A pleasant dillemma, what gun(s) to take to the trap range tomorrow...

[MacTech]

I have a pleasant dilemma, I'm hitting the trap range tomorrow, and I need to decide which of my shotguns to take...

The contenders are;
H&R Topper Deluxe Classic 12-gauge single shot
H&R Topper Deluxe Classic 20-gauge single shot
Parker VH grade SxS 12-gauge
Mossberg 500 12-gauge
NEF 12-gauge single shot
MAVI .410 folding camp shotgun

the two TDC's are my newest acquisitions, I've patterned the 12, the 20 I haven't even shot yet, the Parker I bought a box of 2 1/2" shells just for it that I haven't tried yet

the MAVI needs the bolt holding the stock on repaired, so that one's out, Dad's old NEF has a bit of corrosion on the stock retention bolt, so I'm hesitant to use that one, the 500 bores me and it doesn't really fit right anyway, I have to lop off about 2" from the back of the stock

I guess that narrows it down to the Parker and the two TDC's, the Parker's a heirloom and I feel slightly guilty shooting it, I'm always a little concerned with damaging it or it breaking under use like the MAVI did...

I don't feel comfortable bringing both TDC's, due to the fact that in a moment's inattention, I could set myself up for a 12/20 burst....

then again, a 12/20 burst is easy to avoid, just keep the shells in the factory box until I shoot them, and make triply sure that my shotshell bag contains only one gauge per trap session

I don't think I'd ever be inattentive enough to set up a 12/20 burst, but you know how murphy's law works...

Hmm, maybe I should bring both TDC's after all....

 

[Al LaVodka]

The Mossberg 500 is the only practical choice.
Al

 

[oneounceload]

What does your trap range allow? Some do not allow HD guns, some do; some allow any gun...........take the one you feel most comfortable with

 

[MacTech]

Well, back from the range with a range report;

I decided to take my H&R TDC 20Ga

The bad news; the trap range was closed
The good news; I was able to pattern the TDC 20G
Ammo used; Rio 7/8 Oz trap loads with #9 shot
The TDC 20G is also equipped with the same recoil-absorbing system I have installed in my 12G TDC (see my "Meet bruiser" thread elsewhere in this forum for details) and the stock "Big Squishy" H&R factory recoil pad

With my first shot with the 20, I wasn't sure what to expect recoil-wise**, I've heard stories of how the 20 gauge Toppers/Pardners actually recoil worse than the 12's due to them being lighter, so as I thumbed back the hammer, I prepared myself for a typical 12-gauge recoil...

as I pulled the trigger, I was treated to a soft, pleasant shove, no unpleasant "punchy" recoil, in fact, it felt like there as no recoil to speak of, I'm sure part of that was the fact that I was shooting light target loads was a big factor in the intensity of the perceived recoil, but the fact remains that recoil from *this* H&R single-shot 20G was what I would term "pleasant/negligible", it had a pushy/shove-y feel to it, muzzle lift was negligible, and when I tried to do a "double" shot by holding a spare shell in my support hand, I found that I could fire one shell, eject, load and fire the second shell in a little over 1.5 seconds, and that's with *NO* practice on a new-to-me gun that is still a little stiff when opening, once the parts wear in and it drops open under it's own weight when the release button is pressed, I'm sure I can cut the reload time down even more

With the full choke tube, it throws a nice tight pattern at 16 yards, good and dense, no voids or gaps,the pattern is about 5" across, it also seems to shoot a tad high but centered on POA

With the modified tube in, the pattern opens up to about 8-9" and there appear to be a couple gaps in the pattern, the mod would be a better general purpose choke, but the full choke is far better for trap

I am *extremely* impressed, both with this particular gun, which has now fast become my absolute *favorite* shotgun, yes, even surpassing my family heirloom Parker VH (I always feel guilty using an irreplaceable family heirloom, the TDC 20G has the look and feel of an honest *working man's* gun), and with the 20 gauge shotshell in general, I guess if I could sum up the 20G with one word, that word would be "balanced", it throws a decent shot payload, and in the right gun, recoil is easily manageable, if not even unnoticeable

When the time does come for my *next* shotgun (and the next after that, and the one after that, ad infinitum) I'm pretty sure they're all gonna' be 20's from here on out, for my purposes, the 20 just plain works, and does it without being abusive or uncomfortable to shoot

now, to be fair to my 12's, I will have to shoot some HD loads through the 20 to see how it handles those, but as a sporting gun, this humble H&R 20G TDC just plain works for me, it does the job perfectly, and it's going to be my primary clay games gun


** before I left for the range, I hefted both the 12 and the 20 at the same time, they seem to weigh about the same, it would make sense, as the 20 appears to have the same outside barrel diameter, perhaps a piece of 12-gauge barrel stock that has a 20 gauge bore cut through it instead of a 12-gauge bore, the barrel walls of the 20 are noticeably thicker than the 12, and it feels like a "heavy/bull barrel"