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Hi There,
I was VERY recently in your shoes. I am/was primarily a handgun and rifle shooter, but got exposed to 3 gun about 2 years ago and got "hooked". I picked up a Winchester Ranger pump shotgun and it did the trick for 3-gun competitions.
But then I started trying sporting clays, skeet and trap and figured out pretty quickly that the gun a) did not fit me well enough for those disciplines and b) I was not NEARLY fast enough with the pump for simultaneous birds (trues) in SC or skeet. So I tried a bunch of different shotguns from members at my club.
Pumps were out 100%. I tried semiautos and O/U (no Side by sides). As others have stated, a gun that "fits" you is most important, and longer barrels "swing" better than shorter ones which makes it easier for SC, trap etc.
I also didn't want to break the bank with a "nice" shotgun and was originally in your price range. I tried some really expensive guns, just to see what they were like (I didn't shoot any better with them, I am an "intermediate" shooter at best so maybe I was unable to benefit from them) and eventually narrowed down to a semiauto and an O/U (Remington Versa Max and a Browning Citori), both could be had for your price range in very nice used condition.
I was leaning towards the Browning for three reasons a) availability of parts and people to work on them, b) resale value and c) ease of use and cleaning. The Remington had several feed problems on multiple occasions. You can't have a feed problem with an O/U.
So I was on the hunt for a Citori and found several on the gunsites that were between $1000-1200. Then a Citori 725 with hardcase showed up and I ended up spending way over my budget ($1800). My rationalization was that if I were to sell it, I would get most if not all of my money back. No question it shoots better than I do. and it was PURDY There was no logical reason I needed to spend that much other than I did. I don't regret it or the extra $600-800. Do I shoot better with it? No (at least not compared to the Citori CX I used for several weeks). I just liked it enough to spend the extra money (purely emotional). If I shot it worse than the Citori CX, I would have been upset
The other thing you may want to look into (I am 6'1") is that I also needed not just a longer LOP, I also had a hard time mounting the gun consistently because of taller frame and longer neck. I had to crane my head down to get a good cheek weld and that affected my ability to shoot accurately. What I found in shooting everyone else's shotguns is that many had a Jones or Graco adapter, and I shot those much better when the adapter was set to lower the buttplate. It made it MUCH easier for me to comfortably mount the gun.
So my recommendation would be:
1. Find a gun that fits you, and realize that a stock gun may not fit you perfectly and you may need to pay extra to get it to fit you
2. Find a length you like and are comfortable shooting. I actually preferred a 30" over a 32" or 34". I will in all likelihood NEVER go hunting with my Citori so wasn't considering a 26" or 28' gun
3. Decide what the gun will be used for. If you are going to shoot a lot of SC or skeet an O/U with adjustable chokes is nice to have. A semiauto can only have one choke so you have less flexibility to adjust for near/far shots. I also didn't care for the extra maintenance a semiauto would require (at least with my experience with the Versa Max over several weeks of use)
4. Figure out how much you are going to shoot. If you are going to shoot a lot, stay away from less expensive guns as they won't hold up over time (I heard this from every SC shooter at my club). Big diff only going hunting or shooting a couple of boxes of clays a year vs shooting a case a month. I looked at what all the other guys in my club were shooting and they were all shooting shotguns that cost at least $1000 MSRP because they were shooting thousands of rounds a year.
Hope this helps
I was VERY recently in your shoes. I am/was primarily a handgun and rifle shooter, but got exposed to 3 gun about 2 years ago and got "hooked". I picked up a Winchester Ranger pump shotgun and it did the trick for 3-gun competitions.
But then I started trying sporting clays, skeet and trap and figured out pretty quickly that the gun a) did not fit me well enough for those disciplines and b) I was not NEARLY fast enough with the pump for simultaneous birds (trues) in SC or skeet. So I tried a bunch of different shotguns from members at my club.
Pumps were out 100%. I tried semiautos and O/U (no Side by sides). As others have stated, a gun that "fits" you is most important, and longer barrels "swing" better than shorter ones which makes it easier for SC, trap etc.
I also didn't want to break the bank with a "nice" shotgun and was originally in your price range. I tried some really expensive guns, just to see what they were like (I didn't shoot any better with them, I am an "intermediate" shooter at best so maybe I was unable to benefit from them) and eventually narrowed down to a semiauto and an O/U (Remington Versa Max and a Browning Citori), both could be had for your price range in very nice used condition.
I was leaning towards the Browning for three reasons a) availability of parts and people to work on them, b) resale value and c) ease of use and cleaning. The Remington had several feed problems on multiple occasions. You can't have a feed problem with an O/U.
So I was on the hunt for a Citori and found several on the gunsites that were between $1000-1200. Then a Citori 725 with hardcase showed up and I ended up spending way over my budget ($1800). My rationalization was that if I were to sell it, I would get most if not all of my money back. No question it shoots better than I do. and it was PURDY There was no logical reason I needed to spend that much other than I did. I don't regret it or the extra $600-800. Do I shoot better with it? No (at least not compared to the Citori CX I used for several weeks). I just liked it enough to spend the extra money (purely emotional). If I shot it worse than the Citori CX, I would have been upset
The other thing you may want to look into (I am 6'1") is that I also needed not just a longer LOP, I also had a hard time mounting the gun consistently because of taller frame and longer neck. I had to crane my head down to get a good cheek weld and that affected my ability to shoot accurately. What I found in shooting everyone else's shotguns is that many had a Jones or Graco adapter, and I shot those much better when the adapter was set to lower the buttplate. It made it MUCH easier for me to comfortably mount the gun.
So my recommendation would be:
1. Find a gun that fits you, and realize that a stock gun may not fit you perfectly and you may need to pay extra to get it to fit you
2. Find a length you like and are comfortable shooting. I actually preferred a 30" over a 32" or 34". I will in all likelihood NEVER go hunting with my Citori so wasn't considering a 26" or 28' gun
3. Decide what the gun will be used for. If you are going to shoot a lot of SC or skeet an O/U with adjustable chokes is nice to have. A semiauto can only have one choke so you have less flexibility to adjust for near/far shots. I also didn't care for the extra maintenance a semiauto would require (at least with my experience with the Versa Max over several weeks of use)
4. Figure out how much you are going to shoot. If you are going to shoot a lot, stay away from less expensive guns as they won't hold up over time (I heard this from every SC shooter at my club). Big diff only going hunting or shooting a couple of boxes of clays a year vs shooting a case a month. I looked at what all the other guys in my club were shooting and they were all shooting shotguns that cost at least $1000 MSRP because they were shooting thousands of rounds a year.
Hope this helps