Dedicated sporting clays gun

WRO

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So I’m considering getting a dedicated sporting clays gun, budget is up to 4k. I really like berettas but will consider others.

No turkish guns.


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I prefer my 12 gauge Beretta A400 Xcel Black 30" sporter with a Kick-Off. It is very soft shooting, comes with adjustable stock shims to change the drop and cast to get it to shoot where "you" look. Comes with nice extended chokes and costs only about half or your budget. Mine has been totally reliable over the past 3.5 years I've owned it....more reliable than various O/U Beretta, Browning, Blaser and even a Longthorne belonging to guys I shoot with frequently.
 

Dos XX

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Used Guerini?


Used Rizzini?

 
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Loco4dux

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Dec 24, 2015
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Browning citori 725 sporting with the adjustable comb has been a good clays gun. When I was younger competing I shot 391’s with much reliability and success. If I was to get back into it I would probably step it up to a Zoli etc etc.
 

Kurts86

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You can get a basic Beretta 694 Sporting for just over $4k if you look around. That would be my suggestion.
 

Macintosh

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Basic beretta O/U with 32” tubes would be my vote for a new gun. Reason being it is designed with completely replaceable wear parts, has great aftermarket support for stocks, barrels, service, etc as well as proven track record under high-volume use, and it’ll hold resale value well. I also would not shy away from used for some of the above reasons, although guerini or rizzini could be better used value in some cases.
That, or if used is an option I’d look awful hard at finding a used perazzi. I’ve owned a good number of clays guns, and nothing in the sub $10k range that Ive ever used was even close to matching the handling of a perazzi. Budget would be a stretch, but it’s the sporting clays equivalent of buying swaro binoculars. I still kind of regret not buying a mx12 with 34” fixed-choke barrels from a friend when he offered—I stocked it for him, and despite his gargantuan length of pull and the long tubes that gun was the fastest-handling heavyweight gun I have ever laid hands on, that thing was like a dream.
 

Dos XX

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Perazzi's are awesome. I bought a used single barrel trap gun that was made in 1979. It is my favorite gun. The link I posted above to the Perazzi is a link to Giacomo's. He is considered a Perazzi expert. I think he may have worked at Perazzi. He us expert in knowledge of the gun and working on them. There are several other places that know the Perrazi's well, too.

Giacomo put an adjustable comb on that trap gun. It looks as good as any factory job, and they used really stout hardware. When it comes time for a rebuild, it will be going to them.
 
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WRO

WRO

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Perazzi's are awesome. I bought a used single barrel trap gun that was made in 1979. It is my favorite gun. The link I posted above to the Perazzi is a link to Giacomo's. He is considered a Perazzi expert. I think he may have worked at Perazzi. He us expert in knowledge of the gun and working on them. There are several other places that know the Perrazi's well, too.

Giacomo put an adjustable comb on that trap gun. It looks as good as any factory job, and they used really stout hardware. When it comes time for a rebuild, it will be going to them.

Problem with use gun it that I’d have to put new longer barrels on it, and perazzi barrels aren’t cheap.


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Macintosh

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? What barrels are you wanting? Most of the relevant perazzi’s I see already have 32” barrels?
 

Bluefish

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With that budget, you are really looking at entry level o/u, should be about $3k. Either a beretta 68x or a browning 725. Both are good guns and will last you your lifetime. Which one really depends on which fits you better. Brownings are straight stocked and berettas have cast off.
All the beretta 68x’s are the same action, you just get nicer wood and engraving as you spend more.
 

Macintosh

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Gotcha, yeah, shorter barrels have fallen out of favor. If you look for a while you’ll see ones with 30-34” barrels come up for sale fairly frequently. One linked below with 30” at your price range. Could be worth a call to Giacomo sporting, they do factory service for perazzi and might be able to steer you into something over the phone.

 
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Dos XX

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Gotcha, yeah, shorter barrels have fallen out of favor. If you look for a while you’ll see ones with 30-34” barrels come up for sale fairly frequently. One linked below with 30” at your price range. Could be worth a call to Giacomo sporting, they do factory service for perazzi and might be able to steer you into something over the phone.

A used MX8 would be amaze balls. I have considered trading my Guerini o/u trap gun for one.
 
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I shoot at Big Sky Sporting Clays in Polson MT.
For the blue course, I shoot my 40 year old 20 gauge Citori with fixed chokes Improved/Modified.
For the red course, I shoot my 40 year old 12 gauge Citori with invector chokes Skeet2/Modified
Both are 26 inch barrels which was popular in the 1980s for skeet guns.
 
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