The Clay Hunter Shotgun Sports For Beginners
These guns might look mean and tough because of their short barrels, pistol grips and accessory filled rails but they do not make the best choice for the clay fields. However, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be slightly altered to work as a great clay shooter. If you have limited space in your gun safe or maybe your spouse put a stop on any new firearm purchases, then the first thing I recommend is getting a new safe or spouse. If neither of those is a viable option then converting what you already have may be a good solution to ponder over.
Some ranges won’t turn you down if you want to use a tactical shotgun on their fields. However, it does make them nervous because of the type of ammo you may carry around with that tactical shotgun. For example, a local sporting clay range I tend to frequent at, now checks everyone’s ammo before walking onto their fields because a couple bad apples decided to use buckshot and slugs through their 18″ barrel shotguns in an attempt to break clays. Apparently, these shooters didn’t realize (or didn’t care) that buckshot and slugs could do some major damage (or even kill someone) if it reached shooters on the other side of the course. Sporting clays may be the golf of shotgun sports but unfortunately, there is no yelling “FORE” in clay shooting. So even though the use of a tactical shotgun may not be prohibited at your local range it may cause the staff to keep an extra eye on how you handle yourself around their venue.
For anyone that has a tactical shotgun and wants to get into clay shooting sports, there are two easy modifications that can be made to help make your gun clay or field ready:
Stocks – Since tactical guns are usually set up with pistol grips or short/foldable stocks they do not allow you to mount the gun properly when it comes to clay sports. The first modification you will want to do, especially if you only have a pistol grip, is to get a traditional buttstock. This will allow you to mount the gun properly and if still in your budget, you may even find a stock with an adjustable comb built in allowing you to fit the gun to your body shape. Another positive aspect is that since you are not looking to build a traditional style gun you can stick with a synthetic stock which will keep from having to break the bank. Wood stocks may be available for the model you are trying to convert but the replacement stocks most likely will need custom fitting and might not be as “drop-in” friendly as their synthetic counterparts. If a wood stock is a must have, I recommend getting a dedicated clay/hunting shotgun and leave your home defense gun as is.
Barrels – Most tactical style shotguns have short barrels allowing them to move in tight spaces and around corners faster. Having a separate 28″ to 34″ barrel to drop into your gun will help with accuracy and gun balance for all of your clay shooting needs. The longer hunting barrels feature a rib, plus beads or sights to help with gun alignment. Most tactical barrels will have a front and rear sight with no rib, a setup that will not get you very far in clay shooting since you are not supposed to aim a clay gun. In addition to barrel size, tactical shotguns usually have a fixed open choke because they are intended to shoot “targets” at a short distance. Adding on a longer hunting barrel will usually mean that you now have the ability to install different chokes which can be used to shoot a variety of clay disciplines.
By design tactical shotguns are made to be modified and accessorized, which means the stocks and barrels can usually be removed with ease and may only require a few basic tools. You can swap out your stock and barrel within a short amount of time when heading to the range and can always put back on all your tactical parts once you return home.
If you don’t feel comfortable playing amateur gunsmith on your firearm, Mossberg actually designed an adaptable shotgun platform called the Mossberg 500 Flex which allows you to swap parts without the use of any tools. The Flex’s adaptable platform makes it extremely easy and fast to go from home defense to field ready and back. Check out a preview of how it works here:
If you decide to start swapping out the furniture and barrels on your shotgun be sure to check out these sites to start your research and shopping.
www.midwayusa.com
www.brownells.com
and yes even
www.ebay.com
