Trap gun

Allen

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OK, so it looks like my 14 yr old, 5' 10", 180 lb son is going to soon be shopping for a new trap shooting shotgun.

What is the current standard for trap guns?

Why go away from a hunting platform? There are certainly guns at the trap range that are not hunter platforms.

Just curious here because I don't shoot enough clays to warrant one myself, but the son is in a league and is still at a very learnable state in his trap shooting. He is currently shooting a late 1990s Winchester Model 1300 pump, which is an "assisted pump" style, and is probably open to O/U, etc. Fit, or adjustable nature of fit is probably important as he's still growing.

Any recommendations for him to consider?
 


1lessdog

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Scheels in Fargo has a very nice Browning BT99 for 799.00 last weekend. Very nice trap gun for the money.
 

Traxion

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A BT99 is a no fail. Obviously not a crossover to anything else though. An O/U or semi auto gets you into doubles and the other games. The problem I have with the specialized guns is they are so specialized. Few are true all around guns. Both Remington and Winchester make trap versions of the Express and SXP for a fair price. Parallel combs and semi-high rib barrels. Should be able to shoot them for most anything. All depends on budget of course.
 


Zogman

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I shot for about 12 years. Bought a used 870 Trap model for 250 bucks 20 years ago. Great gun. Sold it about 6 years ago for 400 bucks. Good enough gun for entry level shooter and that was me. But I got good enough with gun I didn't want/need to have a more expensive gun.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/879929607
 
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Achucker

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My son is 13. This is his second year in sporting clays. Was shooting a benelli super nova. Did ok. He was shooting something like 15 or 16 average. We did the scheels try before you buy event and shot a browning Citori CXT. Shot it very well. Less recoil and better able to swing the gun. Took his average to 21.5 this year. I was a little skeptical especially because of the price but was impressed with the improvement. The kid is obsessed with trap so this was a good buy.

My advice. Have him pick some up and swing them and what feels right. If you can shoot one even better. Good luck.
 

Timbuk-2

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Nothing wrong with a hunting gun for shooting trap. The only real difference between a "trap" gun and a field gun is trap guns shoot higher so you see the target to break it, with a field gun you cover the target to break it. Trap guns tend to be a bit longer than field guns as well because you shoulder the gun before calling for the target. The general consensus is that having the target above the barrel to break it is more precise. I shot a field 870 for years, when I started shooting tournaments, I moved to a trap gun. If you decide a trap gun is in your future you can't go wrong with a Browning BT99 or a Citori. There are more expensive guns, but few shoot any better or last any longer.
Generally serious shooters use brake action shotguns because they have fewer moving parts and hold up better. You will run thousands more rounds through a gun shooting trap than you will hunting.
 

all4eyes

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I see some of the kids on our trap team shooting an 870 better then the ones shooting a designated trap gun. First and foremost is fit. MKe sure the gun fits and they will crush clays. If the gun fits and and has proper stance they will do alot better then any high priced gun only. Get a good fitting shotgun and spend the rest on practice rounds.
 

1lessdog

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I see some of the kids on our trap team shooting an 870 better then the ones shooting a designated trap gun. First and foremost is fit. MKe sure the gun fits and they will crush clays. If the gun fits and and has proper stance they will do alot better then any high priced gun only. Get a good fitting shotgun and spend the rest on practice rounds.

Why is it all of good trap or sporting clay shooters are shooting trap guns and not hunting shotguns? They shot them for a reason, to break more birds. Them shooters are so good they should be able to grab a Remington 870 express and break 25 clays in a row. You put a good trap gun in the hands of a young shooter and he will break more clays with a trap gun than a field gun. That is a fact, give them the best opportunity to succeed that you can
 


Zogman

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Why is it all of good trap or sporting clay shooters are shooting trap guns and not hunting shotguns? They shot them for a reason, to break more birds. Them shooters are so good they should be able to grab a Remington 870 express and break 25 clays in a row. You put a good trap gun in the hands of a young shooter and he will break more clays with a trap gun than a field gun. That is a fact, give them the best opportunity to succeed that you can


Yup, 870 Trap Gun.
;:;popcorn
 

all4eyes

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Why is it all of good trap or sporting clay shooters are shooting trap guns and not hunting shotguns? They shot them for a reason, to break more birds. Them shooters are so good they should be able to grab a Remington 870 express and break 25 clays in a row. You put a good trap gun in the hands of a young shooter and he will break more clays with a trap gun than a field gun. That is a fact, give them the best opportunity to succeed that you can

I know a few trap guys that are great on the trap range, that being said not all of them are shooting anything more then an 11-87 trap gun. Why because it fit them. I don't care if you want to go spend 10,000 on a custom trap gun, thats your business. Ill im saying is before they will shoot that fancy shotgun the way you think they should get them comfortable on the trap range. Ive seen alot of 25s shot with a Benelli Nova, SXP, 870, even a tristar.
 

snow

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Allen,trap shooting can be very addictive for competitive folks,been class AA for 20 years now shoot occasional sporting clays with my poor man's trap gun,browning o/u sporting special I bought when my benelli and browning A-5 would'nt get me to the 25 straight I was gunning for,the purchase I made for this o/u I justified in my mind because it was the only o/u with a 3" chamber 30" barrel,figured it would be a good back-up shotgun or used at a game farm then the trap bug bit down hard had a special trap gun built/ordered from italy,sure enough moved up in the rankings after 10 to12k rds in practice every year then another 10k in ATA registerd events around the country.but as stated above browning BT-99 are a great starting trapgun,been around for many years,well proven work horse,I found shooting my field shotguns that after 20 rounds or less on hot day's the barrel would heat up distorting the target causing heat waves also this heat distorts the barrel diameter effecting the pattern ,the trap discipline that really got me hooked was shooting doubles,in oder to achieve good scores/average a semi is a gamble if your a registerd shooter,seen many old timer's on the doubles line drop more than one bird because of a malfunction not cycling each shooter is allowed one misfire after that its a loss bird,often puts a good shooter out of the money score wise but some folks are sensitive to felt recoil,then a semi is your huckle berry.

So if your son really gets in to the trap game and starts shooting all three events (singles,doubles and handicap) I would consider a good o/u with barrel select for starters but just shooting singles a (bt99 is a good starter will last for years),doing so the o/u will help with heat waves by shooting bottom barrel on singles,lowers felt recoil to shoulder,you can /should have the shotgun fitted by a professional for LOP,POI etc(length of pull,point of impact)

BTW are you reloading ammo or factory loads? most novice shooters tend to over amp trap load velocity,meaning they shoot high octane rounds like super sport or 1200fps rounds from the 16,this is a over kill for shooting singles and can result in the dreaded flinch.any cheap ammo such as rio,gun club,estate etc will break targets just fine from the 16yard line at 1140fps 2.75drams.This was a hard pill for me to swallow until I trained with one of the best trap shooters in the country.(Harlan campbell jr.)this guy is a trap shooting machine as the captain of the all american team at the time,pretty sure he's a senior shooter today still attending big shoots

also shooting trap our shotguns are not only fitted but have longer barrels 32" to 35" barrel length,this gives shooter a longer site plain and added weight to smoothin out the swing

just a few thoughts
 
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db-2

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My favorite but then only one i have model 50 winchester. db
 

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v193

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I would go to HH Guns in Bismarck. The owners all shoot trap, and also help coach the target league. They are more than helpful and knowledgeable and will not try to sell you any more than what you need. They also have connections to a lot of used trap guns.
 

snow

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My favorite but then only one i have model 50 winchester. db

Nice looking thunderstick db...gotta get out on the range with it,still looks brand new,at least throw some dirt on it to make it look used.
 

Allen

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Thanks for all the input fellas, it will be interesting to see what he eventually chooses, and how it affects his trap scores.
 

snow

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Thanks for all the input fellas, it will be interesting to see what he eventually chooses, and how it affects his trap scores.

Lol Allen a new shotgun results in better scores at first, why because you shoot your new toy more,practice makes perfect.then if he's still shooting when the slump starts another new shotgun,endless cycle.see all the time at the range.
 

Allen

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Lol Allen a new shotgun results in better scores at first, why because you shoot your new toy more,practice makes perfect.then if he's still shooting when the slump starts another new shotgun,endless cycle.see all the time at the range.


Oh, I don't think the "newness" factor will control how much he/we shoot, there are other factors that exhibit greater control over this.
 


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