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What gun should I consider ?

4K views 23 replies 20 participants last post by  Hap MecTweaks 
#1 ·
I have a ljutic centennial that would make a fine gun for you to shoot. I am a right handed shooter but my ljutic has a neutral stock and an adjustable butt plate. which can be adjusted to fit a left handed shooter. price is set at $3,700. let me know if you are interested with an e-mail. also look up my thread for more details on my gun (for sale ljutic centennial price reduced). I will try to make you a very nice deal. I also have pictures if you would like to see them. aj ansley
 
#4 ·
I look at this subject a tad different. The most important part on a competition shotgun is a fitted to you stock. When finally making the decision to buy one, allow room in your budget for a fitted stock at the start. In the long run, you'll be hundreds if not thousands of dollars ahead with a gun you can break good scores with. Make,model and cost of shotguns is a preferential choice which won't necessarily mean you'll be able to shoot it well.

Having a stock made, fitted to you, varies quite a bit in cost. Some models of receivers inherently cost more to duplicate a stock for than others. Choose wisely in that area too.

The sky is the limit if money isn't a problem. Budget wise, I'd rather have a lesser gun with a fitted stock than a more expensive gun where I couldn't afford the fitted stock. You'll enjoy shooting a lot more and break better scores with the correct decisions made at the start. I pay as much for a quality scope for hunting rifle as for the rifle itself! The fitted stock on a shotgun works in the same manner regardless of gun choice.

Hap
 
#5 ·
I agree with hap. I would also say that an auto or single barrel are usually eaiser(less expensive) to get stocks built for. You cant go wrong with an 1100 or 391 for your first step up.

You can buy an 1100 for say $450 buy a jack west stock for 250 and add a custom rib for 400 or less. Add 50 for a trigger job and you could have a fine competition gun for less than 1500.

Complete custom stocks will cost $1500 and up but they are worth it if your shooting has progressed enough.
Joe
 
#8 ·
You can find very good prices on used SKB guns and that may be the way to go. As a fellow southpaw I understand the limited choices that you have. Suprisingly, used left hand trap guns usually sell for less than their right handed counterparts. Also, guns like the 391 Beretta can be configured for the left hander by changing the shim between the butstock and receiver.

You didn't mention a budget figure so it is difficult for me to make a reccomendation. Here would be my short list if I were shopping for a first trap gun; Beretta 391, Beretta 682, Browning BT99, Browning XT, Remington 1100/1187. Good luck and don't hesitate if you have more questions.
 
#9 ·
Hap makes a lot of sense.

One thought to add. If you buy a gun that will take a PFS stock you can make the gun fit you. You will need someone who can work with you to get the proper fit as it not that easy to do. Many think they know how to fit a shotgun but few really do. Out of all the guys at the club I shoot at, there are three I trust to fit a stock.

The PFS will set you back about $1500 or a used one will go about $900. They can be moved to another gun when you upgrade.

Your biggest problem will be you. Everything is adjustable. Amount of recoil reduction, LOP, cast, pitch, butt plate height and angle. You MUST NOT tweak the thing every time you shoot a bad score.

Don
 
#12 ·
If you like your 870, you can buy a composite stock from Jack West. This stock has an adjustable comb which will allow you to make your 870 a little more competitive as semi trap gun. The stocks I believe are around 250.00. You can buy different barrels from Hastings and add a recoil reducer and an excellant after market trigger if you like. Many a fine trap shooter started with an 870 and you can build the gun as you go without spending a lot of money up front.

The major draw back about the 870 recoil, unless a new stock removes or reduces that problem. As to which gun you might buy to replace your 870, remember to buy the most gun your budget will afford. SKB's are okay, but you can buy better guns for less money. Consider trying out as many guns as you can before you decide on a particular one and make sure you shoot the one you intend to buy and by all means get it check out by a gunsmith. You could end up buying a problem that would cost you more in the long run and unable to sell. Pay particular attention to guns with a lot of cast on the stock. Make sure the gun is empty, place the butt the ground, and turn the gun belly up and look down the length of it. If you are left handed, you want a gun that will either have a straight stock or one that pitches off the the left. Just imagine a line down the length of the gun and see where the butt stock is in relation to that line. If the stock is to the right of center, forget it.
 
#15 ·
Buy the cheapest 391 Beretta , either 30 or 32 inch barrel trap gun you can get. Go to Dennis DeVault & have him convert it into a great target crusher for abour 2 k more & you've got a great shooting gun, that guns that cost 4 times as much can't equal.

Phil Berkowitz
 
#17 ·
Cuban Cigar--If I didn't shoot a release I would & I could get it back in a hearbeat. I, for safety sake & peace of mind could never consider shooting any auto-loader with a release trigger. Otherwise it is a soft shooting, target crushing machine. It points as good as my Infinity---but the clanging will take a bit of getting use to,again

Phil Berkowitz
 
#18 ·
9103997-
best advice i ever received was from an older shooter by the name of Vic Reinders. first day I went out to the club, he said "buy yourself an 870 tb, use all the money you would have spent on trading guns, buying guns, etc, and use that money to shoot". did i listen, hell no! 39 years later, over numerous guns later, i am back to shooting a rem 870tb. if you broke a 25, you know how to shoot the gun. you say you have acquired a trap stock, try it. best advice i could give you, NEVER, NEVER, trade your old gun, sell your old gun, before you give the new gun an honest try. another friend of mine once said, give your old gun to a friend, with instructions to not give it back to you for 3 months, no matter how much you beg, inorder to give the new gun a try. numerous shooters have made the mistake of trading guns they shot a 100 staright with, never being able to get it back, and never being able to shoot another 100 straight again. if you want to try a break open, keep your old gun, and by the bt99 that dickgtax is offering, great gun, good deal. should you decide not to take any of my advice, thats ok, but in 39 years, you will understand that what i was telling you made sense. good luck to you. by the way, when you try a different gun before you purchase it, you will shoot it like a champ. once you paY, SOMETHING HAPPENS, IT MAY TAKE A FEW ROUNDS, A FEW WEEKS, OR MONTHS, THAN THE MAGIC IS GONE. happens to all of us, strange but true.
steve balistreri
 
#19 ·
It is not the gun that gets you the high score. It is good shooting. I am shooting a Mossberg and a Remington auto. Two cheap American made guns. I love them both and really love winning against guys with very expensive guns that look down their noses at my cheap guns. It makes the win that much sweeter.
 
#20 ·
TRY TRY TRY as many lefty shooters guns. I ended up with a Browning XT and a PFS for 2500.00, Not haveing a huge budget I went this route and decided to shoot more targets. I used my 870 exspress for over as year while I looked and saved. I bought the cheapest stocks for the 870 I could find and played with them. Bondo.mole skin, shims ect ect. I even built a raised rib from some metal strips from a hobby store and glued them on with silicon adherssive.

Looking back, Try to borrow a trap stock for the 870, shoot it until you have a good budget, Being a lefty I will tell you, alot of guns you try the toe off the pad will poke you.
 
#21 ·
I agree with the guys above. A lot depends on your budget. But I would say start with a 1100. You can find them every where. Get a stock fitted to you by one of the stock makers. Make sure it has all the adjustments avaliable ie: comb, lop, butt plate, etc. You will then be set to shoot all the clay target games. (if you get a barrel with choke tubes) Just remember the big guy (Leo) himself started with a 1100. If your budget allows then graduate to a combo.
using my self as an example I shoot a 1100 at the grand in 2004 and shot a 99 in the Nitro handicap. NOw I shoot a 682 combo.

mike t
 
#23 ·
to JoeE1

Sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I have been around long enough to know that there is no perfect gun and all can have problems of some kind or another. A new shooter can certainly spend a lot of money an a high grade gun and maybe do okay with it, but he could end of gun poor or buy a lemon that he will not be able to get rid of. I have owned an SKB and I know several other shooters that have as well, and have not been happy with them. If I could only have one gun and had to choose between an SKB and a 870, I would choose the 870 because I know the reputation and endurance of an 870 and it would far outlast the SKB.' If you don't believe me, ask the gunsmiths who work on them.
 
#24 ·
Hey guys, make or model for a beginning shooter is immaterial for that shooter to learn how to shoot trap! About any 12 ga. 30" full choke will break more targets than our All-Americans are capable of breaking consecutively? The key is to assist that shooter in deciding how to accomplish that! More importantly than make, model,brand or cost is getting him into a properly stocked gun that fits him! Pick a shotgun and have a fully adjustable stock that can be fitted to that shooter will have him hooked on the game much longer, shooting much better. Lighter loads too, instead of bouncing him around with handicap loads on the 16 yard line, will go a long way.

The best guns are what our All-Americans are shooting and their guns never fail? That's not true either, even with the most expensive makes. When it comes to shooting comfort and consistency, I'd choose one that would leave enough cash to add a fitted stock and be money ahead of the game. If moneys no problem, there is no problem to making choices.

Hap
 
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