Anybody else play with clay pigeons on here?

[OneGearhead]

I started a few years ago, when I picked up a used 12ga Beretta AL390 Sporting. Had that for about a year, then, got stupid and sold it to buy a Ruger GP100 4.25" matte nickel in .38/.357. Wish I still had the AL390! Haha. Fast forward a year or two, and I bought a Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I Sporting in 12ga with 30" barrels. Its a work of art. I love that gun! Then come Saturday...I picked up another gun. I have a problem. Bought a Remington V3 Field Sport with synthetic stocks in 12ga. I've read some good things and some not so good things, but, overall, more good than bad. So I figured I'd give it a try. Nothing fancy, but it'll be a gun for my friends who don't own a shotgun who want to go. They're not shooting my Beretta! Unless I trust them. Lol. It's supposed to do a pretty good job of lessening felt recoil due to the self regulation of gas ports depending on the length of the shell. That way, nobody gets too gun shy of 12ga. Plus, I figured later on if I want to give trap or skeet a diehard effort too, and not just sporting clays, I'll use the V3. Or. If I want to give 3-gun a try I can maybe mod it out somewhat. Needless to say, I love my shotguns. Haha. I'm basically the only one of all my "gun friends" that do. Nobody else likes them for some reason...

So. Anybody else a diehard clays shooter?

[Joelski]

I'm getting into it a tiny bit. I have a buddy that will put on shoots and we'll do 2-3k birds in a stretch. Same guy took me for my first dove hunt and we piled up a pretty good heap of those, plus 30 or so crows. I am in the market for an entry level wingshooter and am looking at a CZ semi auto. Upland bird hunting is catching fire with my friends, too, so I imagine that's next. Already supposed to go on a grouse hunt in November with some NRA guys. Nothing like diving into the deep end, head first! [:D]

[alamo5000]

Before that was my main stay. I probably shot 100 to 200 clays per week if you averaged it all out. I grew up on that stuff. [:D]

Then of course life catches on... I move... I get jobs... I go here or there... eventually I just fell away from it. I still do it but not like I did before. Then I started buying guns... I started with a cheap .40 cal Taurus pistol that I probably put 20,000 rounds through. By that time I figured out what I liked/didn't like and started buying nicer pistols and traded the old one off...

I still want to expand into more CZ and more STI... then I got into the AK/AR world and have been going ever since... and now I am into long range. Before it's all said and done (IE once I win the lottery) I will have lots of guns with varying purposes...

I still shoot the hell out of skeet but my money is divided among many other things now. Every year at least once, maybe twice, we have a family reunion that includes a skeet shoot. Aside from that I just shoot em when I get the feeling to do so, but they were my main thing for years.

[Jerry R]

Long ago, in a galaxy far away ... I used to do a lot of clay shooting, trap / skeet / sporting clays. I had a 686 Silver Pigeon - a lot of seller's remorse since it's been gone. Not doing much clay shooting these days though.

[MoxyDave]

A new range opened up recently near me with skeet/shotgun facilities. I've been thinking about getting a cheap over/under. Any recommendations?

[Joelski]

A new range opened up recently near me with skeet/shotgun facilities. I've been thinking about getting a cheap over/under. Any recommendations?

Yeah, don't get an over/under. [:D]

You'll learn faster with a semi-auto, or at least I did. Those extra shots give you a chance to fix some mistakes, and while clays aren't expensive, a good semi isn't a whole lot more than a two shot, or pump gun. Hell, a lot of doubles can cost way more than a mid-level auto.

[alamo5000]

Yeah, don't get an over/under. [:D]

You'll learn faster with a semi-auto, or at least I did. Those extra shots give you a chance to fix some mistakes, and while clays aren't expensive, a good semi isn't a whole lot more than a two shot, or pump gun. Hell, a lot of doubles can cost way more than a mid-level auto.

Over under, double barrel, it doesn't matter. "Extra shots" does not fix problems or create the right sight picture for first round hits.

The absolute best thing anyone could do is get a rifle with good fitment for the shooter. It will cost more but it will solve 10,000 issues before they ever start.

If anyone is going to seriously shoot clays they need to know this and get something fitted. It will save thousands of rounds in practice and lots of frustration.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLLnGM3DXE0

[UWone77]

O/U are classics. Perfect for trap shooting when you're only launching one round per clay.

My Benelli 828U has been a dream to shoot, I take her to the trap range about once a week.

[SINNER]

The advantage of running 2 different chokes is huge with sporting clays. I usually score 4-6 higher with a O/U. I’m actually going to try hunting waterfowl this year with a O/U. New Browning Cynergy should be here this week. Seems like the 3rd round is just wasted on chasing long shots anyway so I’ll see how it goes.

[MoxyDave]

Thanks for the tips. I have used my Benelli Super 90 for clays before. It kind of felt like cheating. I have no trouble getting hits ... maybe I'm just making an excuse to buy another gun [:)]

[OneGearhead]

I'm getting into it a tiny bit. I have a buddy that will put on shoots and we'll do 2-3k birds in a stretch. Same guy took me for my first dove hunt and we piled up a pretty good heap of those, plus 30 or so crows. I am in the market for an entry level wingshooter and am looking at a CZ semi auto. Upland bird hunting is catching fire with my friends, too, so I imagine that's next. Already supposed to go on a grouse hunt in November with some NRA guys. Nothing like diving into the deep end, head first! [:D]

Go big or go home, right? Haha. I've never bird hunted. Mostly all the game birds around here have been hunted to damn near extinction. So I've heard anyway. Ducks and geese are around but the dove/pheasant/quail area of birding is dry. I'm not much of a hunter of anything. Just a gun guy. [:D]


Before that was my main stay. I probably shot 100 to 200 clays per week if you averaged it all out. I grew up on that stuff. [:D]

Then of course life catches on... I move... I get jobs... I go here or there... eventually I just fell away from it. I still do it but not like I did before. Then I started buying guns... I started with a cheap .40 cal Taurus pistol that I probably put 20,000 rounds through. By that time I figured out what I liked/didn't like and started buying nicer pistols and traded the old one off...

I still want to expand into more CZ and more STI... then I got into the AK/AR world and have been going ever since... and now I am into long range. Before it's all said and done (IE once I win the lottery) I will have lots of guns with varying purposes...

I still shoot the hell out of skeet but my money is divided among many other things now. Every year at least once, maybe twice, we have a family reunion that includes a skeet shoot. Aside from that I just shoot em when I get the feeling to do so, but they were my main thing for years.

I wish I could shoot 100-200 per week. I work too much for that though. 12 and 19 days on, with two off, doesn't save much time for FUN stuff. And the local place is only open Thurs-Sun, at the most, so, there's that. I'm like you with the varying purposes. It makes it more fun. Haha. Never a dull moment at least. I have yet to try skeet or trap. I want to. Especially since I just picked up that semi-auto previously mentioned. Hopefully soon!


Long ago, in a galaxy far away ... I used to do a lot of clay shooting, trap / skeet / sporting clays. I had a 686 Silver Pigeon - a lot of seller's remorse since it's been gone. Not doing much clay shooting these days though.

I love my Silver Pigeon. Money well spent in my opinion. Everybody I know prefers Citoris though. Not this guy.

[OneGearhead]

A new range opened up recently near me with skeet/shotgun facilities. I've been thinking about getting a cheap over/under. Any recommendations?

Savage makes a "cheap" o/u. It's under the Stevens name. 555. For ironically, $500/550. Maybe even $555. Price wise, I don't think you can find a cheaper o/u.


Yeah, don't get an over/under. [:D]

You'll learn faster with a semi-auto, or at least I did. Those extra shots give you a chance to fix some mistakes, and while clays aren't expensive, a good semi isn't a whole lot more than a two shot, or pump gun. Hell, a lot of doubles can cost way more than a mid-level auto.

True story. Haha. I started off with a semi-auto. I enjoyed the hell out of it! It may be easier too, since you don't have to worry about two different barrels. Each shot will have the same amount of lead no matter what the pigeon is doing. One barrel, one choke. Less variables. You can buy a high-end semi-auto for less than an "entry level" o/u. Trust me. I know. Ask me how. Haha.

[OneGearhead]

Over under, double barrel, it doesn't matter. "Extra shots" does not fix problems or create the right sight picture for first round hits.

The absolute best thing anyone could do is get a rifle with good fitment for the shooter. It will cost more but it will solve 10,000 issues before they ever start.

If anyone is going to seriously shoot clays they need to know this and get something fitted. It will save thousands of rounds in practice and lots of frustration.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLLnGM3DXE0

Complete truth! Get fitted and learning the proper techniques/form will do more for you than any gun ever can.

[OneGearhead]

O/U are classics. Perfect for trap shooting when you're only launching one round per clay.

My Benelli 828U has been a dream to shoot, I take her to the trap range about once a week.

Yeah. Maybe because they're some of the oldest firearms, but they just look classy to me when you're participating in these sports. Not knocking a semi-auto at all. I'd love to have a Beretta Xplorer, or another used AL390 like I had. But I absolutely adore my Silver Pigeon!

The 828U's had my heart from the first time I saw them in a magazine. I think they're gorgeous. I held one at the Big Game & Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, PA the other year before they even hit the market. Wow. What a piece of art. They were $1k more than my 686 though. Plus, at the time, noone local had one to compare the feel of them. All I had to compare were 686's and Citori's. When I went to the national 28ga in Manassas back in May, I ran into a couple guys with 828U's and they loved them. The one guy bought his first. Then his buddy shot it and he ordered one the following week. Haha.


The advantage of running 2 different chokes is huge with sporting clays. I usually score 4-6 higher with a O/U. I’m actually going to try hunting waterfowl this year with a O/U. New Browning Cynergy should be here this week. Seems like the 3rd round is just wasted on chasing long shots anyway so I’ll see how it goes.

Yes it is. Different ranges of bird, different choke options. And if you carry spares, its a 2min change. No problems there. I've never tried comparing my scores. I'm consistently high 70's, low 80's. I know that doesn't sound great, but I've truthfully only done MAYBE 8-10 rounds of clays since I started doing it. I always want to do more, but work interferes. Lol. Those Cynergy's are nice guns! I haven't seen one in person, but they look good in the magazines at least. And it is a Browning, so there's always that going for it! They do make some pretty firearms, for sure.


Thanks for the tips. I have used my Benelli Super 90 for clays before. It kind of felt like cheating. I have no trouble getting hits ... maybe I'm just making an excuse to buy another gun [:)]

You shouldn't ever need an excuse to buy another one. Just, buy another one. The more, the merrier! Haha