Is a Semi-auto Socially acceptable on the Trap Range?

I've seen just about any shotgun used to shoot trap. I shoot with a semi-auto every once in awhile and my wife shoots everytime with one. Unless where you shoot has some weird rule about them use it to your hearts content!

I would love to see the look on the faces of the Elmer Fudds when you whip out the USAS-12 or street sweeper to shoot clays.

Semi-auto's are and are not ........... I will explain! For singles & handicap they are very acceptable because are the major brands accept shell catchers. For doubles unless most are modified to eject the empties in a downward direction they are quite bad tp pelt the shooter standing beside you. I have got some very nasty looks shooting a stock factory Beretta 390 Trap that really slung the empties anyway when I shot on a doubles squad that the other 4 guys all used over & unders. I couldn't really blame them either as it is very distracting! Most auto's used in doubles have been modified till the empty basically clears the port and falls straight down. Can't tell you how to go about that but I am sure there are gunsmiths at about any good sized trap shoot that could modify your auto while you wait.

While it is totally fine to shoot trap with a semi-auto (I shot 5 rounds of trap with one last night), it is in poor form to throw shells onto the person next to you.

Fortunately, there are easy fixes to this. The cheapest and easiest is to place a rubber-band around the receiver, so that the ejected shell will hit it and either be caught or slowed-down/deflected and fall well short of neighboring shooters.

Probably the best solution, however, is a $10-15 piece of plastic (sometimes metal) called a shell-catcher. Most of the ones I've seen have been manufactured by T&S, and they are available for most common models of semi-autos. Our local Gander Mountain typically stocks them for Berettas and Remingtons.

The T&S website can be found at the link.

Another option is a piece of thin bent wire, but that requires drilling a couple of tiny holes into the shotgun... so it's generally a last-resort.

For the occasional round of trap, the rubber-band trick works fine. Be sure to bring a couple spares, since they do break on occasion.

Edited to add: Bill B. has a good point about doubles trap. My comments are geared for regular trap in which you are only loading a single shell at a time.

To further expand on BillB and TrapperReady comments: It depends.

Please do not bring an unmodified gun to any league, competition or registered shoot. Singles, 'caps or doubles, it doesn't matter. Some folks are very serious about distractions. Something to do with "disrupting the harmony of the squad". (ATA Rule violation) Comments are often made LOUDLY! Also big $$ gun owners are very protective of their guns. (Hit me well... Hit my gun and die.)

When I pull or shot in league, competition or registered shoots, I have in my vest or belt a few very large and wide rubber bands for use by the semi shooters. I have stopped shooting on occasion to give the rubber band to the offender. Also at my club there are rubber bands available in the clubhouse for guests to use.

Practice time, either weekly or at the practice trap during competition, I would gauge my squadmates. If you throw and ping someone, apologize either immediately or immediately afterwards. I am usually very forgiving. Saying somethings really stops hurt feeelings.

If you are going to shoot trap on a fairly regular basis, modify the eject port as recommended above.

Also for you sporting clays folks, eject port deflectors are also a good idea.

I've taken my 11-87, modified for use in USPSA, out for sporting clays a couple times. I usually get at least a couple "what in the hell is that thing for"s. The type of shotgun doesn't seem to bother them nearly as much as me using it to get a better score than them.

Still can't convince the trappers to give me 10 clays in the air at once, though.


(disclaimer - these have all been pretty informal outings. For actual trap competitions, leagues, etc, I'd defer to the advice given above.)

I started out shooting trap many years ago as a kid with an 1100. Shot it for years. Just used a shell catcher clipped on the side.

How does placing a rubber band around the reciever, deflect the shells? I can't picture this working.

Mikul writes:

---- How does placing a rubber band around the reciever, deflect the shells? I can't picture this working.

Two ways:
First on singles and 'caps, the band can stop/capture the shell prior to ejection from the port. (A great way to recover shells for reloading or sale!)

On doubles, it can be arranged such that it can deflect or slow down the ejection. Deflected in a direction away (usually down) from the shooter next to you or slowed down such that it does not fly as far.

In my prior post, I forgot to mention double handicaps. Try being the guy on the 18 yard mark being peppered by the righthanded shooter to your left on the 20 yard mark. OUCH!

The rubber band trick did not work in my imported auto, not that it mattered. The guys were really nice and supportive towards new shooters anyway. The band made it very impossible to even finger extract empty hulls and would totally block all ejection. Must have been the design. I ended up buying a trap gun eventually...The bigger hassle was picking up the empties off the ground.

arcticap - When I first started shooting trap, I used the rubber band for a couple months. Typically, the empty hull will be "caught" and remain inside the receiver. It can be a little tough to pull them out at times, especially if you are wearing gloves. Also, you want to make sure not to accidently hit the bolt release while your fingers are digging around inside the ejection port.

The method I developed was to make one quick grab for the front of the shell, trying to get my index finger in the hole. If that didn't work, then I'd move the rubber band so it was clear of the ejection port, tilt the receiver to the right and shake the shell out into my hand. Most of the time, it was fine, but if I got in with a quick-shooting squad, I'd barely have the shell out and a new one in by the time it was my turn again.

The T&S shellcatchers are MUCH, MUCH easier to use.

I'd guess the majority of shotguns at the local trap club are semi-auto.

ALL with shell catchers.

If they have problems with you shooting trap with a semi, I wonder how they would feel about this:



(thanks to Ted in Tallahassee for pics of his duck hunt)

I've been wanting to try a round with this



I like the high rib look too

I've shot one of those BFRs in 45/70 and let me tell you - it's no joke.

wow. i guess you learn something new everyday. where i shoot trap, i see all sorts of semi's and i've only seen one person that had some sort of device in/on the receiver that would make the spent shell sort of stovepipe as it ejected. everyone else just let 'em fly and i never heard anyone say anything. of course, this is just informal open shoots. no tournaments or anything. mine sends the shell forward at about a 40° angle so it usually ends up in front of the shooter next to me. i don't know if it's intentionally built that way or not though.

Bobby

Semis on trap with a shell-catcher? No problem. However, I HAVE been treated to some pretty "snooty" looks when I used my 870 riot gun to shoot clays (and the more clays I broke, the "snootier" those looks got )

Sporting clays shooters are usually pretty understanding of different equipment. I just make them mad when you out shoot them! At the club I used to go to I'd out shot a local doctor using the ugliest 870 wingmaster ever built. This thing had a burn on the stock from a coleman lantern in the duck blind.

Doc, mind you, was the pompous type with a custom built Italian shottie that ran as much as my first home. I truly liked beating him. He assumed that gun cost would carry the day instead of shooting ability.

He assumed that gun cost would carry the day instead of shooting ability.

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Although we all love stories like this, they're simply too prevalent for me to believe.

Some people make more money than others. That's just a fact of life. Whether it be because they worked harder through their life, possess a natural talent that happens to be lucrative, or randomly landed a high-paying job, some people just make more money.

I absolutely cannot stand the resentment that I feel a lot of the members on the board here have for those with better jobs and often better equipment as a result.

I know that some here own very expensive shotguns or other firearms, but I can't recall a single time where I read a post stating "Man, I took my 15k over and under and completely dominated some losers with crappy 870 Expresses at the sporting clays course today. I sure am awesome."

Yet I hear the old "I whupped a pretty boy with a 20k shotgun today using my trusty ol' Mossberg" on at least a weekly basis.

Chances are, he simply bought such a nice shotgun because he could afford it and wanted it, and was simply angry because you beat him - nothing at all to do with the cost of either of your guns, and certainly not because he actually expected his to shoot "straighter" or better.

Unless he said "Mr. Bear Gulch, I'm going to buy a more expensive shotgun so I can beat you with it next Saturday," it sounds like you're the one doing the assuming.

"Expensive" is a relative term, and the expensive shotgun the doctor purchased likely took a bite out of his paycheck similiar to the one that your 870 did from yours.

Just because you own expensive gear doesn't mean you expect it to make up for skill.

Some just like expensive gear, regardless of their income. Some like inexpensive gear, regardless of how much they make.

WK, most of the folks I meet and shoot with that have fancy shotguns are great people, just like the folks with unfancy ones. There are a few that have high dollar shotguns for reasons unrelated to use. There are also a few folks shooting inexpensive shotguns who do so for unrelated reasons also.

Outright rudeness about equipment of either kind is quite rare.

An observation.....

The really good shooters often get obsessed about equipment. Their equipment.
They care not a whit what the rest of the world shoots, but how well they do with it.

Most of the flak comes from wannabees, not the top folks. And even the wannabees are mostly good people.

Like other Martial Arts, shotgunning's a matter of mastering oneself before mastering the shot. This builds character...

Although we all love stories like this, they're simply too prevalent for me to believe.

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Me too. I'm not saying it hasn't happened but I READ about this on the Internet a lot more often than I see it happen on the ranges. But then aren't we all much better shots with our keyboards than our guns.

Paul

One on the posts above...

talked about retrieving empties from the ground.

As a general rule, it's considered quite a breech of manners and good sense to retrieve empties.

For one, it's very distracting to have someone rooting around picking thru shotgun hulls like a hound looking for a rabbit. By the time you get thru all 10 stations, it takes a lot of extra time and holds up not only your squad but the guys behind you.

And, I don't want someone wandering around looking for a 2 cent AA hull in front of me while I'm trying to shoot. Suppose you're on the 20 yard line and the guy to your left is on the 16. His hull lands 15 feet in front of you, and he's wandering around picking up empties when it's your turn. Not cool.

If they hit the ground, they're gone. On some ranges, picking up empties will get you escorted out in a hurry (safety violation).

Now, I'm just an Indiana farm boy and don't have a fancy vest or equipment, but I do have an O/U. If you want your hulls, catch 'em. Otherwise, let it go.

WK, great post and I have the same experiences. The secret to life is being happy with what ya got.

Ross