Let me start out with saying that I know nothing about clay shooting and not a whole lot about shotguns in general.

My dad has said he wanted to get a shotgun for the house, and maybe take a stab at shooting clays (strictly for recreation, not in a competitive manner).

Is there a pump that is suitable for both? I know an 18" barrel would be better for HD, but is that too short for clay shooting? Like I said, I know nothing, but would assume that shooting clays is easier with a longer barrel. Plus, when I've seen it on TV, they always seem to be long barreled O/U's.

I realize I'm at Saiga central, but with the current prices and availability of S-12's and 20's, I think I should opt for a common pump. Plus, I'd rather not throw magazines into the mix for my dad's sake. I'm sure he'd lose them within a week.

A good double barrel coach gun would be fine, for sporting clays a Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 with a short barrel for HD and a longer one for clays would be fine.

+1 on the changeable barrels for mossberg,

otherwise get a 19 saiga 12 with folding stock for at home, and a 24 saiga 12 with rib site for the clays.

I have a Saiga 12 with 19" barrel and folding stock i can move threw out my house with ease even with a flash hider on adding an extra 2" Only shoot skeet once with it though......Get a poly choke for shooting clays, just makes life easier. As far as service and cleaning NOTHING beats a Saiga. I owned a Remington 870 before i ever know what a Saiga 12 was. Great pump shotgun good for home D, Im better at skeet with my Saiga from what i see, really i suck at it and need more time on the range. The 20rd drum makes it imposable to miss though^^) Any way you look at it your looking to drop 500$ for a good Shottie.

I didn't event think of swapping barrels. I'll have to look into this some more. Thanks fellas.

The 870, 550, and Supernova/Nova all have swapables. I'm gonna tell you to look at the Supernova and Nova though. Because they're the best.

I have an H&R 12 gauge pump. It has a 22 inch barrel. It works better than I do at clay's and It's not heavy and clumsy for HD. It's a great shotgun. I have put over 1000 rounds through it shooting clays alone. Everything locks up tight and is in great shape. I think the H&R shotguns offer a great value.

22_shooter - when you decide more or less what you want, contact us @ CGW - we do carry OTHER guns, although mostly used older guns. Tom does have quite a spread of stock coming in, after moving home after many years.

Home defense, should always entail more than one shot. Two shots are required for clays, at most decent trap clubs. Singles are fun, but doubles are the way to go. If you are leaning more tword HD dependancy over a handgun or rifle (GOOD CHOICE by the way), get a 12 gauge with a 3" chamber, so you can load stopping power 15 pellet buckshot.

Searching for a RELIABLE 12 gauge 3" semi auto is how I found the saiga12 to begin with, actually.

When buying a HD weapon there is nothing wrong with getting a used gun, heck it's half the price of a new one. I bought my AR used form a guy who needed cash for a transmission repair.

Will do. Thanks.

The whole clay shooting thing is only about 5% of the intended use. He had just mentioned he wanted to try it. So I'd say it's definitely more for HD than anything (also, I think he just wants to shoot (safely, or course) random inanimate objects for fun ).