How to Pick a Shotgun for Target Shooting

Video Transcript

Hi, my name is Don Snyder, Executive Director of the National Skeet Shooting Association on behalf of Expert Village. One of the things we want to talk about is selecting a shotgun for skeet shooting. One of the older type shotguns that was used when skeet shooting first started was the side by side shotguns. These guns are very, very good for skeet shooting, and a lot of people have these in the hunting scenario, and can be used to shoot skeet. A lot of people use these guns primarily for hunting. The most important thing when you're shooting competitive skeet is that you need the ability to shoot two shells, so the side by side lends itself to that ability. The thing that most people don't like about the side by side shotgun is that it's considerably a little bit more recoil, and because they're built for the field, are somewhat lighter. Most people that shoot skeet prefer to use an over and under shotgun, or a semi-automatic shotgun, but we'll show you those as we move forward. The preferred shotgun is the over and under shotgun. It offers one sighting plane, and it will hold two shells. It is, again, a fixed action shotgun. But people prefer to use these in skeet shooting. One of the other shotguns that is preferred is the semi-automatic shotgun, particularly one that is gas operated because it dissipates the recoil that's felt and it's particularly very, very good for ladies and junior shooters because of that dissipation of recoil. One other shotgun that is used, or has been used, is the pump action shotgun. Again, this is a fixed action shotgun, and you experience somewhat more recoil with it, but again, it's capable of shooting two cartridges, and still there are several people that continue to use the pump shotgun. They're very, very good and are reliable. The most important thing is that there are many, many people out there that have pump shotguns that are hunters, and they often wonder "Jeez, do I need to spend more money purchasing an over and under or gas operated shotgun"? And the answer to that question is "No". You can, in fact, shoot skeet, and be very successful at skeet, with your hunting shotgun if it's a pump gun.

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