What gun to buy

C

Chevyluver57

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I have been shooting clay targets in the back yard for years now with a remington 870 and 1100 and it's to the point were I can't miss just by throwing them up by hand, I am looking about getting into sporting clays mostly trap maybe occasionally shooting skeet for more of a challenge. I Want a over under that I can go out with and shoot a lot that is comfortable and durable and most importantly affordable I have looked I to the mossberg silver reserve supersport. The Ruger red label and te cz redhead deluxe. My question is what one of those guns would you most recommend or any other gun new or used for around $800-1300. Also what length barrels I was thinking 28 or 30. Any advice is appreciated thanks.
 
Sorry I can't help with your question. Maybe you would get more hits if you copied this question to the shotgun area.
 
Probably a better question for the The Dave McCracken Memorial Shotgun Forum.
The scatter gun guys will be able to provide guidance for you I'm sure.
 
Sporting clays is not trap - different games. In any event, if you are going to shoot a lot, I wouldn't get any of them. The Ruger is discontinued - strike that off the list right now. There are recent threads all over the Net about folks having a lot of issues with their Mossbergs (remember Mossberg doesn't make these). For the money that the CZ costs, you can either save up a little more and buy a new entry level Browning or Beretta or for about your max budget find a nice used one - the place to look for used would be the trap/skeet/sporting clays clubs in your area.

I did a Google search and the CZ is out of stock and no longer available according to several web sites.

For target shooting, you'll want 30-32" barrels and the target version of any particular gun, NOT the field version. Target versions are made to be somewhat heavier to take the use (and it also helps a little more with recoil reduction).

Both Browning and Beretta makes, IMO, the best entry level guns in the O/U arena where reliability and endurance are important factors. I have used a Browning target model for a few decades; have shot hundreds of thousands of rounds through it and replaced the firing pins and springs in it one time.

If you start to shoot a LOT - your words - ammo and target costs will very soon run more than the gun; the gun is the least cost over a long time shooting.
 
If you don't mind some unsolicited advice, think about trying those various games with your 1100 before buying anything else.
There's quite a difference between trap, skeet, sporting clays and its variants, like five stand.
You might very well decide that you will like some more than others.
And the guns used for each of them can also vary quite a bit in what seems like little details.
But those little details can be very important.
 
It WAS, and the Red Label sucked again, so Ruger pulled the plug and it is not coming back. I owned one from the first go 'round - just too many issues and returns to try and get it fixed.
 
FITASC's advise is solid....but there is a huge difference between a shooter that wants to compete locally, spend some money on lessons, etc ...vs a casual shooter ...that wants to go out to a local club....shoot a few lines of Trap, a few lines of Skeet...and some sporting clays...

For now, I'd suggest you still with the 1100 ...and just shoot it thru the end of the year at least..../ if you find it has shortcomings....look at the offerings in Over Unders from Browning and Beretta../ new or used...for a good long term investment in an O/U.

Leave the O/U's alone ...until you've shot 50 or more lines of Trap and Skeet..and several hundred sporting clays target....and talk to the folks out there at the club / find out what they're shooting, do they like it, would they buy it again...etc...
 
I have shot my 1100 a lot but I recently shot my buddies over under Andy liked it a lot more than the 1100. I have found a browning lighting sporting clays for around $1300 looked to be decent condition and I also found a browning Citori special sporting clays for $1400 that was used only for trap and skeet that one really caught my eye. Any ideas on the price or the guns the self?
 
The Sporting Clays Special is similar to my model and were out a bout the same time. Condition is important as serious trap and skeet shooters will typically send a lot of rounds downrange. Top lever should be right of center, indicating it still has a good lockup; lever at center is still good, but will need a tuneup that shouldn't be too bad. Left of center typically means time for a rebuild. Rebuild isn't a bad thing; just realize there will be that extra cost after you buy.

I am not familiar with the first model you mentioned.
 
Marketing dept's ...for gun mfg's...name guns all kinds of different ways...and its really confusing to new shooters ( and it doesn't really mean anything !! ) in terms of how you use the gun.

Its hard to keep up with Browning Citori models over the years...in their current catalog alone ..there are 29 models in the general Citori line of O/U's...in the 725 series of Citori O/U's there are 23 more models ...and in the Cynergy line of O/U's there are 9 more..../ and they're all a little different in some way...

All of the Citori line share one thing...the barrel to receiver connection - and its incredibly strong..and probably the single biggest reason most any Citori will be a 250,000 - 500,000 shell gun...or more. It can be abused by owners that don't grease it properly and are careless when they assemble their guns...by gouging, scratching, etc...( so look over the barrel to receiver connection for wear or gouges ).

Stock dimensions are critical ..to figure out what "Fits" you ...so it hits where you look / because there is no rear sight on a shotgun, so its critical it hit where you look / and so it doesn't beat the stuffing out of you. Too short a length of pull, too long a length of pull, too much drop at comb, too much drop at heel - or not enough drop --- or too light, or too heavy ...are all things you need to figure out.

I love Browning O/U Citori's ...and I have 5 of them, that are my primary guns....but 80% or more of the Citori's will not fit me personally. I need a parallel comb gun ..where the comb is not angled, its parallel to the rib - and I like an O/U with 30" barrels ..and gross weight at about 8.5 lbs...( and it doesn't matter if its a 12ga, 20ga, 28ga or .410 ...)....

Too much drop at comb, for me, means the stock pushes the meat in my face up against my cheek bone as gun recoils...and it beats the stuffing out of me / and at 6'5" and 290 lbs that is not easy to do...but a gun that doesn't fit ( like most of the Lightning series of Citori O/U's ..will bring tears to my eyes after about 20 shells....when a gun that fits me, I can easily shoot 300 shells a day with no soreness.

My go to gun....for Skeet, Sporting Clays, 5 Stand, and live upland birds...is an older model called a Citori XS Skeet ...in 30". My go to Trap gun...is the Citori XT Trap model..with 32" barrels and around 10 lbs... For Trap, I want a gun, that is heavier, so it swings more smoothly at Trap where the birds do not give you as much left to right movement...and so its point of impact is a little higher ( like 70%/30% over the point of impact, because Trap is a game we shoot ideally when the targets are rising...not falling or sliding sideways...

So for Skeet, sporting clays, etc.../ I want a gun that is heavy enough to be smooth ...but still nimble enough to handle hard crossing targets one way and then the other, or dropping targets, or rabbits, etc...

I could shoot my Trap guns...for Skeet, Sporting, etc....but they would feel heavy and clumsy.

But it comes down to what you like...

Upper body strength, length of your arms, the dimension from your shoulder to your cheek..are all factors. One of my adult kids...can shoot a Citori 625 sporting series gun very well...it fits him / it beat the heck out of me. Another adult kid...can shoot the Lightning series very well...but he can't shoot the 625 series..../ but they can all shoot the parallel comb guns very well....
 
The lighting sporting clays that I held and aimed down the sights fit very natural when I welded my cheek to the stock I was looking flush right down the rib and my eyes weren't searching for the bead. Is this something to look for when picking out a gun?
Also both the Brownings I'm looking at are sporting clays and trap specials I'm no expert but does that most likely mean the gun is going to be set up for the shot to rise Into the target? If so how dramatic is it? Is it enough to not be able to shoot skeet and trap with the same gun without making major changes to the shot break point? Thanks.
 
Trap guns made specifically for trap, usually shoot a 70/30 pattern - meaning 70% is above your bead and 30% below - great for trap targets that are shot on the rise, but lousy for sporting targets where they might be curling and dropping. You should not have to mash your cheek onto any stock. When mounted, if you see rib, the gun does not fit and you'll be shooting over the targets. This can be fixed using adjustable combs and butts - but that is another expense. Look at the Beretta 68X series as they fit different than a Browning - not better or worse, just different. Usually if one brand fits you well,m the other will not.

If you are wanting to shoot both regular trap AND sporting clays, I'd get the sporting model, hit the pattern plate with your intended load and go from there. If your gun shoots flat (50/50), for trap targets you'll need to swing up through the bird and as your muzzle covers the bird, you'll pull the trigger, as opposed to "floating" it above the bead on a trap gun. (Besides, you shouldn't be looking at the bead(s) anyway - your focus should be solely on the target)

The fun is in the search for the holy grail gun that fits you like a glove. Some find it right away; others like me keep looking or need to have adjustments made.
 
thanks for clearing that up for me!!! If I look at a used gun is there anyway to tell how It shoots just by looking at it or am I going to have to throw lead down range and see where it's hitting.
 
The BEST way is at the pattern plate both for fit and POI/POA alignment. Best bet for that would be to look for guns for sale at your local club where you should be able to shoot them some. If no sale ads, post a "want to buy" ad on the club's bulletin board - you might find someone with a bunch of guns they don't regularly shoot and they might be inclined to sell one to you.

In the meantime, go to your local with boxes or nice ammo like Rem STS or Win AA and ask to borrow as many as you can - either shoot a full box and give the owner a full box and the empties as a thanks or at least see if you can shoot a half box and then give them the remainder and empties. Try as many as you can, even ones outside of your price range to see what fits the best. If you find one that is like an extension of your arm , even if it is out of your $$ range, get the weight and stock dimensions so you can get whatever you do get set up as close as possible.

Have fun with the search and don't settle for cheap - the gun is the least of your costs - buy once, cry once and buy the best quality possible (and that doesn't always mean a 12K P or K gun, but it sure does mean stay away form $500 O/U).
 
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