Over under questions

[Newshooter]

What area do you live in?

Don't forget...a lot of stores probably got wiped out from the holidays and have not had the chance to replenish.

[soulfresh]

What area do you live in?

Don't forget...a lot of stores probably got wiped out from the holidays and have not had the chance to replenish.

i called all the way south to campbell, livermore, sf stores. i dont think they are wiped out just because they still have 28s but not 30s and dont plan to restock because not many people buy or look for an o/u. =(

[bug_eyedmonster]

i called all the way south to campbell, livermore, sf stores. i dont think they are wiped out just because they still have 28s but not 30s and dont plan to restock because not many people buy or look for an o/u. =(

What range do you usually shoot at? My friends and I shoot Tuesday nights at the Livermore range, they are open from 5-10PM. You are more than welcome to try out some of my shotguns, and many members are very open about letting you handle their guns there. I was in your shoes not too long ago, and one of the nationally ranked shooters at a club match offered to let me shoot his gun. At the time, I was shooting a FN SLP with 22" barrel, and people we not happy with me flinging my hulls at their high-dollar shotguns, so he offered to let me shoot his backup Browning. I also tried another member's Beretta, a Kolar, and a few other high dollar guns as well. I ended up getting a Rottweil Super Trap combo set, and I got my girlfriend a Browning Citori Skeet because that's what fit us the best. Of course, they both came with adjustable LOP and comb, so that helped greatly as well.

If you have a set price range, I would take be patient and wait for a good deal on a GOOD gun that FITS YOU. Don't just buy something in the hopes that you will eventually grow into it, that day may never come and you may not shoot as well as you could. If you get a good gun at a decent price, the value will always be there, and if you come across money later, buy yourself a fancy gun then. There's no shame in shooting something less fancy, as long as you shoot it well. My friend was at the last match, his first, with a Remington 870 from Big 5. He scored 38/50 shooting doubles with a PUMP on his first try at doubles.

I also vote on hunting the various other shotgun specific forums, but you'll want to know what you are looking for, so head out to your local range, poke around, and offer to buy someone a round o trap (or beer) if you can test out their gun. I don't know how old you are, but I'm 30, so most of the old timers took pity on me and never hesitated. =)

Jerry

[Hamilton]

Over under questions

If you're going to Coyote Valley you can rent a Browning Citori, and I think they also offer a Beretta for rent as well. The few times I shot skeet at Coyote my son and I teamed up with a members who were offering lots of suggestions to my son about their guns. The last time there, I was shooting with a member who had a new Beretta UGB which is a break action semi-auto.

In my experience, so far, the members at Coyote Valley and the Pro Shop people are friendly and helpful if you'll just ask. I'd urge you to rent a Citori there, I think its $10 for the day. If the Beretta Silver Pigeon is available, rent that next time.

More expensive shotguns will help/suit someone who is already shooting well, but for a beginner the extra money you'd spend on a Perazzi, or other work of art, won't make any difference until you are shooting in the twenties. There are plenty of of great shotguns at $2000 or lower, and even more below $2,500.

Jordan (bjl333), I still prefer my Wingmaster, but agree, the Berettas and Browning O/U are really great, my son now out shoots me (better eyes, no doubt).

[ysr_racer]

In my experience, so far, the members at Coyote Valley and the Pro Shop people are friendly and helpful if you'll just ask. I'd urge you to rent a Citori there, I think its $10 for the day. If the Beretta Silver Pigeon is available, rent that next time...

That pretty much true of every range I've ever been to. And yes, CY is a REALLY nice place.

[Newshooter]

Check out Birds Landing in the Rio Vista area. They have a pro shop that stocks a lot of Brownings and they tend to stock longer barreled guns because of their sporting clays and 5 stand clientele.

If you head up the Sacramento way, you can always check out Sportsmans Warehouse in Rocklin. That is where I bought my Citori XT with 32" barrels and they always stock 30" and 32" guns. You could call ahead and see what they have in stock. They also put quite a few guns on sale at different times so you might luck out. I know Sacramento is about a 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive from the Bay Area (I travel back and forth quite a bit) but there are some really great stores up this way.

I asked where you were at because you would be more than welcome to try out my Citori's if you lived closer. Enjoy your search!

[soulfresh]

If you're going to Coyote Valley you can rent a Browning Citori, and I think they also offer a Beretta for rent as well. The few times I shot skeet at Coyote my son and I teamed up with a members who were offering lots of suggestions to my son about their guns. The last time there, I was shooting with a member who had a new Beretta UGB which is a break action semi-auto.

In my experience, so far, the members at Coyote Valley and the Pro Shop people are friendly and helpful if you'll just ask. I'd urge you to rent a Citori there, I think its $10 for the day. If the Beretta Silver Pigeon is available, rent that next time.

More expensive shotguns will help/suit someone who is already shooting well, but for a beginner the extra money you'd spend on a Perazzi, or other work of art, won't make any difference until you are shooting in the twenties. There are plenty of of great shotguns at $2000 or lower, and even more below $2,500.

Jordan (bjl333), I still prefer my Wingmaster, but agree, the Berettas and Browning O/U are really great, my son now out shoots me (better eyes, no doubt).

i rented a couple brownings there and found i shot better with the 30'' with pistol grip shaped handle. i didnt see any berettas though and dont really want to ask people to shoot their 5k o/u haha. im sure they would but i jsut feel a little awkward asking them to shoot it and im holding a moss 500.

ysr im actually going to socal for a week soon. any recommendations to rental clay/trap ranges? ima try to check out some shops too if i have time.

newshooter the xt looks like a great gun. i would like to try it out but yeah sacramento is pretty far since i have 3-4 ranges about 30 min from me. maybe ill make a road trip some day =)

[RayPDA]

Check out Pacific Sporting Arms - Have only been there a few times, but it's a cool place and makes you wish you had a hundred thousand in spare cash to spend on a few shotguns...

Ysr has a place to shoot post/link somewhere - but depending on where you're going:

a quick list of three more well known shotgun ranges:


Prado Shooting Park (last I remember, they had a couple of older Beretta 68x rentals)

http://www.shootprado.com/shotgun_page.htm

Raahauges does rentals too, but not sure what they have:

http://www.raahauges.com/shotgun-range.php

Triple Bs

http://www.triplebclays.com/modules.php?name=ProShop

[ysr_racer]

ysr im actually going to socal for a week soon. any recommendations to rental clay/trap ranges? ima try to check out some shops too if i have time.

Let me know where and when, and I'm in

Where in So Cal are you going to be?

If any of you guys can pry yourselves away from the keyboard, let's do a range day.

Triple B or Raahauges both have rental guns.

[ysr_racer]

This one?

Funny you should ask. My friends and I are always willing to help a beginner out. Between us we've got a good selection of guns, so if you're in town, or just visiting, drop me a line.

Sporting Clays in the Los Angeles area:

Say what you want about So. Cal. We’ve got restrictive gun laws, we’ve got earthquakes, we’ve got wildfires, we’ve even got “The Terminator/Sperminator” for our (ex)governor, but we do have 4 Sporting Clays ranges in the Los Angeles area.

Each of them holds their monthly shoot on a different weekend. Each of them has something different to offer, all are fun to shoot, and all are open to the public.

Triple B Clays is located in El Monte off of the 60 near the 605. It’s a 24 station flat course, in a heavily treed setting. They have 12 hunter stations, and 12 tournament stations, all have “A” & “B” shooting position. Most of their stations have three or four machines presenting a good variety of target presentations. Their monthly shoot is on the first Sunday of the month. http://www.triplebclays.com

Raahauge’s is located in Corona off of the 91 between the 71 and the 15. It’s a semi-flat course set in the Prado flood plane. They keep adding new stations and new machines all the time. Their monthly shoot is on the second Sunday of the month. Mike's bark is worse than his bite. http://www.raahauges.com/

Moore-N-Moore is located in San Fernando off of the 210 near the 118. It’s a great course with hills and valleys in the San Gabriel Mtn foothills. They have 12 stations, 10 of them have “A” & “B” shooting positions. They really are “The friendliest range in southern California”. They hold their monthly shoot on the third Saturday of the month. Best fun shoot lunch in LA http://www.moorenmoore.com

Oak Tree is located in Newhall off of the 5 near the 14. They have some of the most spectacular views on a sporting clays course anywhere. http://www.oaktreegunclub.com/ (Call before going)

Prado Olympic Shooting Park is located in Chino off of the 71 near the 91. They offer trap, skeet & 5-stand. http://www.shootprado.com/

All of these places offer public shooting so don’t wait until they hold their monthly shoots. Contact the clubs directly for more information.

If you live in Los Angeles and you can’t find a place to shoot, you’re not looking hard enough.

Here’s a link to my website. I’ve got pictures & reviews of the clubs:

http://www.ysr-racer.com

[soulfresh]

Let me know where and when, and I'm in

Where in So Cal are you going to be?

If any of you guys can pry yourselves away from the keyboard, let's do a range day.

Triple B or Raahaueg's both have rental guns.

well im flying down so my buddies are going to be my ride. ill be all over from LA to OC and diamondbar. hopefully ill have enough time and i can get them to drive me there. I wont be able to bring my mossy so going to have to rent.

[soulfresh]

i always here about the citori and beretta 68* line. how come the browning cynergy does not get as much attention?

[Mateba]

I shoot a Beretta DT-10 and have shot many times with Jordon and can attest he shoots that anvil of a shotgun...

I spent on my DT-10 ROUGHLY what I could have spent on an MX8, but the Beretta has nicer wood and bluing...the latest batches of Perazzi's have pretty lame pieces of wood for how much they want for them.

I think the DT10 fits me better than a Perazzi too..and for the record somebody could pick up a well used Perazzi Mirage or an old Ithaca Perazzi for well under $3000 sometimes even with sub-gauge tubes.

If you want to get started, get a browning or beretta nothing is more durable for the price, if you want something a little fancier then get a 682 or a blaser F3, F3s are still somewhat inexpensive (~4-6K new) compared to their competition, but they also have had their fair share of reliability issues...sweeeeet triggers though.


To above poster:
The browning cynergy is not at all a decent shotgun, don't spend your money on it they have had a rash of reliability issues

[JagerDog]

i called all the way south to campbell, livermore, sf stores. i dont think they are wiped out just because they still have 28s but not 30s and dont plan to restock because not many people buy or look for an o/u. =(

Go down to Coyote Valley Sporting Clays in Morgan Hill. Lots of nice O/U's and some good ones to rent. Folks that know shotguns too, much more than about any gun store.

P or K gun for first shotgun? Too funny. Those are serious guns for serious target guys or just too much money to burn. The annual "tune-ups" are for 10k+ rounds/year type shooters. Dedicated target guns are also very heavy on purpose.

If you really like utilitarian, I think Browning makes their Citori in a Stalker (composite stock) model. That may have been a 3-1/2" model though. A Satin Hunter can be had for around $1K. A Citori will outlast most shooters. Personally, think the 12g Brownings are a bit clunky. The 20's are nice. Berettas are a bit trimmer. If you like "sporting" Beretta's White Onyx Sporting is very popular. There's really not much that makes it "sporting" though.

If you're really wanting to maximize the gun, in a rather dedicated target gun with a $2K price tag, you might consider a used Beretta 682 gold Sporting.

[junkit_boy]

hi..