gaz2923 Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 My licence is coming through soon and I am in the process of clay lessons. I want to use my gun for clays and also for shooting a range of game on both rough shoots and driven game shoots. Do I need an o/u or a semi? I presume I need a multiple choke for the clay/game mixture? What about barrel length? So many questions but once I have those answered my search will be narrowed :0) I am only looking to spend a few hundred quid for my first gun so I'm thinking of a second hand baikal at the moment but if anybody can recommend any other cheap brands then Let me know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RED BEARD Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 i use side by side, and over and under on clays.the sbs is fixed choke,and the o/u is multi.i dont think its makes much difference to me.my sbs has 25" barrels and my o/u has 28" barrels.its more about finding a gun thats comfy and suits you,than chokes and barrel length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 One that goes bang (sorry I have always wanted to say that) You dont really need multi choke, I put 1/2 and 1/4 in my gun when I bought it a year and a half ago and they haven't been touched since Barrel lenght is a personal preferance, just try some and see how they feel. I have a Lincoln premier O/U and I have found it to be pretty much perfect for me. Just try as many as you can and see what fits best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 If you want to do any driven shooting a semi is out. It's all steeped with tradition and it's not that long ago that an over and under was deemed acceptable on some shoots! Nowt wrong with a Baikal so long as it fits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantinos Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 An o/u will cover you across the board. I personally have a baikal o/u 12G with 1/4 and 1/2 chokes, but with 2 sets of barrels - one long one short. Ejectors would be useful, particularly on driven shoots when you have been standing around for ages and everything appears at the same moment. As per Apache, semis are out for driven shooting. And something you can happily put steel through if your driven shooting has any wildfowl on. Comfort is up there as the number one requirement, and the rest you will pick up in time (/a lifetime) tbh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaz2923 Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 thanks for the responses guys it sounds like some peope have different chokes in each of the barrels, why is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Chokes are used so that you get the best possible pattern at the distance you are shooting. Ie a quarter choke will achieve optimum pattern of shot closer than say a full choke. Dont get to hung up on choke though as they dont make a massive amount of difference to the less expierienced shooter. Concentrate more on pointing the gun in the right place and continue with the lessons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retromlc Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 thanks for the responses guys it sounds like some peope have different chokes in each of the barrels, why is that? if you are shooting game flighting towards you and your gun for example has a double trigger(as your not spending much money you may not get a gun that is a single selective trigger,that means you can select which barrel you wish to fire first)you would fire the barrel with the tightest choke as the bird is further away,the choke doesn't make the shot go further it just holds the pattern tighter so if you are on target there will be enough shot in the pattern to bring it down,and when you miss you will fire the 2nd barrel with the wider choke as the bird is closer and you want your patteren to bet bigger sooner to give enough of a patteren for the bird to fly into. hope that is understandable. A side X side might be the way to go,more acceptable on driven shoots,and if you plan to walk about with it often they are light to carry too,but if you are using one on clays a lot buy cartridges that are 21/24 gram as the recoil will be less,SXS tend to be lighter and so the recoil is felt more,Obviously you will have a heavier cartridge for shooting game.i would avoid sporters(a gun between a game gun,light weight and a full clay gun,much heavier)as sporters are too heavy to walk around all day with,i would make sure if I was buying an O/U it would be a Game version,i had a game version and used it on clays and never had a recoil problem.if I had £300 to spend i'd rather have a nice SxS than a Biakal,there's nout wrong with a Biakal but it's a bit like turning up at a classic Porsche meeting in an old VW Beetle and claiming they were designed by the same guy,close but no cigar if you know what i mean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 My licence is coming through soon and I am in the process of clay lessons. I want to use my gun for clays and also for shooting a range of game on both rough shoots and driven game shoots. Do I need an o/u or a semi? If your going game shooting a semi is most frowned upon, for clays O/U is the norm I bet your using an O/U for your lessons? I would say get an O/U 28"-30" no need for Multichokes just get one with middle of the road fixed chokes (1/4 & 1/2) and make sure it fits, Baikals have a good reputation but can be heavy, some others to consider, i would recommend a single trigger for ease of use but dont worry about ejectors, are Lanber, Laurona, AYA, Midland, Sabatti, Browning medalist, FIAS, BSA, Rizzini, Franchi etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.