Which Shotgun for £300

[vinnie83]

A quick question for the shooters amongst you...

I've just got my shotgun licence, and had my cabinet installed, so the next step is to get myself a decent starter gun.

I'm going to be using it for mainly clay shooting, and a bit of game too.

My budget for the moment is no more than £300.

Over and under, or side by side is ok (i've been told bargains can be had here).

Any recommendations people?

thanks!

[whitechief]

Do you have a local gun shop? If you do I would go and have a chat and see what they have in the way of second hand stock.

[vinnie83]

Yeah Kibworth Gun Club / shop is nearby, but rather than asking advice from the seller, which can be biased, I thought there's enough experience on here for a bit of advice... Guntrader.co.uk is full of cheapish guns, but I know nothing about them!

[R TOY]

£300 will limit things a bit, 2nd hand bargains are your best bet. I would certainly go for a 12g, o/u, 28 or 30" barrels. Watch the barrel choking, game guns can be tightish choked (i doubt you wil pick up a multi choke in ur budget) Something 1/4 and 1/2 prob be ok. Guns have choking stamped on barrels with a no of stars, i think 1 star is full choke but needs checking. Full choke will limit the spread of shot therefore a more accurate aim required. I would recomend auto safe, every time you open the gun the safety clicks on, esp if game or rough shooting.
My advice, go to a good local gun shop or 2 and see what is available and get advice there. Should be a few about. good luck D

[vinnie83]

I've seen a fair few semi auto 3 shot for under £300, however these don't seem to be very popular, any opinions on these?

[R TOY]

vinnie83 said:

I've seen a fair few semi auto 3 shot for under £300, however these don't seem to be very popular, any opinions on these?

OK for clay shooting, few mates have them but do NOT turn up at a game shoot with one. Go for an o/u sporting type, do everything with one gun. I bought a Lanber for my son to use, 2nd hand but as new, also has a recoil pad , auto safe and looks nice for £320 iirc. Had a Lincoln before which was rubish and i personally would avoid. I now use a Browning 20g which is a nice light gun for carrying around all day on a shoot but i would advise stick to 12g esp for clays.

[Jem0911]

Hi Vinnie,
I would look for a Bettinsoli, Lincoln or Lanber.
I always use Guntrader for purchases.
http://www.guntrader.co.uk/
I have a gun for sale but it falls outside your budget.
I would start with a an over and under if you can, avoid semi auto's and side by sides.
Baz at Kibworth is worth a look.
Good luck and enjoy the sport.

As an aside I am part of the organisers for the below, come down and have a round or a chat.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[vinnie83]

Jem0911 said:

Hi Vinnie,
I would look for a Bettinsoli, Lincoln or Lanber.
I always use Guntrader for purchases.
http://www.guntrader.co.uk/
I have a gun for sale but it falls outside your budget.
I would start with a an over and under if you can, avoid semi auto's and side by sides.
Baz at Kibworth is worth a look.
Good luck and enjoy the sport.

As an aside I am part of the organisers for the below, come down and have a round or a chat.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I have looked on guntrader.co.uk, but I know sod all about the guns for sale, kinda like my mrs looking on autotrader for a car, there's loads there but she wouldn't know what anything is!

What do you have for sale and what is the price? depending on the gun, I could maybe up my budget (although I was hoping not to!)

And the shoot you're organising sounds like a good day out, so count me in!

[Jem0911]

I have my Beretta 687 Silver Pigeon V Multi Choke Sporter @ around £1350.
Its a beauty but doesn't fit me so has had to go rather than be chopped about,
Try this link,
http://www.guntrader.co.uk/GunsForSale/Detail.php?...

If you need any help please do not hesitate to shout I wish I had had help when starting, It would have saved quite alot of time and guns.
Jeremy

[vinnie83]

Jem0911 said:

I have my Beretta 687 Silver Pigeon V Multi Choke Sporter @ around £1350.
Its a beauty but doesn't fit me so has had to go rather than be chopped about,
Try this link,
http://www.guntrader.co.uk/GunsForSale/Detail.php?...

If you need any help please do not hesitate to shout I wish I had had help when starting, It would have saved quite alot of time and guns.
Jeremy

you weren't joking when you said it falls out of my budget! lol I thought maybe a couple of hundred I could push! I don't want to spend that much on my first gun, I want to buy something cheaper I can get used to, learn how to clean etc.

If you see any good guns for sale for under £400, that you think may be suitable and are localish, let me know because I don't know what to look out for, there's so many it seems like a mine field...

[Mustang Baz]

Vinnie - one proposal may be to continue to save the cash through to the end of July and then head up to the Game Fair on the Sunday. There are often a large amount of vendors there, many of whom have a significant game fair selection on show at competitive prices. Come Sunday, some of these also get further reduced in price. This allows you to physically see the gun, try it for size and compare.

One thing you may wish to consider though - put aside £80-£100 for a gun fitting as you may well end up spending your budget on a gun which fundamentally still does not "feel" or fit right. I purchased a very cheap 12 bore over 20 yrs ago as a first gun when I was a teenager and even though fitting cost was 25% of the total gun value, I don't regret it a bit.

Final wild thought - check out Holts or Bonhams auctions online. They have a large amount of generally functional side-by-sides and some over and unders, which although not high quality, are perfectable serviceable. Only downside is the 20% buyers premium + VAT at auction.

[Silent1]

R TOY said:

vinnie83 said:

I've seen a fair few semi auto 3 shot for under £300, however these don't seem to be very popular, any opinions on these?

OK for clay shooting, few mates have them but do NOT turn up at a game shoot with one.

Only if your shoot has a serious sense of humour failure, shoots round here don't care, you could turn up with a punt gun if you wanted.

[Jem0911]

vinnie83 said:

Jem0911 said:

I have my Beretta 687 Silver Pigeon V Multi Choke Sporter @ around £1350.
Its a beauty but doesn't fit me so has had to go rather than be chopped about,
Try this link,
http://www.guntrader.co.uk/GunsForSale/Detail.php?...

If you need any help please do not hesitate to shout I wish I had had help when starting, It would have saved quite alot of time and guns.
Jeremy

you weren't joking when you said it falls out of my budget! lol I thought maybe a couple of hundred I could push! I don't want to spend that much on my first gun, I want to buy something cheaper I can get used to, learn how to clean etc.




If you see any good guns for sale for under £400, that you think may be suitable and are localish, let me know because I don't know what to look out for, there's so many it seems like a mine field...

Vinnie,
I will keep an eye out,
Come over on the 13th to Rockingham I will bring a selection see what fits you, you might be able to buy an off the shelf gun.
I now have an Adjustable stock on my Clay gun, but you don't have to go down that route.
Best regards
Jeremy

Edited by Jem0911 on Tuesday 5th May 15:01

[sleep envy]

Mustang Baz said:

One thing you may wish to consider though - put aside £80-£100 for a gun fitting as you may well end up spending your budget on a gun which fundamentally still does not "feel" or fit right. I purchased a very cheap 12 bore over 20 yrs ago as a first gun when I was a teenager and even though fitting cost was 25% of the total gun value, I don't regret it a bit.

agreed, the most important info

my first gun was a 20 bore poacher's gun when I was 8 years old, got a partridge with my first shot

you could spend £100k on a Perazzi trap gun but if it doesn't fit you then it's not worth £500 to you as you won't shoot properly with it

something like an AYA will be ok to start with but I'd recommend an O/U or S/S rather than a semi auto especially second hand - it's easier to look after, has less moving parts and IMO they look far nicer

try a few guns and see what you prefer eg pistol grip or english, S/S or O/U etc

some syndicates get a bit sniffy about what type of gun you use but TBH if they are that way inclined I'd change shoot - mine don't care what gun I use as long as I walk all day and carry my own birds back to the tractor

also, consider the type of shooting you will do, whilst 30" barrels are good for clay you'd be going hungry on a rough shoot

[Mustang Baz]

vinnie83 said:

I want to buy something cheaper I can get used to, learn how to clean etc.

Vinnie - one other point; if you want to make a good start on learning some of the basics of live quarry/rough shooting, join the BASC as a first step. They used to run the excellent proficiency award scheme, which has now been replaced by the following.

http://basc.dotadmin.com/content/proficiencyaward

I found the BASC scheme very interesting when I did it in 1991, and although I knew quite a lot of the content from practical experience as a teenager shooting every spare hour I had, it taught a lot of additional useful material. It will not only give you more confidence in the basics, but perhaps introduce you to like minded fieldsports enthusiasts - important as I firmly believe we need to stick together.

Edited by Mustang Baz on Tuesday 5th May 14:53

[Stig]

I started off with a Browning Medallist - excellent starter gun, but see above re. fitting etc. That was about £350 - though this was about 15 years ago!

Have got a Miroku O/U and a single barrel BSA snipe locked away too, though really fancy a nice Silver Pigeon.

[Jem0911]

Stig said:

I started off with a Browning Medallist - excellent starter gun, but see above re. fitting etc. That was about £350 - though this was about 15 years ago!

Have got a Miroku O/U and a single barrel BSA snipe locked away too, though really fancy a nice Silver Pigeon.

See above guntrader listing, mines for sale!??!!

[Stig]

Jem0911 said:

Stig said:

I started off with a Browning Medallist - excellent starter gun, but see above re. fitting etc. That was about £350 - though this was about 15 years ago!

Have got a Miroku O/U and a single barrel BSA snipe locked away too, though really fancy a nice Silver Pigeon.

See above guntrader listing, mines for sale!??!!

Oooh - I likey!

Have you got some better (read in focus ) shots of the stock engraving etc.?

Feel free to email me more details Not a million miles away from you either.

Edited by Stig on Tuesday 5th May 15:55

[Jem0911]

Stig said:

Jem0911 said:

Stig said:

I started off with a Browning Medallist - excellent starter gun, but see above re. fitting etc. That was about £350 - though this was about 15 years ago!

Have got a Miroku O/U and a single barrel BSA snipe locked away too, though really fancy a nice Silver Pigeon.

See above guntrader listing, mines for sale!??!!

Oooh - I likey!

Have you got some better (read in focus ) shots of the stock engraving etc.?

Feel free to email me more details Not a million miles away from you either.

Edited by Stig on Tuesday 5th May 15:55

I will sort tonight for you, Please excuse the pony and trap photos.
I will forward direct.

[vinnie83]

Jem0911 said:

Hi Vinnie,

Baz at Kibworth is worth a look.

I spoke to somebody at Kibworth, and they said unless my budget is over £500 **minimum** I'm going to get rusty old guns which are useless and not worth buying!

What are your thoughts on this everyone?