12 Ga for Sporting Clay's around $1000 CAD

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camerondtaylor

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Hi Everyone,
I bought a Winchester SXP long barrel as a starter shotgun to see if I liked sporting clays and hunting. Went duck hunting once but really enjoyed sporting clays. I am looking to upgrade and as much as I'd love an O/U I'm looking for suggestions on 12Ga shotguns for sporting clays around the $1000CAD mark. I'd prefer to purchase new as I have a stack of Bass Pro gift cards.
Thanks for the help.
 
Remington 1100 with a rem choke barrel would be a great entry level sporting gun. IMHO. If you wanna move into an O/U then Brownings are about the start point for guns worth going the distance.
 
The 1400 and the 1100 were ok in there day but there day has come and gone . Sx3 or sx4 bertta 300 outlander all 3 are excellent guns with quality and reliability .
 
Let the flames begin, but if you've ever shot sporting clay's behind a 3" magnum 1100 Remington you will know why they are nicknamed the 550. (because they work half the time)
Nothing wrong with an 1100 gun built for target loads but not my first choice even there.
For what you'll spend on an 1100 buy a used Citori with invector chokes and then build from there.
 
I have little experience with new over unders at this price point but I know that you can get a CZ over under or a Ruger Red Label for around that price. I believe that Ruger has discontinued the Red Label but there is still inventory in the stores. CZ o/u, I believe are made in Turkey and Ruger in the US.

Going down a couple of hundred dollars, you get your Churchills, Stoegers and Mossberg Silver reserves and they are OK for the hunting and the occasional range visit but any serious clay, tends to loosen the action to the point where it would rattle and I don't believe you can repair them.

My only real advice is to stay away from the Mavericks o/u's and Baikil's, they are super cheap for a reason and you will never get your money back out of them. Too bad you are not buying used because I know of a few exceptional used o/u's in that price range. I just sold a Citori for $1000 and gave a Winchester 101 to my son's fiancé.
 
I wouldn't buy any O/U in that price range unless it was a good condition used Browning or Beretta. None of them will reliably hold up to the high volume shooting that a typical clay shooter will shoot. No doubt there are a few individual examples that have shot many rounds but on the whole they don't last very long.

For under 1K I think the SX4 is hard to beat.

I'm a fan of the 1100. I own 3 of them at the moment with the newest being an 1100 Competition that's about $400.00 over the OP's budget. I'm one of the lucky ones I guess as I've never had a single problem with any that I've ever owned (not even the 20GA with over 20K through it). Mine are all target guns, so they're made for use with a light load. Many 3" guns don't like the light target loads regardless of who made it.
 
$1050 out the door for a Akkar Churchill O/U. It's gorgeous came with Chokes and works great. It took a bit to break in the action as it was tighter than a Nun. But after about 4 boxes of ammo it's one sweet shotgun.
 
philhut said:
$1050 out the door for a Akkar Churchill O/U. It's gorgeous came with Chokes and works great. It took a bit to break in the action as it was tighter than a Nun. But after about 4 boxes of ammo it's one sweet shotgun.
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If it loosened up that much after 100 shots, how loose will it be after 10,000 rounds? How about 25,000 rounds? My Brownings were a little stiff when new, and it took a couple of thousand rounds for them to wear in.
 
I hear you about the gift cards but do yourself a favour. Figure out whether Brownings or Berettas fit you and then buy a used O/U from them. You will NEVER regret it.
 
I was recently in the same position as you. Shooting an old fixed full choke wingmaster for clays and trap. I took sound advice and shoulder many O/U. Beretta silver pigeons and browning citori lightening fit me well. Couldn't come up with the 2k+ for new. Found a used citori hunter with four chokes in my price range that hasn't been shot much. It should be in my hands next week. My advice is to be patient and consider a lightly used O/U "B" gun. Or keep saving and buy a new quality O/U. They are heirloom guns for a good reason.
 
Whatever you do don’t buy a cheap O/U or sxs if your after a gun that will be solid for your whole lifetime. Browsing citori or beretta silver pigeon would be as “cheap” as I’d go lol so just save up for a used one and you won’t regret it
 
DOUGLAS D said:
Let the flames begin, but if you've ever shot sporting clay's behind a 3" magnum 1100 Remington you will know why they are nicknamed the 550. (because they work half the time)
Nothing wrong with an 1100 gun built for target loads but not my first choice even there.
For what you'll spend on an 1100 buy a used Citori with invector chokes and then build from there.
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Only because the owner is too stupid to know you have to change the barrel for light loads like clays when using a vintage 1100 mag. The mag barrel was never ported for less than heavy loads so he is lucky 1/2 are cycling. There is no issues with the modern G3 design 1100 3" Have had them since 1965 in every gauge and there are no 550 in my batch
Cheers
 
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If it were me I would look seriously at a used gun. It would allow OP to stretch into a lightly used browning, or pick up one of the many lightly used 1100’s that go for $500-700 and then I’d blow all the rest of my $ and gift cards on ammo and target fees at the club.
 
Personally I find pump guns to be far more fun, especially on doubles and pairs.

11-87 and Auto 5 are my semis of choice, when I choose them.

And I have a Citori 725 Sporting. Used it once last year. Might dust it off a few times this year. Might not.



Don't go into it thinking that you NEED more gun than the SXP - it will do the job

But do buy something different if you've got the urge to (naturally)
 
The first time I saw this thread in new posts the one immediately underneath was WTS Winchester 101 mod and IC excellent condition $1000. I thought "these two guys need to get together". Yes there's the matter of fit but if it doesn't work out for you all that would be lost was cost of shipping. In this case probably could buy the 101 and if not happy then sell for $1100 and more than get your money back. Last time I bought new was 40 years ago. Didn't know better. Paying tax and depreciation vs. used but as new condition is for other people, not me.
 
I have to agree the OP can buy a much better used gun for a $1000 than what he can buy new for that amount . Again fit should be the determineing factor .my advice is if he wants new save up continue to shoot the sxp and try to shoot as many different gun as possible .
 
Have my first semi auto a benelli m2. Put a small box through it and shoots nice but for my uses I feel like a pump gun is my best option. Prob gonna let the benelli go soon
 
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