Sporting 12 gauge ammo + rifle rental.

[Sspikey]

I recently decided I will be joining a local club in Quebec. had a really good time out there.

I had some questions about the ammo. Looking online, I was able to find Challenger ammunition for about 8$/box of 25 (12 gauge #8 target load)

Is there any significant difference vs other brands that are more expensive? I am mostly shooting sporting for now.

Second, I was thinking of acquiring a firearm too (own none currently) I almost fell off my chair when looking at O/U shotguns. That being said, my club rents out O/U Silver Pigeon Berettas for 20$/Day. Am I crazy thinking I should just rent for a very long while before I even consider purchasing something?

A friend occcasionally will be joining me with a pump action shotgun with 28" barrell and chokes installed.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Falconflyer]

If your able to rent for a fair price (and you are) then I'd do that for a while and see if you can try out a few other guns before making a purchase.

 

[Rob!]

$20 is half what my club charges for a rental, so that is a great price. The biggest advantage to renting is to try out different guns. It isn't like cars where any of them will get you there and you can at least operate them all equally well on your commute. If you are going to spend as much on your shotgun as your car, test drive is wonderful. As far as the ammo goes, challenger is as good as any except some shotguns pierce the primers and that isn't good. You may get picky about ammo later but don't sweat it for now.

One of my instructors puts an excellent point on it. "It's not the gun. It's not the ammo. It's not the choke. It's not the color of your glasses. It's not that the birds are too hard." All those things might make a difference someday - but that day is not yet upon me. Take a lesson or two so you are at least practicing doing it right.

This sport is not cheap. At $8 a box, you could do a bit better but that's 32 cents a round. I buy targets by the thousand at 42 cents each. A round of SC is routinely 100 birds. Club membership is not inconsequential. The school of hard knocks charges these rates for a long time. Please consider booking even one or two lessons. Money well spent.

Rob!