jonthebrit

My 15 year old daughter went with the 12G Benelli U828 which she loves (http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/reviews/shotgun/benelli-828u). Very light weight and with a 21 / 24g cartridge the recoil is limited.

I got one from eBay, around £180. The workmanship isn't great but the locks are fine and you'd certainly need some tools to get into it without keys. The best security is it's location and positioning on the wall etc Without spending some serious money I expect the time taken to break into mine and a slightly more expensive version would be pretty much the same.

Contacts for me. I'm getting slight changes in my perscription these days (eyes actually getting better at long distance) so it's fairly hassle free to keep my eyes right. (doesn't help my shooting though!!)

The gun comes with a couple of stock length options. My daughter needed the shorter stock for her fit. The gun she tried at the ground had a longer stock which made the mount more difficult. Might be the reason behind the LOP range?

I sense an expensive weekend on your horizon.... Good times

Very nice! Enjoy

Another advocate for second hand good quality. I recently went into a gun room looking for a Beretta Silver Pigeon 1. The fit was right etc and the price about what I could afford. I ended up walking out with a Beretta SP III second hand, saved a bit of cash and got to try the actual gun before committing. Very pleased. Of course I went home and scratched the barrel on the zip of my slip ..... very un-pleased

I was told probably towards the end of the year but I've not had the time to check the interwebs yet.

Apparently a 30" version is on the way.

A bit of backside covering going on I think. It'll just be a speed bump to the cert. I would have also declared it so in my opinion you did the right thing.

Job well done. Had mine recently too and it was much more informal that I thought it would be. No major issues and within a couple of weeks I was a few grand lighter in the bank.... Just don't tell the missus....

I read this on the Northumbria Police site .... RefereesAn application for the grant or renewal of a certificate requires the applicant to supply the names and addresses of people who have agreed to act as referees for them. A firearm application requires the applicant to provide the details of two people; a shot gun application requires the details of one person. Each referee must have sight of, and have read the completed application form before completing their part of the application (Part F). When the application is for the renewal of a firearm certificate required for target shooting, one of the referees must be a club official of the approved club named on the applicant’s firearms certificate; it is not however a requirement in this circumstance that the club official has known the applicant personally for at least two years. The second referee must meet the requirements and must not be a member of any target shooting club. http://www.northumbria.police.uk/advice_and_information/firearms_licensing/applying_for_a_firearm_or_shot_gun_certificate/

I asked the people doing the references to fill them out. As far as I know neither of them have been asked to give a reference but I have my cert now.

After trying other O/U shotguns my daughters preference was the 828u so we've one on order in black. She was pretty good with all the guns she tried but I guess confidence is a big contributor to hitting clays and her really liking the look of it doesn't hurt either. Myself, I ended up with a really nice second hand Beretta Silver Pigeon III so we're almost ready to go

I think it does have the auto safe feature but I have also read it's a quick thing to have deactivated.

I'm still waiting on my cert but I've been having lessons with my daughter at Bywell. Well worth a visit and a good variety of setups to try. Still learning myself so not much else I can add

Blue Thunder ... bow chika bow wow...

Spectated for a time (still waiting on SGC) and it looked like great fun. The weather behaved itself (for the most part) too!

Nice one. Purchased a couple for myself!

It does make total sense. She is a good lass....well except in her science class:) Thanks for the comments Terry. I'll make sure she gets some more lesson time with one.

All good advice thanks. Just heard back from the police. Because she's under 18 they would like to speak to someone at her school. She'd better have been well behaved or she'll get nowt:)

Looks pristine for 12 years old! Very nice looking gun!

I'm in the same position but I'm planning to follow the advice I've been given and just get a very well maintained second hand gun made by the top three that has the right feel. Go shoot stuff for a year. If you look after it you'll get about the same back again for it and then invest it in something else with the advantage of more knowledge and experience.

Thanks for the comments. The one we tried was with a 21g load so very little in the way of recoil. She's had a hold of a Browning 725 and Beretta 686 12 gauge but the weight is an issue. Not necessarily decided on this 828U and I'm still in two minds about just going for a S/H 20g for her and just getting more experience before looking at more 12 gauge guns (if we actually need to). I'm going to hunt out some of the suggestions mentioned and see if I can get her some time shooting clays with them before making a decision. Cheers, Jon

Great, thanks for the responses. I've been through the reviews online but there hasn't been much of a follow-up. Really appreciate the suggestions thanks:)