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Post by marcwatson on Jul 23, 2011 11:46:03 GMT -5
Dear All,
I was wondering if you could help me here please?
I'm looking for a shotgun for clay and game shooting. Ideally I'd like a side-by-side, but would happily consider others. I've also used over-and-under shotguns and semi-auto pump shotguns. I also want to be able to fire at least twice before a reload.................
My family is actively against hunting, but I'm of the opinion that as long as its humane and for the pot........
I've got a disability which in a limited way effects my mobility. I can't carry anything too heavy.
My preferred types of game are below:
1. Pheasants 2. Pigeons 3. Ducks 4. Grouse 5. Goose 6. Crows 7. Rabbits 8. Hares 9. Turkey 10. Crane
Weight is an issue, I need it to be reasonably light, but not have too much recoil. Maybe even a youth model. I'm also left-handed and this will be my first weapon. I'm also on a budget too unless I can get a loan or a finance of course.
Can you advise me on some suitable products please? If more than one may be needed then please say.
Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Kind Regards,
Marc Watson
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Post by jmarriott on Jul 23, 2011 14:50:21 GMT -5
Marc wELCOME TO HUNTINGFIREARMS. Left handed, goose and crane power, slight disability, sporting clays, light weight, mild recoil and inexpensive shotguns with at least two shots. At least you know what you want. You are looking for the near perfect shotgun you will just have to make up you mind on which ones of these mean the most to you. Ok I will lend some advise here: Gauge: 12 gauge is the most common and if you include geese and crane you will most likely want to throw a large shot amount at them (not that you can;t use something smaller like a 16, 20 or 28 for the majority of your quests. A 12 gauge will do it all. Style: Side by sides are the fancy ones but the weight is heavy since you have both barrels and getting both barrels to hit a target at different distance is often a little costly to produce today. Over and unders give you the look (to a point ) of the side by side but are better for clays and wing shooting since the barrels are stacked vertically instead of horizontally. Semi autos: give you some amount of recoil reduction but can be on the expensive side. Pumps: In a way the all American gun. I think everyone should have at least one pump shotgun to call there own. Weight: Lots of companies now make the 12, 20 and 28 gauge shotguns on the same frame so the weight of the different gauges is about the same. In the past they made the frame of the gun in different sizes so a 20 gauge would weigh a bit less than a 12 gauge. Over and unders and side by sides are heavy to the two shot they allow since the have 2 barrels. semi autos and pumps should get you into the light weight class with the most shells available. Left handed: If you have not shot before left handed you might want to start out right handed since the brain to muscle control cells have not really been programed into your shooting yet. Left handed stuff costs more money. Over unders side buy sides and many pumps are popular with lefties because od the shells ejecting in the correct area for your shooting of the gun. If i were in a gun shop and you laid out those exact items the first gun i would show you would be a browning BPS uplander in 20 or 12 gauge. Bottom eject for your left hand,light weight with the uplander version. Nice guns with pretty stocks and nice deep blue. If i had a left handed wingmaster it would be cheaper than the BPS and a Ithaca model 37 would do as well. Then if you were dressed well i would walk over to the over and unders and try to sell you on once again a browning citori in 12 or 20 guage. They say a picture say a thousand words so I will post a few for your viewing pleasure. this is a browning citori 20 gauge. this is a browning auto-5 browning superposed. Rem 870( if you were not left handed this would be the best overall pick for quality/price in the market if you get the wingmaster models. The all American shotgun. In new production i would look at the browning BPS. I think it might be the one for you. I used to have a picture of one i sold but I think i deleted the pic.
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Post by deputydon on Jul 23, 2011 15:02:20 GMT -5
Welcome Marc Watson and greetings from Northeast Nebraska !!!!!! Hope you stick around a while!!!
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Post by deputydon on Jul 23, 2011 15:04:57 GMT -5
Bill is our main gun runner. I'm sure he will also have some thoughts to go w/ jmarriott's ideas.....
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bounce
Royal Member
Posts: 5,727
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Post by bounce on Jul 23, 2011 18:57:30 GMT -5
Look in to 20 inch 12 ga 3" shells cilinder & modifyed dubble barrel coach gun. Gives you two shots' Weight is not bad the 3" modifide with modern shells will take all the goose, turkey, crane you want. You can use 2-3/4 as well for everything else Yes the 20" barrels can do it all You do not need nore want any shell longer than 3" nore any full chokes with modern shells. 12ga for you is your best choice for your 1st gun
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Post by Jack on Jul 23, 2011 20:43:23 GMT -5
First off, Welcome, Mark! With all the things you want to hunt, you need a versatile shotgun. That says 12 gauge. You want something light, and low recoil- that's a conundrum, because light guns kick more than heavier guns. Light guns are great to carry, if you're upland bird hunting and are walking all day. For repeated shots, like you'd do at trap or skeet or sporting clays, you don't want a featherweight gun- it'll kick you too much. You said you're on a budget- that eliminates the side by sides or over and unders, I think - even a half decent one of either is expensive. I think you're looking for a pump or auto. Since you're left handed, a left hand gun, or gun that ejects out the bottom would be the best choice. In pumps, the Browning BPS is the only bottom eject gun I'm aware of that's currently made. Ithaca's 37 is a classic bottom eject pump, but, they are scarce these days- and expensive. A used 37 might be a possibility. If you look for a used Ithaca 37, make sure it has a barrel that takes choke tubes- you'll want different chokes for all the things you want to hunt. All in all, I think the Browning BPS or a left hand Remington 870 pump is what I'd recommend to you. See what Bill says- he sells guns all day.
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Post by Bill on Jul 24, 2011 8:04:59 GMT -5
Give me a Benelli Legacy in 28ga and I will go hunting with you. Weigh's nothing and has an adjustable stock and can be made right or left handed by the inserts in the stock. With heavy shot it can take down ducks and geese and probably crane's (never shot one) Works well on sporting clays and will do just about anything you could ask for it to do. Kills far beyond what one would suspect it would do.
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Post by deputydon on Jul 24, 2011 8:19:03 GMT -5
With heavy shot it can take down ducks and geese and probably crane's (never shot one) . I thought you all shot and ate Cranes in South Dakota...... Although I will admit I've never heard you talk about it.....
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Jul 24, 2011 17:56:45 GMT -5
Hi Marc, welcome to the site. I'm sure you'll find many different and conflicting answers on this ;D
I think the only reason to look at a youth model is if you are a short person or hunt in very thick layers of winter clothing. Most of the time the only difference is 1" shorter stock.
Being left handed, the easiest thing to do is buy a decent over/under (you'll most likely find it easier to sight than a side x side). However, both barrels may or may not be on target. I don't know...as an only shotgun at this point, I would probably pass. In the coming years you wanted one for trap and upland game, then consider it imo
Then you have the pumps. There tends to be a little bit of snobbery when shooting clay birds at the clubs like a pump is beneath people. If you don't particularlly care what people think or your clay bird shooting is informal, definately concider a pump. And they make a lot of different models including the bottom eject and true left hand guns. Weight fluctuates greatly. A 12ga remington 870 weighs like 7 1/2 pounds. It gets heavy. Their 20ga weighs a noticable pound less. Other brands do make light weight 12ga pumps so that may be something to consider.
And there's nothing wrong at all with the Remington 11-87 autoloader. I'm not sure if any of the current models have a left hand version but I would hope they would.
As far as 20ga vs 12ga...the 12ga hands down wins hands down and it's not even close when going after the larger birds at longer distances. Try killing a turkey at 50 yards with a 20ga; it's just not going to happen with the exception of the ultra-expensive shells. Now if weight and recoil are a concern, then the 20ga becomes a possibility and you have to do what you got to do.
I would kinda narrow it down a bit. Try to figure out what action and gauge you want. Then come back here and ask reviews and opinions for specific models. Otherwise, right now, you're looking at probably 2 dozen guns. With some thought, you can probably narrow it down to 5 or fewer.
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Post by deputydon on Jul 25, 2011 8:08:29 GMT -5
The gunrunner makes sense ........
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bounce
Royal Member
Posts: 5,727
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Post by bounce on Jul 25, 2011 8:18:18 GMT -5
I thought he just picked what he would want, not nesisarly marc
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Post by jimiowa on Jul 25, 2011 21:19:32 GMT -5
Well Marc as you can see there is no shortage of opinions. And in truth all are pretty well dead on. I am left handed and my physical challenge is being blind in the left eye, so shoot right handed. I'm 5 ft 9 and weigh 160 lbs(I'll explain that later) My first shotgun was a 20 ga, and I reached a point in life where I thought I had to have a 12. That is no longer the case. oddly my son thinks he has to have a 3 1/2" 12 ga. My current carry shotgun is a Mossberg 12 ga turkey gun with a 24" barrel. Seems as if unless he is hunting goose,I have to ask my son to bring it back, when I want it? And his fancy Benelli 3 1/2" sits in the case? The stores are full of relatively inexpensive serviceable shotguns that would serve you well. Left handed shotguns and rifles are hard to come by more expensive,( the fact that we southpaws are a small percentage of the population makes them harder to sell if we want to upgrade)if your just getting started you would be better served to learn to shoot righthanded as mentioned above. Back to why I mentened my weight and height, unlike Red I do think there are some logical reasons to go with a youth model. Most are lighter, carry barrel lengths around 24" which moves the balance point back into your hands, the shorter stock alows room for heavy clothes for winter hunting and many manufacturers offer very inexpensive stock replacement if you outgrow it. I find that a youth model fits me just fine! Finally I would not hesitate to shoot anything you mention and is apropriate with a 20 ga, and living in a shotgun deerhunting state have taken deer with a 20 ga without a problem. If you are willing to learn to shoot right handed, I would recomend either a Reminton Express or Mossberg 20 ga youth model. In the 7 yrs I worked at Walmart I sold hundreds of them and never had a return or dissatisfied customer.
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Post by Jack on Jul 25, 2011 22:10:02 GMT -5
After reading all the replies- and they are good advice, and thinking about your question, Mark, I do have a comment. What you really want- 1 shotgun to do it all- doesn't exist. Any more than 1 vehicle can win the Indy 500, get good gas mileage, haul trash to the dump, and be comfortable on long trips- never gonna happen. What you need to do is prioritize a bit. What's the most likely thing you'll do with a shotgun, and what will you do the most? Figure that out, and you'll be able to narrow down what gun will work for you.
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Post by deputydon on Jul 26, 2011 7:18:27 GMT -5
Good advice Jack !!!! But I would hope we got you to thinking about the different angles !!
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Post by dovehunter on Jul 26, 2011 9:26:34 GMT -5
Look in to 20 inch 12 ga 3" shells cilinder & modifyed dubble barrel coach gun. Gives you two shots' Weight is not bad the 3" modifide with modern shells will take all the goose, turkey, crane you want. You can use 2-3/4 as well for everything else Yes the 20" barrels can do it all You do not need nore want any shell longer than 3" nore any full chokes with modern shells. 12ga for you is your best choice for your 1st gun I think he may be referring to the Stoeger Coach Gun. These guns are well made, very reasonably priced, handle extremely well, and are not very heavy. Moreover, they are about as ambidextrous as you can get. You can always move up to the more pricey stuff (i.e. Benelli, etc.) later on and, if you want, can use the Coach Gun as trading fodder.
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