First time shooter.

Empir3

Empir3

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Orangeville, Ontario
Hello everyone, I am new to this sport as well as this forum. I went out with a friend the other day to a local range and shot for my first time. we shot a few clays and I had a blast, now I want to get into it. I think I was shooting a Mossberg Model 535 ATS pump. I am now going to get my PAL, so I am looking for input on what kind of 12ga shotgun would be a good starter... pump action, semi-auto-- I really like the look of o/u but they are quite pricey to start out with. I am mostly interested in shooting trap and skeet, I don't plan on doing much hunting for now. Any thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.
 
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My budget is whatever I want to spend.... but for my first gun/starter I would like to stay maybe under $600, until I get hooked, which I am anticipating, then I will buy a nice toy with a hefty price tag. I am not looking to go too overboard until I actually develop some decent shooting skill :p And as for ammo budget, no real set limit.
 
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/since you are just starting i would keep it as simple as possible. I would recommend starting with a pump action. They are simple to handle and there isnt much to go wrong with them. they would be in your 600 dollar price range as well. If skeet is in your future then i would suggest looking at a semi. Some people have a hard time cycling the pump fast enough on the doubles. A good semi will cost more than the pump guns do. Once the skeet bug catches on you will be more concerned about the cost of feeding your habit. that is where the price begins to add up. :dancingbanana::dancingbanana::dancingbanana: :sniper: :wave:
 
Empir3,

My wife likes the look (and feel) of an over/under too, and like you they're a little expensive in general for us - but there are some out there for better prices. We ended up getting her a Stoeger/IGA condor for around $500.

We called around for a lot of price quotes and got a big range. For us at the time the best price came from Wholesale Sports.

RG

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micSarfati said:
Dominion arms 870 Grizzly from Canam...price is right...nice short barrel.
Click to expand...

Cant really picture it for shooting clays though. ;) Don't get me wrong, I love mine, but not really designed to pattern the lead out too far.

remington 870 or mossberg 500 seem to be pretty highly recommended starter shotguns, and they come in a ton of configurations.
 
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Get THE most reliable and used by more clay shooters anywhere auto: any 390, 2901 or 391 Beretta. There are a bunch of used ones around in your price range. You must get at least 28 inch barrels, 30 are prefered!

I have shot 27,400 rounds in a 390 with NO cleanning! My Gold Optima 391 has not been cleanned since I got it 4 years ago.

It is the same design with very slight upgrades for over 20 years. No other shotgun can come close.

Best regards,
Henry;)
PS: STay away from any of the lower priced new guns, they won't shoot all shells and will probably break!
 
Thanks for the input so far everyone. I am researching 391's and Remington 11-87's, but I would have to buy a used one to keep it close to $600ish. I have applied the E&E to browse around. is there a set wait time to get access to it, or just whenever a mod gets time to "process" my request?

and another question, is the Beretta "Kick off" actually worth the extra money?

Thank you again
 
Don't forget to get the RPAL too! Even if you don't right now want to get any restricteds, it'll save going back for another test later if you get it now. It doesn't cost much more, and it opens the door to a lot of REALLY cool firearms.
 
I'd second curtmg's recommendation to get the RPAL. I only did my PAL and now I'm having to run around tracking down somebody to take my RPAL course from. Save yourself the time and do both.

As for what gun to buy, it depends on what you want to do with it. If you just want to shoot clays, then you might want to get a specialized clays gun. Those tend to be expensive, though, and are not necessarily the best things for hunting or zombie defence purposes :).

If you're not sure, and want one gun to do it all, you might want to go for a Remington 870 or a Mossberg 5xx pump action, in twelve-gauge. They're inexpensive, reliable, can digest a wide variety of ammunition, and can be used on anything from clay pigeons to grouse to deer to grizzlies. If I could only keep one gun to do everything, I'd keep a pump twelve-gauge.

870's reportedly have stronger receivers, Mossbergs the better ergonomics. As with any mass-market product, you'll get lemons from either manufacturer. Each manufacturer makes a range of models, and there are plenty of accessories available for each, although there are more tacticool/anti-zombie accessories for the 870 due to its high penetration of the law enforcement market.

A lot of Remingtons and Mossbergs (but not all) come with barrels threaded for interchangeable choke tubes, which allow you to adjust the gun's shot pattern to fit what you are doing (wide, wide open for trap and skeet), tightly choked for turkey hunting.

Remington has an excellent brochure on shotgun basics here: h ttp://www.remington.com/pdfs/shotgun.pdf

It is well worth the read.
 
I started with an Remington 870 for trap shooting. If you are going to shoot skeet and/or sporting clays looks for a semi-auto because they are better for doubles. A used Remington 1100 should fit in your price range. In early days always buy a gun you know you can sell easily because you will probably not stay with the same gun. Stick with the 12 gauge and guns with choke tubes.

If you are just starting out money is better spent on ammo and instruction. Learning the various techniques of these games like foot position, stance, eye hold, gun position and swing techniques will help you become a better shooter faster.
 
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