet (pattern, barrel length and Chokes M&F) so I realized that I need to invest in a Skeet gun.

My question is this: should I go for an O/U or Semi Auto? I would also consider using this gun for 5 Stand and possibly hunting water foul someday. Any Advice? Preferably 12 ga.

Most of the guys at my club use expensive O/U's...but semi's are allowed. I'd prefer to purchase a good quality USED gun over a lesser quality brand new gun of the same price. I've got a budget of $1,000.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and recommendations.

Cheers
 
With your budget in mind the winner is a semi-auto hands down.
For $1k you can buy a great used semi, but finding a worthwhile used o/u will be tough.

The two cons of the semi vs an over under are the choice of only one choke and having to pick up your hulls.
However for skeet many people shoot with skeet/skeet chokes (or similar cyl/cyl etc...) so that isn't really a big deal.
Picking up hulls isn't that big of a deal unless bending over is difficult for you?

Even for 5-stand, most courses I've seen set can easily be shot with a single choke.

A used Beretta 391 would do the trick for you, or a browning gold or something similar to that. I think I saw a Gold on the EE just the other day.

Best of luck and happy shooting.
 
If your budget is around $1,000 you'll probably want to stick to a semi-auto. I own a Beretta AL391 Urika 2 just for the sake of having a semi-auto. It's fun and does the trick for skeet.

If you're ever going to get serious into skeet though you'll eventually want to invest in a over-under.
 
Most guys I shoot with, shoot an O/U, a few shoot semi's, myself and 3 other members shoot a pump. Like any of the shotgun sports, the action is by far less important than fit. In the past 6 months I've short shucked my Benelli exactly twice while shooting skeet, yes it cost me a target each time, but it's rare for me to miss either target shooting doubles with the Benelli. Hitting singles on 4 and 8 are more of an issue for me. If a Beretta 303, 391, or 400 fits, by all means don't hesitate to pick one up, also don't rule out a Benelli Montefeltro or Ultralight, Remington 1100 or 11-87 sporting or the Winchester/Browning twins.
 
Go for fit over action.
391 is hard to beat but Winchester 101 and browning come up quite reasonable. Charles Daly also made nice guns that sell used for a decent price
 
Used beretta 390s and 391s don't come up for sale that often. Basically they were damn good guns and no one wants to sell them. Even the old 302 and 303 model are commanding relatively high prices.

BUT as luck would have it you can buy the A300 new for about 900$. Same gun as the 391 just made in the US - meaning it's cheaper because they avoid heavy import duties.
 
Haven't shot skeet with it yet, but I've started shooting trap with a Browning Maxus. Also got a cheap shell catcher that works very well. No picking up empties.

ht tp://www.amazon.ca/Birchwood-Casey-12-Gauge-Semi-Auto-Shotgun/dp/B001U9YK8I/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399169009&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=shotgun+shel+cathcer
 
If you like your Beretta and shoot it well, consider having screw chokes installed by someone like Kolar or Briley. The other alternative is buying another barrel and having it fitted to your gun.
 
Briley does through lawry shooting sports, they handle all the import/export issues with the barrels for you once it's shipped to them. Not cheap but less than a new gun.
 
On your budget I would look at the Stoeger M3500, made by the beretta/Beneli Group, inertia driven action, removable chokes, run around 700 bucks which leaves you money for ammo.
 
Kevan said:
Would a Benelli Cordoba in 20 ga. be too light for shooting skeet ?
Click to expand...

I shoot non competitive skeet with a 6lb 5oz Browning Silver Hunter 20 ga . so I am going to say no .I believe the cordoba is in the same weight range .
 
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The cheapest option would be just to shorten your barrel by a few inches, and then replace the front bead.

Voila; 26 inch barrel and cylinder bore chokes.

Done and done.
 
for semi auto, beretta 391, or any sporting model, urika//urika 2. They are awesome soft shooters.
I had one for a while. The problem with semis is that there are not 100% reliable, you get a failure to feed every once in a while, is the nature of the beast, and in a competition this is not good, hence, the over unders are king.
 
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