As restrictions ease and we carefully return to shooting, the Clay Shooting team pick their top ten clay guns for 2020.
Clay shooters would argue all day about the best clay gun for the sport, and it’s safe to say there’s no outright winner – a gun will suit one person’s style better than another.
However, some guns have come to dominate the clay scene for good reason, because they are supremely good at doing the job they were designed for. This month we present the Clay Shooting Magazine team’s top ten best clay guns. These are our favourites, but is there a gun missing that you think deserves a place in our top ten? Write in and let us know.
Kofs
Manufactured in Turkey, the Kofs offers great value. For the price alone it makes a great beginner’s gun, but the quality is remarkable for a gun in this price bracket.
The Kofs comes in calibres from .410 through 28 and 20 to 12 bore, with various barrel lengths and options available, meaning you can find a suitable gun for a youngster who’s just getting into the sport. For the beginner who is on a budget, this gun should definitely be on your shortlist.
Prices starting at under £500
ATA
Here’s another Turkish gem. The 12 gauge ATA SP series of guns are available in two different actions: steel and a lighter aluminium. They have a single selective trigger, ejectors and multichokes, with an all-important adjustable comb available too.
Barrel lengths come in 26, 28 and 30ins, and the gun weighs in from 6lb 3oz to 7lb 12oz for the 12g 30in model. Becky McKenzie comments that perceived recoil is low for what is a relatively lightweight gun.
Prices range from around £600 – excellent value for a gun of this quality.
- ATA Supersport Adjustable review – read the full review here
Fausti XF4
The Fausti XF4 Sporter is a quality Italian gun with low perceived recoil, a pleasure to shoot with. It comes in 28, 30 and 32in models, with a choice of action colours: black, gold or platinum.
There is now a 20 bore version too. Becky McKenzie was very impressed with the Fausti XF4 when she tested it in our July 2020 issue.
The gun is priced at £3,870.
- Fausti XF4 review – read the full review here
Zoli Kronos
Another Italian gun, the Zoli Kronos offers real value for money as well as performance. The barrels pattern exceptionally well, it handles well and has low perceived recoil. There’s a variety of barrel lengths and stock configurations available.
The price starts at £3,495 and it comes with a five year warranty.
- Gun test: Zoli Kronos Sporter – read in full here
Browning B725 New Sporter
A well established favourite, solid and well engineered gun with some useful features. The latest model was due to be launched at the IWA show in Germany in early 2020, until the event was cancelled.
The New Sporter 725 has a lower profile action, mechanical trigger, Vector Pro back-bored vented barrels and Invector DS chokes. It’s available with schnabel or Trap-style fore-end, and a fixed or adjustable comb.
Prices start at £2,329.
- Browning B725 Sporter: Gun test – read the full review here
Beretta 694 Sporter
The 694 is latest model in the well established Beretta line up. It has similar styling to the DT11, with new stock dimensions, and has stock weights so you can balance the gun to suit your style.
It’s noted as smooth handling, with low recoil. It comes in an ABS case, with five Optima HP chokes and a spare slim heel pad.
Prices start from £3,295.
Blaser F16
The F16 offers German reliability and handling, well balanced and smooth in the swing thanks to its low-profile receiver, with little felt recoil. It has crisp trigger pulls and adjustable trigger for comfortable length of pull.
It suits most people well off-the-shelf, but if you want to customise it there are balancing systems and adjustable stocks available as optional extras. It comes with a case and spare chokes.
Priced from just over £3,000.
- The Blaser F16 appears in our 10 best shotguns for every budget – from low to high
- Or read in full – Blaser F16 Sporter review
Casear Guerini Summit
As competition clay guns go, the Caesar Guerini Summit takes some beating. There are options to suit just about everyone, with a choice of 12, 20, 28 and .410 gauges and barrel lengths of 28, 30, 32 and 34ins.
The Sporting stock has a pistol grip with a nice radius and a slight palm swell, which makes it very comfortable to shoot. Build quality is superb, and it’s backed up by Caesar Guerini UK’s 10-year mechanical warranty. It comes complete with eight multichokes and an ABS case.
Price is from £2,675.
Kreighoff K80 Super Sporter
This is Becky McKenzie’s favourite but even she admits that the ‘K-gun’ is like Marmite – you love it or hate it. You can read her review on page 16 in this issue.
The K80’s fans rate it highly as a low recoil clay basher, and say that, once balanced up to your liking, it moves very smoothly, despite its relatively heavy weight.
The gun comes in various barrel lengths and different styles of actions, with some stunning engravings to be had.
Prices start somewhere north of £10,000.
Perazzi Hi Tech
Favoured by some of the world’s top Sporting competitors, and for good reason. The weight is concentrated between the hands, resulting in a gun that is fast handling yet steady to shoot, with minimal recoil.
A reverse tapered rib affords an improved field of view and rapid target acquisition. If you are thinking of ordering a new High Tech, take advantage of the opportunity to visit the Perazzi factory to choose your woodwork and have your gun fitted and made to measure – it’s an experience!
RRP is £9,880 upwards.
- Gun Test: Perazzi Hi Tech Trap – read in full here
- Gun Test: Perazzi Hi Tech Sporter – read in full here
Decided on your gun? Now read more cartridge reviews
- Richard Atkins tests the FOB Viper BG cartridge
- Maionchi AZ20 cartridge test
- Best clay cartridges – the right kind for every discipline
- Best clay cartridges from budget to blow-out
- Lyalvale Express English Sporter review with Richard Atkins
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