Shotgun Recommendations
 

Hey I am new to Shotguns and been looking around and would like some opinions, For now I will be shooting clays but would like to get into bird hunting in the future. So right now its between the Benelli Super Nova pump 12 guage or the Browning Silver Hunter Semi Auto 12 Guage. Id like to keep it around one grand for price, I am open to other recommendations but these 2 felt best when i looked at them in the store

Take each gun you are interested in, close your eyes, shoulder the gun, and then open your eyes without moving the gun at all. If you are looking directly along the rib, rather than at it, and it is centered left to right, then the gun is at least close to fitting you. If the gun does not fit you, you won't shoot to your potential with it. For learning skeet, or sporting clays, or doubles trap, a semi auto is a better choice than a pump action, but an experienced shooter can do quite well with a pump action.

When you're in the store again -

Pick a spot on the wall that's safe and clear to point to, keep it in your minds eye.

Shoulder each gun with eyes closed.

Open eyes and see if you are pointing at the spot and can see it well. If you see the back of the receiver or tons of rib, it's a poor fit. If you feel the barrel is aligned to your satisfaction, buy it! In short - Nothing's as important as fit in shotguns.

I would also recommend that you check out a Browning BPS or few before buying, as well as a Wingmaster 870 for Pump guns. For Auto don't forget to test the Mossberg 930's out, they have a skookum new Sporting Clays model either out now or coming soon... Maybe consider Remington's V3.

Just a few ideas.... Best of luck on your purchse! Let us know how it goes here on AO.

Pump is not a great choice for clays, you will be looking to upgrade pretty quick. Silver Hunter is a great gun. Also check out Beretta A300 and Winchester SX3 (see which one feels better in your hands). Someone's selling a Maxus on buy and sell for $1000 - great price.

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A pump is fantastic for singles - don't sell yourself short on one. I shoot a lot of trap with a single barrel break action.

If I had $1000 and wanted the best all around gun I would probably buy another SuperNova.

If I was focused on clays I would buy either a BT-99 or a Citori (used).

There are very few people shooting pumps at any sporting clays club or event I've ever attended. Yes, pump is fine for trap, but why would you want to limit yourself. I agree that an experienced shooter can cycle the pump quick enough for a follow up shot, but it takes a lot of practice.

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I have no real trap or sporting clay experience. But I absolutely definitely started killing more birds when I upgraded to a semi auto.

I could pump fast enough. But Couldn't get on target for the next shot. I found it too disruptive.

All my kills were on the first shot. Then I fired 2 random shots into the flock.

With a semi I can slow down and focus on proper shooting for all 3 shots.

Just my experience.

Also. I like the Stoeger line of semis. But that's me.

My goose game elevated with the semi. An over under would have done the same.

Don't overlook the Franchi affinity.

Browning Maxus
 

I've had a Browning Maxus Sporting for 2 years and have done nothing but shoot sporting clays with it. It has been a fantastic shotgun, shoots well, not at all difficult to clean and looks great too!

I know it's above your stated price point but I believe Browning has other Maxus models (Maxii?!) that meet your price point. They'll operate as well as mine does.

Cheers!

Mossberg Model 500 is tried and true


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Fitting recommendation?
 

Looking to get my son into shotgun - similar uses as OP described. Given that fit is probably the single most important factor - where does one go to get someone fitted for a shotgun?? Calgary area preferred.:thinking-006:

I would contact Silver Willow Sporting clays, as they supposedly had a qualified person on staff. Depending on how old your son is, and how fast he is growing, the fit could change considerable in fairly short order.

Its very cost prohibitive and a growing boy who is just getting into it - unless you are a VP at a major oil and gas company the expenditure might make the endeavor impossible.

2nd for mossberg. Don't mind banging it up either!

x2 on Silver Willow. Their lead instructor is a gun fitter, and in the summer they typically have Andrew Harvison visiting for couple of months who is a master gun fitter/maker from the UK.

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Thx for the info guys!

Girsan. Every bit on par with Benelli, probably made by the same people on the same line in Turkey. I did a side by side comparison with my berreta a400. Really impressed with the Girsan. fired the lightest trap loads right out of the box, and went to 3" buckshot with zero issues. Comes in a nice case with 3 chokes and wrench, wood or camo. $750....that was last year, prices may have increased.

Listen to this guy. That's good advice right there.

I thought I bought the right gun...until I got to using it. Got into a deal that was way too good to pass up and ended up with a semi that just wasn't quite right for me. It was close but not perfect. I tried the shins that came with it and I made it better but it still wasn't quite there. After swearing for a couple seasons I did what needed to be done. I chucked the shims and grabbed a hand file and shaved the right angle on the buttstock to get the right drop for me. I was a little afraid of what it might look like, but you'd have to look real close to see any modification happened at all. Now that the gun fits me properly, birds come pretty easy.

Unfortunately, many people purchase shotguns because they like the look of the gun, or they got a great deal, or because the gun has a great reputation. I purchased a couple of like new Beretta A400 demo shotguns for about half of retail price, thinking that I would sell one and keep the other one for a waterfowl gun. As is usual for Beretta, they didn't fit me, but I thought that I could use the shims to make one fit me. Although I did get it close, I just didn't shoot that gun as well as I shot my SX-3, so I ended up selling both of the shotguns. I also tried a Benelli SBE2 , and I shot it almost as well as the SX-3, but I ended up keeping the SX-3 , and selling the SBE2, because the SX-3 fit me better, and I shot better with it.

One reason I love the old Wingmasters for general clays and hunting is because the wood sticks are easily adjusted with a bit of practise .
fortunately I was taught how to build and adjusts stocks when I was younger so adjusting a gun fir me is not an issue .
However , if a person can try several guns out with the aid of a mirror it is very beneficial and will pay off with less recoil and better hits on the field .:)
Cat

A good fitter can use shims,tape and foam strips to make a stock fit for a reasonable price. It may not look great, but you will shoot better.

The custom stock can come later when the growing has finished.

i have a browning maxus semi auto 12 ga and i love it, it crushes skeets and has very reasonable recoil its a bit more expensive than the browning silver but worth every dollar in my opinion

I hate to break it to you, but there is no such thing as a skeet.:sHa_sarcasticlol:

For me - A pump is no limitation. It all depends upon one's style and technique. Very, very few people seem to know how to properly deploy a pump gun. Also, clay sports are very international and many jurisdictions fear their populace and are very lacking in balls and spirit. Hence, they frequently prohibit pumps and autos. This influences the choices of the pros who influence the choices of most other clays shooters.

Ultimately, It's a personal choice as per what's best for each individual. It is best to try them all out, if possible. That said all quality double guns and most semiautos (even used) are way above the price point mentioned here by rry.

I say +1 for pumps and to each their own.

I have no personal experience with a Stoeger but have seen the Stoeger M3000 on Bubba Rountree Outdoors and it looked skookum and works great for guys like Wade Rush who uses it for Dog Drive Deer Hunting and such, in SC. I have seen these guns in Canada for under 1000g brand new.

The pump is still my choice, works better for me than anything else. That said, I can shoot whatever just about the same as long as the gun fits! Gun fit is so important in Shotguning.

I have a Remington 870 pump, as well as the Remington V3 autoloader. The 870 fits me a bit better and as such, I am a better shot with it. Once I get the stock shimmed, I imagine I will shoot the same with it as I do with my 870. Either that or the V3 will change my form (which I don't want, I want it to be natural pointing obviously).
I have shot my hunting partners Berretta and I couldn't hit a thing with it. But he is very successful with it.

Ooops! Guess there may well be some excellent double gun options at around 1G... So I was wrong about saying "all quality double guns and most semiautos (even used) are way above the price point mentioned here by rry."

Not in the market myself, but noticed that AO Site Sponsor Prophet River has a Zoli on consign right here. Anyone in the area would do well to see how it fits!

http://store.prophetriver.com/consig...dified-chokes/

Shotguns
 

I have been using a browning gold for years and just upgraded to the maxis... amazing guns and well built in my opinion.

Gun "fit"
 

As elk and others have stated, first thing you should do on any purchase is check the fit of the gun. The way the gun naturally points when you shoulder it.. Obviously, this is impossible to do with online sales. From experience, I would say that half or more of the "pretty" or "collectible" guns I buy on impulse online, don't fit worth a dime, as much as I would like to kid myself otherwise. You need to physically shoulder the gun to see if it fits your needs. This does not include shouldering your friend Bubba's gun either, cause no two guns fit exact. I have been burnt on this one before too, where a friend bought a gun that fit me great, and so I bought a similiar model. MISTAKE.
The OP didn't state weather the "clays" were hand-thrown clays out the back forty, or sporting clays on a laid-out course. If you are on a normal "trap" range, just about any shotgun format will do. Lots of folks use pumps FOR SINGLES. Sporting clays is a totally different beast. The semi might be more appropriate in your price range. Don't overlook doubles, thinking they would be out of your price range. Quite often I find deals on good quality doubles for your price. I just recently saw a decent looking Fausti on "the Gun Dealer" for around 900.00, and see a few citoris come up in that range as well. Again, online sales dont allow for you to check FIT.

I saw that Fausti as well!
There is also a C. I.L. 1000 on CGN for $500 which
Is a not bad price fir a Franchise that was built before they were bought out by
Berreta .
Cat