1st gun

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Kr55tan

Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
21
Hi I'm looking to buy my 1st gun I'm leaning towards the miroku mk38 I'm will be mainly shooting sporting clays so my question is what do you think to the miroku and is there any guns you recommend 

£2500 maximum budget 

thanks in advance 

 
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2.5k will buy you a lot of gun S/H the choice is endless . If you are considering new look at the Lincoln range, italian made by f.a.i.r

 
Let’s assume you are talking about  the MK38 Sporter , and not a MK 38 Trap .  It’s possibly the only gun you will ever need for everything . At £2500 the world should be your lobster for a nearly new grade 5 , similarly that sort of money should get you something superb in the Browning 725 range possibly the Pro Sport  . Another £250 quid should get you a brand new gun either browning or Miroku 38/60/70   with a bit of haggling,  or pay around £1700 for a brand new grade 1 . The later MK 38 Sporter guns were supplied with two flush chokes and 3 extended “ -Teague Chokes “  . You need to try before you buy as they are quite a handfull and don’t suit everybody.

 In the second hand racks you will come across another variant , the Mk38 trap guns that have had an expensive Teague Thinwall Choke conversion , these are superb guns,  BUT be aware that many owners buggered around with the comb height on the stock so never ever  buy one without trying it and they are possibly best avoided as a first gun . 

 
2.5k will buy you a lot of gun S/H the choice is endless . If you are considering new look at the Lincoln range, italian made by f.a.i.r
I'll take a look now thanks I would prefer secondhand and get a lot more gun for the money

Let’s assume you are talking about  the MK38 Sporter , and not a MK 38 Trap .  It’s possibly the only gun you will ever need for everything . At £2500 the world should be your lobster for a nearly new grade 5 , similarly that sort of money should get you something superb in the Browning 725 range possibly the Pro Sport  . Another £250 quid should get you a brand new gun either browning or Miroku 38/60/70   with a bit of haggling,  or pay around £1700 for a brand new grade 1 . The later MK 38 Sporter guns were supplied with two flush chokes and 3 extended “ -Teague Chokes “  . You need to try before you buy as they are quite a handfull and don’t suit everybody.

 In the second hand racks you will come across another variant , the Mk38 trap guns that have had an expensive Teague Thinwall Choke conversion , these are superb guns,  BUT be aware that many owners buggered around with the comb height on the stock so never ever  buy one without trying it and they are possibly best avoided as a first gun . 
Do you mean the mk38 trap is best avoided or the mk38 as a whole is best avoided as a 1st gun

 
I'll take a look now thanks I would prefer secondhand and get a lot more gun for the money

Do you mean the mk38 trap is best avoided or the mk38 as a whole is best avoided as a 1st gun
Sorry for the confusion . A converted trap is perhaps not the best gun to start with ,

 The MK 38 Sporter , as I said could be the first and last gun you ever need , if you find it comfortable to use .All   Mirokus are excellent guns  .

Personally I have a converted trap gun, 

 
Bloody hell, that's a hell of a budget for a first gun! 😃 After trying a couple of Mirokus, hired just by chance at grounds, one being an mk38, I got a 2015 Browning b525 for less than a grand as they're all made in the same factory anyway so with that sort of cash Martyn is right, you've pretty much got carte blanche on what starter gun you fancy! Could have spent more but didn't see the need as I won't appreciate it yet, and as long as you get a reputable & recognised make youll pretty much make it work, just as long as it's comfy from the off.

Just my two penneth. :)

 
Sporting mate
Just realised you already said that. Sorry, it's an age thing...

As Mirakuru points out, there are many other choices and as a sporting ref I see lots of people and lots of guns and I would say that there are proportionately fewer Mirokus around than say 5 years ago and apart from the DT series, Berettas appear to be less popular too. F16s are getting popular though and having had ago with one today I can see why. Also there are B725s out there in increasing numbers and of course loads of CGs these days.

The MK38 is one of the greats, no one doubts that, and if you decide to go that way I'd advise looking at the fixed choke models as they always feel better balanced and more lively to me.

 
Yup, was so close to getting an MK38, just the 525 was a fantastic price that I couldn't ignore,... that, and to me it felt so, so closely comfortable to an MK38 anyway, but a couple of guys who have shot for a long time in my section both have 725's by choice so the logic would say they aren't to be ignored at the money you're talking about. The Berettas seem to have a rep for smaller, or rather thinner stocks so if like me you have sausage fingers it might be offputting: I just found there wasn't enough meat there for my liking.

 
I've yet to try a mk38 it's just at the top of my long list of guns to try 

c-g summit acent being another I really want to try 

and the blaser f16 

and on and on

i want to try quite a few guns before I commit to buying one and make sure it fits I just don't want to look like a window shopper if you understand 

Have you shot one? 

Have you shot any others?
I've only shot 2 guns as I'm waiting for my license to come through so I use a friends gun one was a fabarm axis Rs 12 but the stock felt way to long and a beretta 686 special what was 30yr old which I really liked and shot well with

 
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Where are you, someone might be able to suggest a gunsmith near you who could help you with a bit of info regarding how they're fitted to you? I was buying cartridges at one near me who happened to have a reasonable amount of guns in stock so got chatting and they let me have a look at a few. The gunsmith asked a few questions and mentioned he thought I could use this and that with regards to stocks, etc. and I found it very helpful. In turn, they've got a new permanent customer. :)

 
Where are you, someone might be able to suggest a gunsmith near you who could help you with a bit of info regarding how they're fitted to you? I was buying cartridges at one near me who happened to have a reasonable amount of guns in stock so got chatting and they let me have a look at a few. The gunsmith asked a few questions and mentioned he thought I could use this and that with regards to stocks, etc. and I found it very helpful. In turn, they've got a new permanent customer. :)
Will do mate thanks

 
I'll take a look now thanks I would prefer secondhand and get a lot more gun for the money
Good tictacks! Otherwise you are paying the taxman £500 let alone the ( albeit small ) markup.

 
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Intetesting posts - I'm in a similar position but budget is 1500-2000 max!

I've shot a 525 and will be having a go with a friend's Silver Pigeon so I'm leaning toward one of these or a 725  s/hand. Just waiting for my licence then will hopefully get to do a 'try before buy'

 
£1800 cash no trade in  will buy you a lot of brand new gun , or  your £2000 a lot of higher grade used gun . You are in a good place .  Don’t discount buying grade 5 woodwork and engraving on Browning/ Miroku guns sure they shoot the same as a Gd1 but they are always in demand if you decide to change . 

 
My only suggestion would be to avoid considering resale as a criteria for purchase.  The only real consideration is does it work for you.  The simple fact of life is that you'll lose $ on any gun you sell or trade unless you stumbled onto the deal of the century to start with.  And of course, the first gun is never the last gun.

just a thot

 
Oh my goodness, £2500..... I have just received my SGC last week and had previously only shot the instructors gun, a Beretta ????.   I am only 5'5" and he must be 6'2" so you can imagine the reach on the stock!!.  My budget was £600 for my first gun and that was after 4 lessons and my decision to give the sport a go.  Unfortunately I have gone rouge and am guilty of doing the exact opposite of the advice being offered to you here.  I went down to look at a gun before my SGC was issued and the chap in the shop was very helpful, so much so that I decided to extend my budget by £100 and paid £695 for a Miroku 7000 SP1 28" multi choke.  No I did not try before I buy, but it felt so comfortable and fitted me so well, in my opinion anyway, that I bought it without shooting it.  I will be using it on Sunday for the first time and I have my fingers crossed that it will be as good as I hope for.  Good luck.  

 

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