Advice for First Skeet Gun

[mike in CA]

I would like to take up Skeet shooting. What would be a good shotgun for learning that is not too pricey? Also, does anyone know where there are skeet ranges near Monterey, CA? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks much

Mike

[thevic]

a 16ga or 20ga..

you could go 12ga( i usually do) but thats overkill for clay.

get like a rem870 or mossberg 500 if you want a pump skeet shooter and home defense/ workhorse gun that is fairly cheap and reliable.


otherwise id get a double brake barrel 16 or 20ga strictly for skeet shooting

or an auto loader if you are going to hunt too, but you dont see too many people with pumps and semi autos skeet shooting..at least not seriously

but you gotta try them out yourself and see what you like the feel of

[Tallship]

CDNN had a Remington SPR in 20 guage for $359. Good gun to get started on.

[audiopro74]

Just went through this with my girl. We bought her a 20 ga 870. Within 2 months she was over it. She is now hounding me for a 4000 dollar browning, and wont relinquish mine. Start with a 12ga. Auto or double break. That way you can shoot doubles too. I picked up my browning broadway trap for 700. If it is only going to be used for trap, and skeet I highly recomend a skeet, sport, or trap gun over a field gun. The point of impact is slightly different, and will give you better results. Find a local club and check the wall. Most clubs have 2 or 3 locals selling guns at any given time. Have fun, and here's wishing you your first 25.

[bjl333]

For the money you can't beat a Browning Citori Skeet new or used. I have 5 Citori skeet guns and if you look right you could find a nice used one for less then $1000. I would start with a 20 gauge, the Walmart Federal 20ga field loads w/ #8 shot are great for practice. They sell for $4.89/box. I have been using them since I am too lazy to load at the moment.

I would highly recommand a good instructor for the first few times out, because it is very easy to pick up BAD habits that will be hard to break later on. Too bad you are up north, or I would recommand a good skeet coach in LA.

If you decide against a coach for cost reasons, then please PM me.

EDIT: My second choice would be a Remington 1100 in 12 or 20ga with a skeet barrel. If you find one with a choke tube barrel thats better because you can use it for other things. The 20ga would still be my first choice, again for the Federal ammo. The 12ga in the same package kicks a lot more the target 12ga ammo.

[bjl333]

I concur with a good used Citori or a Beretta 626. You will definitely be happier with an O/U (whatever you get make sure it has a single trigger and ejectors. Both those brands have them). I love the 20, I hunt upland exclusively with a 20 ga O/U and its my preferred gauge for skeet (if only because of the cost of 28 ga and .410). It will work for trap and sporting clays as well, though 12 ga is more common for those games. If the gun fits reasonably well and you mount it correctly, recoil should not be an issue, even over 8-12 rounds (muscle fatigue will be a bigger issue)

I also see quite a few auotloaders at my skeet club, many are used by serious competitors (incl a couple state champs) who also have the requisite Kreighoffs and Perazzis. The auto of choice is the Beretta 391. Pumps are old school and some of the older guys can work their Model 12's faster than an autoloader. With a little practice you can get quite good. I have run the field many times with my two .410 pumps - a 1936 Model 42 (full choked) and a small frame 870 Skeet (skeet choke).

Getting some instruction is a good suggestion, but I have one caveat. A lot of pure skeet shooters do not hunt or shoot other clay games and many of those prefer the sustained lead method. This is great for skeet, not good for hunting. If you do both, stick with the pull-through method. That little bit of knowledge cost me a lot of ammo and birds.

Good point Scott, but there are lots of skeet shooters that are hunters. Top skeet guys like Todd Bender, John Herkowitz, Kirk Grates go hunting all the time. Skeet shooters like John Herkowitz, Lori Desatoff, Ron Hurlbert shoots Sporting Clays as well.
The idea is to learn to recognize the lead, no matter what clays sport. The presentations in skeet can transition to sporting clays. Granted birds don't fly in a fixed pattern, but then again it is the recognition of the lead that matters.

[mjsweims]

26" or 28" barrel, over under or semi-auto, preferably with screw-in chokes so you can also use the gun for hunting. Some stations in skeet are doubles so you will want to get your second shot off fast; if you're just starting a pump will add one more thing to think about when you're trying to shoot quickly.
I would vote for the Browning Citori as well. 12 16 or 20 ga.

[Marlin Hunter]

Try asking the question @ http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/index.php

[foxtrotuniformlima]

I shoot skeet from time to time with a 12ga O/U that has 29.5" barrells. I would not want anything longer.

I think for a beginner, I'd recommend a Rem 1100 in 12ga. Easily found used and easily sold when you decide to move up to an O/U like a Citori.

[mnguyen84]

good thread. bump.

[Thefeeder]

<>

A 12 ga or 20ga that feels good in YOUR hands and also fits YOU ...the rest don't mean didly squat if your just starting to get into the game

Read this thread
See Pics half-way down

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=319247&highlight=thefeeder

[hattles]

I shoot skeet from time to time with a 12ga O/U that has 29.5" barrells. I would not want anything longer.

I think for a beginner, I'd recommend a Rem 1100 in 12ga. Easily found used and easily sold when you decide to move up to an O/U like a Citori.

I'm with you on that...A Rem 1100 or a good O/U would work out just fine...there are plenty of good used 1100's . Personally, I don't care for the Citori's because I find them a bit heavy and cumbersome, my opinion of course.

[-hanko]

The problem arises in hunting when you instinctively try acquire the correct lead and hold it until you pull the trigger. What happens is that real birds do not have predictable speeds or constant trajectories and they have a tendency to change if you try to hold on them. Dove hunting is a great lab to test this.

Doves have no difficulty in maintaining roll, pitch, and yaw simultaneously.

Skeet is helpful for honing your hunting skills without hunting, but there is no substitute for shooting at live birds...particularly dove.

-hanko

[AAShooter]

Personally, unless you are really committed to skeet, I would not get a specialized skeet gun. I would either start with a hunting gun or a more versatile clays gun. For example a 12 gauge sporting clays over and under with 28" barrels and changeable chokes could be used to shoot Sporting Clays, Skeet, Trap or even hunting.

Although it will not be ideal for Skeet, I would buy that specialized skeet gun after you have been in the sport a while and know what you want. I shot trap (including doubles) for a couple years with an field grade 870 before buying my trap and sporting clays guns.

By the way, there is a nice skeet shooting brochure here: http://www.remington.com/pages/news-...downloads.aspx just in case you are in need of such a thing.

[Thefeeder]

Doves have no difficulty in maintaining roll, pitch, and yaw simultaneously.

Skeet is helpful for honing your hunting skills without hunting, but there is no substitute for shooting at live birds...particularly dove.

-hanko

+1 I might add ducks in 25 -30mph wind