First(new)shotgun

[Midnitemo]

Due to a bereavement in the family i've had a small windfall of cash(sadly not enough to buy a spread but welcome non the less) i have decided to treat myself to a new Shotgun and this got me thinking about others out there buying a Shotgun for the first time....i have never had a brand new sporting shotgun before, the only new scatterguns i've ever had were both pump actions , a savage and benelli nova(which i still have) so i drew up my list of requirements planned my budget and researched the gun's i liked that i could afford, after i thought about it a while the list of requirements i came up with were pretty much inline with the advice i'd give to the first time buyer with our mutual interest in survival....first i'd say get a double barrel for its lack of complexity and its ease of use/training then make it an over/under as people tend to do better with o/u than side by side(the most common clay pigeon shooting variant)make it not to long,28 inch barrels are my choice(can be choked to achieve a bit more range)multi chokes are a good idea but not essential, i would have an ejector model and manual safety as this will speed up your rate of fire in a sticky situation, you need to buy a sporter/sporting gun not a trap/skeet or game gun, a sporter is a hybrid gun and is capable of all uses and disciplines(game gun would be ok..its like a sporter but generally lighter so its recoil can be a bit harsh but deffo not the other two as they are quite specialised) there are loads of options out there from a realistic £150 used(baikal model 27...over engineered and dependably rugged)up to as much as you want to spend , the baikal new is around £500 but there are many mid spec brands between £500 and £800 such as Lanber Laurona Franchi etc....these are just my opinions but i hope this helps anybody considering what to buy for there first shotgun.

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forgot to say try and get 3 inch chambers to increase ammunition options...my nova is a 3.5 magnum that means it can cycle any 12g ammo out there...very useful post shtf...a three inch chamber will cover most ammo just not the very biggest loads which are fairly rare.

[CharlesHarris]

An over-under 12-ga. auto-ejector gun with 28-inch barrels adapted to screw-in choke tubes, and 3" chambers would be ideal.

If you are able to get at least one insert tube or chamber adapter to enable use of other common ammunition for guns you already have, or may come across, that would be good.

The longer barrel insert tubes of 20cm or more, ideal for break-open guns give much better results than the short chamber adapters intended for use in repeating guns. I have one of the German Kepler insert tubes for my Beretta 412 folding shotgun, which fits in a suitcase and has flown with me all over the world back in the day. These are very expensive now, but of the highest quality. http://www.keppeler-te.de/cms/pages/engl...arrels.php

Briley tubes let you use .410, 28-ga. or 20-ga. in 12-ga. guns. They are widely used in the clay target shooting community, are of high quality, but expensive: http://www.briley.com/side-kickchambertubesets.aspx
http://www.gun-tests.com/issues/16_10/fe...196-1.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-RtmiZiL0o

A .22LR insert tube makes sense if you will get only one:
http://www.gunadapters.com/12-gauge-to-2...d-adapter/

Some links with the less expensive, (also less effective) chamber adapter examples:
http://shotgunadapter.com/
http://www.gaugemate.com/

[I-K-E]

what would the legal implications of have an SGC only and having a tube adaptor for a FAC round?

not sure I'd want to get caught out once I get my SGC

[Midnitemo]

tube chokes are a device that tighten or loosen the shot pattern depending on what you're trying to achieve with the shotgun....28 inch barrels are intermediate size so if you were trying to shoot quarry out over 40m away you would use more constrictive chokes to concentrate the lead shot closer together to achieve a harder hit if you like.

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were not allowed replacement barrels or inserts in the uk on a section 2 shotgun licence...would be nice if we could.

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there are shotguns out there that can be made into double rifles for big game hunting in the bigger calibre's but there then section 1 fac using section 5 ammo...don't go there lol

[Talon]

(25 October 2013, 18:03)I-K-E Wrote: what would the legal implications of have an SGC only and having a tube adaptor for a FAC round?

not sure I'd want to get caught out once I get my SGC

Five years if you got caught with the ammunition.As for the adapter,well I don't know but I would assume you would get the same treatment as it would convert your shottie into a class 1 firearm

I agree with what Midnitemo has said regarding what would be a good sporting shotgun.The Lanbers are superb entry level guns,but they're auto safety annoys the hell out of me.

What i would suggest though is make sure the gun fits you.I can't stress this enough.I had a Miroku MK70,lovely gun but the lop was 15 1/2 inches.It made it hard to shoot and I ended up trading it for a Beretta onyx with a 14"" pull.Much better fit,i miss the Miroku but I couldn't bring myself to take a saw to the stock

If you want to get after market chokes in the Uk Nigel Teague does top quality chokes.Comparable to Briley in quality (bloody expensive though)

I would stick with the factory chokes that come with the gun,if you aren't getting a good pattern try switching the brand of cartridge before going the aftermarket choke route. Trying various catridges at a pattern plate is a must imo.

Baikals aren't the prettiest guns out there but they're built like a tank and will last forever.
My favourite gun is my AYA Yeoman sxs,it's an old farmers workhorse but i'd pick it over my Beretta any day

[Midnitemo]

Talon has mentioned the auto safety being a pain...i absolutely agree....when you open the gun the empty cartridges are ejected(saves you a job,speeds things up nicely)you drop two fresh cartridges in and close the gun,this is where auto safety becomes a pain , closing the gun cocks the mechanism/firing pins but also puts the safety catch on, with a manual safety in a firefight you'd leave it permanently off to speed things up until you have finished shooting then you put the safety on yourself. when out hunting i tend to carry the gun open making it safe instead of using the safety, another thing with auto safety when clay pigeon shooting and this happens a lot...you shout pull bring the gun up and...nothing!!!! safety is on grrrrrr! imagine in a life and death situation doing that!

[Midnitemo]

Am hearing good things about the Revo Onyx sporter(Gun mart review it in this months edition)...meets all the criteria layed out above with a very reasonable rrp of £499