Testing out O/U before buying - first time - Ontario

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AGCanada

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Hello - hope you are all well. New member here and glad to find the forum. Very excited about getting my PAL and waiting for the review to be finished.

I am quite new to shooting with only a few rounds of clays. I plan to get an O/U for target practice and the field. There is so much info out there and most people say best to try different things and go to shooting schools etc. But options are so limited here in Ontario - Toronto.

Any advise how best to try out shotguns, places that would allow a novice without a PAL yet to shoot under supervision etc. Or else some advice on what to look for in features if you are not use to shooting as a reliable stater gun that I won’t really need to change for a couple of years. Seems a 30” is the best balance for a target biased O/U. My budget is about $1500.

Thx for the help
 
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Add your location details to your profile (Ontario's a really big place, lol). People are pretty friendly and you might just get that invite you're looking for.

I'm not a huge shotgun guy but I think it's going to be pretty difficult finding an O/U @ $1500 "that I won’t really need to change for a couple of years". That last part probably won't happen. I think you should spend more (if possible) or get a pump/auto and have at 'er. Just my .02, probably not even worth that much!
 
For that budget I would personally look for a used Beretta Silver Pigeon (might be more like 1800) or a used Browning. The best testing you can do is by buying from someone local or trying some out at a gun store. In Ottawa, there is only one range that lends out guns, and it they're always booked months, if not years, in advance (so I'm saying you're probably out of luck in that department).

I'm on the Carleton Shotgun Team (we mainly do skeet) so this info is going to be about a gun made for skeet (not trap).
- You don't want an automatic safety (every time you break the shotgun open, safety engages). This is usually found in Field models of shotguns (my Beretta SP1 had this, gunsmith disabled it)
- Ejectors are nice if you aren't reloading (blasts the spent shells out when you open it). Extractors just pop the shells out slightly so you can pick them out with your hand.
- Longer barrels are better and I wouldn't look at anything under 28".
- Weight is important. If your gun is too heavy for you, you will fatigue after the first round or two. If it is too light, the recoil might be a little painful.
- 12ga is common, I see 20ga too. Depends on your budget.
- Chokes are nice so whenever they are included in the purchase it's nice. (They can get expensive)

My suggestion is to look around on the EE and see what is available in your price range. I do not recommend buying new as you could find something MUCH nicer for the same price. Let me know if you have any more questions. I won't pretend I know everything but this is all from my experience and research when I was looking for a shotgun.
 
Sure sure - I’ll update it. I’m in Toronto but open to driving around on weekends for a couple of hours if need be. Thx for the reply.

Forgot to also say that I have tried calling a couple of places around but they said they don’t take visitors etc and you need a PAL to get membership etc. Hence the post. I’m all ears on this.
 
Very much appreciate the reply. Thank you. Ultimately for me it’s about practice and shooting exercise first before heading out for a hunt. So if a more biased target gun makes sense to start and the journey then that sounds good to me. I’m looking for a hobby as well and after testing out the clays once I feel hooked 😁
 
AGCanada said:
Very much appreciate the reply. Thank you. Ultimately for me it’s about practice and shooting exercise first before heading out for a hunt. So if a more biased target gun makes sense to start and the journey then that sounds good to me. I’m looking for a hobby as well and after testing out the clays once I feel hooked ��
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Well if you're shopping around for a new hobby I'd suggest two possible routes.
1. Try all of the shooting clay sports (5-stand, Skeet, Trap, etc) and see which one stands out (maybe one you'd want to focus on) and go from there.
2. If (1) is not possible, (you don't have access to a person who'd invite you to a range to try them), I would, contrarily to 4n2t0, buy a cheap Turkish O/U or something similar (sub 700) and just enjoy it while you find out what you like. One of the guys on my team runs a cheap O/U and at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter how much you spend on the gun (assuming it works).
 
rentedzone said:
Well if you're shopping around for a new hobby I'd suggest two possible routes.
1. Try all of the shooting clay sports (5-stand, Skeet, Trap, etc) and see which one stands out (maybe one you'd want to focus on) and go from there.
2. If (1) is not possible, (you don't have access to a person who'd invite you to a range to try them), I would, contrarily to 4n2t0, buy a cheap Turkish O/U or something similar (sub 700) and just enjoy it while you find out what you like. One of the guys on my team runs a cheap O/U and at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter how much you spend on the gun (assuming it works).
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Thanks - that makes sense for sure. I am gonna try for option 1 but with this COVID business it seems a bit harder to achieve.
 
OP, Oshawa Skeet and Gun Club does not require a membership to shoot skeet/trap or sporting clays. Make the drive out on a weekend and I'm sure you will get all the assistance you need.
 
I started out with a $500 tradeex over and under with the intention of upgrading later on.

I am still using it and love it.

(Lincoln Mk2 Interchoke)
 
rentedzone said:
- Ejectors are nice if you aren't reloading (blasts the spent shells out when you open it). Extractors just pop the shells out slightly so you can pick them out with your hand.
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I don't get why this argument always come up. On my B gun if I don't open the gun all the way the ejectors won't "blast" the rounds out. I do this for 100s of rounds on my trap range.

Extractors tend to exist on cheaper O/U...
 
I'll chime in...

Go with a good used o/u like others are saying. Stick with a B gun, buy once, cry once. Fit is VERY important! I would suggest you make sure the shotgun points for you, so that precludes a mail order purchase unless it's a shotgun you know fits you. Watch some youtube videos on shotgun fit.

Clay AND the field? Make sure it has choke tubes so you can put FULL in for Trap & Skeet/Skeet for Skeet etc etc.

Here in ONTerrible, I rarely have occasion to take the Skeet/Skeet out of my 12ga o/u for two reasons. If I go to the range to shoot clay, it's skeet I shoot... And, I hunt over pointers so the shots in the uplands are almost always under 30m and sometimes MUCH closer.

I often refer to myself as a man of reasonable means... Why do I mention this? Because when I was given the green light from The Ministry of Wifely Approval, prior to our daughter arriving, I knew there could only be one... So I had to pick carefully such that my o/u fit for everything... There wasn't going to be a 12ga for prairie chickens, a 20ga for grouse and a 28 for woodcock etc etc...

What did I go with? I picked a Beretta Perennia III in 12ga with a 26" VR barrel. 12ga ammo is cheaper, the 26" is compact & points FAST, has removable chokes and did I mention that it's pretty?

Good luck OP & I took the opportunity to move your post to the Hunting and Sporting Shotguns section as it will get more attention.

Oh, and here is a video of me at Stittsville back when I got my o/u and it was the FIRST time I ever shot Station 8 on a Skeet field. (I had no idea what I was doing, other than I have done a bunch of hunting so quick & close snap shooting wasn't new to me.)

[youtube]BmGbqPbbpeU[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmGbqPbbpeU
 
Used beretta or Browning is the best advice. Keep in mind that trap can be shot with a single shot. 5 stand or sporting clays can be done with a pump gun. Skeet is semi or o/u for the most part.
When I first got into clay sports, I only had an 870. It was fine to get the feel for it. I later bought a used fixed choke browning o/u for $1000 and still use it today. If I had gotten more serious about it, I’d have upgraded.
My Browning could still be sold for what I paid for it. And everyone should own a pump action shotgun anyways!
 
baldabe said:
OP, Oshawa Skeet and Gun Club does not require a membership to shoot skeet/trap or sporting clays. Make the drive out on a weekend and I'm sure you will get all the assistance you need.
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Not any more. Oshawa no longer accepts walk-ins. Must be a guest of a member and pay $25 for day pass along with the cost of clay games. I believe this started as COVID protocol, but I suspect its not permanent
 
I also agree with those saying to go with a used Beretta or Browning. Pick which ever one fits you best. It will likely be one or the other as they fit very differently. Lots of newer Citori's with removable chokes come up on the EE for less than $1500 and lots of Beretta SP’s come up for around $2000. Either will likely outlive you.
 
Im a bit of a drive and more of a sxs fanboy but if you were to make the drive down to blenhiem youd be welcomed on our skeet field and im sure my buddys would let you handle their guns. Alot of berettas and few brownings amoung others. We have an extra field for teaching newer shooters. No membership needed you can be my guest for the day. Jst let me know ahead of time to bring extra ammo. Id be about 3 hour drive from toronto
 
brybenn said:
Im a bit of a drive and more of a sxs fanboy but if you were to make the drive down to blenhiem youd be welcomed on our skeet field and im sure my buddys would let you handle their guns. Alot of berettas and few brownings amoung others. We have an extra field for teaching newer shooters. No membership needed you can be my guest for the day. Jst let me know ahead of time to bring extra ammo. Id be about 3 hour drive from toronto
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You sir are a gentleman and a scholar! And I may very well take you up on that since my bike being fixed up is in Sarnia. I can aim to make a trip out on a weekend that suits you, drop off some parts, and make a weekend out of it. I crashed at Grand Bend.
 
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