Newbie wants some input on an inexpensive 12Ga shotgun for skeet/trap??

Nfdbrian

Nfdbrian

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Hi fellas,
I am becoming more interested in getting into sporting clays/skeet/trap. I am looking at an inexpensive 12Ga shotgun. I have been looking at the Stoeger Condor Competition. I have volunteered at the Matt Light Shootout for the past 2 years at Addieville East Farms in Mapleville RI. This year I finally got to take a shot between teams at a few stations. I really like it! [smile] A hell of a lot more fun than shooting at a piece of paper. Not that I don't like shooting paper, it is just a little more of a challenge. I went into the Pro Shop at Addieville and about crapped my pants as far as how much you could spend on a shotgun. I remember one for $50k [rolleyes], as much of the entry ones were in the $3500 range. Thats a little too rich for my blood. I know Bass Pro Shop carries Stoeger. I have my application in the mail to join the Taunton Rifle and pistol club. And I will probably join Addieville and go to a few Steak and clays events. I was wondering if the Stoeger was a good choice for the money, or is there a better gun out there for around the same money (under $1000). Also what type of shot shells do they normally use for shooting clays? I just want to get an idea on how much they cost compared to pistol ammo. I don't own any long guns, just have shot a few so you'll have to bear with me as I have a lot of questions. Thanks for your time!!


Brian
 
I purchased a Berretta AL391 at Dicks Sporting goods for about $700 last year. It was on sale and I had one of their coupons as well - ened up a great price. Mine is a 20 ga, but a really nice shotgun that I use for Sporting clays/skeet etc. Definitely give it consideration. I own a number of Stoeger SXS shotguns I use for cowboy shooting, and consider them just ok for quality etc (had the lug on one of the barrels break off after less than 2 y).

For ammo I commonly use the bulk packs you can get at Wal-mart. They sell Winchester, Federal and Remington - about $20/100. Also Dicks sporting goods sells Remington gun club. There used to be a case discount of 10%. All these work great - if you get more involved you may want to get some 'lighter' loads typically used by many sporting clays shooters etc.
 
Semi autos are cheaper and the Beretta 390 series or a Remington 1100 will work fine. Look for a sporting model as it is the best compromise for all clay sports. I am an over/under fan and they are hard to find even used for under $800-$1000. A Browning or Beretta sporting over under will always hold their value if you chose to change sports.

PM me on how I can help with the Matt Light event. I just hunted at Addieville on Sunday and have shot clays their a couple of times. I'm just shy about paying $1000 instead of the $100 I pay for a round of clays.
 
Look at the Mossberg Silver Reserve, the Benelli Diamond and the Savage, (name escapes me). They are all available at Dicks Sporting Goods, (on the rack or special order) and they are well under $1k. Both the Mossberg and the Savage look more well finished and fitted than their cost: $599 The Benelli is made by Franchi and is really sweet at $799. I am buying a Stoeger STF3000, (now also under the Benelli umbrella) after a dozen or so customers have returned beaming at what a nice gun it is for under $400.00. The QC on Stoeger guns - especially the STF 3000, has increased by leaps and bounds since Benelli purchased them...
 
I purchased a Stoeger Condor a few years back - it continually failed to fire (some sort of firing pin issue). It went back to the factory twice. Both times it came back with the same issue. I couldn't make it through a single round of trap without multiple FTF incidents. They sent me a brand-new Condor. It did the exact same thing.

Stoeger is part of Benelli, and the customer service was absolutely top-notch, but after the second Condor acted up, I demanded a full refund (and got it, so good on them but a pox upon their Stoegers).
 
Nicole said:
I purchased a Stoeger Condor a few years back - it continually failed to fire (some sort of firing pin issue). It went back to the factory twice. Both times it came back with the same issue. I couldn't make it through a single round of trap without multiple FTF incidents. They sent me a brand-new Condor. It did the exact same thing.

Stoeger is part of Benelli, and the customer service was absolutely top-notch, but after the second Condor acted up, I demanded a full refund (and got it, so good on them but a pox upon their Stoegers).
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Condors were really hit-n-miss. I think things are really on the upswing. Believe it or not, your failure to fire likely had nothing to do with the firing pin. Condors had notoriously stiff safeties which would reset themselves. There was a fix available online, but it's no longer necessary. We went through the last of the "problem Condors" over a year ago and since then we have sold even more of those than STF's. Not a single issue. Stoeger was a mess when Benelli bought it, (literally drunks in Brazil building weapons). They have done well at ironing out a lot of bugs and seem to be producing a decent firearm at affordable prices.
 
I'm no expert but here goes anyway

I just got in to shooting skeet myself. I ran out and bought a Stoeger STF3000 from DIck's for $350 after rebate. It fits me well, I like how it balances, and can't beat the price.

Its been great. No problems with this shotgun at all.

Good information about it here:
http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?p=1133445&sid=874fa957c7ce7f2e4d119d32d63c77f4

For your other questions: For skeet you will want #9 or #8 shot, target or light target loads. For trap shooting I think you want #7 1/2 or #8. The inexpensive bulk pack from Walmart or Dick's is all you need.
 
MassMark said:
Yeah, the Condors were really hit-n-miss. I think things are really on the upswing. Believe it or not, your failure to fire likely had nothing to do with the firing pin. Condors had notoriously stiff safeties which would reset themselves. There was a fix available online, but it's no longer necessary. We went through the last of the "problem Condors" over a year ago and since then we have sold even more of those than STF's. Not a single issue. Stoeger was a mess when Benelli bought it, (literally drunks in Brazil building weapons). They have done well at ironing out a lot of bugs and seem to be producing a decent firearm at affordable prices.
Click to expand...

This is fantastic news. I loved the way the Condor handled...actually I liked everything except the part where it didn't go bang. [grin]

My technical knowledge is not the greatest, especially in this group, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't the safety - I could always pull the trigger, the safety button never physically reset, and I could hear what at least sounded like the hammer dropping. Never any strike marks on the shell however.
 
Nicole said:
This is fantastic news. I loved the way the Condor handled...actually I liked everything except the part where it didn't go bang. [grin]

My technical knowledge is not the greatest, especially in this group, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't the safety - I could always pull the trigger, the safety button never physically reset, and I could hear what at least sounded like the hammer dropping. Never any strike marks on the shell however.
Click to expand...

Yeah - I guess when you buy a company and start seeing guns flying back into - instead out of the door, you need to make some changes. I think there's still some in the pipeline, but the new ones coming in look and perform much better...

There's still a ton of the Stoeger 2000's out there - we have several and I hope we have several until they decide to send them back. The newer M2000's we've had come in have been really nice and well-received. I hope they get it all ironed out - a nice, reliable over-under at a good price is a good thing...

Did you wind up replacing the Condor with another over-under?
 
MassMark said:
Wow! That's a nice ride Nicole...I just unpacked a Urika last weekend. What a nice gun...You didn't just climb the ladder - you ran right on up it...[grin]
Click to expand...

[laugh] Yeah, at the time I was shooting well with a friend's standard AL391 and my temper kind of blew after the Condor saga...I was mad, and I liked the Beretta. Predictable results.

I second you on the assessment of the Urikas. Neither I nor my friend have had so much as a hiccup out of them. They handle nicely...there was chatter about one-handed AR shooting earlier this week, but said friend routinely shoots the Urika one-handed on the trap field and scores. We keep trying to convince him to shoot doubles using the pair of Berettas, but he's not taken us up on it yet. [grin]
 
Nfdbrian,
I too have looked at the Condor Competition model and have been really impressed with the features like the adj. comb, porting, and quality of wood. I was stunned that it was a Stoeger. Unfortunately I did not purchase it and don't know any one who has, but I think for the price it is going to be impossible to beat. You might have to be the first (and please post a report if you do). Otherwise I think your other options for an O/U would be a used Citori or Beretta.
If you want to go the semi-auto route I would look at the 1100. If you do get a semi, get a shell catcher at the same time - if you are shooting at Addieville you won't make many friends by throwing hulls at them everytime. I have a universal one for my Browning Silver and it is not the best. Check out T&S shell catchers - they work excellent. Good luck on your choice and post a report if you go with the Condor Competition.
 
boilermaker said:
Nfdbrian,
I too have looked at the Condor Competition model and have been really impressed with the features like the adj. comb, porting, and quality of wood. I was stunned that it was a Stoeger. Unfortunately I did not purchase it and don't know any one who has, but I think for the price it is going to be impossible to beat. You might have to be the first (and please post a report if you do). Otherwise I think your other options for an O/U would be a used Citori or Beretta.
If you want to go the semi-auto route I would look at the 1100. If you do get a semi, get a shell catcher at the same time - if you are shooting at Addieville you won't make many friends by throwing hulls at them everytime. I have a universal one for my Browning Silver and it is not the best. Check out T&S shell catchers - they work excellent. Good luck on your choice and post a report if you go with the Condor Competition.
Click to expand...

We have not seen the Condor Competition - just the STF's, but I'd be interested in that as well. We have another offering by Remington that's made in Russia. I'm no fan of anything Russian made, but the SPR 458 seems like a nice gun for short dough. Semi-auto, gas adjustable and comes with more choke tubes than any other gun I've seen out of the box. Remington is usually not very giving with chokes, so this comes as a surprise.
 
if you are into the O/U variety, my BIL picked up a Franchi Diamond (i think its called a diamond, MassMark can chime in on that one) from Dicks a few weeks ago and we hit the range with it. VERY nice shooting shotgun and i think he paid $700 bucks for it
 
Brian,

Best move is to go to your club when there's some Trap shooting, and let the people running the show know that you're interested, and want advice. It's quite likely that you'll have a bunch of offers to "try mine out," which is your best way to find out what feels right.

But be advised: on issues like this, if you ask 10 Trap shooters, you'll get 11 opinions!
[smile]

The MOST important feature of a shotgun is FIT. Action, brand and price all are secondary, especially when starting out. The fit of the gun is very subjective - like buying shoes, if you're used to one brand, another in the same size might not be right.

At our club we have people with Berettas, Kreighoffs, and old beaters that turn in good scores.

If a used Mossberg for $150 fits you, and you get a good foundation in the basics of stance, mounting the gun, and followthough, you'll have good success. Then, go spend the $Big.

Welcome to the Addictive World of Trap!
 
The AL391 is my recommendation. It is not the cheapest gun available, but it will do any field work or clay shooting work you need easily (and will still handle 00 buck for critters of the two or four-legged variety perfectly as well)
 
vellnueve said:
The AL391 is my recommendation. It is not the cheapest gun available, but it will do any field work or clay shooting work you need easily (and will still handle 00 buck for critters of the two or four-legged variety perfectly as well)
Click to expand...

It really is a nice gun...The one thing nice about working part time at DSG is the ProDeals. I can grab one for a stupidly low price direct from Beretta...Maybe one day...
 

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