New Skeet gun rec?

P

Paul Mc

Active member
Good Morning all,
The family went to our local (in Florida) Trap/Skeet/Clays range and had a wonderful time. We're looking to make this part of our routine with each visit. We rented a Benelli 20g ($10 btw) and it was a beauty but I'd like to get our own family gun. In addition to enjoying the experience; my goal is to use skeet as practice for ducks for my 11 and 13 year olds. Can anyone recommend a suitable OU (I guess??) for us? Off the bat I was told to look into Tristar but they start around a grand. Any thoughts or suggestions?
 
Your best bang for the buck is a used automatic. I'm partial to Remington 1100/1187's, lots of used guns around. Plenty of Beretta autos available too. With a 26" barrel it's hard to beat a 12 or 20 gauge auto for a family skeet gun. Screw chokes are nice, but a fixed skeet choke will do just fine. Everybody will appreciate less felt recoil than a double gun, nobody likes bruised shoulders or cheeks.
 
Paul, I agree with SJ. Can't beat a Rem 1100 / 1187, price wise you could get a 12 and 20 for you and the family. Try hunting the pawn and gun shops around the area. Stop at a few eanges and look at the for sale boards. If you are new, ask a lot of questions. Also rem barrels are inexpensive on the used market.
 
Capt Rich Geminski said:
Paul, I agree with SJ. Can't beat a Rem 1100 / 1187, price wise you could get a 12 and 20 for you and the family. Try hunting the pawn and gun shops around the area. Stop at a few eanges and look at the for sale boards. If you are new, ask a lot of questions. Also rem barrels are inexpensive on the used market.
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+1 on the 1100/1187 suggestion. I like my Beretta duck gun, but finding replacement parts is a PITA. When I need to replace a barrel after a stuck wad damaged mine, it was cheaper to buy a new gun than a replacement barrel.
 
I love my Berretta 390 from Walmart. If I start hunting regularly again, I'm going to find a 20 to match.
 
For adjustability and price you can't beat a Beretta A300 ultima in either 12 Or 20 gauge. Gas piston of A400 with internals of the 391. And plenty of length and drop/cast adjustment .
 
Carl said:
I love my Berretta 390 from Walmart. If I start hunting regularly again, I'm going to find a 20 to match.
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Soon after I bought my first 390--from Walmart, for about $500--they cleaned them all out. Towards the end, I could have picked up a 20 for about $400. Still kicking myself.
 
I am the oddball and can't stand an 1100/1187.
My browning silver 20ga is the best gun I've ever shot but is pricey now compared to when I bought it.
Avoid pointer brand (Tristar company makes them), it's cheap for a reason.
If an over and under is what you really want, I've heard good things about the Stevens models. Otherwise some buddies have Berettas and love them.
 
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I believe Thomas P shot a Stoeger over-under 20 for years, seem to recall a few others having them and not having any issues. Might be worth considering.
 
Recently bought a Beretta 390 in 20 gauge in memoriam of my mother in law who passed this fall. It was actually my wife's idea as a way for me to have a memory item that I would enjoy. Yes my wife is fantastic! It is the best feeling 20 gauge semi-auto I have ever shouldered. Excited to be taking out tomorrow on it's 1st waterfowl hunt. If it shoots as good as it feels, then we are golden.

To go get back on this thread--assuming it shoots as good as it feels, I would think it would be a great gun for skeet and/or sporting clays.

I shoot in a trap league and use a BT-99. Great shooting gun, but really limited to trap only with it. Typically can pick up a used one at a decent price since it is such a commonly used trap gun.
 
You might like to check out CZ doubles.. They are from the same plant in turkey that Made DeHaan and Huglu and Tristar I believe. They CZs have had better Quality Assurance than the older Huglu's did.

I have a DeHaan S2 and a Huglu U2 that have been excellent but for the occasional Doubling when they were brand new. Mark used to Import them back 15 years ago to his place In Rigby Id. But i think he has stopped in the last few years. Armsco imported some for a while too.
 
Why buy a cow if you can get the milk for $10?!

You’d have to rent the Benelli 100 times to break even and a used 20ga 1100 seems to run the same price as a new Benelli 20ga.

I would definitely pick a 20 over a 12ga for clay targets.
 
NickR said:
Why buy a cow if you can get the milk for $10?!

You’d have to rent the Benelli 100 times to break even and a used 20ga 1100 seems to run the same price as a new Benelli 20ga.

I would definitely pick a 20 over a 12ga for clay targets.
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I'm starting to lean that way. I too like the 20g's
 
Paul Mc said:
Good Morning all,
The family went to our local (in Florida) Trap/Skeet/Clays range and had a wonderful time. We're looking to make this part of our routine with each visit. We rented a Benelli 20g ($10 btw) and it was a beauty but I'd like to get our own family gun. In addition to enjoying the experience; my goal is to use skeet as practice for ducks for my 11 and 13 year olds. Can anyone recommend a suitable OU (I guess??) for us? Off the bat I was told to look into Tristar but they start around a grand. Any thoughts or suggestions?
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You don't say if you rented a 20 ga Benelli semiauto or o/u? If you like that gun, why not buy one?

As for a cheap Turkish O/U (Tristar, CZ, Mossberg, Legacy, or others), don't do it. You are better off to buy a reliable semiauto or pump gun that is a proven design.

You can shoot skeet and hunt with a good pump gun like an 870 Fieldmaster, Browning BPS or Benelli Nova. There are othe reliable pumps like the Mossberg 500 and Maverick 88 but they are a lighter weight gun and kick more on the skeet field.

In the world of semiautomatic shotguns, The Beretta A300 comes to the top of my list for entry level quality guns and they feature Berettas kick off system to reduce recoil. Good guns in 12 or 20 ga. Dunns had them online for $600 recently. I love 1100's like many folks mentioned here. If you wanted a straight up skeet gun I would say buy the 1100 Sporting model 12 or 20 ga that RemArms is now making. However, they are not made to shoot heavier hunting loads. There are many semiautos available on the market. Benelli and Beretta dominate the waterfowl market. Browning also has some popular models. Personally for target shooting, I prefer gas operated semiautos over inertia guns, for less recoil for high volume shooting. For hunting they both work well.

In the world of O/U's, I cannot recommend any new guns in the $1000 price range. I can recommend the Browning Citori or the Beretta Silver Pigeon. For a skeet and hunting gun, I would go with the Citori Hunter model. CDNN Sports usually hassome good Browning deals available online. Nothing wrong with the Browning Cynergy model guns either. For a nicer gun that you can still hunt with the Browning CXS or CX or the Beretta Silver Pigeon models are very good guns. Brownings and Berettas fit different so try them both if you plan to buy an O/U.

If you liked skeet, go shoot some sporting clays. Have fun.

One thing I would add is that a hunting gun can be used for target shooting, a target gun would not be my first choice for a hunting gun.
 
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