Browning Little Skeeters

ebruder

ebruder

CGN Regular
Rating - 99.5%
218   1   1
Location
Kingston
Yes i have. From what i've found , you'd be very surprised at the quality of pattern that you get.My skeeter tubes are 12 ga. to 20 ga.,28 ga. and .410. They fit in the chamber and pattern through the regular 12 ga. choke. Other than the expense of buying shells for the smaller gauges, they are a ton of fun to shoot.
 
They're an inexpensive way for recreational shooters to dabble in the sub gauges while using your 12 ga gun. You'll never see a serious shooter use them but yes they work. The 12 to 20 work quite well....12 to 28, not too badly. Never tried the 12 to 410 but have heard they don't pattern too well. I personally know of a 20 gauge "concurrent event" world championship that was won with home made 12/20's many years ago....I think before Browning even started making the Lil Skeeters. Two targets were missed but definitely not because of the short tubes. So yes....they do work...better than some might expect.

They are usually available "off the shelf" at Quinte Outdoor Sports in Belleville.

They are dirty to use. There tends to be quite a bit of "blow back" and carbon build up on them which will get your hands filthy if used the way they're designed.

The way they're designed, they have to be removed from the gun in order to remove the spent shell after firing. This is where all the crud on the hands comes from.

I have modified mine so that they stay in my O/U when I play with them resulting in less handling and less carbon getting on my hands. It's a quick easy mod that you can do in 5-10 minutes.

PM me if you'd like more info.
 
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I have barrel inserts, full length, in an Ithaca lewis sxs DOM 1903 damascus, 12 to 28 ga. and yes they are very expensive. They're from Briley, the best made and that's why the price goes up. The skeeters , ofcourse, will shoot a less effective pattern out of a 12 ga. choke, as the gauge gets smaller. Someone said "no serious shooter" would use them.B.S. They are fun to shoot, dirty hands and all. Skeeters are priced very reasonably for the average shooter who wants to play with something different.
 
Someone said "no serious shooter" would use them.B.S.

That someone was me....and by "serious shooter"........I meant serious skeet shooter who shoots registered targets.

30+ years of shooting Skeet and I've yet to see anyone ever use "shorty" inserts in a tournament. EXCEPT.....for that world title that was won in 1985.....by a young shooter who didn't have the money for a fancy expensive gun or full length Briley or Kolar tube set. The ONLY time I've ever seen short tubes used in tournament....and they were home made at that.

Skeeters are priced very reasonably for the average shooter who wants to play with something different.

Exactly my point....rarely if ever will they be seen being used by a "serious shooter" in a tournament.
 
Neera said:
Someone said "no serious shooter" would use them.B.S.

That someone was me....and by "serious shooter"........I meant serious skeet shooter who shoots registered targets.

30+ years of shooting Skeet and I've yet to see anyone ever use "shorty" inserts in a tournament. EXCEPT.....for that world title that was won in 1985.....by a young shooter who didn't have the money for a fancy expensive gun or full length Briley or Kolar tube set. The ONLY time I've ever seen short tubes used in tournament....and they were home made at that.

Skeeters are priced very reasonably for the average shooter who wants to play with something different.

Exactly my point....rarely if ever will they be seen being used by a "serious shooter" in a tournament.
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I realize that they aren't used in serious clay shooting. I didn't mean to raise your hackles. I've shot skeet for a long time as well. My point was ,is that they're a blast to shoot and yes you are correct, the briley full length tubes, which can run close to $1000.00 are out of reach of most shooters young and older.I did it as a rebuild project, but it ain't cheap. Anyway have a good one, and powder all the clays you can!!
 
They work O.K.

With 12 to 20 & 28, through a regular Skeet or I/Cyl choke

With 12 to 410, through Modified.

At something like $ 60 bucks a pair, they certainly are "affordable" ...
about the same as a pair of OEM choke tubes !

I wouldn't count on them as being equivalent to a conventional Briley or Kolar "tube set" , but they're O.K. for infrequent recreational use. For about
4 times the price, the Briley "Sidekicks" are even better than the little mSkeeters, but still not up to the grind of competitive shooting.
 
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