Starter over under

[BarrelProof]

Shooting vest with recoil pad? The pad in the vest will remind you where you should be shouldering and cut back on bruising.

Was having too much fun to watch others technique, but I was propping the butt in my armpit to break open and reload. Held the release letting the barrel swing down. Once the butt hit the armpit it would break open the action and eject.

I think I had better luck getting the spent shells to land in the buckets than breaking the clays. lol

[PaperTarget]

Cases or boxes? A case is 10 boxes...and I would guess your shoulder hurts...a lot.

If there are any old folks here, they may remember that a FLAT has 10 boxes (250 rounds). a CASE is 2 flats with a total of 20 boxes (500 rounds).

ending my pedantry.

[tanks]

Shooting vest with recoil pad? The pad in the vest will remind you where you should be shouldering and cut back on bruising.
...

No, bruising was not from the shooting, but propping the stock against my bicep to break it open and catch the shells to dump in the bin.

Now, part of the issue was that the shotgun is new and therefore stiff to break open even when greased liberally.

[BarrelProof]

If it has ejectors it will always be stiff from the added spring tension. Might be something to think about in your shotgun choice. Extractor has less spring tensions since it only has to re-cock and will more easily fall open from the barrel weight. Ejector will have to be bent or bounced open like I was doing.

[Cuda440]

You do know that the CZ O/U's are made by Huglu, a Turkish manufacturer.

Yes, but the CZs arent crude like the mossberg that i own and referenced. CZs are built nicely, thats why theyre $400 more than a mossberg.

My mossberg silver reserve was on sale for 489 instead of 699 so I went for it, looking back I would never buy or recommend a silver reserve to anyone. The fit and finish is terrible, the monoblock looks like it was finished with an 80 grit grinder. The barrels are heavy and the swing isnt great, gun fit tends to give me and every one of my friends a sore jaw too because of bad stock geometry. The engraving work is pretty rough looking too. The worst part is that the lower barrel shoots 18" below the top barrel so you have to aim high, and the barrels block the target so you basically get to guess your aim.

If you went and spent $600 on an A300 or a Benelli montfeltro, youll have a top quality, reliable, lightweight and soft shooting semi. Buying a bottom barrel O/U just for the looks- well you might as well go buy that ferrari/fiero kit car in the marketplace too.

[ceh383]

Now, part of the issue was that the shotgun is new and therefore stiff to break open even when greased liberally.

Look at the fired shells. Drag marks on the primers indicate firing pins that are too long. Firing pins that are too long, even by .010", will cause excessively hard opening.

[Thefeeder]

Might want to go to a gun store and talk to them about fit...and shoulder a few...dozen...and see how they feel. Or go to a shooting place that rents shotguns and see what they say...and what they can offer for you to rent/try.

You can buy any gun you want...but if it doesn’t fit you well...or even somewhat...you are going to be doing yourself a disservice...buying based upon price only.

Good luck OP on your hunt for a shooter. Shooting clays, trap and skeet is great fun...

This ^^^^^
Its the RIGHT recommendation for "which shotgun for clays" . Try your friends guns, shoot with other Calguners to try their guns, rent, take a lesson or two. Try before you buy!

Are there any gun stores in the Bay Area that you can talk to about fit My guess is , most will not have a clue as to what you are asking.

[five.five-six]

Or go to a shooting place that rents shotguns and see what they say...and what they can offer for you to rent/try.

Good advice. My $700 starter O/U is a steaming pile of bovine excrement. I love my Citori and should have started with it.

[novelty]

Tri-star

https://www.tristararms.com/series/tt-15-sporting/#tt-15-sporting-sporting

[JagerDog]

Up your ante a little (say $1000) and find a nice used Browning Citori.

3x the gun you'll find new for $700.

And if you ever decide to upgrade, or give up, you'll get your $ back out of it.

[JagerDog]

If there are any old folks here, they may remember that a FLAT has 10 boxes (250 rounds). a CASE is 2 flats with a total of 20 boxes (500 rounds).

ending my pedantry.

Was gonna mention that.

[hunterb]

Entry level O/U’s is good condition run around $1200-1500 in my experience. Then you will probably spend some getting it fitted. Beretta Silver Pigeon Sporting or Browning Citori are my suggestions. Get a 30 or 32 in barrel. Get one that uses the newest chokes.

Best thing is to try them both and see what fits you best. Brownings don’t fit me as well as Beretta’s but everyone is different. Arm length, height, weight, face shape, cheekbones all affect fit.

But one that fits you well and get it fitted by a pro like Bob Day after shooting for a while, and take some lessons!

But honestly if you’re just starting, I would get a semi-auto like a Beretta A300. You can find them new or barely used for around $600.

Every time you go shoot it will be around $75-100 for clays and ammo unless you reload.

Start with 7/8 or 1 oz light loads. Avoid heavy 1 1/8 cheap Walmart shells. They beat you up if you shout a lot and may lead to bad habits like flinching.

And listen to shotgun clay vets like Ceh383, YSR_Racer, Trapperjohn, Fecalguns, Shovelon and many others. Some great shooters here. (I am not one of them)

Oh and take lessons!

[PoorRichRichard]

I read a lot of mixed reviews about the Stevens 555, but ultimately decided to pull the trigger on one because I found a screaming deal on a nice little, very light weight, 20 gauge model with ejectors.

The gun fits me well, and is an absolute joy to carry in the field while jump shooting dove and quail, and I’ve had very few issues with it overall after shooting over 400 rounds (and I know that the first owner put at least 200 rounds through it).

If you do get a 555 that has issues, the good thing is that Stevens/Savage has always offered great customer service in my experience. I say this because I had to send them back one of my bolt gun hunting rifles, and they had it back to me fixed in less than three weeks.

I don’t currently own a 12 gauge/over under shotgun, so a Stevens 555 in 12 is on my list of potential future shotgun purchases due to my experience with my current 20 gauge.

TriStar also make some decent over/under tight-budget shotguns. I picked up a used Pointer model in 28 gauge for $300, and after lengthening the stock slightly with a slip on pad, the gun fits me well enough, and I enjoy using it to shoot skeet, sporting clays, and dove. Again, I bought this gun used, and the previous owner let me know that one of the barrels wasn’t firing properly, which was most likely due to a damaged firing pin. The previous owner was the original owner, so the gun still fell under warranty. I was able to have him order me a brand new set of BOTH firing pins and springs for free from TriStar.

I took the gun in to my gunsmith along with the new firing pins and springs to have him inspect it and see exactly what was wrong, and it turned out that the channel in which the firing pin sits actually had a burr, which was causing the firing pin to not fully extend and set off the shotshell. It was only a $20 fix, and now I still have the two new firing pins and springs in case I ever need them in the future.

[tanks]

OP,

A person I know is selling this.

SKB Model 685 12 Gauge 28" Sporting Clays Model
*2 3/4"-3" Chamber
*Gold enlayed receiver
*Ported Barrel
*Screw in chokes
*Wide vented rib
*Double bead sights
*Single selective trigger
*Pachmayr Old English recoil pad
*Very nicely figured wood
*Jeweld ejection components
*Includes skeet and cylinder chokes
8.33 lbs
14.25" LOP

Shot very little
Locks up tight as new

His final offer is $1,250. Link for more pics etc. here.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5451078981/m/6141000062

[five.five-six]

^jump on that^