Shooting Vests

[Narragansett]

Well, needless to say I have outgrown my ADS tailor made vests of 25 years ago, and Al D'Simone that made them has long since passed, sorry to say. He was a marvelous tailor. So the hunt has been on for something new.

Can't find a local reasonable tailor and none of the big names will deviate from their standard design or make custom sizes. The most important thing to me is to get rid of the shooting side recoil pad that alters the LOP and eventually bunches up.

Then I found Ballistic Equipment and Sports Technology ( Best ) vests in Queensland Australia. They have standard designs, but will make modifications or full custom vests at their factory in Indonesia, and they are just great to deal with. Lots of colors and options. Cost is 250.00 AUD which translates to about 150.00 USD which 30 of that is shipping from halfway around the world. Now the 6 week wait.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Have you thought about shooting less 12 Ga 3 Dram loads,

instead of having a recoil pad on the jacket ?

A #7 1/2 at 1145fps is usually enough to get the job done.

Glad that you found a maker, though.
Enjoy the new jacket.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Back in the 90's I found a great shooting shirt by some very high priced maker. They had all the features that I wanted. This included a thin shooting pad with a mesh pocket behind it for a squishy pad. After 5 or 6 years it was rags. The best I ever found after that was the Browning shooting. They have pleats behind each shoulder, allowing "Twisting Motion" where single pleated (like Cabela's), or a non-pleated shirt both bind across the back. Few places stock the Browning's, so my wife took my last ragged shirt apart and made a pattern. She made 2 long-sleeved and 4 short sleeved shirts. These were for my birthday several years ago. I saved one of the long shirts until late spring.

I wore my shooting coat over it. On a 10 station/50 bird Sporting Clays course, I was having a very good day and was tied with my brother going into the 6th station. I knew that If I could take the lead on 6, I would clean the last 4 stations. I would win the match, win the day and take home to coveted "Silver Bratwurst"! So going into 6 I was the first shooter, I stepped into the box and saw the "Show Pair". I removed my coat: The collective gasp could be heard two stations away! My shooting shirt had cuffs and collar of powder blue, and the field of the shirt was light cream with little pink flowers! After the gasps subsided the laughter began. I started shooting; three true pair straight away and close together! My Browning 425 roared, once, twice and a third time. Three pair in three shots! Then I positioned myself next to the gun rack (so everyone had to look at me just before entering the box!) Nobody else broke 50% of the easy birds!

Sometimes, Clothes do make the man! I am also a firm believer in psychological Warfare!

Ivan

 

[Narragansett]

Have you thought about shooting less 12 Ga 3 Dram loads,

instead of having a recoil pad on the jacket ?

A #7 1/2 at 1145fps is usually enough to get the job done.

Glad that you found a maker, though.
Enjoy the new jacket.

I do not shoot 1200 3 dram loads. I wanted no recoil pad at all. Just fabric

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Hey Pete, About 12 or 13 years ago this summer, I was bicycle riding and crashed big time. Rolled several times over the curb and sidewalk. I messed up my right shoulder and scapula. After a few weeks I couldn't stand not shooting with my brother, so I put the 12 gauges and 20's away and stuck to 28 and 410. This is about the time shot went to $50 a bag (it was $8 when I started in the 90's).

It took about a year and a quarter, to get healed up and master my sub-gauges. I had always shot the subs about 15% worse than the 12 or 20. But I got my 410 scores up to equal and even exceed my 12 gauge average!

When I was regularly shooting, I shot 5 to 6 thousand 410 and 3 to 4 28's a year. I reloaded ever round as many times as possible to keep from buy factory ammo! Sub gauges are expensive and scarce. But with 800 reloads to the bag of shot, it doesn't take that long to recover you start up costs. AA 410 loads are $200 a flat at Cabela's yesterday. I reload 410 for around $3.75/25. Recoil is not an issue with either 3" or 2.5". On shorter courses in the woods, I would smoke birds the Double and Triple a shooters would miss (then I'd wiff an easy bird or 3!) But 200 shots in an afternoon has no detrimental effect on your shoulders in a T-Shirt, let alone proper attire.

Sine you're retired now, it's a great time to start living at the Skeet or Sporting Clays range! Loading give you something to do on rainy or blistering hot days.

Bite the bullet and buy 3, 4, or 5 cases of shells at once . 1000 hulls will last 2 or mor years of reloading at 5k a year, if done properly. If you do 1200 FPS instead of 1300/1350 fps for Sporting Clays, they last even better! Winchester AA or the Remington equivalent are the only ones that last like that.

Food for thought.

Ivan

PS: Once you go 410, you'll never go back!

 

[H Richard]

I've been using a Browning vest for 10+ years. It just has the cloth and a single thin sheet of leather. I shoot a 1 oz. load at 1225 for trap and skeet. I have no problem using factory full 1 1/8 oz. loads for a 100 bird outing, but prefer my hand-loads.


FYI, I'm 84 years old and have arthritis.

 

[Narragansett]

Hey Pete, About 12 or 13 years ago this summer, I was bicycle riding and crashed big time. Rolled several times over the curb and sidewalk. I messed up my right shoulder and scapula. After a few weeks I couldn't stand not shooting with my brother, so I put the 12 gauges and 20's away and stuck to 28 and 410. This is about the time shot went to $50 a bag (it was $8 when I started in the 90's).

It took about a year and a quarter, to get healed up and master my sub-gauges. I had always shot the subs about 15% worse than the 12 or 20. But I got my 410 scores up to equal and even exceed my 12 gauge average!

When I was regularly shooting, I shot 5 to 6 thousand 410 and 3 to 4 28's a year. I reloaded ever round as many times as possible to keep from buy factory ammo! Sub gauges are expensive and scarce. But with 800 reloads to the bag of shot, it doesn't take that long to recover you start up costs. AA 410 loads are $200 a flat at Cabela's yesterday. I reload 410 for around $3.75/25. Recoil is not an issue with either 3" or 2.5". On shorter courses in the woods, I would smoke birds the Double and Triple a shooters would miss (then I'd wiff an easy bird or 3!) But 200 shots in an afternoon has no detrimental effect on your shoulders in a T-Shirt, let alone proper attire.

Sine you're retired now, it's a great time to start living at the Skeet or Sporting Clays range! Loading give you something to do on rainy or blistering hot days.

Bite the bullet and buy 3, 4, or 5 cases of shells at once . 1000 hulls will last 2 or mor years of reloading at 5k a year, if done properly. If you do 1200 FPS instead of 1300/1350 fps for Sporting Clays, they last even better! Winchester AA or the Remington equivalent are the only ones that last like that.

Food for thought.

Ivan

PS: Once you go 410, you'll never go back!

Of course, this requires a new 410 gun

 

[targetchief]

Of course, this requires a new 410 gun

It does indeed. I have a Browning Special Sporting with 32 inch barrels that is lots of fun. Browning doesn’t catalog this model but Guns Unlimited in Omaha orders a run of these in the sub gauges. I have the 20 gauge also. These guns are a bargain at around $2200 last time I checked.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mercury]

I put the 12 gauges and 20's away and stuck to 28 and 410. Once you go 410, you'll never go back!

This is good advice. After shooting 28 gauge and the .410, I no longer shoot 12 or 20.
I say this about skeet shooting: They're not hard to hit.....just easy to miss!

 

[Bekeart]

Of course, this requires a new 410 gun

We are great at spending your money.

Bekeart

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Of course, this requires a new 410 gun

New is the Primary word there.

The only used 410 worth using for Skeet or Sporting Clays, was 4 years ago at Jaque's. It was a 1965 28" field grade Superpose, $5800 firm. While tempting, I had just picked up a 32" Sporting 725!

Ivan

 

[Narragansett]

I bought my first 6K K-80 from George Ranzau at Jaqua's. Late 80's I think.

I am not up to spending a bunch of money on a superposed 410

 

[H Richard]

I use 12 ga and 20 ga for skeet. We shoot just for fun, no 4 ga tournaments for us. Browning Special Sporting clays 12 ga, and Citori Lightening 20 ga.

 

[Dave.357]

$150 us is about 15 boxes of trap loads. Not Bad.