All very good advice - thanks

I'm just being impatient I guess - and I don't like to suggest going shooting with folks and then say "Oh but can I use your gun"... I'm sure they will be fine but its also a right hander and I shoot left.

I will call the shop tomorrow toes if they have a second hand lefter for sale and ask if I can borrow it. I will wait till I get the license before purchasing - sensible advice...

Just want them to call me now to have my visit. I'd still have to wait a few weeks to wait for the paper to come through the post but at least I "should" be given the nod if it all looks fine - then I guess I could think about a purchase.

On that score - I hear you re fit, fit and fit... Have neem looking at 2nd hand Berettas or Brownings but did like the feel of a Betinsolli in the shop. New for £700 and the other 2nd handers are all >£900....Any advice re make model... are the Betty's any good..?

thanks again Ash
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I understand where you're coming from - if you fancy a trip around to Surrey / Dartford way (I know a good ground there) then I'd be up for a shoot - could bring along both the SxS and MK38 for you to try. Would have to wait until >April though probably.

Personally I've never got on with Berettas but that's just me. Gone through a Lanber, Browning Ultra XS and then settled on a Miroku MK38 which I've had for the last 9 years.

I've shot a number of guns >£10k but nothing feels (to me) as good as the £1600 I paid for the Miroku. You do sometimes get what you pay for but that threshold is reached at about the £1k mark. I.e. paying somewhere around the £1k-3k mark and you'll have a gun that should outlast you. But that's not a hard and fast rule.

I was happy with the Browning but shot friends' Mirokus and then realised after 3 months that I'd never actually shot worse with their (unknown) guns than my own so the decision was made, with my own Miroku I should shoot better.

The other bit of advice if you want to improve is travel around for shoots and try different grounds. Ed

Although up north I have started shooting clays, over the last year, I shoot with a Beretta, which is nice, just starting to get on track for this year. I have a cheap Castellani side by side (10% cost of the Beretta) which also shoots as well, finding a gun that fits and it comfortable is important. Don''t be frightened to try before you buy, ask questions!

I am still a beginner and still learning......

Once your sorted.......enjoy  Regards
Royston

2008 4.2 Supercharged Autobiography
1994 Classic Vogue SE
1999 Rover BRM
1987 Rover Vitesse Twin Plenum

OK - so put disposable income to one side and forget about what one "could" afford to spend...

What do you guys think is sensible price for a first gun... Given I might get bored and stop or might not like it after a while I don;t want spend a fortune. If on the other hand I really love it, I can always upgrade later to a better (read more expensive) gun at some point.

The new Betinsolli is £700, a used Beretta is ~£900.... A re these considered a lot for a FIRST gun.... Ash
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Didn't you take in anything

Expensive in the case of shotguns does not mean better.

Personally I wouldn't spend more than £2k on a shotgun unless I had a lot of disposable income. And this coming from an ex international who's been shooting and running clubs for over a decade.

In the £800 to £2k region you're not going to go far wrong. Below that not everything will be as decent but you can still get good bargains. Unlike an FF a shotgun is fairly simple to inspect so you will know which ones to walk away from.

I would just try as many as you can to get a feel for it. The gun should feel natural, you shouldn't need to "aim" the gun. Where you look will be where the gun is pointing.

It's worth bearing in mind that quite a few manufacturers have different grades of gun. For example my MK38 came in 1, 3, 5 and Prestige (or something like that). All identical guns and all shot equally well but the grade 1 was around £800, the 3 was £1500, 5 more like £2.5k and Prestige about £6k. The difference? Pretty patterns in the wood and engraving.

So you can go in at the lower end and if you like it and want something more aesthetically pleasing you can "upgrade". Ed

Thanks Sako

Yes I was listening to your earlier comments..

It was more around that break point in price of "don't expect anything decent for less than.xxxx" I guess however even a good make second hand can be cheaper - but still a good gun.

Being new to it I just don't know about "good brands" vs unknowns... i.e. I Betinsolli and good or bad brand or now to avoid. That kind of thing...

I'm am going to be limited to trying before I buy only on second hand ones. They won't let you shoot new ones cos they are not new anymore after you've used one.! Ash
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If they won't let you try a new gun then personally I'd walk away from the shop. That's a pretty poor excuse for not letting you at least try it if you are serious about buying one.

I wouldn't say there are any to avoid per se. I personally find Berettas to be quite barrel heavy, others find Brownings to be heavy. My experience of Mirokus (mainly the trap variants) is they are very forgiving and beautifully balanced. Built very well but blueing from the factory isn't the best. The chap who taught me to shoot sold one decades ago to a person. Bumped into him 10 years later and asked after the gun. Was still shooting it and the only thing to go wrong after an estimated million shells was replacement firing pins as they had not broken but become too short from the number of caps they'd hit. Ed

My first and still my favourite gun was/is a £1000 Beretta 686 straight cast and I shoot left shoulder. All advice given so far is spot on - find a good gun shop and club and try many before you find the one that feels right (and shoots well) then look at the price. "On first name terms with my local Dealer......now."

'61 Plate 5.0SC Autobiography - in Black ——— Gone
'53 plate 4.4V8 Vogue Bonatti Grey inside and out. ----- Gone

All very interesting

I'm sure the chap at my local shop (attached to the clay range but not part of it) told me I could try one of the second hand ones but not the new ones - Obviously I can mount it in the shop to test the feel/weight/balance etc but not actually try it out. Ash
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Maybe once he sees the cash in hand things will change. Basically I'd never buy one I hadn't shot a few rounds with.

My Browning I bought from Jonanthon at Mid Wales Shooting Centre. There you can take the gun out and go around the grounds and ranges (its pretty big). If you buy it the clays are usually thrown in. If you don't, you pay the going rate for the clays.

Bear in mind a gun will likely feel different when it's shot. You don't normally shoot a shotgun like you hold it in a shop

It might also be worth bearing in mind the clothes you wear, jackets can easily add an inch of padding in the winter. Or just do what I do and have some decent base layers and man up. Less relevant in clays but can make a huge difference in rough shooting.

My best friend at uni came down for my 21st in Wales. The day after the party I took them out on the shoot we'd set up. Tried holding the shotgun like he was taught to hold a rifle (after trying the proper way), felt fine, until he pulled the trigger. Boy did he get a shock, and a bruise.

Ed Ed

Sako

No prizes for guessing your favourite gun. My 243 is a 75 hunter, my first gun and a beauty" have a few more now, but the Sako is still the one I would keep to the bitter end.

Mick Got enemies? Good, you have stood up for something in your life.

Never regret growing old, it is a privilege denied to many.

Mick,

Not necessarily my favourite but definitely the funniest at Bisley when you're in a line of .308s. It's just a "bit" louder (particularly with the 58gr 4500ft/s rounds with no suppressor).

For some reason people also seem surprised by the 8" flame out the muzzle that accompanies the noise...

It's an 85 though, fully synthetic and stainless steel / aluminum construction as I got it to last and take abuse through Scottish bogs.

Ed Ed

Mmmm you are in Surry and I'm in Scotland and I have the walnut!

Mind you, I lived in Kent when I bought it.

Maybe we should have a shooting/fieldsport/dog thread on the forum?

Mick Got enemies? Good, you have stood up for something in your life.

Never regret growing old, it is a privilege denied to many.

Sorry Sako - missed your comment

Would be great to meet up with you in Surry for an hour at a shoot... We can park like twins in the carpark and then you can show me how a pro shoots..!

I went out yesterday for another hour or so and had some fun - not my best day but again using my mates right hander.... I don't want to dampen their day so go along with what they shoot - to be honest, a bit advanced for me but it's all good practice and i'm learning what I can't do quite well. will probably use up one of my lessons in the future on those types of traps.

I was quite pleased at one point though - I hit one going away from over my left shoulder and straight onto a "jumping Rabbit" and killed them both (as a pair) . I think I'm thinking about my shots too much but no time to think on that one. I just reacted  Ash
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sako243 wrote:

Mick,

Not necessarily my favourite but definitely the funniest at Bisley when you're in a line of .308s. It's just a "bit" louder (particularly with the 58gr 4500ft/s rounds with no suppressor).

For some reason people also seem surprised by the 8" flame out the muzzle that accompanies the noise...

It's an 85 though, fully synthetic and stainless steel / aluminum construction as I got it to last and take abuse through Scottish bogs.

Ed