Difference Between A Field Gun And Competition Gun.

[Max Owner]

Hey all.

What is the difference between a field gun and a competition in over/unders?

And on another note to over/unders, how do Berettas compared to Brownings fit?

I have several Brownings. Looking at buying my first Beretta Silver Pigeon I or a Browning Citori Hunter II. Both would be mail order so can’t handle them in person before.

 

[Grain]

 

[Falconflyer]

Browning shotguns and Beretta shotguns fit a bit differently so you really should shoot them both before buying, fit is very important to wing shooting well.

Field guns are light in weight for carrying a lot and shooting a little whereas target guns are somewhat heavier so they can be carried a little and shot a lot.
Target guns can be specific to a respective sport such as trap where only one shot is needed hence the single barrel trap gun however, you can still load a single shell in a gun capable of holding more than one shell. Often these guns have 30 to 32 or even 34 inch barrels.
Skeet guns traditionally have shorter barrels than trap guns but current skeet shooters are starting to use guns with longer barrels of lets say 30 inch and sometimes 32 inch.
Sporting clays guns traditionally have 28, 30 or 32 inch barrels and this kind of gun can be used for all of the shotgun disciplines including trap, skeet or sporting. 5 stand etc.

 

[Max Owner]

Thank you Grain and Falcon Flyer for the replies.

Looking at 410s for skeet shooting.

 

[stubblejumper]

Browning typically has much more drop at comb, if Brownings fit you, a fixed comb Beretta likely won't fit you at all.

 

[Sniffer]

Hey all.

What is the difference between a field gun and a competition in over/unders?

And on another note to over/unders, how do Berettas compared to Brownings fit?

I have several Brownings. Looking at buying my first Beretta Silver Pigeon I or a Browning Citori Hunter II. Both would be mail order so can’t handle them in person before.

Tagged for interest as I am in the same boat and have similar questions.

 

[reddog]

Not to throw you off as I am only a part time skeet shooter but unless you handload .410 can get pricey. Of all the guys I shoot skeet with the 12 and 20g are the most common and that's because of ammo price. I bought a nice Rizzini O/U in 20g just to play with the skeet guys but have skeet guns in 12,20,28 and .410 which gets used the least but definitely get what you want.

 

[struff55]

So your thinking about spending 3500$ on a gun that you can't pick up and handle and your worried about fit
Hmmm then you mention a 410 to use for what ???
a 3500$ o/u 410 really only has one purpose and that is for skeet shooting

 

[pStefan]

I’m not a skeet expert by any means, but I enjoy shooting my silver pigeon in 410 very much. Reloading helps with the cost of the shells, as it does with the 28 gauge. Sub gauge guns for skeet are great fun from my experience, even if you have to give up a few birds that you might have hit with a 20 or 12. You might search for a lightly used example online as well as an mec reloader… I’d certainly recommend giving it a try.

One other option would be to buy a Turkish over under with removable choke tubes in 410 to try skeet with. Not a patch on the b guns but a useful experiment in the short term. They are great partridge guns as well.

 

[stubblejumper]

Not to throw you off as I am only a part time skeet shooter but unless you handload .410 can get pricey. Of all the guys I shoot skeet with the 12 and 20g are the most common and that's because of ammo price. I bought a nice Rizzini O/U in 20g just to play with the skeet guys but have skeet guns in 12,20,28 and .410 which gets used the least but definitely get what you want.

I shoot 90% of my skeet with the 410 and 28 gauge, and loading my own shotshells saves me about $4000 per year. I have two MEC 9000 presses, and load about 3000 rounds on each one every year. It is more challenging to shoot skeet with a 410, but it's still possible to shoot clean rounds with it, my average is about 2% lower with the 410, compared to the 28, and the difference between the 28 and 12 is only about 1%.

 

[Max Owner]

I’ve been dabbling in skeet for 41 years. I’ve got 12s and 20s. One 28 that I need to get out. I’m a collector kind of thing and don’t have a 410. The Beretta is $1,000 off till the end of today. The Browning is only $500 off.

The 410 won’t see allot of use compared to the 12s. But want to do it.

 

[pStefan]

I’ve been dabbling in skeet for 41 years. I’ve got 12s and 20s. One 28 that I need to get out. I’m a collector kind of thing and don’t have a 410. The Beretta is $1,000 off till the end of today. The Browning is only $500 off.

The 410 won’t see allot of use compared to the 12s. But want to do it.

Any Beretta silver pigeon that’s 1000$ off would definitely get my attention!! Sweetens the price of admission. I find the 410 very different than a 28 in skeet. I own both with 28” barrels, and the 28 ga SP is on the small frame. The 410 has almost no perceived recoil, one hears the gun go off but doesn’t feel it. The 28 by comparison has considerably more recoil, if you can imagine 28 ga recoil as significant.

 

[reddog]

I agree with you SJ and if you can handload to cut costs that helps. Some will say cost does not matter and I'm fine with that but you should always go into a purchase with both eyes open. Years ago (eyes not open) I decided to go all in on skeet as the club is 5 minutes away so bought a Browning matched 4 barrel set 12,20,28,.410.Was a beautiful gun and broke my first 25 straight with the 28g.But could not really get into the competition part like I thought I would ,so sold it to a nice gent in Sask. for what I paid and still shoot for fun and the comradery of the sport but usually 20g because of cheaper shells.