New guy- say Hi!

[HawgHeaven]

First off, welcome aboard!

If it's wood you want to burn, and you want capacity to do 8 to 10 pieces, and want to spend $300-$400... hmmm... Might be kinda tough to get that much meat in a smoker big enough for that price range. When you say 8 to 10 pieces... of what?

Here's a suggestion... Char-Griller Smokin' Pro. Great starter unit, and with the proper mods, it will cook it's ass off for you. You can use wood and charcoal in it, and it won't break the bank. You'll be able to do it with mods for around $200 total. Downside is, you'll not get the capacity you are looking for. I could do 5 to 6 racks of St. Louie spares, or 3 pork butts, or 2 briskets.

Or, check Craigslist for some bargains...

I am cruising with a Klose pit, that will hold all you want and then some... but they ain't cheap.

[SMOKE FREAK]

The Chargriller is a good starter unit for the price, like Phil said...Thats what I been using for years...Am in the process of rebuilding an old OK Joe Longhorn that I picked up from a garage sale...When Im done I expect to have about 400 bucks in it and should do everything I need it too...If you want something larger in your price range, look on Craigslist for a used one...

[Whisky Fish]

Hey there and welcome
Weber kettles are fun until you get or build the one you want. At least you'll be smokin something. Lot's of us can give you a few pointers on indirect heat and wood smoke in a Weber.
Fatties are awesome, that's where I started.

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask, always someone around with an answer.

[aczeller]

how mechanically inclined are you? if you are up to it, i'd be more than happy to get you a qucik set of plans or ideas. hell, my fridge smoker can handle well over 50 lbs of meat at once and was around $200-$250 to build. granted, half of that was in the firebox alone, but it was well worth every penny.

bottom line, if you want to buy a pre-built one, getting your desired capacity will be tough, depending on what size "pieces" you are talking about. if you want to smoke 8 or 10 franks, i'll point you to walmart to get a portable charbroil grill for $19.95. lol.

however, if you are able to/willing to build your own, it may take a bit longer, but it is cheaper, pound for pound, and is much easier to "modify" to suit your specific needs.

Later,
Andy

[Mikey]

You're only 50 miles to the east of me. You might want to give the New Braunfels Bandera a look. I picked mine up for a C-note from Craigslist. Mucho capacity, and you can use either charcoal or wood in it.

[GrueLurks]

Hello and welcome from Waterford, MI! You'll be hard pressed to find a more decent group of people than you will here.

[Slanted88]

Man...Get on in here & get after it!

[Jimh]

welcome to the site