question about 16g and clays

[pghplr]

My son wanted to shoot clays last summer but I don't have a 12 gauge anymore so he took an old Ithica 16 gauge pump my dad gave me years ago. My son did very well with it. He was getting pretty good and then rented a 12gauge at the club. Didn't do so good. My question is this. Is it easier to knock down clays with a 16 guage or 12 gauge?
Sad part is, we just started looking at shotguns for him and we've lost our place to shoot clays.

[45-70]

Its easier with a 12ga. Your son was more comfortable shooting the 16ga. Its hard to pick up a gun that your not used to shooting and shoot well with it. If he got more shooting time with the 12ga. he would do better. And 12ga. is alot cheeper to shoot.

[Frenchy]

When it comes to learning, its not a matter of how large a gun but how comfy you are with it, Even in the same 16g categorie, he might find some not as comfortable as others.

Shotgun shooting is a sport where the gun just has to fit comfy under your cheek. Unlike a rifle that you raise to your sholder then place your head to aim, a shotgun you raise to your cheek and bring back to your sholder. the aiming is basically instinct you point your head, see the target, and bang.

The top of a shotgungun's stock, where one rests his cheek when mounting a gun. As it is the top of the stock that determines the position of one's eye, and one's eye is the rear sight on a shotgun, the position of the comb is very important in determining the proper fit of a shotgun. Even a slight change in elevation in the "comb" can make or break how you like firing the gun.

Many shoot skeet or even 5-stand and other sporting clays very well with a 20g and even .410 yet place them near any other caliber, and they dont hit a thing. As with any shooting sport, you are better to be comfortable and make hits, then shoot out of fear and miss... Only one pellet needs to hit the clay to make it break. And as i say all the time, its a sport where your better hitting both birds then smashing one and completely missing the other!

I shot skeet once with some one who was using a .410 and i thought to my self, he wants to give me an unfair advantage... Then i saw how he took down 21 of 25 and I was all amazed... We think of shot as a 12 to 18 inch diameter group of pellets going through the air, in reality its more like a curtain of pellets 6 to 8 feet long by 12 to 18 inch in diameter. Looks like a meteor going in front of the clay. Only one pellet has to hit to make the shot count.

[Bib]

You didn't mention how old/big your son is but my recommendation is a 20 ga semi-auto for kids or women (unless they're really BIG women...then they can do whatever they want! )

7/8 oz is PLENTY enough shot to break all 25 if you know what you're doing...and if you don't know, 20 ga ammo on sale is much cheaper than 16 ga ammo so the learning process won't be so expensive.

[bornagainin556]

That Ithaca 16 is fine for clays. If he shoots it well, let him run with it as shotgun shooting is all about the gun fitting the shooter. I highly agree that 16 ga is not as easy to obtain as 12 or 20, but if you shop around you may be able to score a good deal on bulk ammo. I use my 16 once or twice a year for small game so ammo is not a concern.

[9mmMike]

I do not find much difference between recoil of a 12 and 16.
12 gauge ammo is easier/cheaper to find.
The 16 Ga. here at Casa del 9mm is based on a full-size (12 ga.) frame so it's not even lighter to carry in the field.
If you are looking for a gun for a small person who is recoil-sensitive, I'd recommend a 20 ga.
If at all possible though, I'd say stick with the do-all 12 ga.
YMMV,
Mike

[pghplr]

Yeah, i'm going to get the 12g for him. He's actually bigger than me, so size isn't an issue. He wants to shot clays but really wants an 870 pump for hunting this year(first year). Which is perfect cause I sold the same gun a couple years ago! Nothing like buying the same gun at a higher price. If he were to get serious about clays, do you have to use a double barrel for competition? Maybe I'll talk him into one.

[9mmMike]

I shoot a 1955 Wing Master for all my clay games. I do OK. I can regularly shoot in the middle-high 80's on the B stations and the 70's on the A's. When I miss, it is not the gun's fault.
Double barrels are nice and I would not mind owning one (or two) some day but I am nowhere close to being limited by the hardware I'm using now.
There are plenty of ways to tune an 870 for clay games. Investing in a light-contour barrel for example. Although I do not have one, I do have an older gun with a pre-lawyer barrel that is quite light and swings well.
Plus, there is something strangely satisfying about out shooting guys with guns that cost 10 to 20 times more (I paid 100 clams for my gun) than mine. It's a sickness, I know.