dpskipper wrote:have you ever shot a gun in your life? jumping straight into the 12GA shotgun or centerfire is how you develop a flinch that is very hard to shake. get a 22lr first and learn the mechanics of shooting.
Larry wrote:Nearly all clay target shooters will be using a under and over 12g shotgun. The days of side by sides has long gone. Go to a range and have a look it will also give you an idea of what type of range shooting if any you may like.
Rider888 wrote:Larry wrote:Nearly all clay target shooters will be using a under and over 12g shotgun. The days of side by sides has long gone. Go to a range and have a look it will also give you an idea of what type of range shooting if any you may like.
Is the 12G the only one to get or is there a slightly "smaller" less powerful shotgun or are the smaller ones not worth it?
Larry wrote:IMHO the 12g is the only one that is universal enough to be a worthwhile purchase. I dont use the shotgun much at all again in IMO they are only for shooting ducks/birds or flying clay targets.
Larry wrote:Nearly all clay target shooters will be using a under and over 12g shotgun. The days of side by sides has long gone. Go to a range and have a look it will also give you an idea of what type of range shooting if any you may like.
dpskipper wrote:i recommend a side by side for hunting. they weigh less than under and overs
Rider888 wrote:Larry wrote:Nearly all clay target shooters will be using a under and over 12g shotgun. The days of side by sides has long gone. Go to a range and have a look it will also give you an idea of what type of range shooting if any you may like.
Is the 12G the only one to get or is there a slightly "smaller" less powerful shotgun or are the smaller ones not worth it?
bladeracer wrote:Rider888 wrote:Larry wrote:Nearly all clay target shooters will be using a under and over 12g shotgun. The days of side by sides has long gone. Go to a range and have a look it will also give you an idea of what type of range shooting if any you may like.
Is the 12G the only one to get or is there a slightly "smaller" less powerful shotgun or are the smaller ones not worth it?
The common shotgun gauges are 12ga, 20ga and .410" nowadays. There were others but they're not common now and I don't know that you'd even find ammo for the 10ga, 28ga, or 16ga.
Gauge refers to the bore diameter, but based on how big a sphere of lead would be compared to a pound. 12 gauge is .729" which is the size of one-twelfth of a pound of lead formed into a sphere - an absolutely idiotic way of measuring anything. 20 gauge is .615", the diameter of a sphere formed from one-twentieth of a pound of lead. The .410" is simply a .410" bore diameter - similar to the .44 Magnum.
You also need to decide if you want to shoot longer cartridges as guns come in several chamber lengths.
12 gauge is the only one worth looking at if you're shooting factory ammo as it is cheap, around $100 for 250rds when it's on special, and readily available. You can do a lot of practicing relatively inexpensively. .410 and 20ga you're looking at about a buck apiece.
If you're recoil sensitive you might need to look at one of the smaller gauges, but nowadays most manufacturers have sorted out lower-recoil 12ga loads.
And 12ga ammo takes up _a lot_ of storage space, 250rds of 12ga takes up more room than 5000rds of .22LR - you will likely need more room to store the ammo than the gun.
Rider888 wrote:Larry wrote:Nearly all clay target shooters will be using a under and over 12g shotgun. The days of side by sides has long gone. Go to a range and have a look it will also give you an idea of what type of range shooting if any you may like.
Is the 12G the only one to get or is there a slightly "smaller" less powerful shotgun or are the smaller ones not worth it?