Question for old guys.

[vvet762]

I am getting re-interested in shooting skeet. I was in a league back in the 80's and really enjoyed using my Browning Citori 12 gauge. Came on bad times and had to sell it to pay the mortgage one month. Now all I have is a 1973 Remington 870 that I bought new and will use that for awhile. My question is about what gauge I should get for my next skeet gun. I'm 64 years old, over weight but in good health. In my job I carry 40 -70 pound office machines on an every day basis. I'm worried that a heavy O/U in 12 gauge will be too much to aim in my older years and thought that a 20 gauge would we lighter. The recoil has never bothered me and even like the kick, so my concern is just that the 6 -8 lbs a 12 gauge would be too much for an older guy. What do you seasoned guys think?

 

[Grelber]

I can only give you my general rules. If I can still lift something without passing gas then I don't figure it is too heavy for lifting and if I can shoot a gun without hurting afterwards then I don't figure it is too heavy for shooting.

 

[warthog]

I love Skeet and am not that much younger than you. Skeet loads aren't very unishing and if you load them yourself you can make them even less so while still being able to break clay. A decent o/u isn't that heavy and you only have to hold it up when you are actually shootng. At 52 myself and with a really bad back I am still able to hoist and aim my Browning XS Ultra Skeet with ease all day long.

 

[Leo]

I worked the big skeet shoot in San Antonio. Very few people shot better with their twelve gauge guns than they did with their 20's. You can shoot a 20 in the twelve gauge event. I see no reason to shoot a 12 gauge for skeet, it is a close, fast game that does not require the higher paylod to do well. You cannot go wrong with a 20 gauge 0/U. I sold my 12 gauge skeet gun and bought a 20 Beretta that handles fast and light.

If you are going to shoot all 4 events, and you had a set of .410 tubes fitted to a 20 gauge, you can shoot the 28 gauge event with .410. A person can actually shoot the whole 4 gun course with one gun and one pair of tubes.

 

[Twangbanger]

I worked the big skeet shoot in San Antonio. Very few people shot better with their twelve gauge guns than they did with their 20's. You can shoot a 20 in the twelve gauge event. I see no reason to shoot a 12 gauge for skeet, it is a close, fast game that does not require the higher paylod to do well. You cannot go wrong with a 20 gauge 0/U. I sold my 12 gauge skeet gun and bought a 20 Beretta that handles fast and light.

If you are going to shoot all 4 events, and you had a set of .410 tubes fitted to a 20 gauge, you can shoot the 28 gauge event with .410. A person can actually shoot the whole 4 gun course with one gun and one pair of tubes.

Well...technically, you can shoot the whole tournament with a .410, but the OP doesn't sound like a competition-oriented shooter. He sounds more like a weekend guy who wants to get fun hits with minimum hassle.

OP, sounds like weight is your main factor in choosing. So I'll take that at face-value and answer accordingly. If you decide you want a light gun, any of the popular foreign autoloaders with aluminum receivers (eg. Berettas and Benellis) and 20 gauge over-unders are definitely light guns. However, an ~8 pound gun swings much smoother than a lighter one, and translates to more and better hits. The previous poster is correct, tournament scores are the same in 12 and 20 gauge...however, only a minority of those 100 straights in 20 gauge are being shot with true 20 gauge guns; most are being shot in 12 gauge guns will full tube sets (ie, heavy guns). The few guys who shoot 100 straights with a 20-gauge-framed gun are not "average" shooters. The 20 gauge cartridge is plenty for skeet, but the reason many average shooters hit less with a 20 gauge is most of those guns are built on lighter frames/platforms that were designed to be light, easy-to-carry hunting guns, but they don't swing as smoothly on the target range. If you want light weight, they're a joy to handle and shoot, just be aware of the significant trade-off on hits for the average person who is not a tournament shooter.

Whether or not you intend to reload may be a bigger factor. If you want a light gun and don't mind picking up shells (or don't intend to), the autoloaders may be your choice. If you want a light gun, want to reload, and don't want to pick up shells, then it sounds like a 20 ga. over-under is your choice.

If you decide you really don't need a light gun at all, just get a 12ga. o/u and don't look back. (For that matter, your slick old 870 is a great, fun gun, and won't drop more than one shell on the ground per station).