Need Help Picking A Shotgun Please

[celticrusader 78]

Guys if he's just starting out he doesnt need to be spending money on a silver pidgeon, lovely guns dont get me wrong but theres no point for someone to be doing that when he can get a cheap reliable gun for a couple hundred and see where he goes from there,he may not get the use out of it and it may not be that interested after a while.

i do agree with lid on that case and also believe an o/u would be his best bet for a first gun,Tbh he might want to rough shoot and spend all the time on his own doing this.

 

quick question ruster...have you been out before and is there someone you can go with when you do whatever you choose to do?

[Rake aboot 4,935]

A cheap reliable gun for £200 should be enough to put him off shooting for sure ! lol.

 

After many years I`ve found cheap and cheerful to be utter rubbish. A half decent gun now will transform how he progresses in the sport.

 

The only way he`ll choose a gun is to find a decent dealer who will make sure he buys a gun that fits

[celticrusader 78]

i'm not stating what your saying isnt true but i have only ever spent a couple hundred quid on my shotguns and it has never put me off of spending the past 15 years of it pidgeon shooting and i have never had any problems with mine, sure i could get a much better gun and maybe he should in time but to be honest none of us know who or what sort of person RUSTER is and what he would like or wants.

 

Truth be told i wouldnt advise him to be being cheap but then your idea of cheap will vary to mine no doubt as it will to many others just as it would when everyone asks about buying a scope and many refur to the top end of the market and oppose the lower end stuff.

[Rake aboot 4,935]

I understand that, but he mentions a budget of 1K and the Winchester I own comes in at £800 ish, and is an absolute cracker of a shotgun.

 

Regardless,, fit is everything

[charlie caller 3,654]

If you want a semi auto mate, buy a Benelli, m2 or good secondhand m1, the best semi auto shotguns in the world, bar none, they work on inertia, so no gas piston to worry about, and they come with spacers to adjust length, cast etc, it will last you a lifetime, and unless you want to spend 6 grand on a days shooting on a posh estate, take the damn thing anywhere, I do with mine

[celticrusader 78]

very true! but i could tell he was apprehensive about spending near enough the full whack on one when he was considering two alternative styles of guns, that being said ive never had a problems with the fit on any of my guns...but then i have short legs and arms as long as a gorilla

[celticrusader 78]

great shout charlie caller benelli are a fantastic make and reliable as hell and i would buy one in a heartbeat if i was gunna get a auto....expensive though how much would you expect to pay for one brand new and 2nd hand?

[abarrett 462]

 

Be the shooter every one points at

 

By a hatstand

 

It's a bit like having a tattoo on your eye ball

 

Pointless and Painfull

 

But you will have a lot of change

 

Good luck

[DeerhoundLurcherMan 997]

A second hand Beretta O/U will hold its value very well so if you do decide shootings not for you, you can get your money back.

 

A mate of mine recently bought his first shotgun, he did a grand on a Beretta 686 and loves it, it inspires confidence in him and after having it fitted, he shoots very well with it.

[Ruster 9]

quick question ruster...have you been out before and is there someone you can go with when you do whatever you choose to do?

Yes i have been out a few times with a friend he has a beretta 682 gold e and a browning ultra xs, i have been using the browning because his fav is the beretta, i have probs only put 30-40 shots through the browning in the last few trips out but i like it, its a solid gun but i find it slightly nose heavy,

today i had a few practice shots on his beretta since there were no rabbits about and nothing flying except a bird of prey and i found this to be easier to handle and was very accurate at what i was aiming at, i would have to say it was my fav out of the 2 guns so i think i might up my budget and go looking for a beretta.

 

 

to be honest none of us know who or what sort of person RUSTER is and what he would like or wants.

 

I have been an air gun hunter for many years and i will always prefer rifle hunting over shotgun i think but me and my mate have just got access to a lot of land to shoot on before that we only had a couple of fields where shotgun or rifle were overkill so i am going to get a 17 hmr and a shot gun.

 

I will mainly be rough shooting with it but i will do clays once a month i expect.

 

If you want a semi auto mate, buy a Benelli, m2 or good secondhand m1, the best semi auto shotguns in the world, bar none

I did see a benelli m1 camo for sale second hand at my LGS looked cheap to £595 so i went to look at it but when i picked it up it made me think wood stock is what i want, it was just a bit plastic but the more i thought about it for that price it is still a cracking bargain since wood or not it is still very good inside

[charlie caller 3,654]

That was a cheap gun mate, the cammo ones fetch a bit less than the black ones, due to them being a bit more specialized wildfowling guns, a new m2 is around 1200 quid, Benelli also do wood stocked autos as well, if that is your thing, personally in an auto I prefer synthetic stocks, but am totally in agreement with you about wood stocks on a traditional gun, whatever you get mate, buy something decent quality THAT FITS YOU, then if for any reson you decide to swap it in or sell it, you will not lose money, and may even get a tad more than you paid for it if you get a good deal.

[Alsone 789]

 

quick question ruster...have you been out before and is there someone you can go with when you do whatever you choose to do?

Yes i have been out a few times with a friend he has a beretta 682 gold e and a browning ultra xs, i have been using the browning because his fav is the beretta, i have probs only put 30-40 shots through the browning in the last few trips out but i like it, its a solid gun but i find it slightly nose heavy,

today i had a few practice shots on his beretta since there were no rabbits about and nothing flying except a bird of prey and i found this to be easier to handle and was very accurate at what i was aiming at, i would have to say it was my fav out of the 2 guns so i think i might up my budget and go looking for a beretta.

 

You either love Beretta or Browning.

 

Personally I'd disagree with your assessment. To me Browning feel entirely neutral, Beretta feel slightly butt heavy and thus to me at least, unbalanced.

 

BTW, Winchester was mentioned above. Also excellent guns and I think part of the Browning group. Their balance is similar to a Browning.

[charlie caller 3,654]

I'd buy something o/u for about £600, spend a bit of cash on a fit up and then you can have the weapon cast correctly for you and buy the right stock length. A semi isn't the best to learn on as in your mind you've got that third shot and boy you'll burn some powder, lol. If you can try before you buy all the better and don't get anything with tight chokes. atb Joe

Top advice on the chokes mate, I use nothing but imp cylinder in my m1 and let me tell you I have pulled duck after duck and goose after goose down at 50 yards plus, as James Wentworth Day said, choke is an invention of the devil.

[Lid 194]

My first gun was an AYA yeoman default choked at 3/4 and full. It smoked clays and seriously messed up any close quarry. I now use 1/4 for everything bar trap.

[celticrusader 78]

Yes the Remington I had was a lump of a gun, although I had no jams or misfeeds with mine I would say that they are more for waterfowling but that being said the more modern semi autos like the benelli's and other makes like the Winchester x3 or s I think it is ..look a lot less cumbersome and as the benelli's are operational weapons used with police and military forces the world over I think that speaks for itself.

All said above is great information and I guess it depends on how far you want to take shotgunning.