is full too tight for trap?

[Hoppy590]

im gunna go shoot some clays today, nothing fancy. just for fun. im gunna use my old model 12 in 20 gauge. its barrel is equivalant to a full choke. il be honest, i suck at hitting those little orange birds, so im looking for the best chances of passing off the image of, well, not sucking. is full choke too tight for trap?

so far iv gathered the idea that chokes change patterns by inches, and we miss by feet. but i mean no matter what you believe theres gotta be a line to every theorey

 

[theCZ]

I shot trap for a while with a full choke. A lot of people will say to shoot full at the 16 yard line in trap so if/when you get handicapped to farther out it will make it a little easier. I guess the idea is that it makes it harder up close and you have to learn to be precise. If you are just shooting for fun though, you would do just fine with mod, or even IC. I'm a skeet shooter now, but last time I ventured "next door" to shoot some trap I left my skeet 1 chokes in and shot a 23 and 24 from the 16yd line, so it is possible to do okay with wider chokes than full.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Full will work, but is a little tight. I can use IC in cold weather and get good hits, but YMMV.

You can open up the pattern by using cheap shells. The difference between using a premium load of hard shot and using "Dove" loads is close to opening up the choke one increment. Maybe more.

Have fun....

 

[Bullet Bob]

"cold weather "

__________________________

What's that?

Bug-slappin sweat-running Carolina boy

 

[ArmedBear]

I might have hit one more bird last night with a more open choke (16 wobble, which is really different from regular trap, in terms of where you hold the gun when you call "pull", where the bird can go, and how you have to move the gun to get there).

But by and large, it is true that we often miss by more than the difference in pattern size.

 

[mswestfall]

The majority of trap shooters in competition are shooting full. I believe it is accurate to say that they shoot it because they can see where they're off when they're off.

I shot a mod for the first year or so. Then switched to an IM and within two weeks went to a full choke. Between you, me and the fence post, there's not that much difference.

 

[Steve C]

Trap shooting is almost exclusively shot with 12 ga and full or modified choke. You can have a lot of fun and good practice with a 20 ga but you never see a 20ga trap gun. Skeet on the other hand is a game played with the lesser gages and very open chokes. The smaller gage is the way Skeet is handicapped while trap is handicapped by distance yardage shot.

Use your 20ga full and enjoy yourself.

 

[ArmedBear]

Two reasons people use 12 Gauge for trap:

1. There's no extra credit for using a smaller gauge, so we like to get a lot of pellets out there (but 10 is technically not allowed).
2. Trap favors heavy guns with a lot of swing weight, so 12 Gauge has the advantage there (since 10 is not allowed).

HOWEVER....

A lot of trap shooters shoot light loads in our 12's that are little different from 20 Gauge standard loads. So I wouldn't sweat it. Just practice. Technique (which takes a lot of practice and some thought, too) counts for far more than gauge, between 12 and 20. And the Model 12 is a GREAT gun.

(Don't go shooting .410, though, unless you like frustration.)

 

[Hoppy590]

and im back. i did MUCH better than i thought i would. had alot of "nice shot!"s i made the first shot showing off. threw up a clay by hand and nailed it. then i had some good shots, either complete misses or powder. so with some practice time i think i can be decent. im no pro. nor do i aspire to compete. im just in it for the fun of busting orange birds

the model 12 is awesome. we have 2 of them a 12 and a 20. i opted for the 20 as the guys i was going with were shooting 20 and i was incharge of bringing the shells. the model 12 though wasnt likeing to eject the cheap-o Remington high velocity All purpose loads (7/8 oz of 8 shot) the crimp seems to cause a jam up once the fired shell is trying to eject.

(quick question, are these hulls worth saving to reload?)


now im off to clean! thanks for the replys

 

[lawson]

i shoot trap with my old Model 12 (12 gauge) with a full choke. it was challenging at first, but it's done wonders for my shotgunning skills. it's the same gun i use for most of my bird hunting.