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John E

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Posts posted by John E

  1. Rio Salado in Mesa has a fantastic sporting clays course and 5-stand set up. It is north on Ellsworth Road from US-60 about 7 miles, right under the big Phoenix aerial sign. Stop in at the office to pay for your card you will need to activate the targets and come on out and shoot! Always welcome!!

  2. I read intently every post on this subject before I decided to buy a Ponsness Warren 800B. I ordered every manual I could get to make it run flawlessly. I cleaned it, I nurtured it, and did everything I could to make it the great reloader I wanted it to be. I ordered each and every gizmo that Ponsness had to sell to "upgrade" it. I loaded several thousand rounds on it, and thought I was in heaven after struggling with the MEC progressives. However, all of that has changed since I once again read the posts to this thread and started calling around to my friends who own Dillon's SL900. I finally decided to take the chance bought one based on the strong recommendations two days ago and I must say that no one that I have spoken to has given the Dillon the credit it truly deserves. While I will admit that the manual that comes with the Dillon is a little lacking, the press is off the charts. There is NO way any of the other machines can compete with the Dillon for producing a quality round with the most ease possible. If you intend to get the hydraulic set up, then you should proceed with one of the other machines that support that, but if you intend to run the press by hand, the Dillon is way, way ahead of the competition. It has been amazing!!

    Do yourself a favor. Buy a Dillon and don't look back!

  3. For anyone still following this thread:

    I had a fascinating conversation with Browning's Customer Service and was told the following:

    Browning only has two types of rib styles, the High Post Rib and the Low Post Rib. The Low Post Rib would be the one that does not rise at all from the receiver to the end of the barrel. Any Citori that has a high post rib would be considered a trap gun, while the skeet, sporting, clays and field guns will have the flat, low post rib.

    Further, any Citori designated as a Trap gun will shoot a 70/30 pattern. Any Citori designated as a Skeet or Sporting model will shoot a 60/40 pattern. Finally, any field gun will shoot a 50/50 pattern.

    I wish I had this information before I started this thread, but I am absolutely grateful for the all the assistance.

  4. I have read all of this with great fascination. I wish I had read this forum before I went to shoot today.

    However, I am reminded of a drill when I taught golf that really seemed to help unplug the conscious mind and allow the other guy to hit the ball. I am wondering if this would work with clays. Please feel free to shoot this down if it is nonsense.

    For an athlete that was thinking way too much, I would give them 2 or 3 single-digit numbers when they started the backswing. Before impact, they had to add the numbers and tell me the sum. I have seen the Great One, Robbie Leatham, shooting 5-stand and doing much the same thing by having conversations with a friend or spectator WHILE he was shooting and he has yet to miss while doing so. Again, the best shooter can fire the shot because the the more cerebral guy was involved in a conversation.

    Food for thought.

    My flame-retardant suit is now on and properly adjusted.

  5. That is more along the lines I was thinking, and I did not want to make another mistake getting involved with a shotgun that is not doing it's part. I know that I can learn to shoot sporting clays with some degreee of accomplishment, but I don't want to have to overcome a flaw in the shotgun. I would prefer the gun adapt to me rather than I have to adapt to the gun. Therefore, based on the wise counsel here, I think I will have to pass on the Browning I am currently considering.

    That said, does anyone have any great input on a Browning 525 Sporting? Is it a common problem among the Brownings to shoot a little high, or is this an anomaly?

    Thanks again for all the help!!

  6. Okay. I have read the article regarding DIY fitting. I find it very insightful, but it would not seem to be that helpful in my situation. I guess I could glean that were I to take the Browning to get it fit from a professional many of these problems could possibly go away. Of course, that is only possible if I were to purchase the Browning. That remains a distinct possibility.

    I have a friend who is bringing his Beretta tomorrow night to shoot. Either that will throw me into a complete state of confusion, or it might serve to clear some of this up.

  7. Again, I tuly appreciate the input.

    I pattern from 30 yards, and I fire two shells from each shotgun. I have tried both the "just raise it up and shoot" as well as the "aim it like a rifle" systems, and the results from both shotguns remain at least consistent. I have no space between the beads, and they melt into each other on both guns. Again, both guns are within probably less than 1/2 inch of any measurements, so the are essentially identical.

    That said, I did shoot again last night, and this time the Browning won the day. I believe, perhaps mistakenly, that the heavier weight of the Browning really helps to smooth out my swing, much as heavier swing-weighted golf clubs help to slow down and smooth a golf swing.

    The chokes in my Verona are both Improved Cylinder, while the Browning has a Skeet and a Modified. I will stipulate to the chokes not being apples to apples, but I am as yet unwilling to buy chokes for a shotgun that I do not own. However, wouldn't a shotgun that is shooting high still shoot high with only a variance in the pattern?

    I will read the article posted with great interest later today.

    Please keep the great input coming!! And thank you for your efforts so far!!

  8. That was very informative. Thanks!

    I am still trying to talk to Briley, but in the meantime, I am wondering: How can you possibly know a shotgun will produce a 50/50 pattern without buying and shooting it? I would think that if a manufacturer wanted to truly produce a Sporting Clays gun, then they would know that 50/50 flat shooting is what the public wants. However, it would appear that is not the standard to which the manufacturers adhere. Are there some guns known for this patterning such that the trial and error method can be avoided?

  9. My bad. You said adjustable comb, not recoil pad. My Verona does have the adjustable comb, but for me it needs to be as low and close to the stock as possible. In fact, when it was fit, the gunsmith took almost half of the material off that to get it to fit.

  10. Thanks to both of you for offering some help. I have wondered about the adjustable recoil pad but had never considered that as a way to get the shotgun to pattern differently. I recently had my shotgun, the Verona, fitted by Mr. Dan Lammers, who is considered to be among the best in our area (Phoenix). The Browning is not fitted to me (yet) but it does measure out very closely in the drop at heel, drop at comb, total length, balance point, etc.

    I was talking to someone last night and he tried to explain that changing the chokes could help achieve the pattern I was seeking. I am still struggling to make sense of that. I can understand how changing the chokes could cause a wider dispersion of the shot, but it would seem to me that the Browning would still pattern higher. Getting it fit would make more sense to me. Please help me to understand where I am missing this point.

    I will call Briley when they open. Thank you so much for the recommendation!!

    What is achieved when someone has the barrels on their shotgun bent? Is this designed to effect the patterning?

  11. Hi guys!!

    I am fairly new to the sporting clay situation and frankly I am confused at the optimum sporting clays patterns. I can understand why a trap gun would shoot a much higher percentage of the shot above the horizontal. I am currently thinking of buying a Browning Citori Special Sporting Clays Edition 12 ga., but when I patterned it yesterday, it was about 95% above the horizontal and well centered. I also patterned my Verona LX680 and it was probably 30% below and 70% above the horizontal. I would think this configuration would be better for sporting clays whereas the Browning seems to me to be basically a trap gun with sporting clays written on the side.

    I would LOVE to have some illumination from the more knowledgable shooters out here.

    Thanks!!

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