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Buying my first shotgun


rhodri m
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Hi

I have just sent away to get a shotgun certificate and would like some input on what Shotguns should i consider, it will be mainly used for clay shooting and game shooting.

 

id prefer either o/u or semi auto

budget would be £600ish

 

Any info much appreciated

 

Rhodri m

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Go for O/U if doing game shooting too.

 

Apart from that, you'll pick up any number of very nice Beretta 68- series guns for that money. Quite possibly it'll be fixed choke rather than multichoke, but that's not the end of the world (too many people get too hung up on having the 'right' choke in, let it prey on their minds if not). Or a Miroku, Browning, etc. If there's a local clay ground to you, then trying out a few guns might be possible.

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I guess whatever you buy wont be right in a years time. If you buy carefully (not new from a dealer) then you can sell it when you know what you want and recycle the cash.

You cant shoot game with a semi (unless its two shot or you mean vermin). IMO a semi can feel a bit out of place at a clay shoot.

I would try a few first and take your time (hard i know).

I have a s pigeon for game and clays and a Beretta A300 for vermin which i use two or three days a week. If i could have only one it would be the a300 as its robust, plastic and virtually maintenance and care free and i mostly shoot vermin. Then i could borrow one when i shot clays or game.

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O/U will be good anywhere, however it is your gun, so it is for You, not me,not the others on the range, try anything You can (in shop, borrow it, and on the clay ground as well, ask other people if You can have a go with theirs there). Disagree about a semi is out of place on a clay ground. This is snobbish.

Edited by londonercsecse
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Can I suggest that you hold back on your first gun purchase., There will be many on here who, if they were truthful, would admit to rushing out to get their first gun and finding, to their cost, it was the wrong choice. Consider going to your local clay club and booking a lesson, or maybe two. Ask the Instructor for his view on what guns you should consider. Have a walk around the ground and WATCH. If you have any questions, no matter how daft they may appear to you, then ask. You will find that most shooters are keen to help you. It may not be the RIGHT advice, but it will give you a broader outlook. Do not be afraid to ask about their gun, again most will only be too willing to tell you all about it. Some will even offer you the chance to try it and when you feel confident enough, take them up on their offer. From this you should be able to decide which gun will best suit your needs. You can now build up a short list of guns that you should look at. Try to always buy a good used model and do not be afraid to travel to get the right gun. There are shooting grounds with gunshops on site and some even offer alterations too. They are always worth a visit. After all I doubt you would buy a car without trying it first. Do not worry about exact gunfit until you have been shooting for a while and bettered your gun handling, but a near correct length of stock can make a difference to felt recoil. If you have to buy from a gunshop, ask if you can have the option to exchange it for a different gun, if you decide after shooting, that the gun is not for you. Obviously you would have to shoot it and return it within a few days, so it makes sense to collect on a Friday, try it over the weekend and return it on a Monday, if not happy. It does pay to use the bulk of your budget on the gun as the accessories can always follow. Good luck with your quest and, I hope, welcome to the sport.

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I think too many people on here get hung up on browning,miroku,beretta there are loads of other makes worthy of consideration for a lot less money,they all shoot were u point em,they use same ammo,forget the name go for what feels right,o/u m/c gun is the way to go,

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I think too many people on here get hung up on browning,miroku,beretta there are loads of other makes worthy of consideration for a lot less money,they all shoot were u point em,they use same ammo,forget the name go for what feels right,o/u m/c gun is the way to go,

Yes but how many people end up with one of the above when they have had a few cheap guns?

Don't do what i did I couldn't wait and went out same weekend I got my sgc and bought the first gun I saw and I can't hit a damn thing with it , it just doesn't fit me at all

What gun is it

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You are almost certainly going to do what most of us do what you buy as your first gun will most likely be history in under a year.I do not own the first one I ever bought. I must have owned around sixty over the years.some are still with me after many years but most are long gone.one thing that is certain you will enjoy each and every one. Good luck to you.

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Definitely make sure it fits properly once you find the right one. Like the guys said, check out local gun shops and dealers and see which one you feel right with before your certificate arrives, then do a bit more research and you should be able to make a decision after that. The first gun I bought I'd fired the same model multiple times before so I knew I'd get on with it. The second one I bought, I did what I advised and went to see how it fit first, luckily it was spot on.

 

Let us know how you get on and what you think you might go for!

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1st gun I bought I had for 35 years b4 it was clapped out,second one I got while I still had no1 was a baikel had that for 25 years now got 2 lanber,an a300,an a620 an a yildiz an these will stay with me till I croak. and yes have tried silver pigeons they don't shoot any better than my lanbers.

Edited by hawkfanz
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Can I suggest that you hold back on your first gun purchase., There will be many on here who, if they were truthful, would admit to rushing out to get their first gun and finding, to their cost, it was the wrong choice. Consider going to your local clay club and booking a lesson, or maybe two. Ask the Instructor for his view on what guns you should consider. Have a walk around the ground and WATCH. If you have any questions, no matter how daft they may appear to you, then ask. You will find that most shooters are keen to help you. It may not be the RIGHT advice, but it will give you a broader outlook. Do not be afraid to ask about their gun, again most will only be too willing to tell you all about it. Some will even offer you the chance to try it and when you feel confident enough, take them up on their offer. From this you should be able to decide which gun will best suit your needs. You can now build up a short list of guns that you should look at. Try to always buy a good used model and do not be afraid to travel to get the right gun. There are shooting grounds with gunshops on site and some even offer alterations too. They are always worth a visit. After all I doubt you would buy a car without trying it first. Do not worry about exact gunfit until you have been shooting for a while and bettered your gun handling, but a near correct length of stock can make a difference to felt recoil. If you have to buy from a gunshop, ask if you can have the option to exchange it for a different gun, if you decide after shooting, that the gun is not for you. Obviously you would have to shoot it and return it within a few days, so it makes sense to collect on a Friday, try it over the weekend and return it on a Monday, if not happy. It does pay to use the bulk of your budget on the gun as the accessories can always follow. Good luck with your quest and, I hope, welcome to the sport.

In my view this is all good advice; One key point that I think needs emphasis is that you need to be practiced and consistent in gun mount. Until then - you can't get a gun 100% right fitted, but you can get close - and it needs to be fairly close to get the mount right. Classic chicken and egg, but that's why its important to get experience.

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I agree with Westley's post - sensible stuff. I have made an impulse buy on about 50 guns.

 

I would like to think I have learned my lesson, but that is not the case.

 

I was in Bamfords a few months ago. Lawrence showed me a Miroku MK10 trap gun - unusual for a Miroku, as it has a centre ventilated rib and factory fitted Invector Plus chokes. Not cheap, but I bought it without a second thought. It is a trap gun - all I needed to know.

 

I have shot a couple of times with it, but the palm swell doesn't suit me. I just got carried away.

 

Take your time and don't get carried away - easier said than done. :whistling::whistling: :whistling:

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hi,

can someone explain to me when is a shotgun a fac shotgun?

 

this might be a very stupid question and i apologize, i have my home visit on monday evening which is not bad as i only applied for my sgc last week

 

Rhodri m

FAC = FireArms Certificate. To be on a shotgun license, a number of conditions must be met;

  • No more than 2 cartridges can fit in a magazine
  • The barrel must be smooth bore and
  • greater than 24" in length

There may be others, but these are the main ones

 

For shotguns, FAC only guns seen are usually a semi auto which can hold more than 2 cartridges in the magazine, but could also be a shotgun with a very short barrel (rare), or a gun with rifled chokes (rare, but Holland & Holland vintage 'paradox' guns qualify as FAC).

 

I believe walking stick shotguns may also only be held on FAC.

 

Each FAC item is individually approved (or otherwise) based on need. Additional magazine capacity may be authorised for vermin control, but the others may be harder to obtain.

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