Shotgun for Beginners

alan123

macnab wrote:

From experience I can say you should ask the local copper what they prefer. "Doctors differ, patients die" etc...

I think the message is.. do it the way the firearms man wants, you never know when you might need to ask him a favour!!! So did you do the Macnab?

macnab

Nope, Its the make of my shotgun "Macnab Lowlander"

alan123

Bummer! I was looking forward to the tale.

tippbhoy

Chopperdog 2 wrote:

tippbhoy wrote:

Last question and i'll go off on a search. How would you judge the "milage" on a shotgun, a game gun would surely have much less on it than a well worn clay gun? Is there any defining charachteristics on a barrel that you could check, is it something that needs to be considered?
QUOTE]


Tippbhoy,

Assess any gun physically as you would when buying a second hand car. Look at the general appearance of the gun.

Has the timber been scraped?...no big deal.
Are there dents in the timber? indicative of harsh use.

There should be absolutely no bumps dents on the barrels inside or outside.
There is no such thing as 'only a small dent' in a gun barrell, they are all potential bursting barrells.

Rust on a gun is definitely out the window, as is pitting either inside or outside of the barrels. Avoid any gun with these diseases.

The degree of fading of the blueing/blacking on the barrels will give an indicator of how much the gun was used.

Pick up a gun and sniff it. If a gun has beeen minded you will get the subtle aroma of solvents and oil as opposed to just the smell of burnt powder from a less cared for model.

Break the gun down and look if it is greased on the stub/hinge pins, same reason as for oil smell above.

Look for shiny patches on the trigger to indicate levels of use.

The most important factor in determining the life left in a gun (after barrell thickness, but that is rarely a factor these days) is the tightness of the action.

As you open the gun, the barrels should open downwards smoothly, but not loosely. The more a gun has been shot, the looser the action will become.
If you are a total beginner to this area, handle and open as many guns as you can to observe how a normally functioning gun should open.
Loose guns to be avoided at all costs.

I am sure I have missed some points, am in a mad hurry at the moment.

I am sure the other lads will pick up on anything I have left out.

Cheers, C.Dog.

alright lads,

Update on my search so far, checked out 2 gun shops there over the weekend, was a bit disappointed with the outcome to be honest. From what i can tell, they options seem to come under 2 categories, the 300 to 500 range starter gun Yildiz etc. and then a massive jump to about 1,200 for any good second hand brand. I saw a Berretta for 950 and while it was in good knick it seemed to be well worn all over and i wasn't keen on something that seemed to have seen so much use. There were some Beretta's that were spotless for 1500 and the feel and weight distribution of them was smashing, i can see why they are so recommended.

there was a Sabatti (i think) for 400, hadn't seen much use but it's the first i've heard of this brand. anyone know anything about it? The owner in the shop seemed to recommend Bettinsoli for the price range i was talking about, my mate has one of these and seems happy enough for it. He also mentioned that they seem to be replacing the Lanber in his area.

Overall, from what i can gather there seem to be a lot of entry level guns for under 500 for a few shots on the Sunday and for use by a farmer, and then a big jump in price for an enthusiast gun. It's my first gun and i won't be using it that much but when i do i'd be hoping to shoot(well aim at anyway) maybe 50 clays in a day. I'm all for the good second hand gun but i'm not too keen on spending so much. Anything in the top brands for around 7 or 800 seem to have a lot done, more than i expected. what should i do? Would i be better off with some sort of mid range new gun like the Bettinsoli, i'd probably get one of them for around 800 i think, or go for a well worn top brand even though they seem to have a lot of work done on them? Maybe i need to reassess my budget...

foxhunter

Bettinsoli are an excellent allrounder for the money i know of several people with them and have never heard a complaint yet.You can buy them with a nice bit of scrolling aswell whice makes them look more expensive than they are.

roverjoyce

from what i can gather i would recomend as a person in a gun club and has seen many people purchase guns, when you are going to the gun dealer bring someone with experience with you and someone who is honest. When i went to buy my first gun in Ballykerrin sports in athlone there was a Baikal new and a second hand one, the friend i had with me told me it was a piece of crap and to leave it down only for the dealer to insist it was a fantastic gun and only for my friend was there chances are i might have a bagal. Ended up buying a Zabala NARGC special O/U for €500.

Also would you ever think of buying a good heavy side by side to start off with you would set a VERY VERY godd side by side for 400/500 euro and a gun that could be very sellable. Three of my friends bought side by sides starting off and progressed up the line. Buy a side by side for your own shooting and if you go to flapper shoots or 100 birds, you will probaly go with a friend who should let you borrow his gun. Buying the gun shows you have an interest and he will trust you seeing as you are practising. Theres a great chance as well you could shoot for your county in the NARGC all ireland next year in side by side as i did with my friends gun.:D

Sorry if this is a bit scattered as i am in a rush:cool: :cool:

john mcvey

id go along with saving the pennies and getting a better second hand gun,im just getting into clays and bought the old model 682 gold trap, lovely gun and feels great, defo go for a bit of quality.

tippbhoy

roverjoyce wrote:

from what i can gather i would recomend as a person in a gun club and has seen many people purchase guns, when you are going to the gun dealer bring someone with experience with you and someone who is honest. When i went to buy my first gun in Ballykerrin sports in athlone there was a Baikal new and a second hand one, the friend i had with me told me it was a piece of crap and to leave it down only for the dealer to insist it was a fantastic gun and only for my friend was there chances are i might have a bagal. Ended up buying a Zabala NARGC special O/U for €500.

Also would you ever think of buying a good heavy side by side to start off with you would set a VERY VERY godd side by side for 400/500 euro and a gun that could be very sellable. Three of my friends bought side by sides starting off and progressed up the line. Buy a side by side for your own shooting and if you go to flapper shoots or 100 birds, you will probaly go with a friend who should let you borrow his gun. Buying the gun shows you have an interest and he will trust you seeing as you are practising. Theres a great chance as well you could shoot for your county in the NARGC all ireland next year in side by side as i did with my friends gun.:D

Sorry if this is a bit scattered as i am in a rush:cool: :cool:

Why would you recommend a side by side? Is it due to being more cost effective or better performance for a beginner? Or both

bmcm71

Personally I wouldn't buy a side by side if you intended to do much clay shooting. They aren't really up to the job and most kick like hell. Baikals are basically indestructible but aren't the nicest guns to handle either. Fine for game shooting. Try and find a nice clean Lanber and you won't go wrong. A Winchester 101 is a fine gun too but they were discontinued some time ago and spares might be a problem. If you can save for a browning or beretta you'll have it for a lietime.

Chopperdog 2

bmcm71 wrote:

Personally I wouldn't buy a side by side if you intended to do much clay shooting. They aren't really up to the job and most kick like hell. Baikals are basically indestructible but aren't the nicest guns to handle either. Fine for game shooting. Try and find a nice clean Lanber and you won't go wrong. A Winchester 101 is a fine gun too but they were discontinued some time ago and spares might be a problem. If you can save for a browning or beretta you'll have it for a lietime.

+1

It seems to me that you and I have both gone to the same school of thought

fathersymes

Try the Huglu, basically a Turkish copy of the Berretta, about 600.

tippbhoy

hmmm the boys are recommending parting with the hard earned pennies.

i'm not willing to part with over €750 ish for my first gun and to be honest at the moment from what i've seen on offer i can't get a decent one of the brands recommended at that price. I'm sure luck and some hard searching would get something of good value but im not experienced enough to judge how much a gun has done.

At the moment i'm leaning towards a new or almost new Bettinsoli. Not sure about the barrel length though, 28" or 30"? keeping in mind it's for clays would a 28" be the optimum?

Thanks for all the advice guys

Double Barrel

Tippbhoy, 28,30 & 32 inch are all good length for clay pigeon games. I would reach for the 30 - 32" & 8.5 to 9 pound gun.

Take your time and look for a "good quality used" OU, Beretta, Browning, Merkel, Miroku, Winchester, etc. Good used guns are out there,it just takes time to ferret them out.
The power behind the recent quality control uptick of Turkish-made guns-Huglu- are European engineers and execs from, long standing firearms companies i.e. BRNO-CZ etc . As well, the CAD & CAM modern machinery that is being run there is also up to date, with training/supervision supplied by those same companies. Turkey is an extension of the European economy, tourism, real estate, and labor pool.

Another avenue to explore and more than likely in your price range are pumps and semi-autos.
Keep us posted.:D