A shotgun for trap?

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

The Good

Member
Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
173
I was watching Pawn Stars(not the greatest source for information on anything, I know) and there was a sequence where the guys went trap shooting. rick pointed out that the others were using home defense shotguns, while his shotgun was made for trap shooting. I wouldn't have known it mattered, but his drastic superiority in the competition seemed to validate his claim. I know nothing about shotguns, so first of all, is it true that certain shotguns function better for trap shooting, and second, why is that, and what about the guns makes them different?
 
Yep, there are trap specific shotguns just like there are race guns made for IPSC competitions. In every shooting sport the competitors want every advantage they can get, so they modify their guns to make shooting easier/quicker/work better with their individual style of shooting.

The biggest differences between a HD or hunting shotgun are the barrel length (longer is better, 32" barrels are not uncommon) which helps the shooter have a smooth swing to the target, and custom stocks that help the shooter mount the gun in the EXACT same position every time. These stocks usually also have an adjustable comb so that the shooter can raise and lower the POI of the pattern (which is usually placed above the bead so that you can more easily hit a rising target and you can see the target when you fire). That is in addition to the typical trigger work and barrel work (lengthening forcing cones and sometimes porting) that a lot of shooters have done.

Choke wise you almost always want something more restricted than a cylinder bore, but that depends on exactly what variation of trap you're shooting. I typically use a Light Mod at 16 yards for singles, a Mod or Improved Mod for handicap depending on how far back I'm shooting, and Imp Cylinder/ Mod for doubles. If I'm shooting international trap, I will use either a Mod or Imp Mod for the first shot and a Full for the second. Keep in mind that I am much faster on the target than a lot of shooters (which means te targets are closer when I pull the trigger) so my choke selection is more open than a lot of other competitors (though I believe IM/Full for international is somewhat standard).

Also note that higher end manufacturers (or at least Perazzi when I went to their factory) much prefer to sell guns with fixed chokes, so it's not uncommon to come across those, especially when looking at guns used for international trap.
 
Companies like Silver Seitz, Ljutic, Kolar, Kreighoff, Perazzi and others make the high end shotguns that start at $10K and go up from there. Does that mean someone with an old. Model 12 or even an 870 can't compete? Of course they can. All it takes is skill, practice and a gun that absolutely fits you.
Serious competitors, however, want every edge they can get. One of the most incredible triggers I have ever tried was on a Ljutic. It broke like a S&W pistol being fired in single action. Just the slightest pressure made it work. Those longer barrels, as mentioned, really smooth out the swing as well.
There's a good reason you see those brands in top US and International competition.
 
Last edited:
Longer barrels with changeable chokes and a stock fitted properly gives the shooter the ability to track the targets better. With a trap machine throwing random targets you have to be ready for a bird in every arc from any station.

Now just for grins and giggles we will have a couple rounds of HD only sometimes just to have some fun.
 
A high comb, adjustable or otherwise, makes a huge difference. When I put the Monte Carlo stock from a BPS Trap on my BPS Hunter, my consistentency at the trap range improved dramatically.

The five-digit-price-tag high-end guns are great for people in national and international competition, but for the rest of us, there are versions of the Remington 870 and Browning BPS designed specifically for trap. Both come in under $1000.
 
You need to decide how serious you are going to take this. I consider trap the easiest of the clay disciplines to get a 25 straight. I have done it innumerable times with a couple of my field shotguns. But, there is no way I can or would bear down for 2 or 3 hundred rounds to be even semi competitive in serious regulation trap shooting. I think serious trap requires A different and more disciplined mindset when you get to the serious level, and the specialized guns are for the "all the help you can get" aspect. I would think you would be better off to get a decent field, skeet, or sporting configuration gun that would let you be able to have fun at whatever you decide to do. I cannot shoot anything but trap well with a trap gun. Now someone will say they do it, but most can't, and don't.
 
you can change the barrel on your 870-1100-1187 trap gun and lower your morgan adjustable pad to make it shoot flat,change the choke tube and shoot sporting clays or five stand and go hunt any small game with(may be a little heavy) it. eastbank.
 
I went out and watched some trap this weekend. It looked like great fun. I'm planning on trying it out.

Just pattern you shotgun. I've got a Winchester 1300 with an 18" defense barrel with an improved cylinder and a 28" field barrel with a rib and a modified choke. I doubt I could break anything with the 18" barrel. With the long, ribbed, 28" barrel I figure I'll at least have a chance.
 
As long as your gun fits you, you focus on the target and not the bead, keep your head down and your gun moving - you should do just fine. Remember point, don't aim..... ;)

and MOST importantly, have some FUN!
 
The weight forward of a long barrel smooths out the path it swings through and a long barrel helps you see where you are swinging it so you can guess (see) better why you are missing your birds.
I was taught to look at the bird and swing the barrel through the path it takes; pull the trigger as the barrel covers the bird and continue to follow through. There are variations for left rising, right rising and away rising birds but the essence is the same. If you know where your gun shoots; the barrel length doesn't matter as much.
I'm not a pass shooter and couldn't hit an overhead duck or goose if my life depended on it without a full case of shells.
 
MutinousDoug said:
I was taught to look at the bird and swing the barrel through the path it takes; pull the trigger as the barrel covers the bird and continue to follow through.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was taught, and it works if I remember to keep my head down on the stock.
 
oneounceload said:
As long as your gun fits you, you focus on the target and not the bead, keep your head down and your gun moving - you should do just fine. Remember point, don't aim..... ;)

and MOST importantly, have some FUN!
Click to expand...
Good advice. The gun can definitely make a difference, but unless you have a very specialized trap or skeet gun, if it fits, it will shoot where you are looking, & then it is just " eyes on the rock, head on the stock"
 
Baker and Ithaca were the first American companies to introduce a shotgun specifically for trap shooters, in the very early 1900s. Beautiful works of art, even the plainer ones. Ithaca made one for John Phillip Sousa, an avid trap shooter.
 
When I was doing a lot of trap shooting, I competed with people that were using high end Bennelis and the like. They paid a fortune for them, and were quick to say that these were true "trap guns". I would go to the post with my trusty 16 ga Ithaca Featherlight with a modified choke and was always competetive. Youth, good eyes, and the rhythm of the flight line usually trumped expensive guns. I now have better quality gear, but poorer eyes. I just don't shoot like I used to.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top