Entry level o/u for clays

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The Peckergnome

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I'm thinking about getting into clay shooting, but I'm on a budget AND looking at buying an over under (good luck right..?). I'm completely new to shooting clays but not shotguns.

I've looked into churchill's, tristars, Steven's 555, and I think mossberg makes an o/u too.. but the popular consensus is they dont make for great clay guns because they're light and made for upland game, not high volume clay shooting like the $2000+ o/u's out there.

Other than that, I hear "fit" is the number 1 thing to consider when buying a clay shotgun. I definitely agree and won't buy anything until I've meddled with it a bit.

Any thoughts/advice on this? or experiences with entry level o/u's?
 
Are you talking about blasting lay pigeons on the back 40 or shooting formal disciplines at the range? If you are shooting formal disciplines you can pick up an older B gun with fixed chokes (skeet or trap) for about 1 K, or a similar field gun (IC and Mod) chokes for about the same. BTW - A field gun will work fine, as most of the older guns had steel receivers and were not appreciably lighter than their sporting equivalents.
 
About the best advice I could offer is look for a gently used, but not abused, Browning or Beretta.

Older Browning 325, 425, 525 and XS models make decent clays guns and the Beretta 68X series are likewise good.
For an "all around" approach, a 30" barrel is perhaps a good choice. See if you can enlist the aid of a good, well-experienced shooter to help you with gun fit.
 
I bought a Mossber O/U for $410 to shoot sporting clays. First thing I noticed is the trigger is HORRIBLE! Its not a Beretta. A guy in our Club does custom work on shotguns so he tuned the trigger. Its not long, heavy and grindy now. My advice is to buy a gun with a decent trigger right off the hop instead of working out the bugs on the cheap one.

Internally the Mossberg has a little weight that swings on a pin. On a straight overhead target, it blocks the trigger and firing pins so the gun won't fire.

The other thing is I can hit with the bottom barrel but not the top barrel. I patterned it and the top barrel shoots quite a bit higher.

I guess you get what you pay for.
 
Against my fellow club members advise I went ahead and bought a sub $1000 O/U and kept it approx 2 months befor I started questioning its possible durability shooting 8 rounds of clays on most weekends which adds up to be 10 000 shots a year +/- . I was convinced it wouldn’t hold up if measured in years so I sold it and bought a lightly used B gun in which I have more confidence in its durability , time will tell if I keep it long I’ve already started admiring other shotguns, I must admit I have the shotgun bug.

I would suggest that you invest a little more $ in a B gun right from the start instead of buying a gun you know you will have to replace in short order if you plan on shooting clays.
 
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I was just at the range when the trap/skeet instructor was talking to a student asking about the cheapest shotgun they could buy for the sport. His reply was "how long to you expect to shoot?" Great answer.
 
atomichaircut said:
Against my fellow club members advise I went ahead and bought a sub $1000 O/U and kept it approx 2 months befor I started questioning its possible durability shooting 8 rounds of clays on most weekends which adds up to be 10 000 shots a year +/- . I was convinced it wouldn’t hold up if measured in years so I sold it and bought a lightly used B gun in which I have more confidence in its durability , time will tell if I keep it long I’ve already started admiring other shotguns, I must admit I have the shotgun bug.

I would suggest that you invest a little more $ in a B gun right from the start instead of buying a gun you know you will have to replace in short order if you plan on shooting clays.
Click to expand...

The same thing happened to me only I keep the cheap gun for friends to shoot occasionally. I now have a Browning citori sporting that I picked up for 1900 used
 
There should be plenty of advice coming your way we have members that never got away from entry level even after a lifetime in the sport.

If the plank fits swing it...

Truthfully at that budget or close too you will get a very good gun.
 
I’ll parrot the advise for a gently used Browning or Beretta. For the reasons already provided, plus the fact that a good used B gun, if cared for and not drastically altered, will depreciate little if at all (unlike new guns in which you lose the tax as soon as the cash register rings and 15-20% the first time you pull the trigger). In terms of budget, buying quality used guns isn’t really spending money, it’s just tying it up (that’s how I justify it to myself. lol). If you change your mind on the game or the gun, you can sell and get almost all (if you bought right, maybe even more) of your money back to buy something different.
 
The last two posts are your answer right there. 1000.00 or more on a used Browning or Beretta is just 1000.00 you can get back pretty much any time you want. They don't break very easily, unlike most of the guns you mentioned and parts are readily available.
 
Agree with most of the above. Quality used can be money well spent, but only if you know what you are looking at. There is a reason it is for sale. (Maybe that's just retirement from shooting?) Buy once - cry once is often touted but your first year is not the time to spring $10K on your forever gun.

Lots of good advice above for choices. On another forum, many users have also been speaking highly of the CZ O/U offerings.
 
I am fairly new to the sport along with a few others I shoot with, they bought $500 o/u and there is nothing wrong with them but don't expect to shoot 5000-10000 rounds out of it problem free. There is stocks breaking and ribs falling off. I bought a Citori with a adjustable comb that I put a few guns down the pipe but could never shoot it properly ended up getting another Citori without the comb so it would fit properly, I can promise you I will never buy another o/u until I want to, not need to. Take a old model 84 to the trap field and try shooting and see how it goes make friends and try there guns and see what you like the best. I never did that and wish I did!
 
I adapted the "buy once cry once" philosophy and bought a new Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I 12ga-28" barrel.
Last Wednesday, I took it to the Oshawa gun club to try shooting clay for the first time in my life. My first round of Trap I got a 19/25. That's my first time ever shooting clays. I just can't say enough how happy this beauty of a shotgun makes me.
 
Some of the boutique manufactures are coming out with some exceptional guns but if you are just starting out and unsure about the smaller companies then the B guns are the only way to go. Since the beginning of this year, I have sold 2 Citori's, 3 Beretta 6 series and have gifted a Winchester 101. I have sold them for way under retail because they are used but believe it or not, I still made a bit of a return on all of them (with the exception of the 101 of course).

This just goes to show that B guns keep their value. My suggestion is to look for a gun that fits you first and foremost. I can tell you that my Silver Pigeon fits me better than my Citori but my Citori has a faster action and crisper lock up. Secondly, find a gun with removable chokes because it will give you versatility such as turning an upland game gun to something that can keep up to designated clay guns, if you do your part. The o/u's that I have sold this year were all in the $1000 range but they average around the $1600 range.

If money is the issue, you can still get into a no frills used Beretta such as a 55s for $500 to $850 depending on the condition. Even though they are DT guns with fixed chokes and extractors, they are still a Beretta.
 
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