Clay Pidgeon Shooting

[G-Man]

Got the bug.  Went a few weeks ago with my Brother and our sons to the ranges and we brought along out tactical shotguns and did some clay shooting.  We had a blast.  Hit 9 out of 25 and haven't done it since I was on a cruise ship 25 years ago and missed them all.

The Rangers were great and gave us a lot of instruction and explained why our shotguns were really not very good for this.  Good for home defense as the barrels are a little shorter.
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So I picked up a case of 12 Gauge shells and can't wait to go back.  However, I'm now looking for a better gun to do this and some skeet maybe.  Quick searches of the web show me shotguns from $1,600 and way up.  There was one recommended made by Remington that was under $500 listed as a good one for clay.  Big price variations

Anyone familiar with this sport that can give advice a good gun for beginner to intermediates?

[turtle254]

Remington 1100 easiest to shoot, best price less recoil!

[Psychotic Bovine]

The Stoeger over and unders are very good for the price.  Not fancy, no auto shell ejectors, but have screw in choke tubes.
My personal favorite, though, is the Browning Auto-5.  Great pointability, very mild recoil.  Not made anymore, so you have to find used.

Stoegers:

https://stoegerindustries.com/shotguns

[Moonshot_1]

Ah the memories... We did this for PE senior year in High School. Brought the guns into the school, put them and ammo in our lockers, got them out for PE class, hopped on bus for trip to the range.

Most heavily armed High School School Bus in the world.

Everyone got 5 shots. Then we packed up and went back to School.

It was awesome.

[G-Man]

Ah the memories... We did this for PE senior year in High School. Brought the guns into the school, put them and ammo in our lockers, got them out for PE class, hopped on bus for trip to the range.

Most heavily armed High School School Bus in the world.

Everyone got 5 shots. Then we packed up and went back to School.

It was awesome.

At this range, "The Game" is 5 rounds at 5 stations for a total of 25 rounds.  After 5, everyone changes positions.  And the boxes inside of the case I picked up contain 25 rounds per box.  Perfect for "The Game".

[G-Man]

Remington 1100 easiest to shoot, best price less recoil!

Saw this one and liked it, however I'm not sure if an auto-loader is legal in NY.  Have to check.  But thanks for reminding me about this one.  Nice looking gun and reviews are very good. 

[Patrick]

What game were you playing ? Skeet, trap, sporting clays ?

Remington 1100 is as bullet proof [ pun intended] as they come. Its great for all 3 games. Mine has well over 1/2 million rounds thru it. I was a competition shooter for years/decades.

The Remington 870 [ pump] is a great gun for trap shooters.

I went thru all the 'improvement' in the shotguns over the years.  From the $7-8K right back to the 1100.

If you let me know what game you're planning on on shooting then there are some here to help with gun fitment. [ I use a long straight stock, basically trap stock for shooting skeet].

Oh, and I mostly shoot in NYS.

[old2soon]

     I Know this would be dang near impossible for you to do Gary But try shooting clays off the deck of an Aircraft Carrier!  Little diffrent from nice steady land!  RIDE SAFE.

[RDAbull]

I like to take my old Remington Wingmaster and even older Winchester 97 out and play with them.

The Wingmaster is a great gun and the 97 is just fun to play with.

[G-Man]

What game were you playing ? Skeet, trap, sporting clays ?

Remington 1100 is as bullet proof [ pun intended] as they come. Its great for all 3 games. Mine has well over 1/2 million rounds thru it. I was a competition shooter for years/decades.

The Remington 870 [ pump] is a great gun for trap shooters.

I went thru all the 'improvement' in the shotguns over the years.  From the $7-8K right back to the 1100.

If you let me know what game you're planning on on shooting then there are some here to help with gun fitment. [ I use a long straight stock, basically trap stock for shooting skeet].

Oh, and I mostly shoot in NYS.

The only thing we've done so far is the clay pigeons that fly up and away from you (Trap).  The range we went to (in Cortlandt Manor, NY) has skeet (fly across the field) as well.  I didn't see anyone doing sporting clays (if I'm correct in assuming what it is  by a youtube video).

I would like to eventually try skeet, so a gun good for Trap and Skeet would be ideal.

My Brother has a Remington 870, but it's their tactical model.  I fired his several times before picking up my Mossberg 590 tactical.  I found the 870 to be more violent.  Had to remember to clench my teeth to avoid cracking them.  Could have been the rounds that he purchased, though.

[G-Man]

     I Know this would be dang near impossible for you to do Gary But try shooting clays off the deck of an Aircraft Carrier!  Little diffrent from nice steady land!  RIDE SAFE.

First time I did was off the back of a cruise ship.  Does that count??  LOL!

[Jess from VA]

Gas operated auto shotguns kick less than all others.

Here's a reasonable price gas auto.  Not a regular trap skeet gun but it will work.

https://www.mossberg.com/940-pro-field-85155.html

Mag is 4 +1 in chamber.  NYS may have some rule about running a plug to limit to 3, but may not apply at trap/skeet ranges. It comes with a plug.

Review:  https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/mossberg-940-pro-field-review/

[G-Man]

Gas operated auto shotguns kick less than all others.

Here's a reasonable price gas auto.  Not a regular trap skeet gun but it will work.

https://www.mossberg.com/940-pro-field-85155.html

Mag is 4 +1 in chamber.  NYS may have some rule about running a plug to limit to 3, but may not apply at trap/skeet ranges. It comes with a plug.

Review:  https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/mossberg-940-pro-field-review/

Just saw this one from Mossberg 10 minutes ago:

[Jess from VA]

I am not a trap, skeet or sporting clay shooter.

But you need to do your homework on barrel lengths recommended for what you will shoot.

I do know that using an 18.5 or 20 (or even 22) inch barrel is not optimal for this shooting.   28" may be optimal, but this is not my forte. 

It's my understanding that sporting clay shooting is harder to find and more expensive to do than the others.

https://www.braysisland.com/life-in-the-field/shotgun-barrel-length

https://pullusamagazine.com/a-game-of-inches/

https://www.outdoorlife.com/choose-best-shotgun-barrel-length/

https://nssa-nsca.org/blog/2018/08/28/ask-the-instructor-barrel-length-2/

[Patrick]

What game were you playing ? Skeet, trap, sporting clays ?

Remington 1100 is as bullet proof [ pun intended] as they come. Its great for all 3 games. Mine has well over 1/2 million rounds thru it. I was a competition shooter for years/decades.

The Remington 870 [ pump] is a great gun for trap shooters.

I went thru all the 'improvement' in the shotguns over the years.  From the $7-8K right back to the 1100.

If you let me know what game you're planning on on shooting then there are some here to help with gun fitment. [ I use a long straight stock, basically trap stock for shooting skeet].

Oh, and I mostly shoot in NYS.

The only thing we've done so far is the clay pigeons that fly up and away from you (Trap).  The range we went to (in Cortlandt Manor, NY) has skeet (fly across the field) as well.  I didn't see anyone doing sporting clays (if I'm correct in assuming what it is  by a youtube video).

I would like to eventually try skeet, so a gun good for Trap and Skeet would be ideal.

My Brother has a Remington 870, but it's their tactical model.  I fired his several times before picking up my Mossberg 590 tactical.  I found the 870 to be more violent.  Had to remember to clench my teeth to avoid cracking them.  Could have been the rounds that he purchased, though.

If the 870 beat you worse than the Mossberg, it didn't fit you.

There is a difference between field and target guns.

A skeet gun is most like a field gun. The stock is shorter [ usually 14" LOP] and has more drop. Most skeet barrel lengths are 26-28" with an open choke.
A trap gun has a longer and straighter stock along with a longer tighter choked barrel in the 30-34" range.
A sporting clay gun is kinda like a skeet gun. Many fellas change chokes between stations.
Most fellas use choke tubes today.

[Patrick]

Clay target are/use a 'low base' shell. Usually 2 3/4 or 3 dram.

Skeet shot is usually #8 or 9 while trap loads are #7 1/2 or 8. So to shoot any of the games with the same shell I used to use/load 3 dram 8's. Not too many folks load their own shells anymore. I just sold my loaders, dust covered loaders.

[Chrisj CMA]

I've always loved the Remington 870. I don't shoot skeet but this one has an adjustable choke. Just need to know which choke is best and this gun will be good as any. Under $600. It's the super mag 3.5" chamber. Ten round mag extender

[Rams]

Got the bug. 

Anyone familiar with this sport that can give advice a good gun for beginner to intermediates?

Tried this way back when, I can tell you this for sure.   Boiled, not very good, infact, they suck.
Haven't tried fried but, just about anything is good fried. 

Rams