doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com So much for anticipation....

Through a series of trades and escapades, I wound up with a Krieghoff K-32 12 ga skeet gun and a set of choked 20 ga Briley Ultralights. I was like a kid with a new toy, just waiting to take it out and "live the Krieghoff life". Life got busy, the gun required a bit of mainenance and weeks passed before I got it to the range. Shot a couple rounds of skeet and put it away for my Ruger Red Label.
So what's the deal with the Krieghoffs? Do I really need to shoot it for another month or two to appreciate it, or was the anticipation the best part, as in many other of my endeavors?
I shoot clays to supplement my hunting, so was it a realization that the K-32 wasn't my kind of field gun? I'd ask if I'm just an unappreciative cretin, but ya'll would probably confirm that.. And I'd probably break more birds with the old AYA sidelock.

When you shoot 400,000 shells through it and it is still going strong it's merit will occure to you. In the meantime a Mossburg will break birds if the operator has the skill.
bill

Krieghoff shooters look good even when they miss. Gives them style points.

Suspect you discovered what many of us have. When you use a true target gun for any extended period for the first time, it doesn't feel or handle very much like a field gun. The Kreighoff is a brute of a gun, which compared to a light field gun, has the handling dynamics of a crew served weapon. As Bill says, it will last generations, but it is a demanding mistress. It is designed to do one thing very, very well - break targets. Particularly in relatively predictive presentation environments like skeet and trap where all that mass adds stability and repeatability to your swing. If you shoot a lot more skeet than you do field or clays, then I would learn to love (and shoot) the Krieghoff and take the penalty on the other days. If you are a casual skeet shooter, you may actually be doing yourself some harm in all disciplines by switching to a pure target gun for skeet. A lighter (and yet still durable) skeet gun which more closely mimics your field and clays guns may be the answer.

It's just like that stupid watch with a crown logo. A stainless version is worth perhaps $800, but they charge thousands for it. They used to make an accurate one called the 'Oysterquartz', but for some reason it was discontinued.

I owned a K80 and several Rem 3200's, both of similar design and dynamics as your K32. The K80 and one 3200 had skeet tubes when I bought them. I could shoot neither well with the tubes which put the guns over 9lbs.

For a weekend causual sporting clays gun that I use low mount and that improves my field shooting, I have found no better gun than a Browning 20g 525 Sporting with a 32" bbl. which weighs in at 7lbs even. It seems to be magic on clays, yet has improved my field shooting of the slightly lighter guns. I've even hunted it for phez in the flat fields of SD. Like shooting ducks in a barrel. I recommend those of you with target guns to give some light hunting a try with a target gun. The shooting improvement becomes obvious when you try this.

Joe Taylor gave you a pretty complete answer. Kreighoff is a pure target gun that points exceptionally well and is comfortable to shoot if it fits you. Barrel length wasn't mentioned, but even without the tube set your K-32 probably weighs 8 1/2 pounds or more. With the tube set inserted it will tip the scales at over 9 pounds ... I've seen Kreighoffs and Kolars at close to 10 pounds which can be the proverbial "pig on the end of a snow shovel". If I had a K-Gun with sub-gauge tubes I'd want a carrier barrel to reduce weight. Bottom line, your K-32 in Skeet-trim is simply not a field gun in weight or handling. With a light set of 30" or 32" barrels it might still make a decent sporting clays gun.

Thanks all for your thoughts. You've helped me make some sense out of this. One thing is certain:
I'm not a Skeet guy, and never will be, even with a nice skeet gun.
But that's a good thing. I can continue my search for the grail. And when I find it, I'll add it to all the others that have been "right" so far.

Woodson,
If you want a target gun that handles more lively, get a Perazzi. Find an old comp 1. If you watch, you can get one for just over $2,000. It will break clays with the best of em' but not have that heavy clublike feel of the K-32. Get an adjustable comb and chokes and you can use if for trap, skeet, sporting clays and the field. RCC

Jagermeister,
But I love my tickers!!! The quartz are accurate, but have no soul. We could make a lot of watch/shotgun analogies, I think. The quartz watches are the Remington 870's of watches, and the mechanical Rolex, IWC, Girard-Perrigaux, Patek Phillipes, and others are the soulfull spanish and italian guns we lust for.The Hamiltons, Benrus and waltham are the Elsies, sterlies and ithacas
They all do the job, but there's a big spread in attitude