First off, there are too many excellent posts in this thread to quote them all. They need to be etched in granite!
In fact I suggest we sticky this thread for a bit. I appreciate the sharing.
"Shoot one gun and know it" and "Beware the man that shoots one gun" comes to mind.
Personally I was lucky and listened to Mentors. Being poor helps in not being able to buy the newer offerings when they come out. Also at the time(s) not a lot of new offerings were coming out. "Run what you brung" or perhaps "Run what ya got" is better. We just had to find something that fit from trying others guns and then tweak the fit of the gun we got similar to trying to us.
I wanted to be "versatile" and not a "programmed" shooter. So I have pretty much stayed with "Field Guns".
My experiences and observations mirror those above.
Trap: I have shot it, and have done well , meaning I have run 200 straight. Just I personally did not want to participate too much because (1) Skeet was my primary game, and then came 5 stand, Sporting Clays and of course hunting. (2) Trap fields not as handy for me. Understand too I shot a lot of "cow pasture" fields, and these were Skeet fields and/or set up for 5 stand, SC.
Now a few shooting pards were just flat shotgunners. It made no difference the gun or game, if they could see it - they would fell it. "Growing up poor and not wanting to be hungry teaches one to focus and fell food". They were serious about this too.
One would use his 1100 or 870 Trap guns for everything, he duck hunted with these , skeet, 2 stand, quail and dove , even took deer. He just liked these guns. Fixed chokes barrels, just swap barrel for the task.
One used SuperX Model 1 two barrel set, skeet and trap barrels, fixed choke, and he did the same thing. Trap (full choke) was used for trap, that skeet barrel got used for everything!
Citori 3 barrel Skeet set built on 20 ga frame I had a high rib. Drove me nuts at first. I was not used to high rib. In fact I learned to shoot without ribs. I had won this thing, and it was a nice gun. I just had to "become one with it". I stayed with the 28 ga barrels at first.
That was me shooting trap with a 28 ga, skeet gun.
From low gun no less
Hey if my pard could run trap with a Beretta 303 20 ga, I can ...I can...going to have fun no matter.
I was making myself shoot that gun for everything to get used to it. I had run 300 straight in skeet, I had run a straight in 5 stand , taken doves, and quail...
I actually run a 24/25 at trap, and I still think a wittle pc came off #25. "Getting onto the bird fast" was an understatement - this is what I wanted, no time to think, just shoot.
I wanted to "be" a certain shooter. I wanted what some had earned, and that was to be a shooter that no matter the gun, or target, I could fell it.
I'd watch the guys and gals shoot trap with a H&R Topper and run them. Same folks would come shoot skeet with that fixed Full Choke gun, just use chilled shot, and they would run them - some shot ladies skeet [one target at a time] others were running straights at regular skeet. I was paying attention big time on this.
Running joke and Brister alluded to this, Trap shooters fiddle and piddle with gun fit more than skeet shooters. I do remember the equipment race and all the sponsored shooters, and in skeet , the skeet fiddlers and piddlers were giving the trap folks a run for the money as to who could mess with buying different guns, and then messing with gun fit the most.
I learned a trick and later did this mysef as did a few others.
Trap fella and his wife, just good people and they shot because they like people. Had this group they shot with all the time and they spent time with new folks.
He had a 870 with a plain barrel that was fixed Mod. He removed from the barrel the marking "Modified Barrel".
He would shoot this gun, be smoking trap targets. Folks would want to shoot "that gun". He loaned them the gun and folks would smoke targets. Naturally folks are going to look at the gun barrel and see what it is, only this gun had no barrel marking.
Folks would ask also how it shot - POA/POI.
Folks would "say" "Full and 80/20 - he would reply "yep"
Another might "say" Mod and 70/30 - he would reply "yep"
Then again another might "say" IM and 60/40, and he would reply "yep"
Point being, all these folks smoking trap birds with the same gun, they had never shot before, and just shooting the durn thing.
Funny one day in the clubhouse, seems some folks were discussing that gun and everyone sharing how well they shot and everyone telling each other what they said the gun was, and the reply " was" yep from the owner.
He and come in, and he was approached - Read: get over here and straighten us out.
He and I would not tell them.
"If I told you boys, ya'll would start missing because you be thinking about the gun and not focusing on them birds and all the other stuff ya gots to do right at the same time you slap the trigger".
He was correct, he had said the same thing my Mentor too many years before had said.
I had external knurled chokes from Nu-Line put in a Field grade SX1. Originally this was a 28" Mod fixed choke, says so on the barrel marking.
Too many times over the years, and this gun has near 300k rds I put thru it, folks have asked what choke I'd be running, and numerous times folks once all said and done, have taken the choke out to look and figure it out.
The first time, I had run the 5 stand course. Then for fun I just wanted the rising teal tossed. I like the rising teal, always hit it. So I went 15/ 15 just piddling.
"What choke you using to run that course and then take them teal?"
I grinned and shrugged and said I had to hit the restroom.
I finish and standing on the porch I see they have removed the choke and looking at the barrel marking.
I was grinning, and when I got in range walking toward them they hollered out .735 !!!
Everyone thought I was running anything from SkI, SKII, IC ....nope. I was using #8 hard shot.
Folks shaking heads, with my choke in hand and could not believe it.
I have done this too folks take out a choke they had, stuck another one in and they had no idea. One old boy shooting trap, I took his full choke out and stuck a Mod in and he shot better that day.
His brain said 'full' and had that "coinfidence" of a "tight choke"...I told him and showed him what I had done. He then realized he was focused on "smoking targets" and that focus is what done it, not the choke, and not so much the gun.
