I'm considering purchasing a new shotgun. I'm interested in starting to shoot clay pigeons for fun. Maybe eventually I might do some bird hunting or trap or skeet. I have a very nice Browning A5 20 gauge that was my fathers, but almost hate to use it. I've heard if shot a lot the stocks will crack lowering the value greatly, plus that they kick hard. A fellow I know recommended a Mossberg Silver Reserve in 20 gauge. He has a Mossberg in 28 gauge and likes it. His opinion is that they're a very good gun that you don't have to spend a fortune to own.

Any opinions or information on the Mossberg Silver Reserve 20 gauge or even the A5 would be appreciated. Thanks.

In my humble opinion, the A-5 is a fine gun if it fits you and you can stand the kick and rock. As for cracking the wood, as long as the friction rings are properly set for the loads being used and the magazine cap is on tight, you should not have a problem. With that said, the forearms are very thin and many I have seen have cracked, but usually for the reasons above.

I have the Silver Reserve in .410 and I really like it, indeed a good value for the $. However, I bought mine for rabbit hunting with beagles. If I had been buying a gun for bird shooting or clay targets I would want select ejectors.

Sporting clay ranges vary some but to me the game is better suited to the 12 ga if you are serious about it. I have used my 20 ga Ruger Red Label but felt under-gunned.

Personally, if I were going to get into sporting clays in a serious way, I would go with a better (more expensive) built gun than the Mossberg import. Browning and Ruger make good O/U's that are reasonable and quite able to handle the wear and tear.

After a little thought, the ejectors would not be such an issue at the target games because you are not in a hurry to reload and you want to save your cases anyway. Extractors might be a plus. My .410 came with extractors and I assume all the Silver Reserves are alike.