Beginner Trap Question

M

M700

New member
Hello all. I've been shooting rifles for long time and never really paid much attention to shotguns. I was recently given a Remington 870 Wingmaster with a 28" ribbed barrel and a full fixed choke, a Mossberg 500A with a 28" modified fixed choke (no rib) as well as a case of clays and a case of Remington STS heavy target rounds. My local rifle range has a pretty nice trap and skeet facility as well, so I decided to head down there with a couple of freinds for a crash course in Trap. We each shot 2 rounds, and i got a 15/25 both times. Needless to say, I'm hooked :D . My only problem now is, I'm almost out of ammo and don't know what to get. I know i should get 2 3/4 shells, but thats all I know. As I said, I'm a rifle guy and all I have to deal with is grain size and type of bullet...not too confusing. Now I look at the box of shot shells and there are quite a few numbers on top that I haven't a clue about. Can someone give me an idea as to what load to buy? The only thing I will be shooting for the time being is trap. Also, where would be the best place online to buy a couple of cases of this stuff? I believe in spending the extra few bucks for quality ammo so that isn't a big deal. I also don't particularly want to get into reloading at the moment Thanks for the help all. I just hope I dont start neglecting my rifles. :)
 
ask around at the range. I buy Challenger shot shells (Canada mfg) thru our range master for my skeet habit. IIRC the last 5 cases I bought were $38/case of 250. Rem STS target loads were $47 or $48- a little more $ but you can sell the Rem STS hulls if you don't reload.
 
I tell ya. I went through the same thing almost a year ago. Lookin' at all those numbers is intimidating. I would suggest lookin' for the cheapest small-shot loads you can find, 7 1/2, 8, or 9 shot size. I don't think you need anything too special. Someone'll be able to give ya a proper account of what all those numbers mean. Wally world has boxes of 25 high velocity 7 1/2 and 8 game loads for 3 bucks around here.
 
I trust you are sticking to 16 yard singles until you learn the ropes.
I suggest real trap shells such as Winchester AA, Remington STS, or Federal Gold Medal. If you plan to save your empties to eventually start reloading, (or even to sell) stick to one brand, it makes more difference in shotshells than rifle.
The most you need is a light target load of 2 3/4 dram equivalent, 1 1/8 oz of shot, probably number 8 shot. The extra light load of 2 3/4 dram equivalent, 1 oz of shot is really enough for 16 yards and reduces recoil. I don't know offhand if there is a 7/8 oz 12 gauge load at American target velocity, the International 24 gram load is very high velocity, nothing we need. The cheap Mart loads are poor.

Dram equivalent means "How many drams (1/16 oz) of black powder would give the same VELOCITY as this smokeless ammo." I dunno why they didn't start labeling the box 1150 fps, etc. long ago, but dram equivalent velocity rating just keeps hanging on. It does NOT mean they are black powder shells.
 
Welcome to the exciting world of shotgunning. Besides trap(My favorite),you might want to try Sporting Clays, Skeet, trap doubles, wobble trap, and the various homemade versions.

Your 870 will do a fine job at trap. There's lots of old info in the Archives on 870s and trap. A bit of research will yield valuable info.

Do save your empties. Shotgun shell reloading is simpler than benchrest rifle or pistol, and will get you much more shooting for the same money.

FYI, my used MEC loader paid itself off in a few weeks. Cost on a box of trap quality loads runs about $2.65 for me.

If you do not decide to reload, going price around here for your empties(AA and STS) is $.04.

Check with your local gun clubs, some of them have "Buyer's clubs" where a bunch of folks pool their money to get a volume discount.
 
Also check with the club. Most of them won't allow anything bigger than 7 1/2 shot (smaller number, bigger shot diameter). 8's work great for 16 yard. Probably the all-around standard is 3 dram equivalent, 1 1/8 oz. 7 1/2 shot at 1200 fps. That's all I used to shoot until I started to reload and bought 8 shot.
 
Thanks for the help everyone! Unfortunately the weather hasn' been all that good around here on the weekends lately so I havent been to the trap range in a few weeks. Stupid weather!:mad:

I need to open a 1000 yard rifle range with a trap and skeet field all indoors. THAT would be nice. Allthough I'd probably never get anything done then. Oh well. A guy can dream.

Thanks again.
 
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