Thresh33

Hey there I recently just went trap shooting with my Dad and half-brother, it was the first time I had ever been out shooting before and I really enjoyed it. My brother hunted with his Dad when he was younger and has killed several deer and he wants to get back into it.

Long story short is I had a great time trap shooting and would also one day like to hunt with my brother. I've never owned a gun before but am looking for opinions on what to buy. The gun I rented was an over and under break action 12 ga shotgun.

I'm trying to stick around $400 dollars and I am not sure where to buy a gun, based on gander mountain's website they only had one of this type of shotgun in my price range.

My questions are, is this the ideal type of shotgun for trap shooting? Would this type of gun be okay to one day hunt with? Also, where else can I look to purchase a gun from? Last, I saw several more pump action shotguns that were in my price range, but based on the guns I saw at the place we were at, everyone had the over and under break action type of gun. Would a pump action shotgun work for what I want to do?

Thanks in advance!

Sheridan

Take a look at this Stoeger O/U ;

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/prod...ducts_id=31438


Good entry level shotgun to see if you like this shooting & hunting stuff !


Same gun with fancier wood;

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/prod...ducts_id=31428




Have some fun......................

moose1915

start looking around (stores, gunbroker) for a good beretta mark 2...one of the most underrated trap guns out there. simple, reliable, and will smoke em if you do your part. should be able to find one for 4-600 bucks....the stoegers are good, but will beat you up in the long run. good luck!

Big Uncle

A pump shotgun with different choke tubes would work just fine. Certainly there are better shotguns for trap, skeet, or sporting clays but they don't fit into the budget you are considering. Almost everyone shoots O/U shotguns for clay birds (some guys get downright snobby about it) but pumps or autoloaders are the most common hunting shotguns. There is nothing at all wrong with shooting clays with a pump.

Vapodog

Big Uncle has given you excellent advice....and may I add the Remington 870 or the Winchester 1300 as great options.

They are fine at the trap line and fine at the hunting fields.

When you have at least $1,200 to spare you can look to over/unders....and the SKB 505 field is a very good one. Don't buy a cheap O?U.....famous last words!!!

Sheridan

I own a similar Stoeger O/U that I listed previously (the one I listed second).

I have other shotguns, and some you might call fancy, but my Stoeger has well over 10,0000 rounds through it.

I've shot trap, skeet, 5 stand, sporting clays, dove, quail, chucker, pheasant, turkey and ducks; so don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

Great ENTRY LEVEL over and under shotgun !!!

FYI;
The parent company; Beretta Holding, also owns Beretta USA, Benelli, Franchi, SAKO, Stoeger, Tikka, Uberti, the Burris Optics company and a twenty per cent interest of the Browning arms company.

Thresh33

First off, thank you all very much for your quick and knowledgeable input.

However, this has lead me to a few more questions, haha.

First, Moose said the stoegers are good, but will beat you up in the long run? What exactly is meant by this? According to Sheridan it sounds like a pretty good gun.

Secondly, Big Uncle said a pump shotgun with different choke tubes would work fine, I'm new to this and have no clue what that is, so how would I make sure I have different choke tubes?

I found the Remington 870 that Vapodog recommended on gander mountain's website
http://www.gandermountain.com/modper...0&merchID=4005

That is a 20 ga shotgun, does it make much of a difference?

Last, if possible I wanted a shotgun that I could eventually hunt deer with if my brother gets back into it. I'm not sure if this is possible in my price range, and if not then so be it. But if it is possible, what would be the most befitting type of shotgun for me?

Thanks again

rgs1975

First, Moose said the stoegers are good, but will beat you up in the long run? What exactly is meant by this? According to Sheridan it sounds like a pretty good gun.

I think he's referring to a good amount of recoil coming from that gun.


Secondly, Big Uncle said a pump shotgun with different choke tubes would work fine, I'm new to this and have no clue what that is, so how would I make sure I have different choke tubes?

Choke tubes are not just for pumps. My double barrel side by side has removable chokes. Chokes are tubes you screw into the muzzle of your barrel that constrict the diameter of the muzzle to varrying measurments. The smaller the muzzle the tighter your group, the wider the muzzle the more open your group.


I found the Remington 870 that Vapodog recommended on gander mountain's website

That is a 20 ga shotgun, does it make much of a difference?

The 870 comes in 20 gauge and 12 gauge (and maybe 16 and 28 too, not sure though).


Last, if possible I wanted a shotgun that I could eventually hunt deer with if my brother gets back into it. I'm not sure if this is possible in my price range, and if not then so be it. But if it is possible, what would be the most befitting type of shotgun for me?

Most any modern shotgun will shoot slugs just fine. Slugs are what you want when hunting deer. You can get a shotgun that has a rifled barrel, get a gun that has a smooth barrel but comes with an extra barrel that's rifled, get a gun with a smooth barrel and rifled choke or just use a smooth bore shotgun and rifled slugs. All work fine.

Big Uncle

Most modern shotguns have interchangable choke tubes. They are screwed into the end of the barrel to change the pattern of the shot. These things are a couple of inches long and are threaded on one end. Read the descriptions of any shotgun in which you have an interest and it will probably tell you what chokes come with the gun. Other choke tubes can be purchased as desired. Older shotguns, and inexpensive shotguns, have fixed chokes and can not be changed unless you take it to a gunsmith.

The 870 is a great shotgun and can be had in several gauges. It does have choke tubes.

Double barrels on a shotgun (O/U or S/S) are normally not as thick as single barreled guns. I would not fire slugs out of my O/U Beretta, but would not hesitate to shoot them from an 870.

Thresh33

All right more great info. If I understand you correctly then big uncle, for what I want to do, I probably should not get an over under shotgun?

Rgs1975 claims it would shoot slugs fine? I'm getting conflicting reports here, haha.

If anyone could post an exact gun that has everything I need that'd be great.

edit: What is the difference here? for the same price and same brand..
http://www.gandermountain.com/modper...view&from=grid
http://www.gandermountain.com/modper...view&from=grid