My brother has done a few pest control mornings with his father in law shooting a few pigeons and just done a day on the clay pigeons.

He now has the bug, and wants to apply for a license and get a shotgun himself

What advice of gun can the forum collective give, his seen a second hand Beretta for £750, whether he gets that or something else I don't know, but it's something I have pondered on trying out myself so thought I would ask for a little off topic advice, so I can advise him  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Any good over & under shotgun would be my preference, with single selective trigger (You can choose which barrel fires first top or bottom) and cartridge ejectors.
Would be best to try as many shotguns as he can, drop in to the local gun shop and have chat and pick their brains as theirs different of types gun for depending what your shooting at, clay, game birds etc.
Warning it can become very expensive once the bug bites, unfortunately I let my licence run out as time and job left no time for shooting, that was a few years ago though and have been thinking of starting again.

You need a farmer (or two) with plenty of land to give permission to shoot, otherwise you will struggle to get a license.

also the patience of a saint as everytime you shoot at a pigeon the whole flock off and doesn't come back for ages. At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

When your brother gets his weapon of choice tell him to come and practice shooting the pigeons around where I live.... B D vermin holding flying rats they are.....keep sharting on my car too

(An Oozie seems to fit the bill for a novice as there's a very good chance that your going to hit everything even without aiming )

Any pump action style shotgun with 12 gauge ammunition.
The shotguns are reliable and the cartridges are easy to find, cheap and varies from pigeons to boars types.
For example the child of Winchester Model 1897, the Mossberg 500.

Last edited by alex_pescaru on 21st Jan 2011 9:42 pm. Edited 3 times in total

thats wahy i started shooting at those clay ones, they just keep flying past, Know wht you mean nevr could take to pigeon shooting, whaching paint dry is better in my opinon

His father in law has the approval from a farmer to shoot on his land, I guess they will try to get approval from Him to allow bros. To shoot on his land also

Only ever shot handguns myself, but fancy giving it a go at somepoint

How do guns go, the one he has seen, as saud was offered at something like £750, but I'm sure he said it's about 15 year old, seems a hell of a lot for such an old gun, especially when just starting Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

if he just whants to see how it gose i would spend between £450 - £500 on one, price wise it can go up to thousands even hundresd of thousand for Purdy's and Holland & Holland

I did say it could get expensvie

I suppose it's what he can afford and wants to spend as I said to the wife earlier, if he can afford £800 TV speaker, he can afford a £750 gun, to which she said I wasn't getting either

I will pick him up a FFRR vogue SE brouchure to go with the tweed jacket I'll buy him for his birthday  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

When i did the FFRR day at Harewood House last year, there was quite a lot of tweed walking about, and you could have had your guns valued

Your brother might like this if he lives in the same area as you

went last with the help of Mr strut
http://www.hdfairs.co.uk/game_fair_default.html

I'll let him know  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

I have a SGC. 50 quid for the grant, 45 for the renewal every 5 years. You can hold as many weapons on it as you want, although all have to be listed. You'll get a licence without land if you belong to an official Gun Club. you'll also need a decent gun cabinet, like a Brattonsound, they dont come cheap. Have a look at a few Gun Dealers and gauge the prices. I think someone is trying to rip the old fella off. No way should a novice be spending that! you'll also need a couple of referees for the application and have to sign a bit so they can approach the Doctor re your sutiability. Of course, the form asks if you have been known by any other name, so you'll have to admit Pinkie I am afraid! That will go down well with the boys in blue.

chicken george wrote:

You need a farmer (or two) with plenty of land to give permission to shoot,

You also need to consider what you'll be using the gun for, Sporting, Trap, Skeet or Game. You can buy different styles but essentially the weight varies between guns for clays and for game (game being lighter as you're carrying for longer).

Did i mention FIT

The most popular barrel length is 30 inches and will be readily available in most stockists.

Have a look on www.guntrader.co.uk for prices to ensure you dont get ripped off. The site has an excellent search filter which will allow you to set a budget, barrel lengths, condition etc.