I had a short think and it concluded with a No Thank you.
Semi auto
- Thread starter Benelli m2
- Start date
uK may be but think you will find a lot of top boys and girls from the usa use them.
it been a cultural thing, ie english like the sxs and o&u possibly come 2029 the semi may be more popular in the u.k.
OK, head in the stocks time for me: a confession, I am British and use a proper semi-auto for pigeons, (sometimes, use a pair of old side by sides the rest of the time). It is a Hunt Group TX-12, complete with muzzle break, so gone all the way as semi-autos go.
Upside of the semi auto, you can hit 4 pigeons in fast succession (mags are 5 to 7, the 10 shot mag is too heavy to move fast).
Another upside is the muzzle brake, so less recoil and it stays on target so you can hit the second and third bird.
Final upside, they are fun.
First downside, is it has almost no choke, so range is half that of a double barrelled shot gun. One could fit a choke ...
Another downside, is it ejects spent cartridges 15 feet away, which are a swine to find. One can put a rubber tape on the ejector port to slow them down ...
Final downside, as pointed out by others, one can't use it for pheasants, clays, ducks or anything sporting, just pigeons or targets (with slugs). For that downside there is no cure.
The bottom line is, if you are not a master shooter for pigeons, it gives you an advantage to make up for lack of skill, and when you have a modicum of skill, gets you twice as many birds if you can get close enough to them (enhanced hiding skills). However, just by having one, people assume you are in the former category, i.e. a rubbish shot.
I use it because farmers on my permissions want the pigeons reduced in number, and I don't have weeks of spare time to do it in. I am fairly average with shotguns: I far prefer a rifle.
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To be fair the OP is asking the question from Oxfordshire, and the Americans only chip in when one of their amendment rights are questioned lol
A good example of US semi shooting
Looks quite fair to me
The last video Tim, as soon as they said "Throwers", you know what is coming next. 
Everyone standing in a circle, the throwers are barricaded in case the person opposite with the pump action does not know that the "clear blue rule" also applies to grey skies. Perhaps that is why the organisers space people out so far. They seem to be blasting away at a lot of high flying birds in a live version of clay pigeon shooting. I hope they eat them all.
On the other hand, in the USA they are intrepid enough to hunt bears and bison with a bow and arrow ... makes for entertaining viewing, albeit with no ethics at all.
Give me the joy of tramping up and down mountain and glen any day, falling into the water filled holes where trees once were, with wild birds that you do not know when they will come, or how low.
But who am I to say, without being a hypocrite, as someone who uses a semi-auto here on pigeons.
NB: Before anyone mentions it, my post above timed out before I could correct the first "break". Brake.
Everyone standing in a circle, the throwers are barricaded in case the person opposite with the pump action does not know that the "clear blue rule" also applies to grey skies. Perhaps that is why the organisers space people out so far. They seem to be blasting away at a lot of high flying birds in a live version of clay pigeon shooting. I hope they eat them all.On the other hand, in the USA they are intrepid enough to hunt bears and bison with a bow and arrow ... makes for entertaining viewing, albeit with no ethics at all.
Give me the joy of tramping up and down mountain and glen any day, falling into the water filled holes where trees once were, with wild birds that you do not know when they will come, or how low.
But who am I to say, without being a hypocrite, as someone who uses a semi-auto here on pigeons.
NB: Before anyone mentions it, my post above timed out before I could correct the first "break". Brake.
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Flash G 74
Well-Known Member
To be fair the OP is asking the question from Oxfordshire, and the Americans only chip in when one of their amendment rights are questioned lol
A good example of US semi shooting
Looks quite fair to me
Hello, Shooting pheasants like in the last video seems to me very unsporting
Flash G 74
Well-Known Member
If you want me to put an advert on PW let me know
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