over under shotgun?
i have recently got into trap shooting or as we in texas call it skeet shooting i am a fair shot with a rem. 870 express but i am wanting to go to a over under but my price limit is about 500.00 dollars ( i know i'm cheap.) would anyone recommend a good name brand of gun in the over under style iam not that familiar with those guns. thank's for yall's time and reply's.
mike
mike
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YOU MIGHT FIND A USED RUGER RED LABLE FOR THAT MONEY WOULD DO THE JOB.
I WOULD RATHER BE DUCK HUNTING.0 -
Good luck finding a QUALITY used O/U shotgun for that price.
Just sold a Savage Mod 330 12 ga (made by Valmet in Finland)at the local gun show for less than $500. All the other's were priced over that by a large margin. Since you don't need the interchangeable chokes, you MIGHT find an older Browning Citori with standard barrels for around $600, or so.
Keep off the Ridgeline0 -
My Advise, keep using your 870 and keep saving your money. Keep on the look out for a good deal. Even if you have to spend more than 500. A good used gun you can always get your money back out. A new $500 cheap gun you will lose a lot of money, if you don't like it and go to resell it. I really like the SKB 585. The best thing to do is handle as many as you can. When you find the right gun you will know it. It will feel just right. 0 -
As others suggest you can do well with a good used gun for $500 or less. If you want something new in that price bracket, you might have a look at the Baikal, Russian made OUs. They price out retail something over $400. Have all the bells and whistles and are a good serviceable gun. Externally they look a bit better than utility quality. Perfect bore. Internally, a lot of stamped out sheet metal parts, a lot of rough machine marks. The aforementioned stamped out parts (in mine) seem properly heat treated and wear should not be an issue. All that being said, the Russians are known for making things that work, with little effort put into the cosmetics. Examples the AK47, the Mig 29 etc etc. Hope this helps. 0 -
I am assuming you are shooting trap and not skeet. (If they call trap, skeet in Texas....what do you call skeet?). If you are indeed shooting skeet, and don't want to shoot a pump, consider swapping for a Remington Model 1100. It was the favorite of a lot of shooters that could afford much more expensive guns. If you are really desiring an over/under, don't limit your market to a price range unusually low for that type gun. A good over/under is mighty nice. A cheap no-name one can be terrible and tend to beat you to death with recoil on a trap or skeet field. The advice you are getting here can help you sort the good from the bad. You might want to double your price limit and save up for a good old 101 Winchester or Browning.It may take some extra time, but you can enjoy the quality for a lifetime.
There are no extraordinary men...just extraordinary circumstances with which ordinary men must deal. Admiral Bull Halsey0 -
the more you pay for a gun, the less youll be bruised at the end of the day. i agree with keeping your 870 and save another 600.00. then, go buy a nice browning citori. new or used, either way, a browning, remington 3200, or a ruger will serve you well. if you are shooting trap, dont buy a semi. many trap shooters dont like squading up with a guy who makes a lot of noise loading and they dont like getting hit with flying shells. dont even look at those cheap imports. dont waste your time.
former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction.0 -
here are a few other things to consider:
the older charles daily over/under (1970's models) are excellent trap guns. beautiful wood, wood to metal finish is good, no choke tubes(full and modified), 30 inch barrels, boxlock design. the model i'm talking about is the charles daily venture. you can readily find them for around 500 bucks. if thats your budget and you must have an over/under, its worth a look. i wouldnt look at any current charles daily firearms.
i must disagree with bobski regarding the semi-auto feedback. its true that semi's are not the norm for the trap range however an ejection clip can be placed on the weapon(in my case i have one on my 1187 premier trap gun) that will "stove-pipe" the ejected shell so it does not hit the guy next to you. its a nice little gadget that only costs about 10.00.
i have seen guys at the trap range shoot the crap out of clay targets with a 200.00 gun. if the gun you choose is comfortable and you can shoot it well, dont worry about the pricetag. you're not going to a fashion show to display your wares.0 -
respectfully, my defense and my counter argument is...its mostly the sound and the fumbling that trap shooters dont like about semi's. even with a shell catcher, the time you spend pulling the shell out, resetting the clip, and getting the next shell, drives nervous trap shooters crazy. trap shooters are distracted by things going on out the corner of their eyes. believe it or not, they will even wonder if the semi with the shell catcher forgot to set the catch and wonder if the next shot will hit them. they will look for any reason to blame the other guy. now, if you are with friends, thats a different story. im talking about going blind to a trap range and not knowing anyone. odds are, some will size you up by the gun you carry and will tend to squad with birds of a feather. if anyone was to say that trap shooting doesnt have a certain trace of bias, theyd be lieing. now theres a good post from a fellow poster! dont overlook a charles daly! you might squeek a good c.d. in for 500 to 600. good luck hunting for one and let us know! 0 -
point well taken. i can see how some trap shooters may feel that their routine is interrupted by untimely noises and adjacent movements.[;)] 0 -
Over on the sporting clays side, we feel the same about trap shooters, espec. when they show up with release triggers. We all want to dive for cover after they shoot the ground in front of them.
Then they whine when a rabbit target rolls by and they can't hit it on the ground 'cause it isn't the same every time.
It seems everyone has forgotten that the model 12 Winchester ruled the trap range in the 50's and the 870 Remington came on strong in the 60's. I watched an older gentleman clean house on a bunch of guys with fancy o/u's with a very old, field grade model 12. He also started his mount with the gun butt at the hip (traditional start position in both trap and clays).
You may have to put up with some crap from the local snobs, but after you get more practice, it's nice to run 'em hard. I've seen serious money spent (and I've been guilty of it myself) on the gun when it should have been spent on more ammo and shooting first. Just spending $$$ won't improve your method or tracking, it can help, but mostly you're better of spending on practice.
I've handled a Baikal o/u and they shoot just fine and recently they have improved their workmanship quite a lot. The Charles Daly's are nothing to sneeze at,either, even the new ones. Look also for an American Arms. A friend had one that actually was rather nice and when new, was only about $700(10 years ago). There are a lot of like new guns out there in the closets, so keep looking for one that you can point and feels good to both the pocket and to shoot.
The only bad part about auto's/pumps is having to bend over to pick up the cases. If you're young or don't shoot much, it won't bother, but if you want the hulls to reload and shoot a lot, it makes a long afternoon.
The above mentioned "pros" that p**ssed and moaned about my pump gun, ect. chased me from the sport. I figured if they were that stuck up I didn't need 'em. I was 16 at the time and trying to learn. There are exceptions, but sporting clays shooters are there more to shoot than try to look good. It's been 20 years and some the local hot shot trap people showed up to show us rubes how to shoot clays. We were helpful and tried to show them where they missed the targets, but we haven't seen much of them after our local 6 year old
just about doubled the hits as well as the 18 year old could hit about 40 or 42 out of 50( very good scores) with.........an 870 express. And when he shoots, it sounds like an auto loader!0 -
great posts. and its all so true. i cant think of a better shooting day than to pull out the crustiest looking gun i have and go wax the field. the sign of a true marksman is the ability to pick up and shoot anything in his hands. my gole use to be to be the best; but, i changed my goal to be that marksman. the problem our shooter wanting a nice gun is going to learn is...in the games of skeet and trap...hitting the bird isnt the only thing shooters are concerned about. its the 'average' most are protecting. the HOA/LONG RUNS/CLASS, etc... ive seen shooters pass up a match after driving 1000's of miles, because they didnt want to ruin their average. if the wind wasnt just right, the shooters werent mature enough, the trap machines werent throwing right, or nothing more than not 'feeling right' about the match. that goes for skeet, trap, or clays. theres a mystical point in clay bird shooting when a shooter will cross the line from fun to professional shooting. when it happens, money starts flowing and most will stop at nothing to make it to center field under lights. its the lure of pro target shooting. then you have your 15 seconds of fame, and it starts all over again. when you get to that point, its not about the gun you used anymore, its about you. and if you get reeeeal good, people will mimic you and buy all the stuff YOU use and the vicious circle repeats itself, and the gun world keeps pumping out more and more and more....until you get to a point that you ask yourself...why? or, wheres my old gun? where my old buddies? and that usually takes about 4 to 5 years, (according to pro shooting stats.)(they are able to keep new shooters for about 4 to 5 years before they lose them to boredom and must recruit new people to the sport.) and the next thing you realize is....you had more fun with your first gun than all the fancy ones youve ever owned. thats where i am now. im shooting my m-50 in skeet, my m-12 in trap, and my old 1929 marlin or mossberg bolt for the 410 events. my goal is to show kids that yes...you can have fun with an old gun too, and you dont have to HAVE a new one to be like the rest. moms and dads love me. and most will agree, im more scared of a man with a worn out gun on a field than anyone else. the gun tells a story. the guns worn out because he became one with the gun over 40 / 50 years of shooting it. those are the hardest men to beat. and odds are he/she's going to be carrying a m-12, a sbs, a 3200, a citori, a daly, 1100, or an 870. mark my words. as you hold the gun in the store, try to picture yourself shooting that gun 50 years from now. look at the dealer and see if he looks like he really doesnt care if he never sees you come in his store ever again. a good gun dealer will put you in a gun that will last you a lifetime, fit just for you. (a true american gun shop.) buy the one that you think will still be shooting long after youre dead. the best guns i ever shot were made by men that are long dead. so, there you have it. i hope this explains whats going thru those guys minds standing next to you and why they sometimes come across as snobs and strange. its not really you, its what they have become and what they are protecting. and the gun you carry says a lot about ....you.
former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction.0
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