New to practical shotgun.

[Gerry939]

I am a target Shooter and im looking to get a feel for practical shotgun, for fun, looking at a variation, on my licence, and getting a Hatsan box mag 12g, it looks ok for the price, by the way do i have to complete a safety course to compete in ukpsa..

[BamBam]

You need a competition certificate if you want to shoot anything other than level 1 matches.

Hatsan, really?

[Gerry939]

Yea hear its all about the money, in this discipline, so not going to spend a load on something i just want to enjoy and have some fun...level 1 ? Is that the best place to start...thanks BamBam

[MistAgain]

I often wonder , who back in the early days of UKPSA , trained shooters and Range Officers ?

[ovenpaa]

[BamBam]

Yea hear its all about the money, in this discipline, so not going to spend a load on something i just want to enjoy and have some fun...level 1 ? Is that the best place to start...thanks BamBam

Look for level 1 matches on UKPSA website to go along and enjoy, or NRA matches.
Rossendale has a January match coming up that all are welcome to attend, the monthly club match is always a level 1.

Buy whatever, but if you decide to trade up or trade out of the discipline then you may lose money or be stuck with something that nobody will buy from you.

I started with a Mossberg pump that I bought for £150 and sold a year later for £200. Moved onto a Benelli Supernova that I paid £425 for 2nd hand and then sold for £450 when I got my 1st semi-auto..
When I went to semi-autos I started losing money

[Pesty]

You need a competition certificate if you want to shoot anything other than level 1 matches.

Hatsan, really?

Where would one fine one of these? Something I’d like to try and there is a club not far from me that does it.

[Blackstuff]

I am a target Shooter and im looking to get a feel for practical shotgun, for fun, looking at a variation, on my licence, and getting a Hatsan box mag 12g, it looks ok for the price, by the way do i have to complete a safety course to compete in ukpsa..

Border Guns is the closest 'proper' PSG venue near the West Midlands that I know of ; http://bordergunspsg.co.uk/ Its a great place and Martin who runs it is a good bloke.

Shooting while moving and under pressure (you'll be amazed at how much pressure a ticking clock can add!) is something which its best to get good quality instruction on so even if you are only going to go to club/Level 1 matches i'd sign up for a UKPSA safety course. There's normally one held every other month or so and Borders does host them, that's where I did mine (note my location!). IF you reach the basic level of proficiency you will get a safety certificate, if you do a bit better you will get a competition license which allows you to compete in Level 2 or greater comps. The course can be taken more than once if need be.

The box mag Hatsan is an unknown quantity as the tube guns have permanently soured the PSG scene against the brand (its a decent enough firing shotgun but a PITA to load with any kind of speed) and you're only really going to use a gun like that for PSG. I am unaware of anyone that owns one so can't give you any feed back on it. For less money you could get a Bora BR99 or Akdal 1919. EVERY box magazine shotgun has its issues which have varying degrees of difficulty to get over. Most people coming into Open division now are plumping for a Typhoon F12.

[Gerry939]

Thanks blackstuff most helpful and informative will check it out. Cheers

[Lever357]

Diggle Ranges have regular practical shotgun matches and are a friendly crowd. I attended one a few months back with my 30 year old Beretta 303 semi auto and had a great time.