Shotguns For Clays

[elkhunter11]

Now that the weather is warming up, we are seeing more people coming out to shoot skeet/trap, or sporting clays. If you are new to clays, and especially new to shotguns, don't go out and buy a new shotgun. Go to a club and many club members will let you try their guns, so you can see which shotguns fit you, and which are actually suitable for high volume clays shooting. And if you go to a larger facility, they may even have shotguns to rent. Shotgun fit is very important to shoot well, and many people buy shotguns without any real understanding of shotgun fit. We had a new shooter show up a couple of weeks ago with new lightweight O/U that didn't have enough drop at comb, and he did very poorly breaking only 3/50 at skeet. The worst part, is that he was starting to get sore after one round, and after two rounds, he was too beat up to shoot another round. The following week , we convinced him to try some other shotguns, with much better results. I brought a gas operated semi auto along, that fit him better, and that he found comfortable to shoot. Then he tried another guys Citori skeet gun that had even more drop at comb, and he broke even more targets. Then to confirm that it wasn't just him improving, he switched back to his own gun to finish, and the pain returned, and he stopped breaking targets.
Now he knows what fits him, and what is comfortable to shoot, but he is stuck with a gun that is pretty much useless to him, so he will lose money selling or trading it.

[tool]

Great point elkhunter11

Also a good reminder for other members to let new shooters or people interested in the sport try your guns for a round or two, the more people involved the better clubs run.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by tool

Great point elkhunter11

Also a good reminder for other members to let new shooters or people interested in the sport try your guns for a round or two, the more people involved the better clubs run.

We have an excellent group of people, willing to let a new shooter try their shotguns. When people ask about shooting with us, I recommend that they purchase some 12 gauge target loads, and show up at the range as my guest, and we try to help them as much as possible. It's a very casual, easy going bunch of shooters, and most people don't feel at all intimidated ,being a new shooter.

[fps plus]

Not a big deal ,if he really wants to keep that gun , a file , rasp , sandpaper and finish and reduce the comb to properly fit .

[catnthehat]

I shoot skeet and trap with my hunting guns , especially skeet, to keep me in tune during the off season.
Cat

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

I shoot skeet and trap with my hunting guns , especially skeet, to keep me in tune during the off season.
Cat

I shoot some skeet with my lightweight SxS guns before each hunting season, and the 28 gauge doesn't bother me, but even two rounds with the wood buttstock 16 are enough for me.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I shoot some skeet with my lightweight SxS guns before each hunting season, and the 28 gauge doesn't bother me, but even two rounds with the wood buttstock 16 are enough for me.

I use a set of Briley 28 gauge sidekicks in my 12 gayge hammer gun , andighter loads in my 20 gauge hammer gun.
They run close to the same speed as my hunting g loads however .
Cat

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by fps plus

Not a big deal ,if he really wants to keep that gun , a file , rasp , sandpaper and finish and reduce the comb to properly fit .

I explained that to him, or install an adjustable comb, which will remove material and allow some cast, but it is an aluminum framed field gun, that will still be way too light to be comfortable for volume shooting. We had another fellow that also showed up with an O/U that didn't fit, but in his case, he needed to change the cast, and after trying a few guns, he purchased a Citori CX with adjustable comb, and shot his 25 straight the first day, after averaging 15-16 for a few months, with his previous gun..