View Full Version : What is a good Skeet gun?

April 15, 2005, 12:32 AM
I have been shooting skeet for about 3 years now. I have always used my friends Winchester pump action 12 Ga it has a fairly short barrel but it worked well for me. I recently tried a Sears bolt action 12 Ga (which I'm considering buying) with a pretty long barrel. although I feel I am more comfortable with the longer barrel it just takes too long to get off a second shot with the bolt action.
what id like to know is what is a good skeet gun ? is a longer or shorter barrel generally preferred? I have always used a 12 Ga is this the way to go ? I never used a choke tube should I ? (didn't even know what one was before today)

Death from Afar
April 15, 2005, 02:31 AM
The best skeet gun is the one that fits you the best. The "fit" of the gun, the relation between your eye and the target, your ability to swing the gun, are of critical importance with skeet and trap. If the gun does not fit you, you will simply not shoot as well. Most clubs have a variety of guns to try, and most shooters will loan you theirs, I suggest you try as many as you can. You will never be able to compete in a competation with a bolt gun. If nothing else, the clay will have vanished by the time you work the bolt.

I dont think that the US has a barrel length restriction, but a 26' or 28' barrel is standard pretty much world wide.

Again, I am not sure what the choke rules are in the US, but you cannot go wrong with screw in chokes, and use the skeet choke for skeet shooting.

April 15, 2005, 06:01 AM
A shorter barrel will allow much qucker follow through for the second clay. If it were me, I would stick with either a pump or auto.

Remington 1100/11-87s are good, as are the 870 pump.

Spotted Owl
April 15, 2005, 10:11 AM
The U.S. barrel length restriction is 18".

Death from Afar
April 15, 2005, 07:43 PM
18" is the same as here. However, I think it is too short and you tend to swing past the clay...

April 15, 2005, 09:20 PM
O/U's tend to rule the roost on a skeet range. Autos come up second place followed by pump guns. I don't think I have ever seen a bolt shotgun on a skeet range. That second shot in about half a second would be quite hard to work on a bolt gun.

As for barrel length, the longer barrels will give more follow though of targets and weight forward for steady swing. Shorter barrels are quicker, but whippy and tend to stop too easy. The reason folks miss most targets is that they stop their swing and shoot behind the target. I feel that 28" is the minimum on an O/U for skeet with an average shooter. If the shooter is small statured then maybe a 26". I see many skeet shootes with 32" and 34" barrels now, but the most predominate is at least 30" on the serious shooter's guns.

April 18, 2005, 05:04 PM
I have a Beretta 686 Sporting model with a 32" barrel and would trade it for nothing. Deffiently get the longer barrel. Before the 686, I was shooting skeet w/ a 11-87 w/ a 28inch barrel, and the extra 4 inches helps alot.