First of all you must remember that sporting clays is basically set up to replicate various scenarios you might run across when hunting. so it only makes sense in my opinion that most of the field guns on the market would do nicely. I would not recommend anything with a 26” or shorter barrel because of the longer shots. but other than that I really do think just about any of them with an adjustable choke would do well.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen all of the specialized guns and no that there are things you can do to help, but I’ seen a lot of off the rack hunting guns bust a lot of clays with out the advantage of adjustable cheeks ported barrels or brilley chokes.

The only real difference between a good field gun and a good clays gun is weight. A good clays gun should be heavy to absorb the punishment of 100 shots in a day. A good field gun should be light since it's carried all day, whether a shot is taken or not.

I shoot with a bunch of guys that all shoot only field guns: a $300 well-used synthetic Remington 1100 (shot by a 20-year old, who also holds our current record of 88%), Benelli SBE, Beretta Xtrema-1, 26" Browning Citori Super Featherlight, an old 25" Fox Model B SxS. I'm the only one with a "sporting clays" gun, a 30" 391 Urika Sporting. My 391 is by far the heaviest (although the 1100 is close), and it's certainly not anything I'd take with me for a day-long walk in the field.

Always remember that the pros who shoot clays for money have no interest why the game was originally developed, they play only to win. The game as it is currently shot is a far cry from the original idea. If the pros have proven to themselves that an 11-lb gun (and the cart to carry it on) with glow-in-the-dark sights and 34" ported barrels gets them an extra target, then that's what they shoot. Or, more likely, if a manufacturer believed that combination of features was likely to sell more guns, then they'd give such a gun to a top shooter and pay him/her to shoot tournaments with it and take the credit if he/she won. And if you shot at that level, you'd do the same thing.

If you are a professional shooter, or seriously want to be one, then pay close attention to what the pros shoot in order to be competitive. If you aren't a pro and have no real aspirations to be one, then shoot any gun you want to shoot, as well as you can, and have fun.

I have 3 "sporting" guns and I use precisely NONE of them for sporting anymore. I shoot best with my Browning Gold Fusion so the Browning Gold Fusion makes the best "Sporting" gun for me.

See what I am getting at?

3 Cheers for Dr. Mike. Well put my friend.

I bought a Beretta O/U at a charity auction pretty much on impulse, only to learn that I should have known a lot more about fit before investing that kind of money. Fortunately, it fits very well, but it could have been an expensive mistake.

Advice: Read up on gun fit and visit a local custom shop.