Semi auto, love em / hate em.

[philpot]

I have owned a number of auto shotguns over the years from a Remmy 1100 with three barrels through Beretta, browning, Hatsan, Savage pump etc etc and the one thing we all know about semi autos is that at some time or another, we watch the man with an auto with a little extra attention just to make sure the bloody thing is empty.  I did witness a guy at a local sporting ground finish his stand, flick the gun back over his shoulder sending a shot through the coffee tent, no damage done and nobody injured but a case in point.

I love to use an auto on DTL but of course nobody else on the line enjoys my shooting as the ejected shell either flies in front of them or hits them, even more fun when it is your pal and we are shooting a practice round, but it is very important to keep a straight face when I say ' I am so sorry '.......................... 

I am not an auto shooter for clays other than the odd day when I want to just shoot something different and the only reason to own one is for hide shooting on crows or pigeon and even then I get really fed up trying to find all the empty cases before leaving the farms.  Wilst in my local dealer one day a chap came in with a hump back Browning A5 wanting to sell it back to the shop as he no longer used it, A deal was done and as the gun was only a year old, it was cheap.  I walked over to the counter after the guy had gone and said I'll just borrow that and took it into the range for a closer look.  This model was a 'Grand Passage' with green/brown cerakote barrel and action with a camo synthetic stock and when it came up to the shoulder, my god it felt so good.  I asked to take it home to try out which I did on roosting pigeon, oh this was a cracker of a gun and with Eley Pigeon Select 30gr at quarter choke, the kills were excellent with the added bonus that this gun doesn't thow the empty cases more than 4-5 feet away so easy to pick up after. I did test a few 32gr shells and they also dropped a similar distance.

The 'hump back' A5 design has been around for many many years, I was using the full recoil operated A5 back when I was only 26, I am now 71 years young so it's fair to say this gun had been around longer than most but this new gun is what I believe is called a light recoil operated, not like the old ones where the barrel moves back but like a normal gas operated auto in feel.  Recoil is very low, and pointability is fantastic, weighing in at 3kg, the gun is very comfortable to shoot and is worth every penny it cost (which to be honest was less than £600 for a £1250 one year old gun) and it gives me great joy to use.

Apart from my joking about shooting DTL with it, I have used it when shooting with my wife when it is just the two of us on one of the Beverley layouts and it really does shoot so well on these targets, very satisfying but of course taking a full camo gun to a clay ground is not something I like to do as people give you that look that makes me feel like a 'know nothing cowboy' although I have shot clays at John Bidwell's Highlodge where my wife & I have been going for about 17 years and again it was a joy to use. The gun was bought for shooting crows and pigeon from a hide but if I were to buy an auto for clay shooting, it would be another A5 without any doubt but not in camo / cerakote.

I bought the gun 28 months ago and in that time it has had quite a bit of use, never failed in any way and never been cleaned in that time ( don't shout at me ) so I feel confident in saying that I believe it to be a gun that is fit for purpose so if you are thinking of an auto, have a look at the new A5.

https://en.browning.eu/a5-grand-passage-max5.shtml

Phil

 

[Les53]

Well each to his own. As a trap shooter I won’t shoot anywhere near someone with an auto. 
It wouldn’t be so bad if the spent shells weren’t spat out all over the place, someone once told me that there was some sort of shell catcher made for autos, probably in America. Such a device would seem like a good idea. 

 

[philpot]

Well each to his own. As a trap shooter I won’t shoot anywhere near someone with an auto. 
It wouldn’t be so bad if the spent shells weren’t spat out all over the place, someone once told me that there was some sort of shell catcher made for autos, probably in America. Such a device would seem like a good idea. 

I agree with you Les and as said it is not for use with a line of competitors, I was being light about it. There is a catcher available but they only work on certain guns and not that great. 

 

[Mike]

I have a couple of 21 year old Beretta 391's I prefer to shoot the field "Gold" version complete with a lump of lead in the butt and a Briley fore end cap it weighs 7lb 10oz.

Which for a bloke of my age makes it a joy to shoot . A perfect shotgun for sporting and skeet. 

I too used to shoot an 1100 Trap years ago, but they would make you a lonely shooter on todays trap layouts.

 

[westley]

When I started clay shooting in the early 1970's, I only possessed an AyA No.2 S x S 12 bore. Even though finishing 9th. in my first National Competition, with 32 gram cartridges it was er.....a bit punchy  !  I bought a Remmie 1100 Trap and a spare 1/2 choke barrel. I had to shoot 3 disciplines,  DTL, Skeet and Sporting, with the occasional ABT. I later added an 1100 Skeet gun. I won more with the 1100 Trap than with any other gun I have owned since. I always shot DTL as part of a 5 man squad, so I shot with the same people each time. Nobody seemed particularly bothered by a semi auto in a Trap line back then. They just got on with the job and found other excuses for missing. The old 1100 finally gave up the ghost, in a Competition in Eire and I was 'forced' into buying an O/U. I still won a few Competitions, but never felt as happy shooting any other Trap gun as the 1100. Several years later I was in USA and staying with an American Cop. He took me to a local clay ground to shoot the American version of DTL. When we got to the ground he produced an 1100 Tournament Trap for me to use. I won the Comp and 1000 Winchester 32gm cartridges.  I left the cartridges with my Host and kept the large silver dollar medal thing. So like em or loathe em, they can certainly do the job. I still believe the lighter weight and lack of recoil, contributed to my success with the gun.

I also shot thousands of pigeons with a 20 Remmie 1100, choked 1/2.

 

[Mike]

Totally agree about the weight and less recoil, so much easier to shoot too.

 

[philpot]

Totally agree about the weight and less recoil, so much easier to shoot too.

Still far prefer to use my o/u CG for clays.

 

[Mike]

Still far prefer to use my o/u CG for clays.

Me too Phil, a much better/steadier gun to shoot and I don't need to carry a magnet with me 

But the auto has less recoil and is 8oz lighter.

 

[westley]

I use one of the collapsible magnets, sold on market stalls. Only a couple of quid and fits in the left breast pocket on my skeet vest. I'm only picking 6 or 8 cases up .......normally, depends if I am following someone with a break open gun who is unable to hit anything, in particular the flamin bin  !

 

[Jan Powell]

Neither love nor hate semi-auto’s. Fine for skeet, don’t step onto a trap line with one though unless you enjoy shooting in a squad of one.

 

[Cosmicblue]

Shot at the Royal Berkshire Shooting School recently and one of the ground rules was 'No Camo guns'.   I turned up in a blue Musto clay shooting coat - was expecting to get asked to leave for breaching some dress code rule - nice place, expensive.

A few years back, I decided that I absolutely had to have a semi - so bought a 30" Browning Maxus....got it home, wouldn't go in the Bratton SL5+ cabinet with a top box - took it back and swapped for a 28".   I shot pretty well with it but the mechanical clanking of it cycling rounds detracted from the experience  compared with the crisp report of an OU and I didn't keep it long.  I was OCD about cleaning it too - I realise you don't need to be that way...it was a PITA to get really spotless too...silly really.

 

[Les53]

Shot at the Royal Berkshire Shooting School recently and one of the ground rules was 'No Camo guns'.   I turned up in a blue Musto clay shooting coat - was expecting to get asked to leave for breaching some dress code rule - nice place, expensive.

A few years back, I decided that I absolutely had to have a semi - so bought a 30" Browning Maxus....got it home, wouldn't go in the Bratton SL5+ cabinet with a top box - took it back and swapped for a 28".   I shot pretty well with it but the mechanical clanking of it cycling rounds detracted from the experience  compared with the crisp report of an OU and I didn't keep it long.  I was OCD about cleaning it too - I realise you don't need to be that way...it was a PITA to get really spotless too...silly really.

I agree, every time I ever shot one, all that mechanical movement was a bit of a pain. I had the same issue with a semi auto rifle too. 

 

[westley]

The 'clunk, click'  every shot is something that is far more noticeable on some guns more than others. My 2 old Beretta guns with wood stocks and forends, I hardly notice any mechanism noise or sensation, however I did have a Winchester X3 that was 'plastic' and it rattled and echoed like nothing I had ever used. I won't have a recoil operated mechanism for the same reason. I often feel that a touch of snobbery backs the prejudice against semi auto guns and I get sick of hearing about 'how dangerous' they are.

I reiterate what I have said before, I have shot for over 60 years and also ran a shooting ground for 17 of them. ALL of the 'accidents,incidents,' dress them up however, have involved break open guns. Even the most recent incident, 2 weeks ago, involved an O/U. I think that most users of semi auto or pump action guns are aware of their bad publicity and take a lot more care to avoid further animosity. 

 

[MartynB]

My mate has a Browning B2000 gas auto , he’s owned it      for over 40 years when it was originally a 5 shot . He  had it refinished to as new by Elderkins a few years back .  I love shooting it , it’s all steel and there’s a nice chunk of weight in the action. The best bit about it is the physical feel and sound of the gun  being loaded through its neat first shot side load feature . Lovely mechanical sound when it’s ejecting  . It’s quite versatile as it came with a 30” trap barrel and a 26 “ skeet barrel . It’s a bit cartridge fussy on light loads so it only gets used for fun but with a decent 28gm cartridge like a Power Gold or a 30 gm game cartridge flawless . 

 

[Scotty]

Interestingly enough TGS just put up a video on the Berreta UGB. I've never seen anything like it but it makes sense hearing the issues faced by semi's on a trap line. Mainly that it ejects from the bottom.

He said they are prohibitively expensive these days but I haven't gotten round to checking that out yet. But I will now!

 

[westley]

I have met a few Trappies that er...."ejected from the bottom "    !

 

[philpot]

Interestingly enough TGS just put up a video on the Berreta UGB. I've never seen anything like it but it makes sense hearing the issues faced by semi's on a trap line. Mainly that it ejects from the bottom.

He said they are prohibitively expensive these days but I haven't gotten round to checking that out yet. But I will now!

Interesting, I will have a look although I prefer to shoot o/u for trap anyway.

 

[westley]

Interesting, I will have a look although I prefer to shoot o/u for trap anyway.

There is only 1 on Guntrader at £2,600.

They were not without their problems.

 

[chippy]

I've got a remy 1187 it's a lovely handling auto but you need a large bag of spares and a welder to keep it going.