Oh man, now I've done it.......

[lil'feeby]

now i get it, one of my buddies just tried to talk me into skeet shooting. i see that it was just a plot to get me addicted to something else! thanks for the warning, i shall heed your words of wisdom.

[North Pack]

Back in the Stone Age Dano, - I worked with a guy who had won the Grand American on Wide World Of Sports at 19, - the youngest to ever do it - Steve Fabbri. He won a Camreo for his efforts. He had won all kinds of skeet & trap tournaments, - got it from his father who was career Army, on the Olympic shooting team. ... One day he asked me if I was interested in giving trap & skeet a try, - sure why not? I had never even held s shot gun at the time. ... We went to this range one Saturday - he said "I want to give something  a try". He gave me a couple of quick pointers on skeet shooting  - but no real instruction. Then he said ok, - you do what you can and "I'm gonna shoot from the hip". .. Shooting from the hip he beat me something like 14-9 as I recall.  He did give me some VERY good instruction later - and we used to shoot quite a bit later on. I never developed much of an interest in skeet, - but trap is another story. ... Best of luck, - it's a great way to spend some time. .... (Just remembered - most here probably don't know/remember anything about Wide World Of Sports program on tv)

[jwh2]

DanoInTx - 6/29/2009  6:18 PM

 I've been researching shotguns all afternoon, think I may add my very first powder burner to the stable.....doh!

You have done it. I shoot trap on a regular basis. I have a Weatherby Orion O/U that I can highly recommend. It comes in under $1300., is a solid shooter and good looking to boot.  http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/manufacturers_id/166/products_id/52750

[airiscool]

Dano.
If I might suggest.

Don't buy a shotgun in the heat of newbi fun !!!!

Try every shotgun you can. Shotgunners (except maybe some trap shooters) tend to be nice folk and are looking to help newbi's. And get advice on what to look for in shotgun fit and why. Unlike any other type of firearm, shotguns have to "fit" you for a couple of reasons. And dispite good intentions,  beware, not all advice will work for Dano. Because of the individaul nature of shotgun fit, what works well for others could be a disaster for you.

Reson being,  your eye is the rear sight, where and how your head fits on the stock is about 95% of how well you will shoot that gun.  

And it's not just length of pull as in rifles. If your broad shouldered like I am, you need cast-off in a stock or you'll be tipping your head and your eyes won't be level. Or, cast-on for narrow  build. Both of which, if not properly fitted, affects depth perception for moving targets.  If you have to scrunch your head down on the stock and your head is tipped sideways, probaly it's the wrong gun for you. Ideally, you want a gun where you can bring the gun up to your head with the butt in the pocket of your shoulder,  eyes level,  and your dominant eye looking down the top of the barrel.

Gun fit also has a big affect on precived recoil, which can lead to flinching.

At skeet distances, a 20 gauge  is the equal of a 12 and the family may enjoy it more. Many competitive skeet shooters shoot the 20 ga in the 12 ga events.

And many new shooters are surprised at how well they do with light loads when they are thinking, "I need more pellets !".

However, the lighter guages can work against you. Not all guages react as you would assume. A 20 ga shooting 7/8 ounce of shot, and being a lighter gun, has about the same recoil as a heavier 12 ga shooting 1 to 1-1/8 ounce. I like to shoot ALOT, so I add weight to my guns until they are in the 8-1/2 pound range. I shoot with a Registered trap  Perazzi owner who has his single barrel hogged out and leaded up to 12 pounds. My friend  shoots skeet with a long barreled Brown Citori Trap that has two mercury recoil reducers in it - 11-1/2 pounds total weight, but impossable to stop a good swing/follow-through.  

Also, gun brand and price has NOTHING to do with how well you'll break clays in skeet. I shoot with  Browning, Beretta and Perazzi shooters, many who shoot in local and state comp,  and I  beat them as much as they beat me with my old Mossberg pump.  It's all about practice, and expensive guns don't leave as much money to practice with as the inexpensive ones.

Case in point, I once shot skeet with an old farmer who showed up with a pre-war, short barreled 12 ga pump  riot gun he bought after WW2 in an auction from the NY State prison system. He shot two rounds, broke all 50, then went home. It's the only gun he has and he's been shooting it for about 50 years.  

Three basic rules to remember when picking a shotgun.
1. Proper fit for you, not what fits your buddies.
2.  Pick a gun you can afford to shoot, not what you can afford to look good with.
3.  Recoil affect is cumulative !!!!! Weight is the only thing that reliably soaks up recoil. Shoot the heaviest gun you can 'comfortably control'.

Hope you get the "skeet" bug and get it bad !!!!!

Paul

[DanoInTx]

Thanks for the advice.  I'm going again next weekend and will most likely take my two oldest sons with me.  I plan to rent a 20 gauge for them to try out, and for me to try out as well.  Last weekend I shot a walnut stocked OU and a synthetic stocked semi-auto.  The OU was quite a bit heavier, but it kicked like a mule on steroids, but I guess the semi-auto uses up some of the recoil to rechamber the next shell?  The semi-auto also had a shorter barrel, don't know what difference that makes.  I know I shot the much lighter semi-auto a bunch more than the OU because of the felt recoil.  After 3/4 of a box of shells I don't think it mattered what I shot, my shoulder still has a nice bruise:)

[jwh2]

DanoInTx - 6/30/2009  8:40 AM

 After 3/4 of a box of shells I don't think it mattered what I shot, my shoulder still has a nice bruise:)

That is where proper fit comes in. I can shoot hundreds of rounds and there is no bruise or discomfort whatsoever.

Ariscool gave you some good advice with the exception of the "cheap shot" at trap shooters.

[kirby999]

Hey Dano ; a little warning about shotguns , especially the 12 gauges . Don't let anybody slip in a magnum shell on you. I had a bright idea once that I wanted to deer hunt with slugs with a 12g pump. So I bought a Remington 870 Wingmaster and a couple of boxes of slugs and some buckshot . Let me tell you it only took a few shots for me to realize , I'd made a mistake . Those things are brutal . They kick more than a 300 win mag .  kirby

[airiscool]

Dan,

Great, try every gun you can get your hands on.....even if you don't think it's a gun you like, or that it will fit, it will serve to let you know what doesn't work for you.  

And, before you start looking, make sure you know which is your donminant eye.
If you haven't checked, point you finger at a far object. Don't move your finger, or your head, just close one eye at a time and see with which eye, the finger and the object best line up. That's your donimant eye regardless if your right or left handed. Short-cut to good shotgun shooting is to learn to shoot whatever way your donimant eye says is your shooting side.

Again, you shouldn't have to lean sideways to get your cheek properly on the stock and be able to see down the center line of the barrel. Also, you shouldn't feel like you have to "crawl' your face around the stock to get your dominant eye lined up with the barrel centerline.

Quick test for fit.....
Make sure your facing in a safe direction, action open.
Close your eyes and bring the gun up to your face, butt in the hollow of your shoulder ( never bring your  head down to the gun). Quickly open them looking past the end of the barrel and see where your dominant eye is looking in relation to the the centerline of the barrel. If the 'cast' fit is good you should be looking right down the center of the barrel.  Because I have wide shoulders, I have to put cast-off in all my shotgun stocks.

Sometimes the rear of the barrel lines up properly,  but the barrel seems to angle off some from where your eye naturally wants to look as soon as you open it. Pass on that gun - it takes some tricky stock/reciever fitting, which is best left to pros.

Next is to check for  height.  
Many shotguns have two beads. One large at the end of the barrel, a small one halfway along the barrel.

For skeet, you mostly will  need one that shoots "flat" - the front bead is hidden by the rear bead. For trap, a "high" gun, one where the beads apear more of a figure eight shape.

Changes in stock length and adding or changing a cheek pad can adjust the height, so don't let it turn you off is the stock cast is good, but the gun shoots high or low for you.

And don't be afrid to ask other shooters if you can try thier gun "on for size". They've all  been where you are and just like with airgunners, most are willing to help spread the sport and see others enjoy it. It's always more fun to have more shooters to shoot with !!!!

Jim,
The 'cheap shot' was for just "some" trap shooters.  I shoot alot of trap too, and  I've spent enough time around trap shooters to know that some of them deserve a cheap shot now and then(they've given me plenty in return). The same type of guys who make fun of skeet and sporting clays  shooters saying they should all wear a dress.

But, I know you don't fit in that catigory !  :emoticon:

Paul.

[airiscool]

Kirbi.

Since clay target shooters always have to have the gun action open when not on station and about to take a shot,  most don't  use the gun's safety. Some old target shotguns guns don't even have a safety.

The usual trick is to go over to the gun rack and while the guy is yacking with his buddies, sneek the  gun safety on. Then wait and see if he yanks the trigger and razz him about that terrible case of  'flinch' he's got !

Paul

[TCups]

Hey Dano:

The fit is critical, yes.  But I find that I track the target, clay or feathered, and swing the shotgun up and into my field of vision without ever taking my eye off the target and without consciously trying to line up the sights.  My experience is that if I have to take the time to carefully "aim" a shotgun, I am behind the target and have already missed.  But then, I am goofy, being right handed and shooting left handed, and I don't pretend to be an accomplished trap or skeet shooter.  In my day, I have killed my share of dove and quail, though.  And they don't fly in a straight line at a constant velocity, so the shot often has to be almost reflex.  Having a LOP too short to swing the shotgun up with the stock firmly shouldered is what pounds and bruises your shoulder.  And if you get really aggressive, I have a 10-ga. 3.5" magnum BPS w/ 32 in barrel, a goose gun from my days in Cape Girardeau, MO that you can try.  It kills at both ends.  A real man's shotgun. LOL

[airgunandy]

Yeah, I been thinking shotgun lately too. Figured it would work for hunting, trap, and home security. Used to shoot a little trap in my teens. Thought it might be fun to try it again. Or maybe sporting clays.
Got me a 12 ga Remington 870. I tried the tips on fitting a shotgun in this thread and it seems like it will work just fine. Now I just need to find the time and place to try it out!
Just like with pellet guns, when it comes to scatter guns, make mine a pump! Clackity-clack!

[DanoInTx]

.....all of the different shotgun disciplines?  skeets, traps, clays?  All I know is I shot those clay flying saucers 2 at a time after they were slung from the launcher?  This is an honest question, I am REALLY that naive about these things.

[jwh2]

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/index.php

[DanoInTx]

cool, thanks!

[kirby999]

The first time I shot sporting clays , It was in a big field and all the throwers were on a tower and I would stand in an area that was framed with lattice work . Each thrower would cast the clays in a manner that represented different animals or birds in their natural flight or run, such as ducks coming in to decoys or doves flying over, even a rabbit hopping across in the front of you. That was fun. Then I went to a facility that had it set up as woods walk , where you walked along a trail and stopped at different stations along the way . That was really a hoot. Except for the expense , I could see how one could get caught up in the action and fun. BTW all three times I went, my wife beat me , the first 2 times with a borrowed gun and the last time with a youth model Remington 870 express pump in 20 gauge , I bought her . I have never been a shotgun shooter , still not very good at it, but my wife had never shot a shotgun before her first trip . kirby