Hi From Scotland

Hi everyone. Happy to be here. My name is Scott (surprisingly) and I live in Fife, in Scotland.

I started clay shooting after having a go on a stag do. I'm currently waiting on my certificate coming through the post after all the stages being approved.

I've had a few lessons, and completed a "safety passport" at my local clay ground that gave me a good taster of lots of different target types, but most importantly drummed in the rules of handling these tools safely.

I have a ton of questions but I'll try and dripfeed them over the coming weeks so as to not become an annoyance!

Fire away questions wise, happy to help.

Just don’t ask me anything about sporting, I don’t do that.

Thanks very much! I guess firstly, do you know of any good gun shops in Scotland that can cater to a first gun purchase? My local is Cluny, who claim to be Scotlands biggest. I've only been in the shop once, but kind of got the feeling I wasn't welcome. I got the impression they knew I was new, and probably not looking to drop 5 figures in the store, so I wasn't the right sort for them.

If you aren't up on the merits of Scottish shotgun retailers, how about an easy one, can you replace flush chokes with extended?!

Welcome! No idea about gunshops in Scotland, but I can answer your question re: flush chokes. Yes, in most brands you can place either flush or extended chokes and ie Browning and Beretta carry pretty wide ranges. Then there are Teague, Briley and a bunch of others that sell aftermarket chokes in pretty much any configuration you can think of. I shoot Beretta’s and am happy with their own chokes, although I’ve gone the other way and replaced the extended for flush versions. 

As far as Scottish gun shops are concerned, Kevin Smith’s is in Kincardineshire. Macleod’s is in Ross-shire. See them at https://rmacleod.co.uk.

I’ve not been to either but they come well recommended.

Thanks very much guys!

Scotty said:

Thanks very much! I guess firstly, do you know of any good gun shops in Scotland that can cater to a first gun purchase? My local is Cluny, who claim to be Scotlands biggest. I've only been in the shop once, but kind of got the feeling I wasn't welcome. I got the impression they knew I was new, and probably not looking to drop 5 figures in the store, so I wasn't the right sort for them.

If you aren't up on the merits of Scottish shotgun retailers, how about an easy one, can you replace flush chokes with extended?!

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Have you been in to Edinburgh Rifles? Just off the bypass. 

Tiny shop compared to Cluny but a very different experience. Really friendly and approachable. Not exactly far from you and even a browse and mounting lots of different guns/makes would be helpful to see what feels good? I got a 525 with an extended stock there, after mounting it felt like a revelation. 

Probably got the same amount of guns as Cluny in a space about 5% of the size. I try and avoid the place as every time I’m in I end up buying something. They’re on guntrader and Facebook.

Thanks very much mate. I'll definitely give them a look. I've seen them online when I was searching for local gun shops but they did seem a little small. 

Tom Young (Continental Shooting Supplies) at Dalry in North Ayrshire always has a good stock of new & 2nd hand guns at pretty good prices.  Guess he will let you try any 2nd hand ones on his shooting ground - if you ask him nicely. Check out his website.  continentalshooting.co.uk