New to Shooting advice - Dundee

Hey there, my name is Duncan and I am a 19 year old student in Dundee. My grandfather recently died and left me some shotguns, and so i decided with my dad to try shooting. I have now recently recieved my shotgun licence and have a SxS purdey 12ga, which was my great great grandfathers, and a SxS 12ga "horton" which i dont know much about. There is also a very old .410 single barrel which someone has told me may have been a poachers gun as it is unmarked. I would very much like to get involved with the sport, and have shot locally at auchterhouse a couple of times. Unfortunately I cant seem to find a local club, and so I was wondering if there were some more experienced shooters who could show me the ropes and help answer all the questions I have? I have been told that due to the age of the shotguns they are a bad fit for me. Hopefully there is somebody about.

The scta may be able to point you to a local club http://www.scta.co.uk/

Age of gun wont affect the fit but not sure I'd be off down the local clay club with a SxS Purdey!

Because it's more of a game gun? Should I really be looking into an O/U? It seems a shame for it to sit in the cabinet.

Probably because a Purdey is almost certainly worth rather a lot of money and it would be a shame to damage it shooting clays.

It's also likely to be lightweight and therefore you'll suffer more with recoil. Two triggers are a disadvantage on quick pairs of clays.

If you want to use it in remembrance of your grandfather and to have some fun, go for it. If you want to get more seriously into clay shooting a single trigger over and under would be a better bet.

'A new Purdey costs around £89 000.'

Even if yours is worth a tiny fraction of that it's probably worth not slinging it around a clay ground. It'll probably be a game gun with an auto safety that engages every time the gun is opened. not commonly desired for clays.

Side by sides are not exactly common in clay shooting except for the occasional sxs competition. The tool of choice is a semi-auto  or an O/U gun

How about a pic of your gun /s ?

Yeah I know its worth a lot, ill take some pics when i get home later on tonight and put them up here. Whats wrong with a semi auto? 

edit:better?

Gazere said:

Whats wrong with a semi?

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This is a can of worms if ever I saw one!!!

if I had a purdey and wanted to shoot sporting then I would be jolly proud to turn up to any clay ground with it. Use 24g load to minimize felt recoil as it will be a fairly light game gun.

above all enjoy your grand fathers pride and joy and when you get seriously into clays you can buy an ou and get the purdey out every now and then.

do not sell it .... Ever, you will regret it if you do.

pics please

edit

don't worry about gun fit at this stage, its a purdey more importantly it was your grand fathers purdey so it deserves to be shot by the grandson he left it to. Enjoy.

oh and anyone who tells you its not suitable for you or for clays is just jealous so tell em whatever the Scottish term for sod off is.

I don't know the best way to take a photo but here's a few snaps of them. So nobody shoots in Dundee/Auchterhouse? Edit: that's my great great grandfather with the Horton, before he retired and got the purdey

Nice. Hang onto them as you will never be able to replace them and will always regret  losing them.  Especially if you get to do some game shooting. You might not be thinking of it at the moment but in 30 years time you  might.

You probably know this but make sure you use suitable cartridges. They will almost certainly have 2 1/2" (65mm) chambers so don't put the usual 2 3/4 (70mm) clay cartridge through them. They will damage them. 

I shoot up in Scotland a lot. 

Auchterhouse, North Ayrshire, Auldgirth, Drummond Hopeton House to name the recent visits  

Get up to Auchterhouse and Say hello to the Christie family who run it you'll not go far wrong  

Those look like lovely guns. Shoot them and enjoy your Grandfathers legacy. 

Yep, you see the picture building up here don't you? IPS is quite right in the sense that ANY one of us would be thrilled to have received such a wonderful gift in this way. My guess is that you know well enough to treasure it, and hopefully one day you will do the same, and pass these lovely guns to a Grandchild of yours one day. 

As for using it, yes of course it's OK to shoot clays (using the right cartridges of course) with a treasured SXS. Many of the shooters around you will be touched by the story behind the gun, and their pleasure in the story and seeing  beautiful old gun being used will only enhance your ownership too. 

However, it's also true that SXS's are not generally seen as being best suited to any kind of "serious" clay shooting. So if you are just popping a few clays from time to time, go for it! Otherwise, do consider investing in a O/U....... and therein lies another can of worms. 

Whatever you do, I hope you can treasure the fact that you now have custody of something that is far more than just a possession. 

Very nice thanks for the pics.

Thanks everyone, I'll be sure to be careful with what I fire from the old guns. My great great grandfather was actually a game keeper on a highland estate, and he came into the purdey when the laird retired and got a matching trio for himself, my ancestor and the head butler I believe. Shame none of you shoot regularly at Auchterhouse but I'm sure I can find someone to shoot with. One more question, how good do you have to be to compete in local competitions?

Gazere said:

 One more question, how good do you have to be to compete in local competitions?

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You only have to be good to win them. Seriously, you'll certainly need to be able to show you're safe and will need to know what you're doing generally. A few lessons should get that sorted. Also, to start with you can normally shoot "Birds only" ie not shooting for the prize money makes things a bit cheaper. 

Good luck!

I've shot a lot at Auchterhouse and know the Christies (owners) quite well. I started off shooting Skeet there back when I first got into clays. It is a really nice and well maintained ground. There is also the Scottish Clay Shooting Centre just across the Tay Bridge. I believe they shoot skeet, DTL and some sporting as well. 

As has already been said, what a lovely inheritance. Just to throw a spanner in the works, I began shooting back in the 1960's and worked my way up to an AYA sidelock gun (similar to the design of the Purdey). In 1974 I started in a job that was going to pay me to go and shoot clays and I did not need asking twice. I was thrown in at the deep end and attended a National skeet shoot. I only had 1 gun so the side by side it had to be. I finished 9th out of an entry of over 250. Bear in mind that the cartridges were 1 1/8th ozs. (32 grams) and had a fibre wad. The gun weighed 6 1/2 lbs. It had 2 triggers (which were no handicap at all, by the way). It was choked 1/4 and 1/2 chokes. I suffered no ill effects from recoil and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The one  point that made the whole episode an enjoyable one is that my gun FITTED me. So, I would book a couple of lessons, take those guns to a good Gunsmith and have him give them the 'once over', just to confirm their condition and ability to shoot. Remember that either of the 2 side by side guns will be relatively simple to 'bend' to fit you, at a later date. So, shoot and enjoy. You may just want to get a shooting glove for your leading hand though, as the barrels of a gun can get quite warm during shooting. I did use  a slip on handguard, but they are prone to movement and can rub the barrel blacking off, so go for a glove. The AYA, well that went years ago and has been replaced and replaced in my efforts to find that 'magic gun' (along with several thousands of pounds). Am I shooting any better ?...................in all honesty...............er,    NO !   It has taken nearly 60 years for me to realise that though, but I would do it all again, given the chance.

Hi Duncan,

I replied to your post on Pigeon Watch as well, Auchterhouse or the SCSC at Leuchars are both good places to shoot.  The other option that is fairly close to you is Cluny Clays at Kirkcaldy.

You won't go far wrong if you speak to Ron Maxwell at SCSC and get a bit of coaching from him, he is a nice guy and it is a really friendly ground.  Likewise the Christies will keep you on the right track too.

The guns look great too and many an admiring eye will be cast towards them, cherish them as you are the lucky owner of very fine English guns.

Sorry for the delayed reply, I've been busy the last few days. Thanks all for the help, I think i will get myself a couple of lessons and pick one of the guns to practice with regularly. Probably the Horton since I'd be less afraid of taking it places! If anyone does come across people who shoot near me I'd love to have some shooting buddies, in the mean time I'll have to try and tempt my friends to get involved with the sport as well.