Pull!

[Snoogins]

Hi everyone,

 

Just a note to say that I'm considering taking up clay pigeon shooting after my 2nd shoot at EJ Churchills (near High Wycombe). It was pretty great, not the cheapest place in the world but good fun.

 

I have now picked up some decent shooting glasses (mine kept fogging up) and have some MacWet gloves on the way. They lent me a 12g Caesar Guerini O/U which ended up being pretty heavy after an hour and a bit, could you please reccomend me some other guns to try?

 

I hear Beretta and Browning are the way to go. Some of you may dissaprove but I'd also like to give a semi Beretta (A400) a go to see the difference.

 

Anyway, I hope to meet some of you soon and look forward to learning something new!

 

Cheers,

 

Leon

Edited February 16, 2010 by Snoogins

[Thunderbird]

Dear Leon

 

My advice would be to shoot as many different guns as possible - both O/U and semi - before committing to a purchase. Don't listen to anyone who 'disapproves' of semi-autos. There are certain clay disciplines where a certain fraternity would frown on them but they are becoming increasingly popular and the basic fact is that some people shoot better with them.

 

If you're paying between £10-15 to attempt to break 50 clays you might as well use a gun that you can hit more with!

 

There are a lot of people in shooting with "all the gear - no idea!"

[Snoogins]

If only it was that cheap!

 

Hopefully they have some semi autos I can try, the only other shotgun Ive fired is a Remington 870! Getting a nice gun is a reasonable amount of money and I am keen to make the right choices from the start Have all of you had a 'gun fitting'? Also do you get adjustable stocks?

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Leon

[Thunderbird]

You can get adjustable stocks and you can also have a non-adjustable stock adjusted, if you see what I mean. Gun fitting is important later on as is the mindset of accepting that Berettas/Mirokus etc might not fit you as well as a cheapo Lanber...

[Nicky T]

You can get adjustable stocks and you can also have a non-adjustable stock adjusted, if you see what I mean. Gun fitting is important later on as is the mindset of accepting that Berettas/Mirokus etc might not fit you as well as a cheapo Lanber...

 

Don't dismiss getting a standard stock converted into an adjustable stock either; exactly what i did with my 682 Gold E for about £180 - worth every penny IMO

[John_R]

If you think you will do a lot of clay shooting, a heavier gun is a better idea from the point of view of recoil (unless you go Semi-auto).

 

Ask to try quite a few if you can, semi as well as O/U, it is quite a steep learning curve at first but you don;t have to commit to buying a gun until you are ready.

[BlaserF3]

If you intend to shoot for a few years you should buy the best gun you can afford, because after a few years you will have spent more than the price of the gun on fuel, cartridges and entries.

 

The guerini guns are not that heavy for a clay gun and an O/U should not weigh much less than 8lbs to make using it comfortable, the semi's have a lot going for them as they soften recoil and are just that bit cheaper.

 

You will have to build up a bit of strength to shoot well if you are shooting 100 cartridges.

 

Shooting has never been a cheap sport relatively speaking but compared to some other sports it's not too bad.

[Snoogins]

Thanks for the replies all, and an interesting point about where you should begin when starting any sport. At the end of the day i think it is what makes you happy, and if thats something expensive whats the harm

Edited February 16, 2010 by Snoogins

[Thunderbird]

Dear Leon

 

My advice would be to shoot as many different guns as possible - both O/U and semi - before committing to a purchase. Don't listen to anyone who 'disapproves' of semi-autos. There are certain clay disciplines where a certain fraternity would frown on them but they are becoming increasingly popular and the basic fact is that some people shoot better with them.

 

If you're paying between £10-15 to attempt to break 50 clays you might as well use a gun that you can hit more with!

 

There are a lot of people in shooting with "all the gear - no idea!"

 

AND

 

You can get adjustable stocks and you can also have a non-adjustable stock adjusted, if you see what I mean. Gun fitting is important later on as is the mindset of accepting that Berettas/Mirokus etc might not fit you as well as a cheapo Lanber...

 

Was.

[John_R]

I just noticed your location. You could do worse than going the The Oxford Gun Company and asking advice there.

 

Yes, they sell guns, but they also have a clay ground and shooting school.

 

I went there quite convinced I was going to buy the Beretta SV10 Perennia. They let me try it for size, and others too, and it became quite clear the SV10 was a dreadful fit for me. There was no pressure to buy, but I did see a nice Browning B525 and after spending quite a while mounting it both into a mirror and also with one of the guys looking on and commenting (constructive criticisms!) I decided I wanted to try it.

 

So, I told them I would buy it, but wanted to shoot it first, and so we went out and I shot a dozen clays and that was that, I kept it, and have no intention of parting with it any time soon.

[tiganut]

I use a Perazzi,badly I hasten to add,that is my choice,I paid for it,so I will use what I choose.A friend has just started shooting & has tried mine,along with kreighoff,Blaser,various Brownings,couple of Berettas etc,his choice?The Perazzi.He will buy a s/h gun & then have it fitted.

All these things are down to personal choice & budget,& I still have my mc Lanber from the days when God were a lad

[MC]

No but:

 

Dear Leon

 

My advice would be to shoot as many different guns as possible - both O/U and semi - before committing to a purchase. Don't listen to anyone who 'disapproves' of semi-autos. There are certain clay disciplines where a certain fraternity would frown on them but they are becoming increasingly popular and the basic fact is that some people shoot better with them.

 

If you're paying between £10-15 to attempt to break 50 clays you might as well use a gun that you can hit more with!

 

There are a lot of people in shooting with "all the gear - no idea!"

 

AND

 

You can get adjustable stocks and you can also have a non-adjustable stock adjusted, if you see what I mean. Gun fitting is important later on as is the mindset of accepting that Berettas/Mirokus etc might not fit you as well as a cheapo Lanber...

 

Was.

 

 

It may have good advice in your opinion but the last bit is incorrect.

 

Gun fitting is more inportant than anything else. It is far more important than brand of gun, type of gun or even what choke you put in each barrel. If your gun isn't pointing where you are looking then you are basically wasting your time, money and effort.

 

There are also a lot of people in clay shooting with a chip the size of ayres rock on their shoulder.

 

Try as many guns as you can get your hands on and choose the one YOU like. The stock can be altered to suit your build and stance and should be done as soon as possible with some expert help.

Edited February 16, 2010 by MC

[Anni]

I shoot a fair few places and Beretta's are the most popular guns for sure, so maybe that tells you something.

 

But try as many as you can and If the first gun you buy isn't quite right then you can allways change it at a later date so dont worry

 

It is abit overwhelming at first so just take your time and you will find your feet soon enough.

 

I dont think I have ever looked for anyone with "All the gear and no idea" Must be why I have never seen any of them

[Dunkield]

I just noticed your location. You could do worse than going the The Oxford Gun Company and asking advice there.

Good advice.

I bought my current gun from Doug Florent when he ran The London Gun Company - well worth buying a shotgun from someone who can shoot and knows what they are on about.

[Cosmicblue]

Thanks for the replies all, and an interesting point about where you should begin when starting any sport. At the end of the day i think it is what makes you happy, and if thats something expensive whats the harm

 

 

Thumbs up for the Macwet gloves, if you get the right size they are superb, they are thin so as to have enough tactility to fetch carts out of your pocket and pull the trigger as though there was no glove there at al and yet made so as to keep the worst of the winter chills of your hands.... Brilliant.

[ChrisAsh]

Many suggest you buy the best gun you can afford as you won't loose much money

 

My thinking is you will probably want a better gun in a year or so and also have a much better idea of what you want

 

When you are learning at the start, the gun is just a tool just like the fine tuning on a gun fit, you can have a gun that fit you now, most likely a standard gun, but it's only after you have fired it unmounted for a few months that the finer points of gun fit will improve your action (consistancy of mount is most important to get a good fit)

 

Therefore if you buy an average £700-£1700 gun at the start you wont loose much money if you change it and nothing if yo keep it as a second gun backup

 

Not experienced myself so may be talking a load of rubbish, but just what i have picked up along the year

Edited February 16, 2010 by ChrisAsh

[John_R]

Good advice.

I bought my current gun from Doug Florent when he ran The London Gun Company - well worth buying a shotgun from someone who can shoot and knows what they are on about.

 

It was Shirley who first served me as I walked up and asked to see the SV10, and she actually told me before handing it over she did not think it would fit. She had to take a phone call and asked one of the guys to take over, but returned and explained more about gun fit to me in that one visit than some instructors had done for me to date.

 

I like being told why certain things work the way they do, most things have a logical reason somewhere.

[Mr_Logic]

Might have to check out the Oxford Gun Company...

 

Anyway, gripes aside...

 

I've recently got into shotguns, and have learned the hard way what works and what doesn't, FOR ME.

 

I bought a Winchester SX3 semi auto to start with - I was planning on shooting mainly pigeons and since it can be adjusted thought it would be great. Turned out I shoot almost exclusively clays, and it was a PITA, because:

 

1. O/U easier to load

2. 3.5" chamber so very fussy about what it cycled

3. bitch to clean, compared to O/U

4. Chucked the empties miles (on skeet, it would chuck them all the way to the next stand)

 

I bought my other half a 20 bore silver pigeon S/H, and tried it out for a round of skeet. I bought an O/U (Bettinsoli) the following weekend (3 days later). It made life so much easier - bit heavier which suited me, and no embarrassing chucking of empties or the odd jam.

 

I then did 6 months with the Bettinsoli, p/ex for a profit and got a Browning 525. I love the Browning, it's made such a difference to my shooting. By default the fit isn't quite there, but a beartooth with no pads, an easyhit, and then it's right. I no longer worry about the gun, just the clay.

 

All about fit - the Browning's balance, adjustable trigger happen to suit me best. Until I tried JonD's Browning, I was set on a Beretta, and then when I tried a Beretta after shooting with his Browning, I changed my mind in about 10 seconds.

 

So my recommendation is simple - try lots before you buy. Would I avoid a semi auto? Nope, not if it fits you. But I would say get a 3" chamber! Beretta do make a good semi-auto, so if it fits and the balance is good, get it.

 

Be careful of Churchill's though - their instruction's not the best around. Try Dan @ Bisley - much better.

[Snoogins]

Hi all,

 

This thread has kicked off, my gloves should come tomorrow or the day after- they should be the right size! Bisley and Oxford Gun Company look like my next ports of call..However, EJ Churhills is only a 40 minute drive away which I have to say is great ( I'm between Reading and Oxford ).

 

Would you have thought I could use a semi auto and maybe try some different O/Us at those places? Churchills do a 'gun fitting' service (I think its 100 pounds or so), not sure if it would be worth it. I also have not been to Bisley in a while, do they have a showroom I can look around?

 

Thanks for the help,

 

Leon

Edited February 16, 2010 by Snoogins

[Delbert]

I do love these honest requests for advice on guns it brings out the usual prejudices

fan behaviour some very helpful words and a deal of humour. I offer my usual

threepennorth if you have shooting friends then they will usually be happy to let

you try theirs.Try as many as you like but find a gun you are comfortable with.

It does not have to be the dearest gun in the world nor the cheapest if you are

confident in the gun you handle then thats half the battle.

Don't necessarily expect the first gun you buy to be one you will keep for the next

quarter century I do not know anybody that has and only one of my guns has been

with me that long and provided it doesn't break it will probably be still with me for a

lot longer yet.

[Mr_Logic]

I would avoid churchill's for anything other than clay shooting. I.e. No lessons or fitting for now. Adenbourne in Witney always worth a look for a selection of guns, too.

 

Bisley has William evans and they'll let you try secondhand guns afaik.

[beretta]

I do love these honest requests for advice on guns it brings out the usual prejudices

fan behaviour some very helpful words and a deal of humour. I offer my usual

threepennorth if you have shooting friends then they will usually be happy to let

you try theirs.Try as many as you like but find a gun you are comfortable with.

It does not have to be the dearest gun in the world nor the cheapest if you are

confident in the gun you handle then thats half the battle.

Don't necessarily expect the first gun you buy to be one you will keep for the next

quarter century I do not know anybody that has and only one of my guns has been

with me that long and provided it doesn't break it will probably be still with me for a

lot longer yet.

 

i still shoot with the same gun i bought in 1984.

[John_R]

Don't bother with a chargeable fitting session yet. Wait until you have a consistent gun mount, as until you do that right every time, the rib/eye/face/shoulder alignment will vary too much.

 

Personally, I would not visit Bisley just to look at guns to buy, not till I was planning to buy something really special.

[Dunkield]

Be careful of Churchill's though - their instruction's not the best around. Try Dan @ Bisley - much better.

IIRC Chris Bartha works at Churchill's? - I think he knows a little bit about clay shooting.

[malkiserow]

Snogings I've not got much advice other than try plenty of any make before you buy. I was one of those sad people who was against semis for quite a while, some inherited nonsense.................... anyway, I bought a Beretta semi to see what I didn't like about them. I love it now and wish I had bought one years ago! Just an anecdote but shows how nonsense advice can mean missing out on something good.