Hi all, I have two questions for any in the know. First, I have a friend that has a Weatherby Athena O/U in 12 ga that he is selling for $1145. Is this a good price (this is what a gunshop recommended he try to get and he would like to know if this sounds right). It is in excellent shape with ported, extended screw in choke tubes.

Second. I'm trying to get into a trap and skeet gun. Yes, one shotgun to do both, plus hunt birds with it. In this circumstance would an Autoloading shotgun be better than an O/U? What would you recommend for my one and only shotgun (not counting a slug gun), for shotgun games and hunting that won't set me back an arm and leg?

Thanks for any replies....RW

RW
First off I don't know anything about the Weatherby value so I can't help you there.

Now, as far as a good gun for Skeet and Trap, that's a hard one, because basically they take different styles of gun, and you will have to sacrifice something to use only one gun. If you ever shoot Skeet seriously, you will need to shoot the sub gauges. That means you will need a O/U equiped with sub gauge tubes, so an auto is out.

Many shooters say that they shoot the Browning XT trap gun in both diciplines and do well. This might be the gun for you. I would recommend it in the 30 inch version because a longer gun if tubed, will really be too heavy for many people.

Go look at one and see how it fits. Shoot one if possible. If it fits you and it feels good to you, then it probably will do nicely.

Good luck in your search.

Regards, DLM

One gun for Trap and Skeet and hunting can be done. I have a Browning Ultra Sporter with an adjustable comb stock. I raise the comb on the stock when I shoot Trap, lower it all the way down for Skeet and Sporting Clays. Look around there are several models with adjustable stocks. My Ultra has 30" barrels which is fine for the clay games but the gun is a bit heavy for hunting. Having one gun for all will be a compromise deal. Are you going to be doing more target shooting or hunting with it? I prefer O/Us but an auto will work for you if you can find one with an adjustable stock. There are gunsmiths that will be able to make an adjustable stock for you as well. Just make sure you buy a shotgun that fits you well.

The poor boy speaks.

You want one gun to do it all. This tells me that you are not a serious trap or skeet shooter, but a club shooter and hunter. Nothing wrong with that since that's what I am.

Get yourself a Remington auto with choke tubes. If money is real tight, settle for an 870 pump. Get out there and shoot. When you get your average up much over 90x100, you will know whether you are a trap or a skeet shooter and will decide to beg, steal or borrow the money for a specialized gun.

If you never do, you will be a better bird shooter, anyway.

This should not be about how many birds you can break, but about how much fun you can have. I never noticed the folks who can run 400 birds having as much fun as I have breaking 22 or 23 of 25.

LeftoverDJ, you hit the head of the nail. I'm just a hunter looking to try something new and fun. I just shot my first round of skeet at our club the other day and will do some trap this week. Other than birds (duck, geese, pheasant, and turkey)I'm a tried and true handgun hunter. Just seemed to me I was missing out on a lot of fun. So yes, I'll be a club shooter for a long while. I have been looking to upgrade my Mossy 500 to a better fitting shotgun and thought this would give me an additional reason to do so. And yes, my handgun hobby has left me broke so I'm looking to keep the cost reasonable (like under $750.00). I did shoot a friends Huglu O/U that fit well but all the other Trap/Skeet shooters said to save my money as these are just cheap POS, but the owner does well with it. Keep the responses coming as I'm not even close to knowing what I want to buy....RW

Going on the additional info that you provided, I would look for a used O/U, preferably a Browning Citori Lightning, a Beretta 686 series, or a Ruger Red Label. Your limit of $750 may be a stretch, but buying used may be a great way to get in the game.

There is nothing wrong with a semi-auto for both games, it just comes down to your preference and desire to shoot the sub-gauge events. If you are just shooting for fun, check out the Beretta 391 or for a little less, check out the Beretta 3901.

You may want to check out sporting clays also. They seem to give a good mix for the hunter, and still provide great fun with other shooters. And, the same guns will work.

Ravenwolf,

1. What are you going hunt?
2. How many rounds of trap/skeet do you plan on doing per day?
3. 12 or 20 gauge?
4. Do you hunt with pointing dogs or flushing dogs?
5. Hunting with flushing dogs requires improved modified or full chokes. Pointing dogs can hunted over with cylinder to modified chokes. But all of this depends on how good & quick of a shot you are
6. Some O/U have fixed chokes instead of choke tubes.

The heavier the shotgun, the easier the recoil is on your sholder
.
I tell you what, if you want to get the most out of your money, I would consider looking at those Condor supremes O/U that are now being imported bu BenelliUSA & Stoeger. I borrowed one for a trap session and I was impressed by fit, feel, finish, shot pattern, weight @ 7.3 pounds, machine quality, balance weight, barrel selector switch, option of automic ejector or hand eject of shells and most of all price at $419.00 !
I'm going to buy it at end of the week as strickly as a trap/field gun. I had always believe that you always get what you pay for but not in this case as I'm getting alot more for what I pay for.

The most "important" thing that comes before brand names & prices mentioned,
is that does it fit?
Took me 10 years to get around this and shooting has improved 100%

The Weatherby Athena, I think are overprice! I rather buy a Browning or Beretta for that amount of money.

Norseman, thanks for the replies. I'll be shooting at least one round of skeet and one round of trap each weekend, mostly more. This is just club shooting in a informal league. I've never done any of it before.

As far as what I hunt - it really depends on the season as we go after pheasant, duck, goose and grouse. I would need screw in choke capability. I would also be hunting behind flushing dogs mostly but have a couple of friends with pointers.

This shotgunning thing is really fun and I'm starting to really get into it....RW

I would look for a O/U in 12ga as this is to be an all purpose gun. Screw in chokes are a must have as skeet uses open chokes and trap an improved modified or full. I doubt that you will find a good gun in the $750 range as a good used Ruger or Beretta will go for $900 and up around here. In addition keep the barrel length at least 28 inches. If you really enjoy the clay target games you'll naturally move towards a more specialized gun.

The price for the Weatherby, if it's in the condition you say it is, is about right. You're not getting a bargain, but not getting ripped off either. Your friend would do better if he would trade it for that amount since he would save tax.
The one shotgun for all is tough, like others have said. I'd opt for a field gun. You may miss some at Trap because you had to swing through and misjudged the flight, but no biggy unless you're in competition. A lot of Trap shooters don't like the flying shells of autos hitting their Kreighoff's! Use a shell catcher if you go that route.

Bob257