[winchester '97]

considering one of these as a first dedicated trap gun. any thoughts? and you can leave your "if it aint remington/winchestor/(insert expensive italian name here) it aint s**t" atttitudes at the door. i have been shooting with a winchester 1897 flea market pickup for some time, hitting 24's and 25 with it, and i figured its time to move up to something better that wont break the bank. also thinking about an original production model 12 trap gun since i seem to shoot really well with a pump gun, and the capability to shoot sporting clays/doubles would be useful.

[DaleCooper51]

It's just my opinion, but I think that you would be better off either shooting your 97 or getting that model 12 trap gun. If you stick with trap singles, the topper trap gun would work, but if you want to shoot doubles, wobble, skeet, 5-stand or sporting clays a repeater is a better option. The repeater is also a bit heavier and will soak up more recoil than the single shot.

I had wanted the Topper trap gun, but none were available last summer. I ended up with a Topper Deluxe classic for shooting trap as my only shotgun at the time was my old wingmaster deer gun. I was using 1 1/8 oz bulk pack ammo and was feeling pretty beat up after a few rounds of trap. After a month or so of shooting the H&R, I ended up getting a field barrel for the Wingmaster. I I mostly shoot skeet and 5-stand and really like shooting the pump gun.

I still have the H&R and think it's a great gun, but it didn't work for me on the clays field. It goes with me to my cabin, does backdoor varmint duty at home, and is great for woods bumming or shooting at tree rats.