What shotgun for trap shooting?

[.38 Special]

While I've never claimed to "beating out the old guys and their $$$$$ customs", it can be a lil intimidating showing up with a sub $500 shotgun when everybody else has shotguns that cost 60x what yours did and many more decades of experience, so it is a lil bit of self assurance that you don't need to take you and your sorry gun home and come back when you stop being poor. But yeah, no need to get all arrogant and go around saying you can beat everybody, that's not cool.

On several occasions now I have been on the field when someone uncased an utterly gorgeous German or Italian gun, swaggered up to the line with impeccable tailoring and $400 glasses, and then shot an 18. Most of those folks have turned out to be perfectly nice - I recently got to shoot a $20,000 Perazzi, handed to me as casually as one might loan out an old 870 - but there have been a few less pleasant fellows...

I just try to keep a sense of humor about it. I haven't yet seen anyone run straight with a Topper, though I certainly hope to. One of the best local shooters I've seen is all of 14 years old and shoots some non-descript auto with what appears to be a homemade shell catcher. Perfectly nice kid, kind of goofy, and doesn't appear to care even a little bit about his gun or anyone else's: he's just happy to be there, and he's almost certainly going to outscore you!

 

[Jim Watson]

Hey, I am not 14 years old but I have done my best shooting with a nondescript auto and a homemade shell catcher. The OU is for doubles, the pump and single were sold south.

 

[entropy]

One of the Trapboys I worked with shot an old Iver Johnson Champion. He ran them a few times, even won a couple Annie Oakleys with it.

 

[Jim Watson]

We had a guy who shot a Lefever single barrel trap gun. Not in the same league as their doubles, this was a basic rabbit gun action with a rib and higher comb stock.

Another liked Remington doubles late 19th, early 20th. He had one with steel barrels fitted with screw chokes and a split comb stock. He also had what he had computed to be a Nitro for Black load for his Damascus gun.
His position was that they were not uncommon or expensive, why not use them?

 

[slinkster111]

Hard to go wrong with either the Remington 870 or 1100. Remington even made a single shot version the 870 Competition. It is no longer made but can be found used. It is a great option, if you are recoil conscience.

 

[Thomassss]

I would think that a real trap gun could be found on the used racks.
Find one that fits....make or model won't really matter until you get further down the rabbit hole.

1100s
870s
Model 12s
303s
Bt99s
SuperXs

Mr. Farmer forgot one: Beretta 390. Any other these will make a great starting trap gun and prices are in the $500 range.
I tried selling several Win. Mod 12 for a relative and found the market to be quite low for them right now. Best time ever to own a [part of history!
Also keep an eye on Remington 1100s. They are starting to sell at twice their original price as an undervalued gun, though they have been discontinued for some time.

 

[eastbank]

when you know you have been bitten bad by the clay games bug.

 

[dieselchief]

next time your local shotgun field has a league going stop by. see what the top teams are shooting. both scorewise and gunwise. then all the pikers and the i can shoot just as good with a .........gun goes away fast. now i am gonna shut up.

 

[argonn]

I’ve use every thing from a pump Win model 12 and on. Single shot cheap guns to Remington 32 and 3200s. I have a three gun brace of Remington 300, and have enjoyed them as well as the various Browning O/U. We were club shooting three days a week. I finally came to the conclusion that about any shotgun could provide a lot of fun. I am an avid bird hunter, so enjoy shooting the bird guns. Pump.

 

[Ks5shooter]

Had 12 trap guns at one time. Downsizing now.I kept one my Ks5 Kreighoff .

 

[dieselchief]

so you didnt keep your busted meridan arms sxs, your high standard fliteking or your savage 67 pump? just kidding of course.

 

[d2wing]

My grandson switched from a Fausti 20G O/U to a 11-87 12G and shot a 22 the first time he used it. He is a beginner.

 

[dieselchief]

good for him. we need all the new trap and sporting clay shooters we can get.

 

[Hookeye]

Who cares that others shoot?
Ive taken my 870 Express to a shoot.
My favorite was an 1100.Magnum, followed by an 1100T w comb to almost field dims.

Now I run a Citori Hunter 20 ga. Doesnt fit me as well as my Remingtons. But its more fun
Even if it costs me a bird or two

Dont care.

Yup there may be a 30K trap rig in the rack at the clubhouse.

Goody for whoever runs it

 

[guyfromohio]

I started out at 16 years old (nearly 40 years ago) with an 870 Wingmaster with a fixed full choke barrel. I “graduated” to BT-99s, an A303Trap, a Citori Trap, a Citori CXT and I’m sure there were a few other experiments. I needed money more than guns a few years ago and sold everything but my original Wingmaster and my Benelli Nova (resale was less than not having a gun). I returned to the club last month and hit more on that Trap line than ever before with that 870. Took the Nova to the sporting clays field (s) and did respectably well (really didn’t do well on true pairs at all though). I’m looking for another SC gun right now, but I’ll keep my 870 for trap.