Criteria For Choosing A First Shotgun
- Thread starter stubblejumper
- Start date
A clayonly gun I picked up an old Browning skeet o/u. I’ve also used a number of field guns. I also used a sxs 12” barreled at the same Camrose range. It was a lot of fun (loud and my score suffered). There are a lot of nice guns used at this range, he needs to try some and see what fits.
leveractionjunkie
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Kamloops, BC
The one thing I must admit that I personally underestimated was the importance of a clay specific gun. I began shooting clays with a light field gun as a younger dumber version of myself. I shot that O/U well on live birds and for a round of clays but much more and the scores started suffering. I shot a 300 bird sporting clays event with that gun and will never do so again. The fatigue of cumulative recoil, light gun, juicy factory target loads made for a crap last half of the shoot. Just donated my $ and set my sporting clays game back a bit.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
That's a good point that a lot of people don't consider, light guns produce recoil and recoil produces fatigue and flinches. Field guns are light for carrying a lot and shooting a little, dedicated target guns are heavy for shooting a lot and carrying a little.
Ammo is a consideration for recoil as well, light target loads won't wear you down like heavy handicap loads will and there is no need for heavy loads on the majority of target presentations.
For the amount of concern that gets expressed about recoil, it's amazing to me how few people really make much of an attempt to understand the factors involved. "My wife wanted a gun so I got her a 20 gauge....that will be soft on recoil, right?" LOL
First gun that was bought was a Winchester Sx3, bought because it looked cool in its mossy oak duck blind camo and synthetic feel. Tried a Mossberg 835 which do fit me well. Then found Winchester 1300s fit me the best. So I bought 4 of them. Lol. One for every discipline. Traded the Sx3 off for a Franchi affinity to a fella on here and that franchi fit and shot amazing but needed a few bucks and had to sell it. When I had a few bucks back I wanted a classic Winchester gun but I hate the look of boring plain barrels so I waited for a Winchester model 12 heavy duck with solid rib to show up!
That fits great too.
Got tons of other guns too but the guns that fit best shoot the best and kill the best.
I gave up caring if a gun looks cool as long as it fits and hits what I point at.
That fits great too.
Got tons of other guns too but the guns that fit best shoot the best and kill the best.
I gave up caring if a gun looks cool as long as it fits and hits what I point at.
leveractionjunkie
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Kamloops, BC
Unreal how many times that very line comes up when I talk shotguns either at work etc or newer shooters at the club. I generally mention that if a person wants light recoil, they should try 20ga loads in a heavy 12ga. 3/4oz handloads doing 1150fps make for enjoyable shooting sessions. If I bump the 3/4oz loads to 1250fps or so then they’ll cycle my versamax, which is my duck gun, and recoil is more like a .223.
Heavy guns, light loads,good gun fit and if possible a gas gun can all but remove recoil from the equation.
Grab a dictionary, and then look up the definition of tactical'.
I remember a multigun match where almost everybody (except one) had shotguns with black plastic stocks, short barrels, and extended magazines. On my squad, however, one guy didn't; 'that guy', he had brought a standard-capacity magazine, polished blue, 28 or 30 tightly-choked inches of it, and shiny walnut. Many laughed at him (including me). After the shooting started, however, it was clear that 'that guy' had bought the better gun for the game. It had the right attributes, it was the 'right touch' for the circumstances. (Grab a dictionary, and then look up the definition of tactical'.)
On that day, the 'tactical' shotgun wore walnut.
I remember a multigun match where almost everybody (except one) had shotguns with black plastic stocks, short barrels, and extended magazines. On my squad, however, one guy didn't; 'that guy', he had brought a standard-capacity magazine, polished blue, 28 or 30 tightly-choked inches of it, and shiny walnut. Many laughed at him (including me). After the shooting started, however, it was clear that 'that guy' had bought the better gun for the game. It had the right attributes, it was the 'right touch' for the circumstances. (Grab a dictionary, and then look up the definition of tactical'.)
On that day, the 'tactical' shotgun wore walnut.
I spent a few years sizing up my first shotgun, and I still have it to this day. (Tongue in cheek) Actually, it is the old Tobin double 12 that my Dad used, and I inherited when he passed on. I owned a single Cooey 84 12 for a brief period, but used the old Tobin for many years. The old pelter fit me just fine, kicked like a mule, and drew blood on my traffic finger every fall from the sharp trigger guard. I can still hear the sound made when Dad would fish out a couple of Imperial Special Long Range paper shells from the box beside him, get out of the car, drop them into the Tobin and close it up.
blasted_saber
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- A blue part of Ontario
My grandfather gave me an 870 Wingmaster with the original 30" full choke barrel, a 28" remchoke barrel, and a 21" slug barrel for my first gun.
I dont need to ever buy another shotgun.
I dont need to ever buy another shotgun.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
It seems to be something you learn later in life.
Years ago I picked up a beautiful little Beretta Bl-3 in 20 gauge with 26 inch barrels from a guy who said it was his wife's gun and she didn't use it anymore, it weighed 5 lbs 1 oz and I figured it would be a prefect upland bird gun, love at first sight you might say! I was shooting a lot in those days and wasn't particularly recoil sensitive but when I tried the gun out at the skeet range I just about couldn't finish the round because it was beating me up so badly! Pulling the trigger was absolutely painful before finishing one box of target rounds. I reasoned that it would probably be fine for hunting because one normally doesn't fire many rounds and you don't notice recoil when hunting right, but the first time I pulled the trigger shooting at a bird I realized our love affair was over and the gun had to go. No wonder that guy's wife didn't shoot the gun any more, the poor woman.... That 20 gauge kicked far worse than any 12 gauge I've ever shot!
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
My first gun was passed down to me from my father....a 16g Beretta SxS. Because of the non-tox rules becoming mandatory, I was faced with the need to purchase a new firearm as I was afraid that I was going to damage the Beretta by shooting steel loads through its full and fuller chokes. Fortunately the gun was able to shoot many a rounds of steel 4’s and 2’s with no ill effects. But the time had come to move on to something that was more appropriate and something that fit me better then the Beretta. I decided to go with a semi with interchangeable chokes as I felt it was more versatile for my hunting needs. As such, I settled on a Browning Silver hunter with 30” barrels. The gun fit like a glove, was backed by a great reputation and only set me back $699 new from Bass Pro. To date, it was one of the best firearm decisions that I’ve made. That gun is still one of my favourites and something that I’ll likely shoot until the day I die
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
One of the mist fantastic guns I ever owned was a 20 gauge BL3!
I shot it very well , and a friend took a shine to itvas well.
i ended up trading him fir a GSP pup for my son , but when I asked a few years later if he still had it, he said he sold it because the recoil was off the scale!
Loved that little gun!
Cat
leveractionjunkie
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Kamloops, BC
^^^+1 on that^^^
I’ve packed 7 & 8 lb guns up and down some reasonably steep #### in central B.C. pursuing Blue Grouse and Chukar and I’m still here none the worse for wear. When I hear people talk about how this or that shotgun is better for this or that specially cause it’s light weight I tune right out. There are times a lighter shotgun is nice, like hiking after the two species mentioned, but I’ll still take a heavier gun that i shoot well over a lighter one that bothers me recoil wise.
The one I outright laugh at is the lighter weight duck guns. I mean fml they hardly even get carried.
Weight doesn't worry me in the duck blind, but for a walking about gun I want light, around 6 pounds in a 20 gauge Upland gun. We are all different in our reaction to recoil. Fit of the gun matters for recoil tolerance.
I can shoot 75 to 100 rounds of 7/8 ounce target loads on the Sporting Clays course with my light upland guns, no problem.
Having said that, I am no fan of 3 1/2 inch waterfowl loads in an 8 pound gun. There is a limit to my recoil tolerance. A box of 3 inch high velocity Steel waterfowl loads is all the fun I want in one day.
I can shoot 75 to 100 rounds of 7/8 ounce target loads on the Sporting Clays course with my light upland guns, no problem.
Having said that, I am no fan of 3 1/2 inch waterfowl loads in an 8 pound gun. There is a limit to my recoil tolerance. A box of 3 inch high velocity Steel waterfowl loads is all the fun I want in one day.
I shoot 8lb shotguns for clays, but I much prefer a 6lb gun, when carrying it for hours when hunting sharptails, Hiungarian partridges and pheasant. For waterfowl, I use a gas operated semi auto.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Apart from being light weight, the gun just didn't fit me as well as I thought that it did. The first 12 gauge o/u that I purchased was a BL-4 and it fit me fine and was pleasant to shoot. It was so tight when new that I had to break it open over my knee, don't know why Beretta used to do that.
