My very first shotgun

[drewtam]

Last week I bought my very first shotgun a new Mossberg 500: 12ga, pump, wood furniture. Shoots 2-3/4" & 3" shells, came with a 28" and a 24" barrel, and three chokes: modified, improved, and full.

Oh wise APS, please guide me...
Which barrel, choke, load, and shot for shooting clays?

[charby]

Sporting clays?

I would use the 28" barrel, and imp cyl or modified choke.

Shoot #7.5 shot, 2 3/4 shels. 7/8 ounce if you can find them. The walmart value packs tend to be loaded a little hot so 100-200 rounds on a sporting clay course will leave you with a bruised shoulder.

If you really get into sporting clays, you will want to upgrade to a semi auto or double barrel shotgun in time.

[Hutch]

If, on the other hand, skeet is your game, less choke is better.  Trap on yet another hand, is usually a full choke game.  The 500 is a fine bit of kit.  If you lean that way, you can also buy a 18.5 inch (iirc) rifle sighted smoothbore barrel for deer hunting or personal defense.  The top mounted safety makes it particularly easy for lefties, but really cramps the utility of a pistol grip.

[41magsnub]

Is the 24" barrel smooth bore or is it rifled for slugs?

[Strings]

>If you really get into sporting clays, you will want to upgrade to a semi auto or double barrel shotgun in time.<

Bedlamite still uses a Remington 870 for trap and clays. And I will usually shoot a clays course at least once a trip with my Winchester 87 lever action

Use the 28" bbl for shotgun games. Start with the mod choke: gives you a wider spread. I usually go with a 1 or 1 1/8 oz load, #8 or 7 1/2 shot respectively.

If you're doing it for fun, and to improve your abilities with a shotgun, you'll want to step up to full eventually...

[charby]

Bedlamite still uses a Remington 870 for trap and clays. And I will usually shoot a clays course at least once a trip with my Winchester 87 lever action
If you're doing it for fun, and to improve your abilities with a shotgun, you'll want to step up to full eventually...

True pairs on a sporting clay range can be a SOB with a pump gun.

Trap is one bird, one shot. Some specialized trap guns are single shot shotguns.

[brimic]

True pairs on a sporting clay range can be a SOB with a pump gun.

Trap is one bird, one shot. Some specialized trap guns are single shot shotguns.

Yep and yep.

Most of the people shooting sporting clays that I see are using semi-autos or double barrels.

I can shoot a pump about as fast as an average person can shoot a semi-auto, not as fast as a good shooter with a semi-auto though, but I would still benefit from a O/U or semi-auto. I used to shoot a 1100 for trap, but I never liked the way it felt or balanced, always prefered a Wingmaster or BPS so I always went back to those- personal preference.

On a fun side note: I used to shoot trap occasionally after work with one of my coworkers, who had a PhD in chemistry and a gunsmithing business back at his home in Indiana. He had a heavily bubba'd modified Savage 311 that he shot- cut down and ported barrels, some interesting stock work, it was real ugly looking.  I swear I only saw the guy miss once- the only round I ever beat him. He made a lot of the yuppie shooters with their $10,000 trap guns look like fools.