I recently got my PAL and, while I have shot plenty of rifles in my time, my shotgun experience is limited to shooting a few cans of dog food off a fence post back in high school. I do not plan on hunting with this gun, all I want it for is to shoot clays informally with my buddies. I also want to keep it cheap. Would the standard rem 870 express work well for this? How about the 18" barrel? Would the short barrel make shooting clays a lot harder? Also, how about that new 887 nitro mag remington? Any idea where I could even find that?
Allright you shotgun gurus, what do I want?
- Thread starter cam1936
- Start date
Clays don't fly like birds - they fly in relatively smooth curves (assuming less than gale force winds). As a result, a smooth swing is desirable for clay sports. Longer barrels have proven to offer that smoother swing (along with proper balance and other things, but you asked about barrel length). Dedicated trap guns are almost exclusively at least 30" long with many in the 32 - 34" range.
Pump guns have been used in competition and, in the hands of a practiced shooter, can be competitive. You'll find that most clay shooters prefer U/O's and semi-autos, especially when shooting trap doubles, sporting clays, or skeet.
Pump guns have been used in competition and, in the hands of a practiced shooter, can be competitive. You'll find that most clay shooters prefer U/O's and semi-autos, especially when shooting trap doubles, sporting clays, or skeet.
marlin1895gs
CGN Regular
- Location
- Medicine Hat / Southern Manitoba
why not get a cheaper O/U from trade ex?
If you’re looking for a strictly clay pidgon gun the ones you stated will work, not well though. Especially the 18’’ IC express. These are more of hunting shotguns oppose to skeet/ clays gun. THEY would work well if you got a different barrel for them. The 887 would work decent as you said you can’t find it though and you would need a tighter choke. I suggest a shotgun with a nice tight choke (full choke or close to) in any action you like pump, semi auto, break barrel o/u or sxs or single shot. Find the style you want, and then find the gage, and the choke. 12 or 20 gage doesn’t matter both will do clays just fine (20 gage is a little more expensive than the 12 so I would go 12 ammo wise.) Also a longer barrel helps as well.
So I have picked my style (I choose o/u, I picked my gage I chose 12) Now I Google all brands I can think of and find what suites me. This shotgun below is what I would choose since it’s not too expensive, at 600 bucks I could save up for that in a few months. Its classic looking, 30’’ barrel it comes with 2 of every choke that is manually put in with a wrench. I would go with 2 full chokes or a full choke and an improved modified choke. And wala! A gun that you can show up your friends with at clay pidgon shooting that doesn’t break the bank. (I’m competitive to a degree lol)
http://www.stoegerindustries.com/firearms/stoeger_condor_competition_and_combo.php This is what I came up with, now you follow the same procces up top and figure out what gun suites your clay pidgon needs! the question is what do you want?
send the link or post the idea your thinking of so we can all find out
http://www.wildfowlmag.com/tips_strategies/shotgun_062304/ this website might help aswell.
So I have picked my style (I choose o/u, I picked my gage I chose 12) Now I Google all brands I can think of and find what suites me. This shotgun below is what I would choose since it’s not too expensive, at 600 bucks I could save up for that in a few months. Its classic looking, 30’’ barrel it comes with 2 of every choke that is manually put in with a wrench. I would go with 2 full chokes or a full choke and an improved modified choke. And wala! A gun that you can show up your friends with at clay pidgon shooting that doesn’t break the bank. (I’m competitive to a degree lol)
http://www.stoegerindustries.com/firearms/stoeger_condor_competition_and_combo.php This is what I came up with, now you follow the same procces up top and figure out what gun suites your clay pidgon needs! the question is what do you want?
send the link or post the idea your thinking of so we can all find out http://www.wildfowlmag.com/tips_strategies/shotgun_062304/ this website might help aswell.
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You say you won't hunt with it, but sooner or later you will. Stay away from the short barrel mall ninja guns. That short barrel will be louder then Hell when you shoot it. It also will make shooting much more uncomfortable than it should be. The 887 is a duck gun, not a clays gun. If you are interested in that consider the 870. A Browning BPS is a nice gun too. The Benelli Nova might also interest you.
Gotta completely disagree with this one.
I bought a Lanber O/U for under 500 clams brand new and it ROCKS! Kills clays and kills birds...dead!
Love it.
It's not a Browning Cynergy by any stretch, but it's got decent wood and engravings of woodcock, pheasant and ducks.
hmm well stoeger is owned by benelli and as far as I’m concerned there both great shotgun brands...I have never handled the competition or the regular condor. I agree that yes some shotguns aren’t made to last. After saying that I’m sure there are a lot of people who have a condor and love it, and there’s a few who don’t, you always hear more negative criticism than positive about anything (generally).
http://www.lanberusa.com/
and after looking at the lanber website I would be jumping in my boots to get one of those puppies for under 500! plus I wonder if its still under the 5 year warranty? thats the best warranty I have seen or herd of from any firearm company.
http://www.lanberusa.com/
and after looking at the lanber website I would be jumping in my boots to get one of those puppies for under 500! plus I wonder if its still under the 5 year warranty? thats the best warranty I have seen or herd of from any firearm company.
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I bought it off an auction site. Valley Guns I think. I've been questioned where to get Lanbers in Canada, but it doesn't look easy. I think one person gave me the name of a shop that can get them, I'll have a look through my mail and see if I can find it.
Let me know how it works after 10,000 + rounds are through it.
What happens after 10 000 + rounds? Do the barrels fall off?
In all honesty...I probably won't put 10 000 rounds through it. In which case, I should be safe!!
Since no one else has said it, I'll say consider the Mossberg 500 12ga Field. Usually only about 300 brand new, 3'' chamber with 3 chokes and lock. I've had mine for over a year and put probably 300 rounds through it and its been flawless. I feel just as comfortable on the trap field as I do at the duck pond with it. There are many barrel options for it too, rifled and smoothbore in varying lengths, so you can do just about anything with it, from clays, to ducks to deer. The 535 is also a good choice, which is a 500 with a 3.5'' chamber.
I highly recommend the 500.
I highly recommend the 500.
I had a Condor Supreme, which was their top of the line field gun. It was junk from the get go. Literally! Before I ebven fired my first round out of it I found the extractor was not aligned properly and would skip over the rim on the shell brass. I had to ship it to Stoegers repair facility at my expense to have it repaired. While it was there, my brand new unfired shotgun recieved a scrath in both the barrels and the stock. When I got it back I hunted with it a few times but after only a few shots at ducks the inertia switch stopped working and it left me with a single shot. I took it back to the store I bought it at and traded it for an 870. When Win/64 say's you can't have a good, cheap double he's right. And I didn't consider $700 to be cheap. I learned my lesson, don't make the same mistake I did. I was out $350, just buy yourself a good pumpgun for the money you want to spend.
Lanbers are a Spanish gun and while not well known in North America they are a well-regarded entry level o/u in the U.K. It all depends how much shooting you do. A reasonably active clay target shooter will often shoot 10,000 rounds a year or more.
For informal clay fun at a low price, the Remington 870 Express is a good choice.
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