[AL 555]

100% worth taking a drive out to both fingal/Courtlough that's what I did I also went to Neil in Crescent Sports monkstown who is as one of the other posters said is an absolute gentleman, I also went as far as Ballymahon but ended up buying from Patrick Carley down near enniscorthy who is also excellent to deal with.. I'm now a member of Courtlough the past 3 years who have a great set up.

[Merch]

Originally Posted by Mr.Woodcock

If you are serious about getting into the sport which you do seem to be, I would highly recommend courtlough, they have a great set up, and alot of the guns in the showroom are ones they they teach people to shoot with, so will give you a good idea, don't let price come into it if you can, I now that's hard in the current economic climate! But the most important thing about a shotgun is that it fits you! A 28" barrel would be ideal, also at courtlough they have quite a few of the disaplens ie dtl Olympic, etc. if you do go, ask for johnny, soundest lad up there! And there's no real difference between a trap and sporter except maybe the rib height!

Originally Posted by Blay

There's a lot of acronyms to learn..you'll pick them up

A sporter has a low rib is a bit of an all rounder but mostly used for sporting, compact etc. I have a sporter and from experience I know that if I'm shooting ABT(trap) with it I have to cover the clay with the gun before I fire to hit it. I mostly use it for sporting but it does the job on the odd bit of trap.

A trap gun is for shooting trap..obviously You would use it shooting ABT, Skeet and DTL etc. It has a higher rib which means you don't need to cover the clay with the gun as you would with a sporter.

Somebody with more experience might come along and rubbish all that I have said there but that is how I understand it

This really is the kind of info I'm looking for, thanks

I've fired a few shots at clay pigeons but at the time I didn't ask at the time about the actual shotgun (weight,rib height or anything), I'm almost sure the ribs were quite flat. I did look down a few guns and think the ribs were raised (ie there was like a ramp up to the rib, where it progressed down the top of the barrel), but it didnt seem as natural to look down (this was in a shop) ,the clay hovering over the bead sounds good as its not obscured, I thought i previously had better success hitting when i followed through just after i could not see the clay and then pulled the trigger.

Shooting game (birds) isn't something i would rule out in the future but at the moment I would like to shoot at clay pigeons, to get repeatable practice in, but also maybe eventually to try at a competition (way off i'm sure) so a trap gun seems to be the way to look.

[cookimonster]

Just having a mid night browse and I taught I would throw in my two cents. Have you done much clay pigeon shooting up to this point?
If not I highly recommend that you do so either with a friends gun or on one of the commercial ranges.
I do not want to prattle on so forgive me if I am off the mark here. Clay pigeon shooting on a regular basis (once a week) is costly. The cost of clays vary from club to club / grounds (we buy in bulk therefore cheep) but can work out expensive on commercial grounds, then there is the price of ammo on average €17-20.00 (75 shells = 3 DTL or a round of sporting (i tend to miss and need that second barrel)) not to mention club annual and daily fees. I buy ammo in bulk and it does reduce the cost some what but compared to field shooting you will be burning a good bit of powder to get and keep you eye in.
I got into it a year back and although I do like it my first love is field shooting and there fore my preference in guns will always be influenced by hunting.
There are guys in our club breaking clays with 'cheep and cheerful' alongside the more exspensive guns and opposite is true. I would recommend that you ensure the gun fits you as already advised here and when you go to a deeler you bring an experienced shot gun shooter with you for advice on selection and shot gun fit.

Any way that's my two cents. Best of luck.

[peteshamrock]

Originally Posted by Mr.Woodcock

If you are serious about getting into the sport which you do seem to be, I would highly recommend courtlough, they have a great set up, and alot of the guns in the showroom are ones they they teach people to shoot with, so will give you a good idea, don't let price come into it if you can, I now that's hard in the current economic climate! But the most important thing about a shotgun is that it fits you! A 28" barrel would be ideal, also at courtlough they have quite a few of the disaplens ie dtl Olympic, etc. if you do go, ask for johnny, soundest lad up there! And there's no real difference between a trap and sporter except maybe the rib height!

I would second this completely! I have only recently got my license but Courtlough is a fantastic place to do some practical research. I spent fecking hours completely confusing myself online. Get out there and see it for yourself.