Dedicated sporting clays gun

[yfarm]

I shoot clays with an old Citori lightning 26”, like short barreled field guns and the 1301 is available with a 21” which is the same as my special field. With high volume dove shooting my 1100 starts to cycle slow after 100-150 rounds requiring cleaning, will I experience that with the 1301? In regards to o/u original post, as a lefty the factory cast off in some guns makes those unacceptable. Getting a Beretta o/u stock with left cast off I am told may be a multiyear endeavor. Brownings are supposedly neutral, mine is.

 

[Shō[t]gun]

Rarely shoot sporting clays, usually some type of fundraising event. Have shot with a very experienced clays shooter on my team, says the cycle time of an automatic is a serious disadvantage. Was looking at a Beretta 1301comp as a replacement field gun for an 1100 special field and noticed cycle time advertised by Beretta as a sales point. Comments?

The cycle time comes down to the recoil impulse more than trigger speed. the chance of getting on a second target before the gun is ready is about zero, but tight parallel doubles feel a little more comfortable transitioning with an O/U or really snappy semi because you’re not getting that late forward momentum of the bolt as you recover to catch the second target. An 1100 is definitely on the longer side for bolt travel time.

 

[TxLite]

I shoot clays with an old Citori lightning 26”, like short barreled field guns and the 1301 is available with a 21” which is the same as my special field. With high volume dove shooting my 1100 starts to cycle slow after 100-150 rounds requiring cleaning, will I experience that with the 1301?

I’ve only got a couple hundred rounds through my 1301 and 100 through my a400 so I haven’t had a ton of time with them yet but neither have been cleaned and neither have had a single hiccup. From what I’ve seen and heard it shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve been to several different facilities that use A400’s as loaners and seem to be pretty unproblematic.

 

[Macintosh]

I haven't been really into sporting clays in few years, but at the time (say 7-8 years ago) saw plenty of autoloaders. Maybe there is SOMETHING to the cycle time, but I'm guessing if so a tiny fraction of shooters are good enough to notice the difference--would not worry about that with any modern autoloader if there are other reasons to go that route. What I think is more likely to make a difference is that the first (lower) barrel on a O/U is lower in relation to the butt than the barrel on an autoloader, and will have a more straight-line recoil impulse, resulting in a faster acquisition of the second target. But I wouldnt really worry about it yet.

Also, yes, recoil is cumulative. Shoot 100-200+ rounds in a day and there isnt a person on earth that isn't negatively affected by it. It's why so many old school trap shooters have to use release triggers, its one reason why many competitive shooters use 10+lb guns, it's why ported barrels and sorbothane recoil pads exist, it's why people buy 1oz clays loads instead of 1 1/8. I used to load 5,000+ 7/8oz 12ga loads a year when I was shooting clays a bunch, and until you get a lot better than I ever was a few less pellets wont be the reason you miss even at very long range. The ability to consistently cycle light loads is another reason many people like an O/U instead of a autoloader.

Beretta stocks are easy as an aftermarket add-on even if a left-handed gun is harder to come by. Most people are better off with a little cast for any shotgun shooting that is done from a low-gun position, and EU guns tend to have a little more cast than brownings traditionally did. ebay, Joel etchen or cole gunsmithing all typically have wood sets for sale. Ex: https://www.shop.colegun.com/collections/beretta-680-series-12ga-wood-sets/left-hand
or
Filter for left-hand: https://www.joeletchenguns.com/new-guns/beretta/686-silver-pigeon-1-sporting