1st gun & gun fit

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Andrew Hall

Andrew Hall

New member
Joined
Aug 31, 2013
Messages
4
Location
Woking
Hi,

I had my FEO visit last Friday and should hopefully have my SGC fairly shortly, so I'm starting to give some thought to the first gun.

From reading the forum, the most-recommended (and reasonable-sounding) approach seems to be a) decide a budget B)  try lots of guns inside that budget c) pick one that feels good and you can hit stuff with.

I've also seen gun fitting sessions advertised to get advice for adjustments to an existing gun, or get measured for a new one.

As a newbie who's only had a handful of lessons, do you think it's better to:

1) Buy a gun, shoot for a while to develop a reasonable gun mount, then get it fitted

2) Have a gun fit to get measured then buy a gun and try to get any adjustments included in the deal

3) Just buy a gun that meets the "feels good and hits stuff" criteria, and worry about paying for a gun fit later in my shooting career?

Any ideas gratefully received.

Andrew.

--

Edited to fix topic tags

 
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Unless you can try them first, you're not going to know. 

Option 3 would be my advice.

If you know someone who has a bit of knowledge, best get them to come gun shopping with you.  There are different trains of thought, but my opinion is to get one that's as near as dammit and go shoot as much as you can.  Then maybe have a session with a fitter later on. 

Edit to complete the thought - try to find a coach that you get on with and trust.  He/she will be best to advise on gun fit.  If you respond to the advertisements, you're taking pot luck.  IMHO.

 
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1 and 3 are similar good plans.

Gun fit at an early stage is a rudimentary thing. Get a gun that feels OK and doesn't obviously 'not fit' (like being stupidly long, short or far too low in the comb). It will be at least 5000 cartridges before you will develop a stance that you stick with and until you have got that, you can't set a gun fit properly..

 
What Clever said...

Where are you based? Lots of people on here will let you have a go with theirs so you can start to get even more confused with the choice that is out there!

Hope you got a big gun cabinet...you can never have enough guns...and don't start us on cartridges...

Welcome to the Madhouse...I mean this great sport....

 
For me you need to get a gunfit lesson with a coach - for a Newbie and please take this the way it is meant, you are not going to know what feels right - how can you if you have never really shot. The only way is to get to see a respected coach, there are many on here, get a good solid lesson and an outline gunfit, work with a coach using a certain gun and build from there - a good coach or ground will have a selection of guns and they can ear mark one for you on your lessons, also they can look using a try-gun to get it right.

Too many people entering the sport get the wrong advice or start self taught, then it is very hard to correct inbuilt habits in the longer term - the more targets you shoot there will be a point where you will plateau due to a poor or not fit for purpose gunfit - not for purpose is the crucial bit - flapper shoots you may get away with, but for competition and an overall test of your ability will be flawed without a proper gunfit and of course the technique to go with it.

For the cost of a lesson and a gunfit you will save yourself in the long run with changing guns and having to relearn techniques - prevention is better than cure!!!

 
If you want to progress and do well at clayshooting you would be wise to put off buying a gun until you have had some lessons with a good coach. In the old days we were mostly self taught and wasted a lot of time learning bad habits and buying new guns to try and correct our faults because we knew no better. If you are not reasonably successful in terms of the number of clays you can hit early on in your shooting, it is likely you will give up  after a year or two.Save time and money , not to mention your self esteem , get some help and wait until you have a little more experience before getting your first gun. When you do, some help from your coach or a successful shot will be a wise move.

 
Thanks for the suggestions.

I've been having lessons at Bisley Shooting Ground but so far I've only shot with various Beretta Silver Pigeons (which I've been getting along with OK).

Once the SGC turns up, I'll start looking around in earnest.

 
I will second what has been said,paticularly Phil Coley!! Just don't rush into buying a gun,take your time and if possible try to decide what discipline you want to shoot before you buy a gun!

 
Well ! Here we are yet again.

You are already very well connected if you are shooting at Bisley. DON'T BUY A GUN yet, try numerous guns and check out what others are using, make a note of what are the most popular brands and ask the owners why they bought them.Chip Smith at Bisley gun club will give you good advice also John.

Have a look in William Evans for a good selection and if you needed a purchase at a later date shortening or altering for a good gunfit speak to Gordon Swatton at Wm.Evans. Get yourself off to Churchill's, at Wycombe or West London and try lots of different guns. When you have tried a good few, one brand will stand out to you as being comfortable and nice to shoot, that brand may be worth considering as a purchase, but before buying any gun shoot it first with a very minimum of 25 shots and if possible more. Once you have bought a gun and shot it for about six months and decided it is going to be kept, then get it properly fitted by a competent coach. No point at all in paying to have a gun fitted if you are going to swap and change over a period of months and different guns. 

 
Salopian said:
Well ! Here we are yet again.

You are already very well connected if you are shooting at Bisley. DON'T BUY A GUN yet, try numerous guns and check out what others are using, make a note of what are the most popular brands and ask the owners why they bought them.Chip Smith at Bisley gun club will give you good advice also John.

Have a look in William Evans for a good selection and if you needed a purchase at a later date shortening or altering for a good gunfit speak to Gordon Swatton at Wm.Evans. Get yourself off to Churchill's, at Wycombe or West London and try lots of different guns. When you have tried a good few, one brand will stand out to you as being comfortable and nice to shoot, that brand may be worth considering as a purchase, but before buying any gun shoot it first with a very minimum of 25 shots and if possible more. Once you have bought a gun and shot it for about six months and decided it is going to be kept, then get it properly fitted by a competent coach. No point at all in paying to have a gun fitted if you are going to swap and change over a period of months and different guns. 
Click to expand...
Gordon Swatton is a top guy without doubt! It was he who sorted out my old DT10 when I first got it, he did a truly first class job!

 
 Hi , I was in a similar situation to you a few months ago...

I had an idea what i wanted, but didnt know what i wanted ... 

Thanks to some superb members here ( Nicola &  Andy S), they very kindly let me loose with some very nice guns ...  There is a thread in general    recounting my experiance ..

A couple of tips i can add,,   dont go looking for your gun with your licence ....  otherwise shiney barrels & stocks may cloud your vision (if you know what i mean)..

I had a short list of what i wanted  ...  gun spec

And i tried versions around that spec....  some i didnt get on with, and some i didnt want to give back ;)

Eventually  a gun with all the specs i was after turned up.  almost 8 weeks after i initially started looking

Mart

 
Okay then :) This is my carefully culled from experience list as originally published at 

1. Learn the basics of shooting - how to mount the gun, where your hands and eyes should be etc.

2. Try every gun you can. Get friends and coaches to let you try their guns. Hire club guns. Fall in love with something very expensive.

3. Listen to the advice and prejudices and preferences of those you know. Be amused at how people seem to either love or hate the Beretta DT10 and the Miroku MK38 and have serious views on brands without much evidence or reason.

4. Go around all the gun shops and announce you need a gun, your budget is £X and you like Very Expensive Gun, what do they have for you? Try holding all their guns. Listen to the advice and recommendations as a good gun shop will be able to tell what might suit you. Do not get swept away at this point. 

5. When the recommendations start lining up with your thoughts from holding the guns, try shooting the models you like. Gun shops will loan some stock if you are a serious buyer.

6. Once you've chosen some models you like, look around them for similar guns e.g same maker, next model up or down, same make and model but premier version compared to basic, same make but earlier model version. 

7. When you've found the make and model you like best, find one in your price range and buy it. Post ecstatically on ShootClay Forum. 

8. Shoot with your new gun for a bit and then get it fitted. 

9. Shoot more until you find yourself giving the same advice to people even newer than you.

Everyone said to me get O/U 12 bore, doesn't really matter if you like 28", 30" or 32", multi choke is important. It was a salesman who recommended the Browning 525 to me, I thought I wanted a Beretta, but what did I know? But they can be worth listening to. 

 
EHB102....I love that post....so so very very true...

Only other bit for me to add is the shopping is fab....you can never have too many guns or cartridges (or men come to that) so if budget allows enjoy the buzz of a new purchase as often as you can....

 
J

You are going to get all these old codgers too excited and the next thing is they will all be having heart attacks as their blood pressure goes through the roof!

If you are going to titillate, lewdness is a pre-requisite for example, just remember the average age of male shotgunners is older than when sex is good for them any more! 

 
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