Best Shot Gun for Trap / Skeet / Bird hunting Under $500

[M.D. Holloway]

I want to get my Son a shot gun for Christmas. He is interested in trap, skeet and bird hunting. I also don't want to drop $500+ until he shows more interest. At first I was thinking a Remington 870. Seems like a good enough gun to start with. Ideas?

[Rick V]

I have an 870 is it operates flawlessly but for skeet shooting I always grab my Winchester 1400, now beware they do have issues with the magazine follower since it is made of plastic and as scarce as hens teeth in 12ga it still goes bang every time. The other gauges the part is available

[porsche4life]

Hard to beat a mossberg 500 pump for a cheap shotgun. Usually the 12ga comes in around $200 at Walmart. Spend the difference on shells and clays. A good shooter with a cheap gun beats a poor shooter with a spendy gun every day.

[winders]

Well, proper Skeet and Trap guns are built a lot different than field guns. Getting a field gun will compromise what happens on the Skeet and Trap fields. Most competitive Skeet and Trap shooters are using 8 lbs to 10 lbs O/Us.

But, a nice pump is a great place to start. So is a good used semi-automatic.

[HardDrive]

I think it REALLY depends on how big your son is. The first gun my dad got me was too long, and it was a .12 gauge. I didn't like it. A more compact .20 would have been better for me. If you're going to get an 870, do yourself a favor and buy one thats 30-40 years old. Modern ones are absolute garbage.

I was looking for an inexpensive 12 gauge pump, and ended up getting a Benelli Nova. Plastic furniture, but it looks good, operates perfectly, and was around $400 at the time. I just hunted with it on Friday.



Benelli Nova Pump Field Shotgun-GM421119 - Gander Mountain

[aigel]

The 870 is a good pick. I'd go find a good used one. Their quality has gone down over the years. You can either get a basic one for about $200 or you can step it up to a wingmaster and still stay in your budget. They both can be sold for what you paid for them, if he loses interest. That's always the advantage with buying used. If you buy used, make sure it already has the exchangeable chokes and not a fixed choke barrel.

The Benelli would be a good idea too. Benellis are great.

I definitely would not buy an auto loader for a first shotgun. It is a bit more dangerous and always more $ to get the same reliabilty / performance.

G

[tabs]

Buy used

[winders]

My first shotgun, at age 12, was a Remington Model 1100 12 gauge. Not any more dangerous than a pump if you get proper training.

[aigel]

Originally Posted by winders

My first shotgun, at age 12, was a Remington Model 1100 12 gauge. Not any more dangerous than a pump if you get proper training.

Maybe on the range, but as a new hunter, dealing with excitement, walking / standing on uneven ground etc., it is scary that the thing is reloaded with the safety off in a split second. I would definitely not buy my kid an auto-loader.

G

[cashflyer]

If he does like the sport, will he be competing traditionally with an O/U? If so, then get an O/U for him to use. Build the foundation now, rather than making him switch later on.

If you shop around, you can probably find a CZ Mallard for ~ $500.

You *might* be able to find a Mossberg Silver Reserve in Field Grade for just a little more than your budget.

[Bill Douglas]

As Tabs said buy used, then you can sell it for the same money if he doesn't like it, or when he moves up to a 12 gauge.

[Gretch]

I highly recommend a single trigger, O/U (double barrel) 12 ga with removable chokes for the first shotty he will use for skeet or trap.

There are plenty of them in your price range. (My own is a Sarsilmaz and I am more than happy with its performance in trap) A pump is NOT a good shotty for either sport in my experience and I have several, in the Browning, Mossy and Remington line.

There is a tendency for a newby, under pressure, to short shuck a pump, and especially in skeet, other shooters are sometimes nervous with newbys loading any more than two rounds at a time, anyway.

I personally prefer as short a set of barrels as are legal, with open choke on both, for skeet and trap. The gun comes to target quickly and the O/U SINGLE trigger, gives you uninterrupted, reflex, repeat shots. This is the best beginner piece I can recommend. if later on he gets into it, you can blow a LOT of $$$$ on some real works of art.......

If you have to, get him an auto loader rather than a pump....... A mossy short, barreled, 12 ga auto loader with a fixed open choke will be at the top end of your price range.......

[targa911S]

you don't say how old he is. I think the 870 wingmaster is a good choice as well, but buy used, as Remingtons build quality sucks these days. Mossberg 500 good inexpensive gun. Also look at older Ithaca 37's. Gretch makes some good points for doubles as well. Look at Tristar for good bang for your buck. CZ will get you a nice gun but bust yer budget.

[winders]

Originally Posted by Gretch

I personally prefer as short a set of barrels as are legal, with open choke on both, for skeet and trap. The gun comes to target quickly and the O/U SINGLE trigger, gives you uninterrupted, reflex, repeat shots. This is the best beginner piece I can recommend. if later on he gets into it, you can blow a LOT of $$$$ on some real works of art.......

Shortest barrels? The standard in Skeet for an O/U is 30" these days with some of the better shooters using 32" barrels. In Trap, 32" is the shortest you will see regularly used with 34" quite common. Also, Skeet O/Us are in the 9 to 10 lbs range as are Trap O/Us. Sometimes even heavier.

Why? You don't want a gun that moves too quickly. You want a gun that you can swing smoothly.

When I shot Skeet competitively with the NSSA, I had a $11,000 Kriegoff K-80. It had 32" barrels and weight 9.5 lbs. I used tube sets and shot the 20 gauge in the 12 gauge event. The gun weight and feel never changed whether I was shooting 20 gauge, 28 gauge, or .410 shells.

[cashflyer]

Last time I shot skeet, I used a 28" S/S. Can't remember the brand.
I do not shoot competitively. Just for fun.
I had fun, so , mission accomplished.

FWIW, I owned a Beretta O/U for a while. Then some guy came along with money that he needed to get rid of, and I helped him out.

Nobody seems to want the S/S guns. "grandpa guns" or "mountain guns". Hell, I like em.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by tabs

Buy used

^what Ted said^ is the first thing popped into my head

You can get a pretty sweet secondhand shotgun for $500 in a gun/pawn shop

I like the twin barrels, one on top other or beside one another is fine by me. My brother has a Citori over under that is great, just the right size. Dad has a side by side Ithaca that is a bit long for my taste, but he is a fair bit bigger than I am. It is great for hunting, nice and light, very accurate.

[MRM]

Cash, one of my bucket list items is to buy my son's Scoutmaster a 28 GA SxS, preferably something like a CZ USA Bobwhite. If you ever see a 28 SxS for a good price let me know. He was that good of a Scoutmaster.

The most important factor is whether the gun is comfortable and therefore fun to shoot for your son. This includes a consideration of size, recoil tolerance, weight, manual dexterity for operating a pump action, and a million other things. I went through a year-long search for myself and my son about four years ago with the gracious help of David, Targa911S. My son wanted something that didn't have a lot of recoil, was easy to shoot, was equally good for upland game, and would last for a while with good reliability. I ended up getting him a Browning Maxus auto and myself a 1960s era Winchester 101 Pigeon Grade over under that Targa Dude was able to source for me. Both were a little over your budget, but they were worth it and I would recommend stretching your budget to about $1,000 and getting something good your son will cherish the rest of his life. The first gun a son receives from his father will always be an heirloom and will never be sold. He'll want to give it to his son. So make it good.

Do buy used. The 870 is a frequent first shotgun and is well loved, especially the Wingmaster. Be aware that the 870 now has different grades of quality, with the Wingmaster at top. Just go to Gunbroker and Arms America and see what you can get at auction. Then go to Bud's Gun Shop and see what the new stuff costs.

There are two or three trap/skeet shooting forums out there. They are wonderful resources, but some of the characters make the curmudgeons on PPOT look like Snow White, even though there isn't really a mean bone in their bodies.

Have the boy shoot autos, pumps and O/Us until he knows what he likes. He'll shoot a lot and donut well if he likes his gun. He'll never develop an interest if the gun doesn't match him.

[M.D. Holloway]

He is 15, 5'11" and weighs 185lbs...

[cashflyer]

Found the perfect shotgun for your boy....

[legion]

If he is serious about skeet, he needs and over/under. An 870 is fine for bird hunting and trap. I have an 870 that I use for casual trap. For skeet, I have a Remington Spartan 310 over/under. These shotguns are no longer imported by Remington, but can be still be found. Nothing to write home about as far as fit and finish, but functional. I will pick up a Browning Citori some day to replace it.

Baikal Model MP310 O/U 12 Ga. - European Shotguns