What gun - s?

[Bigmike]

I am new to pigeon shooting, I also do a bit of clay shooting both sporting and skeet. I have a Miroku MK38 sporter which I use for everything. Its great at the sporting clays, not so good at the skeet and a bit of a pest to keep breaking open in a hide. Anyway the stock has developed a crack and to cut a long story short the gunshop where it came from will take it back as I have only had it a couple of months. I am hoping to buy something of an all rounder or maybe 2 guns. Would a shorter barrel semi for skeet and in the hide be practical leaving me a dedicated sporter for sporting clays or is it feasible to get another set of barrels for something like a berretta silver pigeon to suit all my needs? I am erring on the side of a semi but would like a bit of advice

[Baldrick]

Bearing in mind that the minimum barrel length that you can have on an SGC is 24", factor in the 4"+ receiver length on a semi-auto and you still have a fairly lengthy gun. I'd stick with an O/U with 28" barrels for everything - unless you do a lot of shooting, you may find it difficult to adjust between two sets of barrels on the same gun. Just my opinion, but I use a fixed-choke 27.5" barrelled B25 for everything. Better to shoot well with one gun than having to keep worrying about barrel length and the right choking.

[Andy W]

My MK38 with 30" barrels are fine for skeet, keeps me on my toes, not sure if it ia a good idea to use 2 or more different guns, better stick to one and get to know that gun better than you know your missus, and if you opt for a silver pigeon bear in mind that Berettas fit totally differently to a Miroku, if it was me I would get a new stock fitted under warranty and possibly buy a cheap semi or a sbs for the hides but then again I am biased ................... I love Miroku's.