Why in the world should I buy an 870 Trap?

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dust_101

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OK Remington fans, let me hear it. I'm going to start Trap (not Skeet, Trap) shooting this year if it ever warms up, and after looking at the O/U options and deciding that buying a low-end O/U is pretty much a waste, I'm opting to look at the 870 line. Now, I already have some Mossberg 500's for other duties, so this 870 would be for Trap and only Trap shooting. Unless I could find a functional 870 complete for $100 or less (yeah right), buying the 30" barrel and correct wood would put me at the price of a good used 870TB (30" fixed Full) anyways, so I'm starting there.

So why should I get one? What are the major benefits of the 870 in the trap config vs. another pump-action? I'm not to keen on a semi-auto on the trap line, just due to shells hitting the person to my right, and installing a catcher seems....odd.
 
I tried a round with my NEF SB-1 12ga, but this one is more of a turkey gun, albeit with a 27.5" barrel, it has the Mossberg choke system and an XFull choke in it, the 3.5" chamber was just overkill. Plus it just doesn't swing right for me. It's a good gun for the woods and just sitting there being outsmarted by a Tom that is always behind me, but on the line it just didn't feel right.

I borrowed an 870 and it has a nice balance to it, heck I've seen a guy bust clays with an old 97 and he's a deadeye with it. :D
 
HR/NEF has introduced a single-shot trap gun this year, with nicer walnut stocks a good recoil pad and a 30 inch ventilated Rib barrel. Liking the single-shot shotguns I asked at my local gun shop and they said I could get one for around $325. Of course, you could get the little higher-grade 28 inch model with recoil pad and choke tubes for a lot less, probably well under two hundred dollars.

I have used my 28 inch fixed modified choke Pardner with my own thrower and have had a ball so I am interested in getting the new Trap gun.
 
If you're patient and look around you could find a BT99 for about the same price. Might also look at new BPS Trap guns, which msrp for less than the Remmy.
 
Nothing wrong with a 870T, I owned one for a while and later traded it to a guy along with a Python for a Remington 3200 OU Trap. Mine had the Monte Carlo stock which used to be an option, don't know if that's still true. You won't be unhappy with the 870T unless you find something at a higher price to make you part with it.
 
The Letter grade trap models are around, and can be purchased. Last one I saw advertised had an asking price of $400 on trapshooters.com.

Letter grades have nice wood, fine triggers and oft have most of the misses shot out of them.

I shot my first straight with an 870TB. Another 30 or so followed with that gun.

I'd prefer an old letter grade to a new Classic Trap, but those are nice also.
 
Why?

The 870 (even the cheapest Express) works very well for trap. After trying for a while, I could never shoot my "real" trap gun (BT-99) as well and was eager to sell it.

The Classic Trap models I've seen have really nice wood and are finished very nicely, way above par for non-Custom Shop Remingtons these days (though similar to a base-model Beretta O/U).

The bummer, really, is the price of the Classic Trap. It used to be the most economical new gun you could buy, set up for trap, with really good looks as an added bonus. It's gone up and up, and at this point, you'd have to REALLY like the 870 to pay for it.

I'd like to try a Topper Trap when they actually appear... If you could order one with really high-grade Walnut, I'd be even more intrigued. I wonder if I could have this engraved in the receiver or maybe incorporated into the checkering?

middle-finger.jpg

I do know someone who had a graphic nude depiction of Jessica Rabbit laser-engraved into the buttstock of a nice trap gun...

The thing about American Trap is that you really don't need a really fancy gun to break targets. There's no reason that, with the right stock and maybe some strategically-placed weights, a Topper couldn't shoot as well as anything else out there, but for only a few hundred bucks.

OTOH, if I ever stumble on an old Ithaca trap single for a good price... :)
 
Well 101, welcome to the trap hobby! I shoot the 1100 trap classic with a shell catcher. I choose the 1100 simply because the shoulder abuse versus the 870 is a lot less, especially if you are going to shoot several rounds at a time. Other than that the pump is great. One of the differences I see between my trap gun and my field guns is the stock setup. My trap gun is set up to shoot higher. Not one of my field pumps or field semi-autos are that way. I used to think it was simply a matter of adapting to shoot with the field guns, but I have to say that having the trap setup makes things easier at least for me.

The shell catcher has not been a big deal to get used to. It sure is easier on my back not picking up the hulls afterwards. The shell catcher also allows me to get into a rhythm. I stop, put my hull into my waist bag, get another into the chamber, then prepare to call the bird. The rhythm is not such a problem unless I am shooting by myself and tend to get in a hurry. Then the rhythm routine becomes important and makes me slow down.

One of pumps I sometimes use to shoot trap with is the Winny Speed Pump 1300. About half the time I eject the hull with the pump after the shot before I realize it and have to pick it up after the round.

I shoot at least one round with every shotgun I have at least once a year. Gives me a chance to exercise the gun and clean it. I can sure tell the difference in the gas gun over the others in shoulder wear afterwards.

That's my thoughts. Whatever you choose. Enjoy it to the fullest!
 
If an 870 Trap fits you then it's an excellent choice. It's one of the few trap guns you can use at the range and then with the addition of a shorter barrel it becomes an excellent home defense gun.
 
*shaking my fist in sm's direction*

I appreciate the words folks, I have a bit more research and some local folks who have some other shotguns for me to look over and see how the fit is, but I'm strongly leaning towards the 870's.

Have any of you swapped in different chokes on your barrel of choice, based on your performance or the patterning of the gun? I ask as many of the 870TB's that I've seen are fixed Full, with some of the TC's set with the Rem-choke system and leave that option of changing the choke open.

I have to say though, those trap models in the 870 family sport some really nice furniture!
 
I have guns with screw-ins, and guns with fixed-choke barrels.

I'd rather clean the fixed ones, and some Remington fixed barrels really feel great (well-balanced).

For Trap, a lot of guys leave a Full choke in the gun anyway. Many of the high-end guns (e.g. Perazzi price range) are fixed Full; clearly at least some of those who shell out the big bucks seem to prefer them that way.

My 2 cents...
 
Because you can't have a Winchester Super X Model 1 Target Grade , Target grade two barrel set or Custom Shop.
Click to expand...

sm, why would I want one of those when I have a Browning BroadwayTrap?

*bigger meanie* :D


Just funnin ya bit Steve, I do know you love that Super X.
 
My TB came with a slightly overbored barrel and 39 POC for what qualifies as extra full. It did smoke them nicely. After a couple years, I had a decent smith do the forcing cone and open the choke to 25 POC. This worked better at singles.

I also had a 30" LC barrel and I used it with either a Light Full or a Light Mod, depending on mood. The LF smoked them, the LM raised my scores a bit.
 
Hi Dust,

On why, I think all the reasons you should grab an 870 orbit around the gun being at the center of the shotgun world for the past 50+ years. Time has proven the design and construction of the 870, and that certainly applies to the trap world.

Now with that said, I have a grand old 870TB myself. The gun does its part, and when I do mine we are a force with which to be reckoned. On this gun I shot my first 25. Many more have followed that one.

I will point out there is something holy about kicking guys with around highend trap guns using an old 870TB, very holy...

Dust, get an 870TB. You'll never look back.
 
I've settled on a model 12 trap barrel with solid rib (offset proof mark) to go with my m12 w/cylinder barrel. I've only been shooting registered trap 2-3 times, but I'm pretty sure I'd suck as badly with a K80. :D
 
Thanks folks, think that about sums it all up for me. I'll be scouting around for a good old 870TB in the coming months. Shopping is always such a chore :D

Of course now I was just offered an interesting little import for dirt cheap I may buy as a kick around until I find my 870. I put up a new thread about it here:

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=348939
 
I'll just add my quick 2 cents. I have a nice TB that I love very much. I shoot some good trap with it. If I could find an old M12 trap for a good price I might have to get it but in the meanwhile my TB does just fine!!!!
 
My first trap gun was an 870 TB I bought new for $135 in 1967. Shot my first 25 straight with that gun and won my first trophy with it that summer. Lost track of the kegs of Red Dot and bags of shot I put through it. Won lots of hams and turkeys in meat shoots with shootoffs from well behind the 27-yard line. That .036" fixed full choke will crush em from a long way back. In 25 or so years of hard shooting I replaced one extractor and one ejector. Although I've moved on to more expensive toys, that gun still has an honored place in my rack. If you can find a good used TB or TC, it would make you a good, economical entry-level trap gun, was would a good BT99.
 
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