It's been a while since the last "Blame Steve" session, time for another one...

[MacTech]

I just went to KTP this evening to pick up a Full choke tube for my 12-gauge H&R Topper Deluxe Classic (TDC), as the stock Modified choke throws a little wider pattern than I'd like, I was looking mainly for a decent used Full tube, they had one in good shape for a whopping $8...

I guess I could go for it, it's not like it's going to break the bank...

While I was there at the trade-in counter, the manager on duty was setting up a stock tag on the latest trade-in they received

A *MINT* condition H&R TDC in 20 gauge!, it even had a nice extended Trulock Full choke tube (blued finish)

I asked to take a look at it, it's a recent version, the walnut stocks are checkered (my 12-gauge TDC has smooth walnut), and it had the new NEF "Big Squishy" pad, it was so new that the barrel does not open fully under it's own weight like my 12 does, it looks essentially unfired, the trigger had a great crisp feel to it, clean break, and felt to be around 2.5-3 LB of pull, it pointed naturally, and I *LOVE* the thick and heavy walled construction of the barrel, that thick, meaty muzzle definitely looks intimidating for those unlucky enough to be on the "wrong" end of the gun

Thanks to SM's numerous threads on the H&R Pardner/Topper in 20 Gauge, there was no choice, I *HAD* to get it, I put it on hold, went down to my car that still contained Bruiser, my Topper 88, and brought it upstairs to the trade counter, I got what I paid for it ($80) and put that towards the 20 gauge TDC

I picked up a pair of A-Zoom snap caps, a used Modified choke tube, and a box of WinLites in 20Ga, and can't wait to hit the range this Sunday, heck, I may just put Mini-Bruiser in the car tomorrow and stop off at the range after work (I get out at 4:30, and the range is about 10 minutes from work) to see how it patterns with Full and Modified chokes

Darnit, Steve, you gotta' stop talking up those 20-gauge H&R's, this is all *your* fault, and no, I won't listen to anything you have to say about 28 -gauge, LALALALA I'm *NOT LISTENING!*

Pictures;
12G on the left (top), 20G on the right (bottom) (yes, I'm too lazy to change the orientation, they take up less room on the page this way anyway...)

This is *YOUR* fault, Steve

 

[Dave McCracken]

Nice guns. Shoot the heck out of them.....

 

[MacTech]

Oh I intend to, these "lowly" H&R's have already knocked my Mossberg 500 out of regular use, it's been re-purposed to a HD gun, but I'm even considering retiring it from that duty as well, mainly because I live in a low-to-nonexistent crime area.

I have a better chance of getting flattened by a meteor, or even winning the lottery than having to use any weapon for a home defense situation, and in the highly improbable event I *DID* have to use a shotgun defensively, more than likely a single shot would be more than up to the task

I love the simplicity and reliability of the single shot, and I've been raised with the "make each shot count" mindset

More importantly, these Toppers just *fit* me properly, they point naturally, balance well, and the stock has the correct LOP, my 500's stock is just a hair too long, and I don't really feel like cutting down the stock to fit at the moment, besides, the "rattly" slide mechanism has always annoyed me, it makes an otherwise stellar gun feel "cheap"

when I *do* take the M500 out to play, I have to remember to move my right thumb off the wrist of the stock, or it'll smack me in the nose under recoil, my thumb wants to lay naturally across the wrist, I have to reposition it to the right side of the safety button before firing, I have no issues with the "thumb across" grip on my TDC's

The TDC's OTOH, lock up as solid as a drum, no rattling or looseness, the triggers on these guns are far crisper than my 500's mushy, creepy "JelloTrigger", they feel far more solid than the M500, plus, I love how the ejector "enthusiastically" lobs the empty shell out of the gun, I also love the cool little "Bloopy" noises the 12G makes when loading and ejecting, it's the one thing I miss on the 20G TDC, it's just as solid as the 12G (actually it feels *more* solid due to the heavy walled barrel), it just doesn't make "bloopy" noises when a shell is dropped in (not sure if it's a "bloopy" eject, as I haven't fired it yet, I hope it does have one)

In terms of the "fun factor", my TDC's have it all over my M500, they just feel more natural, they just feel *right*, the only advantage the M500 gives me is the ability to carry more ammo inside the gun, with practice, I'm sure I could reload my TDC's just as quickly as it takes me to pump a new round into the M500.

actually, if you get right down to it, with a practiced shooter, a break action shotgun with ejectors should technically be able to be reloaded slightly faster than a pump, with a pump, you have two actions to reload, pull the pump arm back to eject the spent shell, and then forward to chamber the next round, with a break action gun, it ejects the empty as soon as the gun opens, so all the shooter has to do is drop in a fresh shell and close the action

What really impresses me though, is that these TDC's, with their 28" barrels, are only about 3" longer out front than my 18.5" cylinder bore barrel equipped M500, a gun I set up mainly for in-house maneuverability, the TDC gains the advantage of a tighter shot pattern thanks to the longer barrel and choke tubes and it's almost as easy to maneuver around inside with, the only place where the M500 has a slight maneuverability advantige is coming around a corner and entering a doorway, but it's a minor advantage, proper training with the TDC would negate that minor advantage, plus, the longer barrel on the TDC should theoretically be slightly quieter and have less muzzle flash when fired

These little H&R single shots remind me of a scaled down, long-barrel version of the M79 grenade launcher "Ahnold" used in T2

 

[chas08]

Those are a pair of NICE looking single shots. I've never had one quite like that in my hands. I have owned an H&R 20ga, plain barrel, fixed modified, for 44 years. It was my first shotgun for my tenth Christmas. Great little gun. Do those shoot to the point of aim or do they shoot high like a trap set up?

 

[MacTech]

They seem to shoot to point of aim, definitely not shooting high

 

[MacTech]

Got back from my first trap sessions with my TDC 20G, it performed with 100% reliability, *NO* FTF, FTE, or any other mechanical issues, the shooter needs work though...

All 3 trap rounds were shot at the 16 yard line

First round of trap, TruLock Full choke and Rio Top Target 7/8 oz #9 shot loads; 12 out of 25, not too good, had trouble on stations 1 and 5, the extreme angles specifically
Second round of trap, switched to standard Modified choke tube, same ammo (Rio #9 7/8 oz) 17 out of 25, getting better, it's clear that for the moment, the Full tube is throwing too tight of a pattern
Third round of trap, Modified choke still in place, change ammo to Winchester WinLite 7/8 oz #8 shot, 19 out of 25; definite improvement, the Rio #9 shot wasn't optimal

I chatted with the other trap shooters after cleaning up the range and putting away the microphone thingies that trigger the trap thrower, and they told me that #9 is better off for Skeet, and that Full choke is better for shooting at the longer handicap ranges like 20 yards and above

It seems the combination that works for me is a #8 shell throwing a 7/8 Oz load, when I was on target with that load, it *dusted* the Evil Orange Frisbee, using #9 tended to "chunk" the EOF, or knock off a large chip, all I need now is more practice, properly mounting and sighting the gun, and keeping my follow-through going and my scores should go up

this was my first *actual* trap game with my 20G, I think I did passably well with what is essentially a new-to-me gun

One thing that I really appreciated on this trip was the utter reliability of the break-barrel design, on the first two trap sessions, there were two other shooters with high-end break-barrel trap guns, another with a Benelli pump action clad in black polymer, and another shooter with a semiauto, out of the five of us, the only shooter that had difficulty was the guy with the semiauto, had problems with FTE and FTF at least four times during the match, the pump and break-action guns never skipped a beat....

to be fair, it's possible the semiauto may have needed some maintenance, or just didn't like what it was being fed, but the fact remains it was the only gun that gave it's shooter any trouble

 

[Dave McCracken]

Mac, while I use 8.5 shot in my handloads this time of year, 8s are a better choice for most folks most of the time at trap singles.

And I can use an IC or LM choke too, but Mod oughta work better, Most/Most again.

Good work, though. You'll be running them soon.