[hawk45]

Hi all,

I recently joined a trap league with 4 other guys. I'm doing 50 rounds per week in the league and will be starting practice with 100 - 150 rds extra a week.

The past few weeks I've been using a buddies Steoger O/U. I appreciate him lending me one of his rigs but I want to get something of my own to get acustom too and comfortable shooting.

Here is my question... I don't have a lot of money to put into a new rig ($500 maybe max so please don't tell me to get a $1300 Browning Citori O/U) but not sure which way to go?

O/U: I've read that to get a good O/U I should wait till I can get something in the $800-$1100 range (used on the lowend).

Pump: I currently have a Winchester 1300 pump but it only has a 22" barrel. I can order a 28" barrel for $200, but the 1300 is not made anymore and parts are getting hard to find.

I can get a NIB Remington 870 Express for around $350 with a 28" bbl and have tons of options for aftermarket parts if the need arises.

Auto: Do I step-up to a Remington/Beretta/Browning auto so I can shot in other sports as well and have the ability to do doubles? Cost is around $500 for a base auto.

Your help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Hawk

[Geneseo1911]

I would try to find a semi-auto in your price range. An 1100 trap would be ideal. Better yet one with threaded chokes so you can shoot skeet as well. Get a little clip so your empty doesn't bop the guy next to you and you're all set. The Beretta 391's are popular at my club as well.

A pump makes a fine trap gun as well. I shoot a Win 1300 with a 28" VR bbl., and do just fine at trap or skeet, if I say so myself. It is getting harder to get parts, though. For the $200 you give for a barrel you could probably buy a whole 1300. The 22" barrel you have would work (if it has choke tubes or a fairly tight choke), but you really do want something longer for sight radius and to help your follow-through. Even with the quick second shots required in skeet, you learn to run the pump quickly. After a while, it becomes so instinctive that if you pick up a semi or double, you'll try to pump it after you fire. I've seen second birds of pairs missed by a guy trying to pump an auto and getting confused as to why the forearm wouldn't move.

I would agree with the sentiment that you should hold off on an O/U until you can afford a Beretta/Browning. Many here will flame me for saying this. A friend at the club has a Remington Spartan. Yes, it breaks clays, but you can tell it's a cheap gun. He bought it this year and it's already loose feeling. The cheap guns might be OK for a few thousand rounds, but won't stand up the the tens and hundreds of thousands a B-gun will.

Basically it boils down to how much $ you want to spend.
$300-400 will get you a good pump (I would buy a used Wingmaster over a new Express any day)
$500-$700 will get you a good auto (and you could probably get a used 1100 for a fair bit less)
$800-1200 will get you a good used O/U

[hawk45]

Thanks man.. I'm going to go look at some auto's tomorrow and an 870 just to see how they feel. I'm not in a super rush.. just want to get something of good quality I can learn with. The stoeger I am borrowing now I need to wait till the clay is burried below the front sight so I guess it is 50/50, no different than a field gun. The lower recoil of an auto is a nice bonus also.. not that I'm recoil sensitive (love my 300WM).

I also may try my 1300 with the 22" BBL next week just to see how I do compared to the O/U I'm borrowing.

[Jon_Snow]

I just recently got into trap myself and I've been very happy with the used Rem 870 Express I picked up for it. A new bead sight, new recoil pad and I've been having a ball shooting 75-100 rounds once a week. I won't be able to tell you about doubles until I go sporting clay shooting next weekend, but I've been practicing w/ snap-caps and it does seem pretty quick. My one caution would be against auto's and it's only a convenience factor. At my range they request that you only chamber one when you're about to shoot. On an auto that means chambering one, firing, then manually opening the action and chamber again. On a pump you just leave it open after you shoot. Not a big deal, but it was enough to annoy me when I swapped guns with a friend for a round.

[Virginian]

Since you say you know you are going to be stepping up (not sure I agree) to an O/U down the road, why don't you look at a good used Wingmaster. Easy to find under $300, and a better pump doesn't exist. I would say an 1100, but since trap is you main goal you probably don't want to be fooling with a shell catcher. And, you can re-sell the Wingmaster for zero loss if you take decent care of it. Of course you may decide you don't need anything else.