Not that it should be hard to find a guy with an 870 down by you, but if you happen to end up in Worland before you buy a shotgun, I’d let you try both a 20ga and 12Ga express on some clays. They are older expresses that aren’t terrible but I’d much prefer a Wingmaster. Bought these Express models in my youth so they have smoothed out a bit.
Beretta is typically out of this guy's price range. Way out of it. I borrowed a fella's Benelli auto to finish up the last station at clays after a primer blew up and jammed my A5. Good gawd did that thing kick! Even my old 870 didn't boot me like that. Much worse than my Citori. I was shooting the very difficult rabbit station and still shot it clean with the unfamiliar Benelli. "You should buy that gun from Chris. He's trying to sell it." No wonder! No thanks.
And here I was going to buy a Benelli M2 as my new waterfowl gun before next fall. Guess I better eat my wheaties first if I want to survive the recoil.
A Montefeltro on sale or lightly used is in his budget as earlier referenced. There are some other Beneli owned inertia guns at an even lower price point, but the Monti is worth the extra $100ish. As for felt recoil in shotguns, it has more to do with fit (and butt pads) than type. But assuming the same shell and same gun weight, from a pure physics standpoint a gas gun will be the lightest recoiling, then inertia (the spring system spread out the full impact over time) and then pump guns. Your anecdote suggests that your buddy's gun either did not fit you, or because you weren't used to it you didn't mount it properly in the moment. My son and I bought identical M2s, but the off the shelf fits him and I have my stocks lengthened and have significant cast off added. Neither of us shoots the other's gun as well and you can tell the recoil difference between the two.
I order it from Rogers. Never waited more than two weeks for a case.
No. I buy Fiocchi HV field loads for $110ish per case and shipping is usually free.
I agree entirely about fit. The above shoulder busting Benelli auto's fit was not significantly different than my A5's because I transferred the A5's slip-on recoil pad to it. And I obviously shot the Benelli well enough to clean a difficult station. The big difference between the two guns, or rather four guns if my 870 and Citori are included, was weight. The Benelli auto seems very lightweight, especially for an auto. Gas guns can get away with lightening the load but the shooter pays the price with inertia guns. People boast that their Berettas are the softest gun out there but they are not as soft as my tricked out A5 Magnum. But it is undoubtedly the heaviest single barrel twelve gauge ever made. I lightened it somewhat by adding a synthetic stock set (which required SIGNIFICANT modification) but probably recovered most of the original weight when I had an extension adapter machined from stainless steel for 2.75" barrel spring and friction brake (easily switched out for 3" shells). At the trap/skeet range it shoots so softly I frequently have to check if it's cycled. Moving the extension adapter to the bottom of the barrel spring balances the gun perfectly where the fore end meets the receiver making it relatively easy to carry with one hand or both. In spite of its weight my A5 Magnum Twelve is my go to gun for long days in the field chasing pheasants. And I'm certainly no Hulk Hogan. Lightweight shotguns are hyped by manufacturers but their usefulness is GREATLY exaggerated. Besides kicking harder and inducing a flinch reflex, they don't float to the target nearly as well as a heavy gun.
How's the turkey around Worland? I have been looking for areas with more turkey than I found so far. Areas between Chugwater and Hwy 85 hold turkey but not in the numbers you want on the public and only a few walk-in areas permit turkey hunting. I will be scouting for turkey around Wheatland and Worland this summer. Worland is not that far from Cheyenne and I would be open to driving up to shoot clays for sure. I need to shoot a ton of clays and gain more competence and confidence with shotguns.
Clays is overrated in my opinion. I shoot several thousand rounds a year in all venues: trap, skeet, and clays. You DEFINITELY do NOT want to start with clays. Start at trap high gun (gun mounted to your shoulder). You'll get the basics down there. Clays is too variable for a beginner. I guarantee it would be very discouraging. And quite frankly, there's often many stations that present scenarios you might never encounter in the field. Overrated. Once you have a handle on trap, move on to skeet. Trap is good practice for the upland hunter and skeet is better for waterfowl hunter. Skeet has also made me a helluva shot with a rifle at big game on the run. When you start to figure out skeet, switch to low gun - pull the target with gun at ready position rather than shouldered. Switching to low gun simulates field hunting ... and it will also tell you very quickly if your gun needs to fit better. I can shoot a piece of crap fitting gun high gun fairly well at trap because I have time to make myself fit the gun. Don't have that kind of time in the field! When I switched to low gun skeet my average score actually jumped up almost four targets. I already knew my shotgun fit me well from adjusting it at the patterning board per above. The difference was low gun allowed me to see the target quicker (I am literally more than half blind) and, more importantly, it helped prevent "overthinking" the shot. Shooting instinctively is always better than second guessing yourself. Also, overthinking often results in "aiming" the shotgun which leads to looking at the gun. Your eyes should NEVER leave the moving target! Shooting low gun with crappy eyesight doesn't give me time to make that mistake.
