inexpensive starter shotgun?

alltieear said:
whats a report double?



oh nice, yeah ive seen some videos of people that can slide it pretty quick. how much time do you have to line up the second clay before it falls?
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A report double is when the second target is launched when the first shot is fired. As to timing, it depends on the game. In skeet, you have plenty of time if you shoot the first target reasonably quickly. In sporting clays, it depends on the particular course. In some stations you can shoot the first target, and you have to wait for the second target, on other stations, you have very little time to shoot the first target and swing on the second target. New shooters usually have the most issues, because they wait too long to shoot the first target.
 
I always felt the best way to learn any doubles games was just dive into it. It forces you not forget that second target is there. By the way to the OP I shot for many years with pumps as well. They are not a handicap if you are experienced with one. The most common thing I see with new shooters using pumps is lifting the head and dropping the gun to pump it and this plays into forgetting the second target is coming. By the time the gun is pumped and mounted properly the second target is usually either out of range or on the ground. Remind yourself to keep your head on the stock and pump the gun while moving only your eyes to pick up the second target. You will instinctively follow it then and be in a position to shoot it once you have your lead.
 
I shot skeet for a few years. It was really fun and addictive.
I have shot:
Beretta Semis
Beretta O/U
and a 870 pump

I do not own the O/U or the Semis anymore, but I really enjoyed them. I am no longer a big skeet shooter so I sold all those guns ( I am not a collector, all the guns I own have a purpose or they are gone).

However I just bought a 870 Wingmaster from the 70's that I will use as my 'everything' gun including skeet, trap and hunting. 3 different barrels for each thing. I am in the process of finding a skeet barrel!

Once you get good at pumping the 870 while hitting clays, there is nothing like seeing that look on the old farts that frequent skeet ranges with 5K guns.

Have fun, be responsible and shoot the gun you like to shoot.

Cheers
 
alltieear said:
oh nice, yeah ive seen some videos of people that can slide it pretty quick. how much time do you have to line up the second clay before it falls?
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On a skeet field, shooting a double, one has much more time then you realize. The worse thing you can do is rush the first shot trying to get onto the second target. I find Trap Doubles to be the real challenge. As was mentioned, every once in a while you will come across a station on a sporting clays with a simultaneous pair that has a short window to break targets in that will pose a challenge for me, however it wouldn't really be any easier with a semi or an O/U.
 
I am new to the sport. I tried shooting skeet a few months ago by borrowing a few different guns from a member at my club. I ended up buying a Mossberg 500 pump field gun with a 28" barrel. I was considering the Maverick 88 but went with the Mossberg because it came with 3 choke tubes and a 10 year warranty. I'm definitely no expert on skeet shooting but the pump gun works well for me and it's a lot of fun. I may upgrade to something else in time but for now I'm having a blast with this gun.
 
I've never viewed shooting a slide-action as a handicap, shot 25, 24 last Saturday in a tournament with my Nova, Friday was having an off day shot 23, 21, 22 with my 870.
 
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I bought A Churchill 206 O/U about two years ago. Mine has a mechanical single trigger and auto ejectors. You can get inertial reset triggers on this model as well.
It's a shotgun that's made by AKKAR and mine was in the $1200-1400 range. It was my first foray in the world of O/U's but I sought a lot of advice and handled a lot of guns.
As of this time I've probably put 1200 rounds through it and have never had a single issue with it.
The Churchill takes REM chokes as well so it's easy to put what you want in it. It's not a very 'fancy' gun but it's been perfect for what I need.
It's nice enough that every time I take it out I'm happy that I bought it, but it's not so nice that I worry about actually using it.

I've seen a few on the exchange for around $1,000. There was actually a beautiful engraved one with an orcap finish. If I hadn't bought mine I would have grabbed that one for sure.
 
The last O/U I had was an Akkar, I can recommend a 206 without hesitation. Mine saw regular Skeet/Trap duty for 3 years, never had a FTF, FTE or a pierced Cheddite primer with it.
 
So i went out and saw a pretty well priced mossberg 500 at canadian tire. its got a wood foregrip, but the stock feels like polymer. fits pretty well as far as i can tell. gold trigger is a plus.

id post pictures but im not a member

also, anything to watch out for on the mossberg 500's? cleaning tips?

edit: box says mossberg 500 american field pump
 
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Keep and eye on the stock bolt, make sure it stays tight, when you have a chance consider upgrading the safety switch to a metal one, the plastic have been known to break(rare).
 
Maritime Storm said:
Keep and eye on the stock bolt, make sure it stays tight, when you have a chance consider upgrading the safety switch to a metal one, the plastic have been known to break(rare).
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alright, and is is there any way to make my safety switch more smooth? just need to wear it in i guess?
and are there any stores that sell mossberg 500 barrels?
 
alltieear said:
alright, and is is there any way to make my safety switch more smooth? just need to wear it in i guess?
and are there any stores that sell mossberg 500 barrels?
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Do you actually use the safety when shooting clays?I can't remember ever using the safety on any of my clays guns.
 
stubblejumper said:
Do you actually use the safety when shooting clays?I can't remember ever using the safety on any of my clays guns.
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+1. The only time I've used my safety when shooting clay targets is if I'm warming up for bird season with my sxs. Otherwise it's never used. Certain dedicated clay target guns don't even have safeties (Browning BT99) or the safety can be locked out to prevent it from being inadvertently engaged while shooting (Krieghoff Model 32.)
 
I am like the OP, new to trap. Got myself a Winchester SXP Trap during a sale at Wholesale Sports - went and shot my first 2 rounds with it tonight. It worked pretty good except when I forgot to chamber the shell with enough oomph and it didn't fully seat.

What are people's thoughts on the SXP?
 
I've seen a few around the club, they are a good deal for the money. They are essentially an SXP with a monte carlo stock set to pattern higher than the field model. I know of one local shooter who is still running a 1200 Trap, bought sometime in the late seventies that works just fine, no idea how many shells have been through it. This would be a major set up for shooting trap over a Maevrick 88 or Mossberg 500 Field. The only thing is they are light for a trap gun, Winchester should have added another 2lbs to it.
 
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