I'm in the market for a new trap shotgun. My current gun is a 686 Beretta Silver Pigeon I Sporting. I'm fairly new to shooting but am having fun with shooting trap and would like to upgrade my gun. I've been looking for a new gun for some time but I've got a problem with buying a gun without holding it (at least) and shooting it for a round or more. I've found Kolar, Krieghoff, Perazzi, and high end Berettas on line but I just can't bring myself to buy them without holding them, shouldering them, feel how they feel in my hands, check the satisfying click of the action as you close it, and see what the sight picture looks like when I set the gun. I live in the interior of BC and don't have access to the big shoots to demo guns and the local gun shops don't carry the product that I'm looking for. All of the gun forums say to demo all of the guns that you're interested in and then make a decison but that means I have to drive more than 3000km (one way) to get to the big shoots in the US just to demo a gun. There just isn't the opportunity to test drive a gun where I live.
I've checked gun shops in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver but they don't have a selection of high end guns to look at and/or demo. I've found many gun dealers in the US that have a huge selection of trap specific guns but of course living in Canada that does me no good.
So my questions are:
How do trap shooters in Canada buy a relatively high end and expensive gun when the product selection just isn't available to most communities?
I've been told to shoot other people's guns at the club I belong to but those shooters all have their individual set up (release triggers, 80/20 POI, etc). Trying someone's gun gives me an idea of what the gun might be but I'd be hard pressed to buy a gun based on shootings someone's Kolar (for example) that isn't set up for the way I like to shoot.
Forums say that you can't go wrong with buying any of the high end shotguns but I really have a problem with spending 5 figures for a shotgun that I hope I like. So what do trap shooters in Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and other smaller communities do when they want to buy a high end gun? Buy on faith and hope it works?
One of the things that holds me back from buy a high end gun is finding a gunsmith to fix the gun if something breaks. Krieghoff, Perazzi, Kolar might all be wonderful guns but what does a guy do if the gun breaks? Where I live, gunsmiths that could service a P, K or K gun are few and far between.
So there you have it. I'd like to buy a new gun, not because I thing I'll hit an extra clay or 2 per hundred but because I thing the experience of shooting a superior gun is worth the dollars spent. But having said that, without demoing all of the guns you're interested in, how do you decide?
Is the answer to drive 3000Km (one way) and demo all of the guns?
I've checked gun shops in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver but they don't have a selection of high end guns to look at and/or demo. I've found many gun dealers in the US that have a huge selection of trap specific guns but of course living in Canada that does me no good.
So my questions are:
How do trap shooters in Canada buy a relatively high end and expensive gun when the product selection just isn't available to most communities?
I've been told to shoot other people's guns at the club I belong to but those shooters all have their individual set up (release triggers, 80/20 POI, etc). Trying someone's gun gives me an idea of what the gun might be but I'd be hard pressed to buy a gun based on shootings someone's Kolar (for example) that isn't set up for the way I like to shoot.
Forums say that you can't go wrong with buying any of the high end shotguns but I really have a problem with spending 5 figures for a shotgun that I hope I like. So what do trap shooters in Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and other smaller communities do when they want to buy a high end gun? Buy on faith and hope it works?
One of the things that holds me back from buy a high end gun is finding a gunsmith to fix the gun if something breaks. Krieghoff, Perazzi, Kolar might all be wonderful guns but what does a guy do if the gun breaks? Where I live, gunsmiths that could service a P, K or K gun are few and far between.
So there you have it. I'd like to buy a new gun, not because I thing I'll hit an extra clay or 2 per hundred but because I thing the experience of shooting a superior gun is worth the dollars spent. But having said that, without demoing all of the guns you're interested in, how do you decide?
Is the answer to drive 3000Km (one way) and demo all of the guns?
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