Trap and Field Autoloader

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jpwilly

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Okay need help I've found most O/U's don't fit me. I cannot get down on the stock enough to see straight down to the bead. But both of the Autoloaders I checked out at Cabela's today seemed to fit perfectly. One was a Remington Sportsman the other a Beretta both autoloaders..

I need suggestions for an inexpesive shotty for trap and foul.
 
Yip pretty sure that Beretta was and A400 and it did fit very well. Price was a little more than I wanted to pay though. Any inexpensive shotty's worth looking at?
 
Used Berettas, 303, 390, 391
Others would include Remington 1100- older technology, but the weight is good.....also the Wincheter SX1, one of the better semi as well

If you are going to be shooting a lot, get a good gun to start with. The money you spend on targets, ammo, and hunting costs will far surpass the gun cost. Cheap guns always have a tendency to break at the wrong moment, like in tHe middle of a tournament or a unt you travelled far to do.
 
The remington 1187 sportsman is a good semi auto, I own a Beretta 391 Gold trap model, and I shoot the plain jane 1187 sportsman better, it also has less felt recoil with the same loads. Folks I have introduced to trap recently all seem to prefer the 1187 over my 1971 1100 and the beretta 391 Urika Gold Trap model. The beretta does have a 1" longer LOP than the other guns so that may be part of it. The 1187 is resonably priced and you can change the chokes, and also find a used shorter barrel for slugs and home defense easily.
 
Don't Forget Browning

Take a look at their O/Us and semis. The Maxus is as good as the A400 and 391. The Sporting Maxus in wood or carbon is the top clay semis out there
 
Mossberg 930 Field model

85110.jpg


http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...s_id/14634/Mossberg+930AF+12+3"+28VR+ACCU+WAL

Bud's has them for under $500, shipping included.

Here's a review by Randy Wakeman:
http://randywakeman.com/Review_Mossberg_930_ 12_Gauge_Autoloader.htm
 
I'll have to try the 930 on for fit. It looks like a decent shotgun for the money and I happen to love tang mounted safties! I have a Rem 870 security and hate the position of the safty. I'd like to trade for a 500 or 590 someday.

I am intrigued since the dimensions on most autos and O/Us are extremely similar. Not that I am pimping O/Us, because I do not like them.
Click to expand...

Me to actually I prefer the O/U but all the autoloaders fit better. The O/U's must have a little higher comb?
 
Ool,

I don't know about that... he trashed the Remington 887, and said the VersaMax wasn't worth the money they're asking for them...

But then again, if I got paid to shoot guns and write my experiences, there wouldn't be a lot I could find to complain about..

Not many give a "rat's arse' what I say, let alone write...
 
I've read some very mixed reviews on the 930. Is the quality there? Not that I expect a fine gun but I don't want it to break. Maybe I should look more into a "Wal-Mart" Beretta?
 
The only quality issues you're likely to find are related to the 930SPX and they usually have to do with either a canted front sight, a binding follower, or the wrong spring in the extended mag tube, all problems with afermarket parts being put on a field gun to make it "tactical"...

You need to give the shotgun a good strip-down and cleaning before you shoot it because whatever the preservative is that Mossberg uses to ship their guns in gets "gummy" if it's not cleaned out....
 
I just picked up the 930 field the other day and I;m liking it just fine. Give it a look.
 
Master Blaster said:
The remington 1187 sportsman is a good semi auto, I own a Beretta 391 Gold trap model, and I shoot the plain jane 1187 sportsman better, it also has less felt recoil with the same loads. Folks I have introduced to trap recently all seem to prefer the 1187 over my 1971 1100 and the beretta 391 Urika Gold Trap model. The beretta does have a 1" longer LOP than the other guns so that may be part of it. The 1187 is resonably priced and you can change the chokes, and also find a used shorter barrel for slugs and home defense easily.
Click to expand...

I have to say ditto to MasterBlaster--Remington's 1187 definitely meets the OP's needs/requirements.

-Cheers
 
JPWilly,trap guns are not set up to be able to look straight down the barrel. Normally your sight picture on a trap gun would be to have the middle bead setting just under the front bead. The stock has very little drop to keep the head a little higher.
If you have noticed the adjustable cheek piece and the adjustable butt plate, they allow the shooter to adjust to their particular place to gain their perfect sight picture. And, a lot of trap guns allow you to raise and lower the front bead.
A lot of field guns also have less drop than a plain shotgun. Again, if you re shooting at rising birds, that little barrel high attitude puts the barrel just in front of the game. This built in "lead" allows you to follow the target periphally rather than blot it out with the barrel.
The shotgun that allows you to see down the barrel will have more felt recoil.
 
"The nature of the beast is a trap gun is not like buying a field gun for casual use... it must be custom built to fit you. What this means is you can't simply buy your buddy's gun or snatch one from the dealer's shelf and simply start shooting it. You can, most everyone does, but most everyone can't shoot for beans and this is the #1 prime reason why... their gun's do not fit."

http://www.theoutdoorlodge.com/features/articles/shooting/james_russell_001.html

"The stock must fit the shooter. The shooter needs to have the proper sight picture and see the rib and the beads. Trap shooters want to see a certain amount of rib and the beads in a figure-8," Sutton states. Most target guns (trap and skeet) have a mid bead, as well as a front sight bead, forming a figure-8. The mid bead forms the bottom of the 8, and the front sight forms the top half. "Sporting clays and field guns are different," Sutton explains. "Most shooters look straight down the rib of these guns."

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...32617&storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1
 
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What Red Cent said . Most trap guns have a high comb. This makes the shot pattern about 9" higher then the line of sight. This is needed because the trap bird is on the rise when you shoot at it. If you cover the bird with a field gun & the wind pushes the bird down, you will not see it.
 
Thanks for the help regarding sight picture and shooting trap birds. I'll stop calling them shotties, PS why does that offend?

I've sold my Rem 870 security to help fund my next purchase. I looked at the Mossy 930 and the 935 yesterday. They seemed solid enough and fit me fine. I think I'd want a combo with both the long and short barrels. Still not 100% on getting the Mossberg but it seemed balanced and very similar to other auto loaders I looked at.
 
Well.......... for me at least everytime I hear the term shotties I kill a small puppy

Some unsolicited advice for ya.... Save as much money as you can and then save some more. Alot of fellas on this forum might disagree but I say buy top of the line "what you really want" first time and cry once. The way I look at it after ya have a .22 rifle,defense pistol, hunting rifle, and duck gun everything else is a "fun gun" so save up for the perfect one.
 
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