i noticed it after i posted, still on my first cup of coffee.You DO realize this is a 12 year old thread, right? OP has likely already purchased a shotgun or moved on to other things.
You DO realize this is a 12 year old thread, right? OP has likely already purchased a shotgun or moved on to other things.
First time I have ever heard of a person shooting out a shotgun barrel. What wears down in the shotgun barrel, and how many shells would you figure you shot prior to replacement?I've used shotguns all my life. I've shot a lot of different ones as well because on Saturdays sporting clays practice we would all try our friends guns.
We all competed and all shot O/Us. They are the best tracking shout guns - by far! And if the gun doesn't fit you will shoot badly. My brother had a top of the line Beretta sporting gun and we both couldn't shoot it. And then I have a 28GA Beretta Silver pigeon and never miss with that one, off the shelf too.
You can buy any O/U gun that can be fitted for you but some cannot because it's super expensive. That's obviously extra but if you really want to compete and shoot at the top it's the only way to go. There is a really good reason to have an O/U fitted.
I bought a Browning 425 Sporting clays gun and had it fitted. That gained be about 5-shots out of 100. So, I was shooting in A class by then and that upped my scores from 93/100 to 98/100 and I began winning or tying for the win. I was also reloading and shooting a lot. A number of years at the top of my game I reloaded and shot ~25000 shells/year - shooting ~500 shells a week!
That Browning is still with me, built like a tank! and shoots with the best guns in the world at a very reasonable price. The only thing that can and eventually will go wrong with the Browning is the barrel locks. They wear out an the gun opens itself when shot. Replace springs and keep going, or don't let it get to that point. Not expensive either. My Browning 425 is still running on the original springs after probably 75,000 shots (2 barrels so half of that each).
Well maintained as mine is, these Browning O/Us will outlast their owners! Mine below is 33-years old! And yes, it's been refinished. Inevitable, no safe queen this one.
Pictures (2) of that gun below (high res):
This second picture shows the lever that opens the gun for loading. It works like a wear clock for the springs. Right now it's past the center line and to the right. When it was new it was left of the center-line about the same amount. So, it's ready for a springs change!
I've used shotguns all my life. I've shot a lot of different ones as well because on Saturdays sporting clays practice we would all try our friends guns.
We all competed and all shot O/Us. They are the best tracking shout guns - by far! And if the gun doesn't fit you will shoot badly. My brother had a top of the line Beretta sporting gun and we both couldn't shoot it. And then I have a 28GA Beretta Silver pigeon and never miss with that one, off the shelf too.
You can buy any O/U gun that can be fitted for you but some cannot because it's super expensive. That's obviously extra but if you really want to compete and shoot at the top it's the only way to go. There is a really good reason to have an O/U fitted.
I bought a Browning 425 Sporting clays gun and had it fitted. That gained be about 5-shots out of 100. So, I was shooting in A class by then and that upped my scores from 93/100 to 98/100 and I began winning or tying for the win. I was also reloading and shooting a lot. A number of years at the top of my game I reloaded and shot ~25000 shells/year - shooting ~500 shells a week!
That Browning is still with me, built like a tank! and shoots with the best guns in the world at a very reasonable price. The only thing that can and eventually will go wrong with the Browning is the barrel locks. They wear out an the gun opens itself when shot. Replace springs and keep going, or don't let it get to that point. Not expensive either. My Browning 425 is still running on the original springs after probably 75,000 shots (2 barrels so half of that each).
Well maintained as mine is, these Browning O/Us will outlast their owners! Mine below is 33-years old! And yes, it's been refinished. Inevitable, no safe queen this one.
Pictures (2) of that gun below (high res):
This second picture shows the lever that opens the gun for loading. It works like a wear clock for the springs. Right now it's past the center line and to the right. When it was new it was left of the center-line about the same amount. So, it's ready for a springs change!
I didn’t buy anything. Since the initial post- I quit my regular 9-5, joined the Army, got out of the Army, and probably haven’t fired a shotgun in since Trump’s first termOk, i will play also...... since it has been over 12 years, what did you get?
Do you still have it? Thoughts on it in hindsight?
This way bumping a completely DEAD thread is not a total waste of time.....
You DO realize this is a 12 year old thread, right? OP has likely already purchased a shotgun or moved on to other things.
I agree with that to a point. Competed in Sporting Clays a while back. over 25 trophies shooting A class. Competing or practicing Sporting Clays takes 4 hours for one round, not counting travel. You have to do this, but there's a shortcut.Look into sporting clays.
It's a game that teaches you how to hit everything, not arbitrary targets within a small range or the same targets every round.
It's actually fun instead of boring.
.I agree with that to a point. Competed in Sporting Clays a while back. over 25 trophies shooting A class. Competing or practicing Sporting Clays takes 4 hours for one round, not counting travel. You have to do this, but there's a shortcut.
So, middle of the week I,d go to our local skeet/trap range, a 25-minute ride. I shot 1 round of Trap, and 2-3 rounds of Skeet in starting around 4:30-5 PM. I was home just after sunset.
That's 75-100 rounds in the middle of the week! And, the key to being really good at shooting clays came to me after a 1/2 hour paid lesson while already winning. The instructor told me: "Your form and swing are really good, your problem is that you can't stop thinking!"
With shotguns it's form, smooth swing and after a lot of good practice, your body knows exactly what to do and your subconscious can take over. It's automatic. The only thing that is not on auto is your feet position in expectation of where you are going to break the shot. Eye hand coordination is a natural thing. Your body does that automatically. When you have the fundamentals down, Don't think, and you don't miss
Fundamentals come from a Skeet range, birds are perfectly predicable, you can practice on your fundamentals there, and learn to not to think!
Here's a video of me shooting quail over dogs with my 28 gauge, It was 22 degrees that morning and windy hence the clothing. You can see how I prepare my stance anticipating the shot and where I,m going to break it, comes natural. I bagged 23 birds that day, and did not miss a single shot, including lots of doubles.
