Shotgun Advice

briang747

Hi. I'm considering a semi auto and was wondering if any of you had made the change from O/U or S/S to a S/A? How did you find them practicality wise out in the field and had you any difficulty with jams using the light/heavy shells for different birds? For anyone who has experience with or who uses both, which do you prefer and for what type of shooting?
On a separate note I was wondering how/where one can get a second barrel for a shotgun? I have always liked the idea since meeting a friend with 26" and 30" barrells for his gun. The light 2" is very handy for roughshooting while the 30" is great for clays/duck.
Thanks in advance

Grizzly 45

briang747 wrote: »

Hi. I'm considering a semi auto and was wondering if any of you had made the change from O/U or S/S to a S/A? How did you find them practicality wise out in the field and had you any difficulty with jams using the light/heavy shells for different birds? For anyone who has experience with or who uses both, which do you prefer and for what type of shooting?
On a separate note I was wondering how/where one can get a second barrel for a shotgun? I have always liked the idea since meeting a friend with 26" and 30" barrells for his gun. The light 2" is very handy for roughshooting while the 30" is great for clays/duck.
Thanks in advance

Keep your SA reasonably clean and oiled properly and it should have no issues with shells.Some semis get "sweet"for a particular brand /load you have to experiment to fi nd what your particular gun likes best.
Barrels depends on what brand of gun .It is impossible to get replacements for some brands and easy enough for others. Double barrels can be difficult enough.

useurowname

Having shot all three, I would say that I much prefer the o/u as an all round gun. Really though it's down to personal preference. The instances I miss the semi-auto is shooting from a hide simply because it is easier to load in a confined space(I don't miss having to fetch the discarded empty cases though). I still have a s/s, it's lovely handy gun particularly for walked up game and sits nicely on the arm but it rarely gets an outing nowadays I've just become so accustomed to the feel of the o/u.

briang747

@Grizzly 45, Thanks for reply. Where do you go to source the barrels, Manufacturer or dealer? I see the odd one for sale with two barrels but its rare enough. For semi I am thinking wither a beretta al391 or a benelli. I heard the benelli are easier break apart and clean as they are not gas operated

briang747

useurowname wrote: »

Having shot all three, I would say that I much prefer the o/u as an all round gun. Really though it's down to personal preference. The instances I miss the semi-auto is shooting from a hide simply because it is easier to load in a confined space(I don't miss having to fetch the discarded empty cases though). I still have a s/s, it's lovely handy gun particularly for walked up game and sits nicely on the arm but it rarely gets an outing nowadays I've just become so accustomed to the feel of the o/u.

I can imagine the cartridges can be a pain at times especially dusk shooting. I am limited to one gun unfortunately as I keep it at home and my father has two others and is not keen on fitting an alarm system to allow more than three guns so its about choosing the one fits all gun.

Grizzly 45

briang747 wrote: »

@Grizzly 45, Thanks for reply. Where do you go to source the barrels, Manufacturer or dealer? I see the odd one for sale with two barrels but its rare enough. For semi I am thinking wither a beretta al391 or a benelli. I heard the benelli are easier break apart and clean as they are not gas operated

Benelli is an inertia gas system but it is by and large an exellent gun that will work onmost anmo.Put it like this if the US armed forces the UK and various other countries inc our ERU use the M4 it must be a pretty tough shotgun..Some models are ammo picky...Cant remember which one...You can get replacement barrels for them but they cost an arm and a leg!
Been trying to get a slug barrel for my m3 an the barrel is around 400 to 600 euros.

briang747

I thought as much. Usually additional parts like stocks, or barrels end up costing more than the gun would sell for. Im going to have my own beretta 682 sporter valued at mcbrides in athlone and see what I can afford to upgrade to. Not sure what trade in is being offered. been 4 years since I upgraded