[Sniper03]

The Mossberg 500s are very good shotguns. I do not believe they are as smooth as the 870s as far as function of the action. But good guns never the less. As many have stated it would depend on if you are just shooting clay birds for fun or getting serious about it. If you plan on getting really good and serious about it which may happen the more you shoot. A semi-auto or over and under would be the better weapon of choice. And both would need a selection of the proper choke tubes. Because Skeet is totally different than Trap. In skeet you are best off with a shorter barreled shotgun with Skeet or Improved Cylinder Choke and trap with a longer barrel and with trap a longer barrel with trap choke or full choke. Or possibly a Modified Choke if you are fast! So maybe to split the difference a barrel length that would serve both 26-28 max length would be best. In closing what you think you want to just do for fun now. May become more of a personal challenge for you in the future causing you to challenge your own ability to be better and better. You may become real serious about it in the future! From experience that can happen to a shooter! It is called addiction! LOL!

03

[cottontop]

Originally Posted by Sniper03

The Mossberg 500s are very good shotguns. I do not believe they are as smooth as the 870s as far as function of the action. But good guns never the less. As many have stated it would depend on if you are just shooting clay birds for fun or getting serious about it. If you plan on getting really good and serious about it which may happen the more you shoot. A semi-auto or over and under would be the better weapon of choice. And both would need a selection of the proper choke tubes. Because Skeet is totally different than Trap. In skeet you are best off with a shorter barreled shotgun with Skeet or Improved Cylinder Choke and trap with a longer barrel and with trap a longer barrel with trap choke or full choke. Or possibly a Modified Choke if you are fast! So maybe to split the difference a barrel length that would serve both 26-28 max length would be best. In closing what you think you want to just do for fun now. May become more of a personal challenge for you in the future causing you to challenge your own ability to be better and better. You may become real serious about it in the future! From experience that can happen to a shooter! It is called addiction! LOL!

03

So why are you "best off with a shorter barrel shotgun with skeet?" You obviously have never shot competitive skeet or you never would have made that statement.
ct

[bobski]

i'll make that statement.
and you obviously never shot skeet prior to 1994!
everything was 28" or less.
it was 26" even up to the late 80's.
prior to ww2 it was even 24"
it wasnt until recently that the trend setters went to 30 or 32" bbls.
do you see trap shooters going to 26"?
but yet skeet shooters went to 32".
ever wonder why?


HD is a big market these days. so i see a lot of them at my range. you think im going to turn them away? not on your life. anyone can shoot skeet just fine even with a 18" bbl. i did for 7 years in the seals teams. all my guest leave with the knowledge on how to as well. no matter what you own, you just need to know how to shoot it.
bbl length has nothing to do with skeet. its the choke and the "nut behind the bolt."
if bbl length was the answer, everyone would be a world champ.
i was....with 26 and 28" bbls.


go with the 26 or 28" bbl for now.

[cottontop]

Originally Posted by bobski

i'll make that statement.
and you obviously never shot skeet prior to 1994!
everything was 28" or less.
it was 26" even up to the late 80's.
prior to ww2 it was even 24"
it wasnt until recently that the trend setters went to 30 or 32" bbls.
do you see trap shooters going to 26"?
but yet skeet shooters went to 32".
ever wonder why?


HD is a big market these days. so i see a lot of them at my range. you think im going to turn them away? not on your life. anyone can shoot skeet just fine even with a 18" bbl. i did for 7 years in the seals teams. all my guest leave with the knowledge on how to as well. no matter what you own, you just need to know how to shoot it.
bbl length has nothing to do with skeet. its the choke and the "nut behind the bolt."
if bbl length was the answer, everyone would be a world champ.
i was....with 26 and 28" bbls.


go with the 26 or 28" bbl for now.

I really am not clear as to what you are trying to say, so I will just state my beliefs based on experience and let it go at that. I have shot skeet since 1967. In Michigan high school skeet, I took 3rd place in 1967 and 2nd place in 1968. More recently, I was the Florida State Games bronze medalist in the 55 and older class in 2007 and gold medalist in 2008.
When I started shooting skeet many years ago, all of the gurus said that skeet was a short barrel game. But, it wasn't long that I noticed something strange. Many shooters had weights attached to their short barrel shotguns. Why were they doing this? When I quiried a few of the older, more experienced shooters, I was simply told that it smoothed out their swing when the weight was shifted forward. So, the additional weight forward of the gun kept the gun moving. What is the most common cause of missing in skeet shooting?: slowing or stopping the swing of the gun. The reason that skeet shooters now use longer barrels is so that the additional weight of the longer barrels will help to keep the gun moving and the shooter will not be able to slow the swing as easily as if he were using a shorter lighter barrel. Longer barrels have nothing to do with shot pattern or choke. It has all to do with smoothing and continuing the swing.When I won the Florida State Games, I was shooting a very heavy Browning Citori that had 26" barrels! BUT, I had weights attached to the middle of the lower barrel to put the weight forward and help smooth the swing. BTW, these weights are now actually made with brackets to attach to the barrel. I can't remember who makes them, but they are available from mail order stores such as Ballistic Products. And that is what skeet shooting is all about, Charlie Brown.
ct

[HockaLouis]

Originally Posted by cottontop

I really am not clear as to what you are trying to say, so I will just state my beliefs based on experience and let it go at that. I have shot skeet since 1967. In Michigan high school skeet, I took 3rd place in 1967 and 2nd place in 1968...ct

Maybe the guns were shorter back then because the ramrod would be stiffer and so less likely to break?

[bobski]

all it takes is one guy to show up with something different on a skeet range, and everyone wants to be like him.
if bender shoots a k80...50,000 shooters go and buy a K80.
if he wears addias shoes, 50,000 worshipers go out and buy addias shoes.
such is the longer bbl craze.
one celebrity does something different, eveyone follows suit.
if my 76 winchester sxm1 with a 26" bbl wins me doubles champ at the world shoot, (again,) i aint changing anything.
so im saying, length is meaningless.
skill with what you have is everything.

this advice is targeted towards the young naive shooters who think they will get sound advice from what all the trend setters tell them.
i never discourage a gun type alone. i prefer to let them learn to shoot what they have and if they need to change later on, fine. considering the average interest of professional clays lasts only 4-5 years, the market is flooded with used guns where people change guns like hermit crabs or sell them out of disgust...when they would have been better off if they just stuck with what they had and learned to shoot it.

thats what i was trying to say. hope it helps.

[bobski]

in this crazy gun frenzy going on, people are looking to buy one gun to do it all. this proves they dont know anything about guns. because if they did, theyd know its a losing battle. like shoes, you need to buy the right shoe for the dance.
but in todays market, it no longer becomes a logical choice, rather it becomes a financial choice. i would venture to say 99% of all pump guns today wont see more than a box of shells go thru it in a year.
with that rate of fire...of course an 870 or 500 mossy is a good gun. they dont get the chance to wear out the alloy receivers with 10,000 shots a year fired, like pros shoot.
so they get the cheapest gun there is and they wonder why scores suffer when they shoot a cyl bore in a 18" bbl on a trap range.
one doesnt have to go far to see this, this website is full of it. guys buying and loving their cool HD guns but cant hit the broad side of a barn with them if they had to.
so to start off someone with basics, 26" or 28" is fine. why? odds are it aint gonna get shot much and there wont be anything to lose, like a world cup or state trophy. the most anyone shooting guns like this will need to worry about is the dog knocking it over in the living room corner.

i just hope hq357 is taking notes.

[bobski]

look at the 1st post. his dad has a 870 28" bbl with mod in it.
heck, if i was him, id just buy another 870 just like it.
this way there wouldnt be any reason to learn something new.
and if one failed, each person could easliy pick up the others and still have fun.
why he wants a mossy is beyond me.

[trip]

If you can find a mossberg that you like and if your having fun, go for it. There's a bunch of guns to look at if you get more serious in the future. Then you'll have a nice pump gun as well...

[OzarkFrog]

When I shot skeet back in the 70's, I started with an old Sears 20 ga pump with a 28" mod barrel... I then went to a Boito SxS 12ga with 28" tubes ( I was a lowly Airman in those days with very limited funds)... in the 80's I upgraded to a Nikko Kodensha 12ga O/U with 26 " tubes labled "Skeet-Skeet"... I was stationed in Japan at the time.. I used that gun till the mid 90's when I sold it when I had to pay bills from a major flood we went thru... I had to sell all my guns to pay bills that year...

If I were to go back into shooting regularly again... I might pick up a Stoeger Condor O/U in 20ga... I'm getting old and my joints and bones hurt all the time now... I'm also on a fixed income so I can't afford much more than a Stoeger... tho I did find an old Spanish SxS 12ga imported by Lawson today for $300... was very tempted to buy it... it had 28" tubes marked Full and Mod.. 3" chambers and double triggers... it'd come in handy for the Ozark Meet in March.... GRIN

Don "OzarkFrog" Sikes