Sporting clays with pump Action?.

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czscotia

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Hey all,
Wondering how do people do shooting sporting clays with pump action?
I do have an O/U but..... I like shotguns !!! Can you get good at it with the pump?
Any time I have borrowed one I have forgotten to shuck the darn thing!
 
I can shoot low 70's pretty consistently on the green course at Silver Willow.

Could probably do a bit better if I went more than a couple of times a year.
 
One thing that carries from one shooting discipline to another is, you can’t pick up a different gun and shoot it like it’s your own. I’ve seen it many times, more so in action shooting sports but it translates the same way. People want to give a different firearm a try or they just don’t have one of their own so when it’s time to shine, slides don’t get racked properly, magazines don’t get seated, trigger pulls are not what they expected and so on. All simple little things, if you have familiarity with the firearm. Introduce a little stressor into the situation, such as multiple targets in the air or shooting a course of fire on the clock and the most simple of operation seems impossible.
One of the most naturally gifted shotgunners I’ve ever seen shoots an 870 at sporting clays, does not hamper his scores one bit.
“Run what ya brung”. sums it up pretty well shooting one type of action regularly, does not mean it will come naturally when you change it up.
Also helps to grow up with a pump in your hands. Makes it easy to go back to it.
 
czscotia said:
Hey all,
Wondering how do people do shooting sporting clays with pump action?
I do have an O/U but..... I like shotguns !!! Can you get good at it with the pump?
Any time I have borrowed one I have forgotten to shuck the darn thing!
Click to expand...

Yes, you can get good at Sporting with a pump.
 
There are some people that shoot every bit as well with a pump than any other type of gun. If the pump fits you well maybe you will shoot it better. I cut my teeth on a 870 Wingmaster ,and shot it very well. Now after years of shooting a o/u, I have lost my edge with the pump.
Most people find it more of a challenge, to shoot a pump. That's why they have a separate pump class in some shoots. You can still see a handful of pumps on the sporting clay course. These guys are more likely hunters getting, in some practice , and why not. If you hunt with the gun, then practice with the gun. O/u seem to dominate the sporting clay course, with autos coming in second.
 
I have been taking my autos to the clay course, exactly for the reasons stated, good practice with my preferred hunting gun. The only thing I notice, is the ejected shells travel quite a distance. I know many people are more a#al about the "proper etiquette" at the line and feel a little guilty about the shells interfering with their game. I am considering taking some pumps out just because I have more control over the ejection, and in my mind controlled ejection would make me more neighborly.
 
It sounds like sporting clays are different experiences at different courses. In my neck of the woods, only one shooter is on the line at at time. They have a steel frame "window" at each presentation that your barrels must be inside before calling for the birds or firing off a practice shot. This means that your spent shells don't interfere with anybody else's shooting no matter how far they fly. I do agree that we a need to consider our shooting partners no matter what the type of hunting or sport shooting we engage in.

This is an interesting thread, though, in the sense that I find myself in agreement with all of the posts so far.

I would like to add that comfort with a particular type of action is a muscle memory exercise. I started out with a single shot. Then, I inherited a pump and became proficient with it. When I switched to break actions later on, I was clumsy at first, but I became more and more instinctive with each use. At about this time, my hunting partner and I started collecting firearms of all sorts. It was almost inevitable that we would want to experience hunting with a variety of them. For a few seasons during this period, we tried to set the record for most different guns used to bag upland birds in a single season. It got to the point where we would change guns several times a day.

I'll say it so you don't have to - that was extreme. But, it was a phase we went through and it was nothing but fun. The point of this rambling tale is that now I can pick up pretty much any shotgun, cycle it smoothly, and hit what I'm shooting at.

I encourage you to try shooting sporting clays with a pump. The worst that can happen is you'll suck at it and want to try something else. The least that can happen is you'll gain some experience.
 
Takes skill to properly operate a pump gun. Takes skill to get high scores in sporting clays.
Add both together, makes it really hard, but if you are a good shot / have perseverance it is possible.

You will be at a disadvantage, but it's definitely doable.

Candocad.
 
It is fun to do, I have gotten the dirtiest looks from a few highly competitive shooters for doing it. If you can work a slide-action with some proficiency and want to have some fun, then go for it. If every last target broken on the score sheet is your only desire, then stick with your O/U to avoid a possible distraction. I shoot Sporting Clays for fun, Skeet I take seriously, I can can still run a straight with my Benelli Nova when I feel like it.
 
although i bring semis, o/us and pump guns to the range, i usually shoot clays, skeet and 5 stand with a few old mag fed bolt action stevens/savages


I am that guy at my club
 
rekx said:
although i bring semis, o/us and pump guns to the range, i usually shoot clays, skeet and 5 stand with a few old mag fed bolt action stevens/savages


I am that guy at my club
Click to expand...

After a few encounters with bolt action shotguns, I decided I could cycle a single faster.
 
I have 3 (for now) BPSs and 1 O/U and make sure they all get used at either skeet or 5-stand. For reasons I can’t explain, racking the slide on a pump gun and hitting the second bird feels better than simply firing the second barrel of the O/U. Had semi once ...can’t say I enjoyed that much.
 
Thanks for the input, I guess it depends just how serious someone is about it.
After shooting today and seeing what I need to work on it guess I could have missed with any type of gun!! I can see how it would be a distraction when you have not mastered a certain pair.
 
If you shoot the clays games for fun or hunting practice then any gun that you are happy with will be just fine. However, you will have to look far and long to find a top echelon competition shooter in trap, skeet or sporting that shoots anything but a semi or O/U.
 
While I like shooting any clays with my pump I bought an ou as it seemed much better suited to the task. Yet, busting that second bird after the rack is very satisfying.
 
Easily done with a pump gun if you're used to shuckin one.
One of our compadres bought his pump to our last SC session...his goal was to try and break 70/100 with it...he did 76/100...pretty impressive to watch him...you couldn't hardly hear the "chick-chick" in between the shots on the true pairs !!
We shoot a lot of true pairs at various stations and distances too....he made them look easy.
Makes me almost want to take the old Win pump 12 out for a round....almost ;)...lol
 
I shot thousands upon thousands of clays with an 870 tactical. No problem at all in fact it's a unique thrill that my friends and I enjoy quite a bit.
 
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