A good Saturday

[LancsLad]

Well as I can't get out shooting till Friday at Cambridge Gun Club (Thanks for offering to take me BTC3 ) I decided to visit a few local gun shops to look at shotguns for fit. I visited Donaldsons at Bletchley, told them I had just applied for my licence, gave them a budget and that I was looking for fit of shotguns for sporting clays. So I picked up the following;

Lanber sporting Deluxe m/c, m/c 30" £649 S/H - Fit me very well, not too heavy and swung nicely. But at the price I could travel 8 miles further and get one for £199 cheaper. Just need to find one I can actually shoot to make sure on fit.

Fausti Windsor m/c, m/c 30" £699 S/H  - I really liked the look of this gun but it just didn't come close to fitting. Hardly any cast on the stock so I couldn't even look down the barrel.

Baikal 27 EM-M-1C m/c,m/c 28" S/H £425 - LMFAO. Might last for years and take some serious knocks and keep going but not good with such a low comb. I'd be surprised if my eye even lined up withe the top barrel,was more like lower one.

No hard sell from staff in shop and kept telling me to keep an eye on their website because they are always getting new stuff in but they didn't really help you with the fit. They'd Pass the gun over let you put it to your shoulder while staring around the small store until you handed it back. I think he was more interested in finishing bang on 2pm than getting me to put a deposit down.

Then took a journey up the A5 to RK Stockcraft. Gave them the same spiel about just starting out and just having applied for my licence. So in here I picked up the following;

Huglu 103 DE m/c,m/c 30" S/H £450 - Very plain metal work and felt a nice weight. It had 15 1/4 LoP on this though and I noticed it catching on the first mount. It had an inch thick recoil pad on which could've been swapped but you don't (me anyway) want to buy something you've got to mod straight away.

Browning Medalist 30" m/c, m/c S/H £550 - Really liked this. No idea just how old it was but felt very nice and fit well. Another gun I want to try on a range.

Bettinsoli Diamond 30" m/c, m/c New £725 - Like the Lanber it fit me well straight off the shelf. Another gun I want to try on a range.

Webley & Scott 912k Black Action 30" m/c, m/c New £799 -  Again like the Lanber it fit me well straight off the shelf. Another gun I want to try on a range.

Shop staff were very helpful. Got a young lad who told me he was more in to the rifles than shotguns but knew gun fit. He'd have me dry mount with my eyes closed and check my positioning. Also made sure I was standing correctly (I was more rifle stance than shotgun) as stance can affect fit of a gun. 

So over the next x amount of weeks while waiting for my SGC I need to try and find somewhere with those shotguns in stock that I can actually fire them.

Lancslad

 

[Skeet UK]

http://www.guntrader.co.uk/Guns-For-Sale/results.php?Search=Beretta+shotguns&skipNo=50

 

[LancsLad]

They don't fit me skeet. I look down the side of the barrel on Beretta's. I tried the 686 Onyx today and i've tried the silver pigeons before. 

 

[Skeet UK]

So what is your budget then?
 

 

[Northampton.SG]

Both great shops and good people that wouldn't stear you wrong. 

I'm a beretta man but given the choices above is going second hand browning over new cheaper guns. Bettinsoli are Ok.  

 

[LancsLad]

I'm glad you said budget and not afford. More than likely I'll get the 2015 B525 Sporter. But guy at work who has been taking me to Sporting Targets keeps telling me not to spend so much on my first gun as my mount isn't consistent and I'll want to upgrade after a year anyway. He keeps telling me to try the starter guns (Lanber/Bettinsoli/etc) so thats what I've been out doing today. They were nice guns but I've shot a B525 and had a lesson with one and I know it fits me and I an hit clays. Saying that I'm going to see what they've got at Cambridge Friday to try and do some comparisons.

 

[Beechin]

If you like the b525 mate get it. Your mates not shooting it you are. The way I'd see it is if you have a decent gun from the start you less likely to get anothe gun after a year you might keep that one for two or three years and in that time save for a really nice gun. 

 

[Nick Selby]

If you like the b525 mate get it. Your mates not shooting it you are. The way I'd see it is if you have a decent gun from the start you less likely to get anothe gun after a year you might keep that one for two or three years and in that time save for a really nice gun. 

Agree with this. I bought my MK38 a couple of years ago and not looking to change it anytime soon. No point me buying anything more expensive as it won't make me hit any more clays and an MK38 is apparently a quality gun. Rather put the extra money towards shells, clays and lessons...

 

[PhilS]

Agree with this. I bought my MK38 a couple of years ago and not looking to change it anytime soon. No point me buying anything more expensive as it won't make me hit any more clays and an MK38 is apparently a quality gun. Rather put the extra money towards shells, clays and lessons...

+1

 

[Beechin]

Agree with this. I bought my MK38 a couple of years ago and not looking to change it anytime soon. No point me buying anything more expensive as it won't make me hit any more clays and an MK38 is apparently a quality gun. Rather put the extra money towards shells, clays and lessons...

I did the same bought my 1987 beretta 686 at the start of the year and its perfect won't be changing it for a long time and well never sell it even when I do buy a new gun. 

 

[LancsLad]

I did the same bought my 1987 beretta 686 at the start of the year and its perfect won't be changing it for a long time and well never sell it even when I do buy a new gun. 

​That's the way i'll be going Beechin. I will keep first gun as a spare if I upgrade in the future.

 

[Beechin]

Best thing to do mate in my opinion. 

 

[BTC3]

+1 for pretty much all of the above.  I've had good customer service from Donaldson with an air rifle, and excellent care from RK (just last week they sorted out my gun by driving it over to the importer for a repair they couldn't handle and got it back to me within a couple of days).

However, if you've an acquisitive nature, regardless of what you buy first, you may end up buying something else "just because' or to see what it's like...  I like the idea of keeping the first gun as a spare. Just make sure you've got storage space for them both, and all subsequent ones!

 

[LancsLad]

Yes BTC3, I've already decided to buy a 5 gun safe to start rather than the 3. It should last me a lot longer that way 

 

[Will Hewland]

I would love to see you mount a gun and apologies if you have this sorted, but a lot of newbies try and put their cheekbone on to the comb. This is wrong and causes gun stocks to appear to be insufficiently cast and low. I shot in a squad with a lady last year, who had a great big comb raiser to "improve the fit" she also had a big bruise under her eye, as this is where she insisted mounting the comb. She needed to throw away the raiser and simply place her head properly; which involves your top gum line or even top teeth area of your cheek contacting the comb (roughly speaking). Certainly no cheek bone, which should be well above.

Sorry if I'm way off here, but felt it worth offering. 

 

[LancsLad]

I would love to see you mount a gun and apologies if you have this sorted, but a lot of newbies try and put their cheekbone on to the comb. This is wrong and causes gun stocks to appear to be insufficiently cast and low. I shot in a squad with a lady last year, who had a great big comb raiser to "improve the fit" she also had a big bruise under her eye, as this is where she insisted mounting the comb. She needed to throw away the raiser and simply place her head properly; which involves your top gum line or even top teeth area of your cheek contacting the comb (roughly speaking). Certainly no cheek bone, which should be well above.

Sorry if I'm way off here, but felt it worth offering.

​Hi Will, When I mount a shotgun the top of the stock sits as you say the soft fleshy bit against the stock with my cheek bone above the stock. I know I haven't shot much yet but I've never had facial bruising even after 100 clays. The instructor I saw said I had a good consistent mount on my lesson with the B525 and he wasn't worried about it. There are minor variations each time I dry mount a gun though I noticed on Saturday. Mostly that the rib is not quiet flat each time I bring it up to mount, there is a slight tilt sometimes that I will need to work on.

 

[Salopian]

I bought a Miroku years ago , then a Beretta or two or three, then a Perazzi, then a Krieghoff, then a B Rizzini, then a Krieghoff , then a Perazzi, then a Krieghoff , then another Krieghoff , then a Caesar Guerini then another Ceasar, then A Krieghoff .

What do I shoot ? A Miroku MK 38 .

Just bought another MK 38 .

Still using the thirty year old one  ( you can't have enough guns).

If I could have any gun , it would be a Miroku.

 

[Will Hewland]

I bought a Miroku years ago , then a Beretta or two or three, then a Perazzi, then a Krieghoff, then a B Rizzini, then a Krieghoff , then a Perazzi, then a Krieghoff , then another Krieghoff , then a Caesar Guerini then another Ceasar, then A Krieghoff .

What do I shoot ? A Miroku MK 38 .

Just bought another MK 38 .

Still using the thirty year old one  ( you can't have enough guns).

If I could have any gun , it would be a Miroku.

You are telling me that I went straight to the steak and potato gratin and missed out on the delights of sausage and mash..

 

[Salopian]

You certainly did Will, I remember your much loved Krieghoff , then you got a better gun but that too became unloved for yet another melted down Heinkel.

but thankfully you may now have seen the light and rescued old faithful from the dark corner of the cabinet.

When in doubt or struggling return to your roots.