newbie with pal, was embarrassed to talk at gun shop

[R&R Rancher]

First welcome to the forum and the sport.

There are a few of us shotgun people on here. First please define what you consider “skeet shooting”. Informal pasture clays or actual gun club clay targets? Without knowing that we can’t give you any detailed advice.

I looked up a Mossberg 590A1 Magpul and from the specs I saw, it’s not a good fit for either definition of “skeet shooting”. A 20” fixed cylinder choke barrel with rifle sights will be a significant handicap. Milspec in this part of the sport means nothing. You’re going to want a longer barrel, possibly screw in chokes and bead sights. Shooting a moving target means locking your eyes on the target and letting hand eye coordination do the work. You should see the rib and bead as a blur in the foreground.

If you truly want to try out the clay target games, contact your nearest club. Explain your situation. Ask if they rent guns. Ask if you could have an experienced member mentor you your first trip out. Most likely someone will be happy to introduce you to the sport and get you off on the right foot. If you live, or are going to be in,Manitoba next spring when our club reopens for the summer I will gladly take you myself

As for the rifle stuff, I bow to the members here who have far more experience in that arena than I

[blacksmithden]

For pump action shotguns, the guys have named the common go-to ones. Remington went out of business, and as far as I know nobody has picked up the shotguns stuff so they aren't making 870's right now. There's a crap ton of them in the used market through. They're a very reliable gun. The Mossberg 590 series is Mossberg's answer to the Reminton 870. I've had really good reports on the Maverik 88s as well. There's tons of aftermarket options for the 870s and the 590s. If you want to get into higher end stuff, look at brands like Benelli. Not as many aftermarket add ons for those, but they make damned nice guns.

Bolt action....oh boy. That's a loaded question. There are a LOT of good options out there. Don't worry about staying away from "plastic" guns. The polymer stock world is upon us, and there's nothing wrong with most of them. If you want to get into the nicer hunting rifles, look at stuff like Tikka and Browning. That said, there aren't a lot of "crappy" rifles out there. Again, don't worry about "plastic" stocks. I've got plenty of wood and plenty of plastic. They both hold up fine, and the critter you're shooting at doesn't give a dam what it's made of.

[Camo tung]

For pump action shotguns, the guys have named the common go-to ones. Remington went out of business, and as far as I know nobody has picked up the shotguns stuff so they aren't making 870's right now. There's a crap ton of them in the used market through. They're a very reliable gun. The Mossberg 590 series is Mossberg's answer to the Reminton 870. I've had really good reports on the Maverik 88s as well. There's tons of aftermarket options for the 870s and the 590s. If you want to get into higher end stuff, look at brands like Benelli. Not as many aftermarket add ons for those, but they make damned nice guns.

Bolt action....oh boy. That's a loaded question. There are a LOT of good options out there. Don't worry about staying away from "plastic" guns. The polymer stock world is upon us, and there's nothing wrong with most of them. If you want to get into the nicer hunting rifles, look at stuff like Tikka and Browning. That said, there aren't a lot of "crappy" rifles out there. Again, don't worry about "plastic" stocks. I've got plenty of wood and plenty of plastic. They both hold up fine, and the critter you're shooting at doesn't give a dam what it's made of.

And don't forget that at one time "Mil-spec" was synonymous with "low government bidder".

[Swingerguy]

Welcome to the forum.
There are plenty of intelligent people on here willing to impart on you their wisdom.
Keep asking questions and give it some time for people to answer.
I don't have much to add about which guns to look at, it really depends on how much $ you want to spend.
For relatively inexpensive rifles, I have had great luck with Savage.

In my experience the folks that work in smaller local gun stores are willing to help and answer questions.
Good luck and have fun with the experiences of shopping for your first rifle and shotgun.

[MKivSupra]

don't give the cabela's guys too much credit. there's a good chance they don't know much more than you do

[akimiski]

don't give the cabela's guys too much credit. there's a good chance they don't know much more than you do

as a matter of fact, two customers at the store were giving me better tips than the store employee who was trying to stick to showing me what I asked to be pulled from the cabinet and answering only the questions I had. chatting to owners is best so will be looking for those opportunities.

[murph83]

There are no stupid questions. Keep it simple, stick to the more common calibers 22lr, 223, 243, 270, 308, 3006. These calibers are easy to find at can. tire and walmart. Budget friendly guns( savage axis, tikka t3 etc) will kill deer, moose and elk just as well as the expensive guns. Don't over think this stuff, have fun and welcome the club.

[akimiski]

There are no stupid questions. Keep it simple, stick to the more common calibers 22lr, 223, 243, 270, 308, 3006. These calibers are easy to find at can. tire and walmart. Budget friendly guns( savage axis, tikka t3 etc) will kill deer, moose and elk just as well as the expensive guns. Don't over think this stuff, have fun and welcome the club.

today I looked at Tikka T3X and liked the feel, I am thinking I am going to go for it, maybe with 308 or 6.5 creed more (for the recoil and long range accuracy) since I will be looking for practice on the range with that (once I am able to find a range and secure a spot for membership), every range I looked it are at full capacity in Ontario around GTA.

For the shotgun, can anyone help me determine f I should be looking for pump action first or just get the semi auto? primarily use will be target practice, secondary use would be hunting

[blacksmithden]

today I looked at Tikka T3X and liked the feel, I am thinking I am going to go for it, maybe with 308 or 6.5 creed more (for the recoil and long range accuracy) since I will be looking for practice on the range with that (once I am able to find a range and secure a spot for membership), every range I looked it are at full capacity in Ontario around GTA.

For the shotgun, can anyone help me determine f I should be looking for pump action first or just get the semi auto? primarily use will be target practice, secondary use would be hunting

Its up to you. Just be aware that some semi auto shotguns dont always cycle with some light loads. You'll never have that problem with a pump action. I have a semi auto but I find I shoot my Remington 870 pump 99% of the time. Its just what Im used to.

[akimiski]

Its up to you. Just be aware that some semi auto shotguns dont always cycle with some light loads. You'll never have that problem with a pump action. I have a semi auto but I find I shoot my Remington 870 pump 99% of the time. Its just what Im used to.

that's what I have been reading as well, as it's going to be my first shotgun, I am going to go with pump action, likely Benelli SuperNova with telescopic stock.