Trap & Skeet Etiquette

[BBroadside]

I just ordered a 20" variable choke barrel for my Remington 870 12-gauge. I'd like to get some use out of it vs. clay targets, mainly from practice getting used to how it handles. (I normally use the 28", and I intend to keep using the longer barrel, but I thought I should try out the 20".)

The goal of the shorter barrel is home defense, nothing more or less.

I know shorter barrels are louder, and less optimally balanced for clay targets. Also, the rifle sights may interfere with getting a good picture of the target and shooting (or may not, I don't know).

Questions:

Shall I use the same old chokes for the games (skeet for skeet, modified for trap)?

Is it rude to shoot one of these brutish short barrels in an ordinary round, since they'll all be deafened?

Should I just wait around with the thing after a round of trap and ask to shoot one on my own? (I.e. not deafening people but making at least one gent stay later?)

I had some trouble explaining my intentions last time I was at the skeet range. Is short-barrel clay-target a very strange thing to do, or just a little unusual?

Is there a better way to practice just getting used to the feel of the shorter barrel? (... Other than 3-gun, which I intend to shoot but I don't have a rifle for ... here is wishing there were such a thing as 2-gun!) I could just use it at the 100-yard rifle range with slugs, on paper targets. That would at least get me used to the kick, which I gather should be a little meaner but still manageable.

 

[Armored farmer]

I'm sure no one at my club would have a problem with you shooting a 20" barrel, I know I wouldn't.
20" 870 is my choice for HD also. I take mine to the gun club a couple times/yr. I always shoot a round or two of doubles to make sure the gun is cycling right, and also that I don't shortstroke any.
I have a couple of spring loaded clay target throwers here at home that we use to keep tuned up also.

 

[rbernie]

Shall I use the same old chokes for the games (skeet for skeet, modified for trap)?

Yup.

Is it rude to shoot one of these brutish short barrels in an ordinary round, since they'll all be deafened?

The noise difference will be noticable but not 'brutish'. It's really not that bad.

Is short-barrel clay-target a very strange thing to do, or just a little unusual?

Unusual, perhaps, but not unknown. Truth be told, how you act (be safe, be courteous, and so forth) probably has far larger implications than what equipment you bring.

 

[griff383]

Just double check with the clubs rules, I know that at a club I used to shoot at the minimun length was 21". Other than that you should be fine, especially with target loads.

 

[Geneseo1911]

I shoot skeet sometimes with my 19" Saiga. It all depends on the attitude of the people you are shooting with & those who run the club. The length of barrel shouldn't make any difference on which chokes you use, and the noise won't be too noticeable with proper hearing protection; ported guns are louder IMO.

It would be good to get some experience with how that gun handles. It would also be good to shoot some full power defense loads at in-house distances, if you have a range that will let you do it. Skeet is excellent for instinctively learning the "manual of arms", but I'm not convinced it translates that well to defensive shooting. Shooting buck & slugs is more like shooting a rifle.

 

[UniversalFrost]

like others said. check with your local club... my clubs all have 24" barrel minimums and must either use tubes or fixed choke (no poly / variable style chokes).

also, while it may not be against the rules, many folks might sneer at a pump action with a 20" barrel at the range and you might get some not so nice comments from fellow shooters (one of the clubs I shoot at is full of air headed snobs).... Some times I like to take out my 20ga bolt action to shoot trap and skeet and I do it just to see what their reaction is... I really like it when I beat them with an old stevens bolt action ...

i think you might lose a lot of velocity with the short 20" barrel and might not be the best choice for trap unless you only shoot the 16 line and might prove a challenge on doubles.

let us know how it works out....

 

[BBroadside]

Some times I like to take out my 20ga bolt action to shoot trap and skeet and I do it just to see what their reaction is... I really like it when I beat them with an old stevens bolt action ...
- UniversalFrost

Is this "regular skeet" (I don't know what it's called but I mean, two pigeons in the air right after one another)? I've never seen anyone shoot a bolt shotgun, so I don't know if they are slow or "mad minute Lee-Enfield" fast.
Either way, good work.

i think you might lose a lot of velocity with the short 20" barrel and might not be the best choice for trap unless you only shoot the 16 line and might prove a challenge on doubles.

We generally only shoot from the sixteen.

Thanks for all the advice. I hadn't even thought about the rules.

 

[UniversalFrost]

the speed of shooting any bolt action depends on the shooter.

I have been shooting that particular shotgun for 25 years and am very proficient with it. Only trick on that gun is that it likes to dump the mag randomly if you do not support the mag.

So, for me this shooting position of supporting the bottom of the mag with my left hand (i prop the elbow against my body to form a V) put the gun in perfect balance and actually swings very easily and I can maintain POA very very easily.

for trap I shot singles with the bolt from time to time and always shoot doubles with my citori trap

for skeet it is a blast to shoot the doubles with the bolt and very accurately as well... i then bring out my grade iv 28 ga citori for regular competition use.

here is what my stevens looks like (not my pic, but this is identical)

the main point of these games is to have fun ... unfortunately some folks always take things too serious and ruin the fun...

go out and have fun and if the locals give you too much grief, then start looking for another place to shoot.