Gun Owners I have a question. Need Advice

[RayAllen]

I went Skeet(spelling?) shooting a few weeks ago after not shooting a gun since I was a kid in the scouts. I loved it and have the bug. I want to buy a shotgun for shooting skeet and possibly bird hunting. I have no idea where to start. I was told I could pick up a pretty good shot gun at a pawn shop for a fraction of the cost if I knew what to look for, but I dont, lol. I really dont want to spend more than $300-400 on my first one since it will be a new hobby and more for fun.


Thanks

Ray

[RaceRat]

I went Skeet(spelling?) shooting a few weeks ago after not shooting a gun since I was a kid in the scouts. I loved it and have the bug. I want to buy a shotgun for shooting skeet and possibly bird hunting. I have no idea where to start. I was told I could pick up a pretty good shot gun at a pawn shop for a fraction of the cost if I knew what to look for, but I dont, lol. I really dont want to spend more than $300-400 on my first one since it will be a new hobby and more for fun.


Thanks

Ray

When I was looking for a handgun, I went to a couple of gun shows where I could see all the different models and feel how they fit in my hand. The brokers are all happy to offer their opinions and you can get an idea on prices. Once you figure out what you want, hit the shows and the pawn shops and find the best deal.

[seamonkey2]

for skeet and bird hunting, a regular shotgun would do just fine, go to Academy or cabelas, they have a decent selection, forget the gun shows, its not worth it for this.

pawn shops are so so on this, if you know shotguns well enough you may end up with a good deal, but you have to do a lot of driving and foot work.

good luck

Jose

[tony]

Jose nailed it

[RayAllen]

Thanks Guys! Always need a reason to go to Cabelas or Bass Pro

[txav8r]

I used to shoot skeet alot. There are lots of good deals if you know where to look. Ask around at the skeet fields. Vernon at Bexar community shooting on trainer hale rd. usually has a decent selection. You have to decide what you really want and how much you are into it. Some shotguns are well over $10,000.
Are you planning on shooting competitions? If so you will need a Shotgun with interchangable barrels for 12, 20, 28 and .410 and plan on shooting 500 rounds a weekend during a competition.
The state and word finals are here in SA so that is a plus. They have guns for sale out there also but they are all high end guns.

[brewercm]

I have a friend that was world trap champion I believe in 2001. He used to run a gun shop here that he was a distributor for Krieghoff. He has since sold that business and is VP for Blaser-USA. You could easily spend up to 50K on a shotgun but I think what you are looking for is exactly what Jose was talking about. If you decide you want to get more into it competition wise and all later let me know and I can hook you up with him.

[JKLUSAF]

you can pick up a nice remington 12gauge pump at Walmart or Academy for that price range

[Joshua]

Ray, Academy is going to have FAR better prices than BPS or Cabela's. If you're just shooting skeet and dove/quail go for a 20 gauge. You can shoot it all day long with less fatigue, lighter, cheaper ammo, etc. Details are all personal preference such as pump/autoloader/or break open action. If you ever plan to get in to duck, use it for personal protection at home, or turkey hunting, etc then 12 gauge and again the details are up to you. For a solid shotgun that will always work with very little maintenance look at the Browning BPS, Remington 870, Winchester 1300. If you want autoloaders the price goes up but my wife has a Mossberg autoloader that's been dropped in the salty marsh mud so many times it's not even funny and the durn thing is still kicking, very tough gun. Look on the classifieds in the expressnews, 2coolfishing.com hunting forum, texasbowhunter.com, etc for some good deals but I wouldn't do the pawn shop gig for guns.

[captexas]

Yeah, if you aren't looking to spend very much, I'd hit up Academy first. Bass Pro and Cabelas are fun to walk around in, but they are a bit higher in price.