I went with a buddy to shoot sporting clays last weekend and had an absolute blast. I've been looking at buying my first shotgun, and I'm heavily leaning toward a Beretta A400 Upland 12 gauge with the Kick-Off Plus system.

I'll be using it for skeet and sporting clays, and to have just a general purpose shotgun. I doubt I'll ever use it for hunting, but you never know.

I can't decide between 26" and 28" barrels. What says the forum? Any other advice?

For a sporting clays gun I like at least 28", sometimes longer. 26" is more of a field length.

But in the same vein, if it's a clays gun, I would not buy the Upland model, but probably the Xplor model. The Upland model is lighter and that is great for the field where you carry more than you shoot. But the opposite is true on the clays course.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
For a sporting clays gun I like at least 28", sometimes longer. 26" is more of a field length.

But in the same vein, if it's a clays gun, I would not buy the Upland model, but probably the Xplor model. The Upland model is lighter and that is great for the field where you carry more than you shoot. But the opposite is true on the clays course.

Great, input, thanks!

I rented a Winchester semi-auto for the sporting clays, and was surprised at how soft-shooting a semi-auto was. I have some soreness in my shoulder, but no external signs of bruising. I was just wearing a t-shirt, so no padding.

My thought was that the Kick-off Plus would sufficiently mitigate the recoil, and I REALLY love the look of the Upland, with the walnut stock and the Kick-Off Plus. The Xplor models don't have the Kick-Off Plus (internal shock absorbers), just the Kick-Off.

28" barrel on a semi-auto sporting clays gun is about the same OAL as a 30" O/U. While I prefer 32-34" barrels on my O/U sporting clays shotguns, the semi-auto with the longer barrel seems like the most reasonable choice for your purposes. Gas operated semi-autos certainly shoot soft and the "Kick-off" system (I have it on my Xplor) works quite well. I have several A400s and they've all served me well.

I'd definitely go with the 28". I buy 32" barrels for my O/Us when I get a new one.

quote:

Originally posted by AUTiger89:

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
For a sporting clays gun I like at least 28", sometimes longer. 26" is more of a field length.

But in the same vein, if it's a clays gun, I would not buy the Upland model, but probably the Xplor model. The Upland model is lighter and that is great for the field where you carry more than you shoot. But the opposite is true on the clays course.

Great, input, thanks!

I rented a Winchester semi-auto for the sporting clays, and was surprised at how soft-shooting a semi-auto was. I have some soreness in my shoulder, but no external signs of bruising. I was just wearing a t-shirt, so no padding.

My thought was that the Kick-off Plus would sufficiently mitigate the recoil, and I REALLY love the look of the Upland, with the walnut stock and the Kick-Off Plus. The Xplor models don't have the Kick-Off Plus (internal shock absorbers), just the Kick-Off.

I believe the field guns (extreme and upland) have kicked off plus) but not clays guns. This is probably because 1) field guns are lighter and therefore NEED it (in the case of the upland) or 2) field guns are shooting heavier game loads and therefore NEED it (in the case of the extreme which is mostly a waterfowl gun shooting 3" or 3 1/2" high brass loads.)

Great answers..buy one of each. I know most prefer longer barrels for sporting clays. I've used 26 and 28 inch for years on upland game.

Can’t argue with the longer barrel for the trap range. I’m about 99% on the hunting side, for me ‘general use’ is 26”, it gets shorter for turkey & predator hunting.

I go all the way down to 18.25” should the HD option need to be used.

I could recently find 20 & 12 ga ammo at Walmart for reasonable prices, $27 or so for 100 count. The last month or so seems to of dried up, summer skeet/trap shooting likely the reason.

If you are going to definitely shoot clays definitely but only hunt maybe, then I'd optimize for clays. A little heavier gun and a longer barrel will help every time on the clays course.

RE: recoil. If the gun you eventually wind up with still gives you shoulder issues, you might consider a shooting vest with a shoulder pad insert, (something along these lines, perhaps?)

The pockets come in handy for the two (or more) boxes of shells, and the pad is an added bonus.

28" is most versatile for trap/skeet/sporting clays/etc. in a semi-auto gun. In a semi auto you don't want shorter than a 20" barrel for self defense, the gun may not cycle with less.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
28" is most versatile for trap/skeet/sporting clays/etc. in a semi-auto gun. In a semi auto you don't want shorter than a 20" barrel for self defense, the gun may not cycle with less.

I dont know about that. I had Benelli M1S90 Entry gun with a 14in barrel that ran reliably for thousands of rounds, most were light loads

I don't shoot birds - wether made of clay or meat and feathers.

To me a general purpose shotgun is 21" with an 8 shot tube and a bead sight, preferably a vent rib with dual beads. An HD shotgun is 18" with a 7 shot tube, ghost ring sights and an optic rail. I might go for a 24" barrel with a tube that allows 10 in the gun if I shot competitively, but to me that's really long and only for the capacity.

Either the 18" or 21" would be fine with rifled slugs too, so larger game is not out of the question.

As with all the others the longer barrel is a plus for shooting clays. As is a HEAVIER shotgun. Once you really get hooked on shooting clays you'll find a 200 round weekend is rather "light". So recoil reduction is a good thing, whether it be done with simple Mass or with more scientific doodads.

My choice for recoil and cost reduction was to purchase a 28/410 Combo Gun. While you do have to be more precise with the smaller calibers at the same time they will force you to improve. Another big plus is that 410 is VERY inexpensive to reload. Right now I can save about 1.76 per box loading 410 compared to 12 gauge.

I'll also point out that if you get into the sport it can be sort of like "Bread Out Another Thousand". At present I have six 12 gauge shotguns. Don't actually need them all but it took me a while to sort out what I enjoyed the most. So, don't get too worked up about what you purchase right now. In a year or two you may be selling it, either because you outgrew it or because you just didn't enjoy shooting clays.

BTW, I work as an RSO on Sundays and last Sunday was an example of how unimportant gun Brands or Type is. Had a new shooter come in with a Tri Star O/U. He'd never shot anything prior so I took him out to the Trap Field. Went over the Safe Handling bit, how to use the voice trigger and asked him to shoot a couple of targets so I could observe. He completely missed the first two targets, in large part because he didn't have his cheek on the stock. At that point I stopped him and did a bit of teaching on how to mount a shotgun properly. Also gave him a brief description of Lead and when/how to use it. His next 3 shots were all good solid hits, no chips or ziggers, good solid no doubt that clay was shattered hits. I do believe that he may be a natural. Anyhow, when you can hit well with one of the least expensive shotguns on the planet it makes it clear that what you shoot really isn't that important until you shooting at AA or higher.

Don't shoot sporting clays, but I have been shooting trap 1-3 times a week for the last three years. Having shot pretty regularly at three different clubs, I will tell you that I almost never see a semi-auto shotgun on the line - I think for good reason.

1. If you get into the sport and end up shooting 4-5000 rounds a year a semi-auto just isn't going to hold up the way a good quality O/U will.

2. Semi-autos are more of a pain to clean and maintain and have to be cleaned more often.

3. You will not make friends if you are ejecting shells at the shooter to your right or leaving a pile of shells on the ground.

4. A semi-auto simply will not be as reliable as a good quality O/U.

Yes, a semi-auto will have less felt recoil, but honestly if you get a good quality O/U recoil shouldn't really be an issue. I have shot upwards of 300 rounds a week in the summer with no ill effects whatsoever. I know people who compete in tournaments and shoot upward of 5-600 rounds in two days.

Just another perspective, but something to think about.

And for the record, the gun I shoot the most is a single barrel shotgun with a 34" barrel. Not really suitable for your purposes since it's obviously not something you can take multiple shots with, but more to let you know swinging a shotgun with a longer barrel is not an issue.

I'm not planning on doing any competing, just hanging out shooting with the guys. It's the first shogun I have ever purchased; I have my grandfather's old single-shot Stevens 12 gauge, but it isn't suitable for multiple shots.

I went ahead and bought the Beretta A400 Upland in 12ga with the 28" barrel.

Thanks for all the great advice!

quote:

Originally posted by AUTiger89:
I went ahead and bought the Beretta A400 Upland in 12ga with the 28" barrel.

Nice first shotgun purchase. It will do you well for a long, long time.

Since you spoke of recoil mitigation, I suggest a few things with ammo. You don't need uber-powerful loads to break clays. You just need to point the barrel in the right direction, then pull the trigger at the right time. Easy, or so they say. Once your Beretta has 100 or 200 rounds down the pipe, it should handle just about any of the softer shells. Be sure to keep the action lightly lubed -- I kept a light spray lube in my carry bag at all times. Semi-auto shotguns don't need to be dripping wet like an AR-15, but dry-as-a-bone and dirty is a recipe for cycling issues.

1 ounce shot at 1180 (-ish) fps will break clays a long ways out. In state FITASC tournaments I've done that with edge-on clays at distances up to 80-ish yards. #8 shot, with fairly tight chokes. This is what I shot day in/out when I was competing regularly in any clays discipline. Such lighter loads will be much easier on your shoulder.

You might try 1-1/8 ounce loads at 1145 fps to break in the gun. I can pretty much guarantee the 1-1/8 ounce loads at 1200+ fps MV will cycle the action from the start, but you'll feel more recoil.

Don't get too hung up on choke selection. For skeet, use skeet (yep) or IC. But some of my best skeet rounds were done with LM/M chokes, after just shooting a sporting clays match. For most casual sporting clays courses, somewhere around IC or LM will get the job done.

Each of the clays disciplines (trap, skeet, sporting clays, 5 stand, FITASC) has its own level of snobbery, irritation, and chest puffing. Just smile and go about your fun when it occurs. Go crush some clays.

Congrats on the purchase. Need to see some pics!

Here she is.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: AUTiger89,

quote:

Originally posted by AUTiger89:
Here she is.

Great choice! The A400 Beretta with the Kick-off addition on your stock will serve you well! Can't make out your barrel length. 28" or 30"?

Decided to go with 28". Can't wait to take her out for a spin!

quote:

Originally posted by pulicords:

quote:

Originally posted by AUTiger89:
Here she is.

Great choice! The A400 Beretta with the Kick-off addition on your stock will serve you well! Can't make out your barrel length. 28" or 30"?