Skeet and Trap Shooting Gun

[NUCLEARMJ]

I have some interest in getting into trap and or skeet shooting and im looking for shotgun suggestions, mainly interested in semi auto and not looking to spend a whole lot of money. Any help?

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[DAPSRT]

Under those criteria I would look for a used 1100 or 1187. I'd probably want the flexibility of screw in chokes as well so look for that. Saw a nice 20 gauge 1100 at the Rickreall gun show for 500.... I was really tempted to buy it but wasn't quite what I was looking for. If you're really strapped for cash I'd pick up an 870. My brother and I learned on them from the get-go and I don't think there is really a disadvantage to them, other than your arm gets a bit of exercise!

 

[Key-Hay]

870's will work for Trap but Skeet, 5 stand or Sporting Clays will be challenging for someone new. When I got started I was short on cash so I picked up a Mossburg auto and it worked fine. Another option is O/U. The Remington Spartans are not too expensive. I've been a 20 Ga O/U guy for 10 years (Worked my way up to a Beretta Silver Pigeon), but I have a Beretta 391 in 20 ga for an Auto.

 

[Cougfan2]

Trap and Skeet are completely different games. That being said, any decent pump or semi auto with screw in chokes will work. Since you say your budget is limited DAPSRT's suggestion is a good one.

I grew up shooting Trap and Skeet with pump shotguns. For trap it isn't as important, but shooting skeet with a pump is challenging, but rewarding as you will learn to shuck that sucker really fast on doubles.

I currently shoot a Browning Citori Light O/U sporter for both Trap and Skeet and have a good selection of choke tubes from Cylinder bore thru Full. If I were a serious competitor, I would have a specific shotgun for Trap and a different one for Skeet, but I get by quite nicely with the sporter O/U for what shooting I do.

I will say this, if you budget is somewhat limited you are better off spending your funds on the best semi auto you can get as I find you pretty much get what you pay for in the "bargain" O/U's. If you really want a double gun eventually, save your pennies and get a decent one either new or used.

 

[billt]

If you're serious about getting into Trap shooting, buy a Trap Grade gun. The reason is not because of the pretty wood, but rather because Trap guns are designed to pattern high. The reason is Trap targets are shot on the rise. The vertical lead built into a Trap gun allows you to stack the beads right under the target to establish the proper vertical lead on the ascending target.

If you shoot Trap with a field gun you will be required to cover the target to establish the necessary vertical lead. Once you do this, you will have no idea where the target is. This will lead to a lot of dropped targets. If you wait until the target is at the apogee of it's flight, it will be all but out of range, and your pattern will be too diminished in density to achieve consistent hits. This will result in dropped targets as well.

You can buy a Remington 1100 Trap, or a 870 Trap for quite a reasonable price. Browning BT-99's run a little more. These guns also have 30" or longer barrels, another requirement for accurate Trap shooting. The longer barrels help provide much better pointing characteristics, and allow you to establish horizontal leads much more accurately on acute angle targets, especially at handicap ranges. While you can shoot Trap with a field gun, you will do much better with a purpose built gun for the sport. Hitting targets will give you more satisfaction than spending the extra dollars on a proper gun will hurt.

 

[xxerexx]

If on a budget I use and suggest a Beretta 3901 (I have a sporting stock). They're $500/550 new (with a synthetic field stock) and you can buy shims for the buttstock to adjust the cast. cdnn and beretta also have/had chokes cheap to round out the chokes it comes with.

 

[Key-Hay]

There was a 11-87 on here for like 450 with some ammo.

 

[Key-Hay]

This looks like an option

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/ri...el-11-87-sportsman-shotgun-ammo-$450-obo.html

 

[billt]

Browning BPS TRAP 12g 30" SAT $663.00 SHIPS FREE

Notice how the height of the vented rib decreases as it nears the muzzle. This creates an intentional downward sighting plane, thereby causing a muzzle high condition when a shooter stacks the beads under the target. This type of rib set up is only avaliable on Trap shotguns. This Browning BPS Trap is priced reasonably enough to compete with most field guns. And it will give you much better results.

 

[Key-Hay]

But a trap gun is not much good for anything else. The OPs interest was a wider range of clays. With trap you start with gun mounted and you shoot at rising targets going away from you so you want a gun that has longer barrel (30"+) that patterns higher than standard shotguns. In Skeet, 5 stand and Sporting Clays you start off shoulder and the presentations are widely varied. You want a shorter (26"-28") that swings easier and has a standard 60/40 pattern.

A field style (11-87, 1100, X2 etc) gun will be a better choice starting out. Their also easier to sell once the learner decides what discipline they want to move to.

Note: 5 stand may be humbling at first...but highly addictive!

 

[Cougfan2]

Note: 5 stand may be humbling at first...but highly addictive!

I've never shot 5 Stand, but it is on my list when it gets a little warmer. You get just about every type of shot you might run across in the field. When I lived in MN I shot at a club that had a duck tower so you could practice pass shooting at high overhead targets. Talk about humbling!

 

[DieselScout]

If you're just going to try out some different clay sports DO NOT buy a trap gun. While they are great for trap, they are single shot and cannot be used for skeet or 5 stand. The suggestions for an 1100 or an 1187 are great. If you find you like it, you can start customizing the gun to your preference and end up with something nicer that fits you better then if you would have started with a trap specific gun. Don't get me wrong, if trap is what you want to do by all means by a trap specific gun, it will make getting to the top of your game much easier.

With that being said I shot trap for 2 years about twice a week. My gun of choice was a clunky field grade Winchester 1300. I did well with it, well enough to keep me interested. I shot on the same line as guys with 5 figure trap guns. Sometimes they beat them and few time I beat them. What was really great was some old duffer walking up with an ancient model Winchester model 12, single bead and field grade barrel and then watch him decimate everyone around him.

 

[NUCLEARMJ]

Well what about this because all purpose is really ideal, i really like the mossberg 930spx due to feel and price and great rep, but a 18 1/2" barrel probly won't work the greatest and its not threaded, so what about buying one of these and getting a different barrel for it? Also does anyone have an opinion on ghost ring sights for skeet or trap?

 

[billt]

If you buy an 1100 or 870 Trap, and you want to shoot anything else, you can purchase a standard field barrel very inexpensively. That will be a better solution than missing a lot of targets by trying to do everything with one gun, which no shotgun can do. Not effectively, with achieving any degree of shooter satisfaction anyway. Nothing is more distracting than missing targets. Any shotgun that tries to do everything, will wind up doing none of it very well.

The fact of the matter is there is no "do it all" shotgun. A Trap gun is no good for Skeet. The barrel is too long, and the choke is too tight. A Skeet gun is worthless for Trap. The barrel is too short, and the choke is too open. You won't hit a thing. Sporting Clays shooters need a little bit of everything, and spend as much time changing chokes as they do shooting. Welcome to the shotgun sports.

 

[Aero Denezol]

...I wouldn't use a semi-auto for trap. I was taught from the beginning not to chamber a round until it was my turn. Even if your squad gets into a good rhythm this is easy enough to do. Besides, you're only shooting one (1) bird at a time, I prefer not to be holding a hot gun in-between turns since the game can start and stop for various reasons... Although I always mind my gun, it's one less thing to think about on the firing line. For skeet, I would consider an O/U, since a couple of the shots are doubles.

I shot trap for years using an 870 w/ a mod choke and I had pretty good success all the way back to the 23 yard handicap. You don't need a dedicated trap gun to start out with. Most of the shotguns I see at trap ranges are still 870's. People may disagree, but a good shot with a field gun beats an average shot with good equipment any day.

My .02.

 

[billt]

...I wouldn't use a semi-auto for trap. I was taught from the beginning not to chamber a round until it was my turn. Even if your squad gets into a good rhythm this is easy enough to do. Besides, you're only shooting one (1) bird at a time, I prefer not to be holding a hot gun in-between turns since the game can start and stop for various reasons.

I have shot Trap for over 20 years and I have never seen anyone use a semi auto in the manner in which you describe. Most all Trap clubs won't allow it. You always load one round at a time. Semi auto, pump, or over & under, it doesn't matter. Everyone loads one round at a time. The only time that having more than one round in the gun is permissible is when shooting doubles. You are not allowed to stand on the line between targets with a hot gun.

 

[Aero Denezol]

I have shot Trap for over 20 years and I have never seen anyone use a semi auto in the manner in which you describe. Most all Trap clubs won't allow it. You always load one round at a time. Semi auto, pump, or over & under, it doesn't matter. Everyone loads one round at a time. The only time that having more than one round in the gun is permissible is when shooting doubles.

Perhaps 'chamber' was the wrong word.. I've never used a semi-auto for clay target sports, only a pump. I only mentioned it because the gentleman said he was interested in semi-autos.

 

[Key-Hay]

For 5 stand and Sporting clays the norm is O/Us and autos (typically Beretta AL-391s). Have never seen a pump show up at Mitchell's cause you just can't be competitive. That's not to say you can't.

As for Skeet I've seen the occasional duck hunter use a pump. There was this one guy who used to shoot at Hillsboro with a 410 pump. He rarely missed but was sure he was just shown off.

The only pump I have now is an 1897 Winchester for cowboy action. Gonna go try it for skeet once it comes back from gettin "slick'd up".

 

[NUCLEARMJ]

Being as i haven't tried either skeet or trap i don't know which i would like better and would really only like to buy 1 shotgun hence the need for a semi auto, o/u shotguns are nice but pricey considering what i'd like it for. What type of sights are best for clay sports?

 

[billt]

Being as i haven't tried either skeet or trap i don't know which i would like better and would really only like to buy 1 shotgun hence the need for a semi auto, o/u shotguns are nice but pricey considering what i'd like it for. What type of sights are best for clay sports?

I'm not trying to "talk you into" buying a Trap gun, but I can only speak from experience in buying shotguns over the years. After I started shooting Trap, my wife decided she wanted to try it. My older neighbor who I shot with let her try his Browning A-5 and she really liked it because it is recoil operated, and she liked the soft felt recoil it produced with light Trap loads.

We managed to find one at the local Wal-Mart of all places for a very good price. ($585.00 in 1992). After a few months she couldn't seem to break out of the mid teens. She was getting discouraged, and I told her she would do much better with a Trap gun. She was concerned about getting a gun that was too heavy. After extensively looking she decided on a Beretta A-390 Super Trap with a 30" barrel. This gun came with replaceable inserts for the height of the comb, which allowed it to be fit all but perfectly for her. Within 3 weeks she went from shooting in the mid teens, to shooting her first 25 straight, and couldn't have been happier. Having the proper gun for the sport at hand is all but a must, if you want to do well.

I cleaned and oiled the A-5, and it still resides in the safe next to her Beretta. I don't regret the purchase because they quit producing them a short while after we bought hers, and the used value of them has skyrocketed. But still and all her shooting improved greatly with the proper gun.