Double Barrel?

G

Grizzly Adams

Inactive
Greetings from the gun hating state of NY. New to this forum and looking forward to some healthy chats.

Thinking about getting into trap shooting and am really partial to double barreled shotguns. Would a side by side be a good choice for trap or should I be looking at the semis and pumps?

Thanks
Grizz
 
I like SxSs for trap

SxS's can be used, but are very rare on a trap line.
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Yes they are, but they work quite well. There's few things more satisfying than shooting a perfect round with one of my Ithaca SxS doubles while the guys with their Benelli or Beretta O/Us are cursing their guns. All it takes is some practice, and a SxS double will work just as well as anything else on the trap firing line.
 
Side by sides are good for nostalgia and that sense of accomplishment. And for a big dent in the bank account for one of sufficient quality to shoot much trap with.

A pump (For singles, shucking a pump for doubles - a separate event you don't have to enter if you don't want to, unlike Skeet - is a whole 'nother accomplishment I feel no need for.), auto (less recoil), or O/U is what to shoot if you want to break more birds.
 
Why is an O/U so much better for busting clays? I have very limited experience, but I have shot a semi Benelli and a SxS Baikal at clays, and I did better with the SxS, recoil was exactly the same to me.

Are we talking money at stake competetive here? Maybe then the differences would come to light.
 
sxs vs o/u

I just bought a spartan imported by remmington sxs in 20 ga. i think its fantastic...
i shoot at the oneonta sportsmans club up on franklin mountain. Many sxs used there for skeet/trap....try one youll like it .
 
All great replies, thank you. I am seriously considering the SPR220 in 12ga.
Price is great but I am wondering if it is TOO great. Should I be looking at something better but more expensive for trap?
Anyone familiar with this gun?

Isn't a 20ga a bit small for trap?

Guess I'm just in love with the SXS models. I have more traditional sense than common sense I suppose.

Thanks for all the replies and keep the opinions coming. I hope to get one by the end of the week.
 
I shoot my Fox model B at clays in an informal setting and do fine. I've never monkeyed around with any real competition though.
 
I think you will be disappointed if you go with that spr220 and use it for much trap shooting. Most of the people getting the sub 1k shotguns are counting by shots instead of thousands of rounds. Side by sides of good quality are starting around $2500-3000. I have been looking for one for a while and the only "deals" that I've seen are used skb's and browning bss's that can be had for well under 2k. The ruger gold label, weatherby athena, berreta 471 and merkel SxS's are some of options for one that should hold up to the heavy shooting of trap. CZ and Charles Daly are making SxS's now for under 1k and have heard mixed reviews of both. I hate to spend that kind of money and get a bad one though. I also heard that S&W was going to start making SxS's in 2007 for under 2k. I'm gonna start saving for a year or two and see what I can find when I have some more money. I wish someone would make a 870 of SxS's, but from what I've heard the cost of building a SxS is high as hell and labor aint getting any cheaper.
 
I kind of agree with Hoss.
But that Russian Remington is not very expensive and if the crooked stock* and light weight** don't discourage you completely, you will not be out much if you set it aside for a more conventional trap gun after a while.

I used to shoot a good deal of regulation ATA trap and had the opportunity to try out Ithaca, Winchester, and Fox real deal trap model SxS guns with stocks and ribs made for the game. A nice nostalgia trip but I went back to my auto and O/U for serious shooting.

*Regulation trap - I am not talking about a portable trap in a beanfield - is shot at outgoing targets. Correct timing will have you shooting at them while still rising from the traphouse. So a dedicated trap gun is built with a high comb stock to elevate the line of sight and build in some vertical lead so you can see the target instead of having to "blot it out" with the muzzle to hit it.
You can buy stick-on comb pads to get a field stock up to where you can see a straightaway target when you shoot.

**The Russian Remington is cataloged at 6 1/4 lbs. A round of trap is 25 targets, a box of shells. A scheduled trap event - or a good afternoon's practice - is either 100 or 200 targets. A light gun will beat you up in pretty short order. Most trap models weigh 8 pounds and up.
 
Great replies, thanks again. I can understand all the concerns you have listed. Not really ready to plunk down over a grand on this yet though as I'm not sure how long my enthusiasm is going to last. I am mostly a rifle kinda guy and shoot long range pretty good. Not enough local events though so I'm going to try the trap thing. Like most benchrest shooters I reload my own cartridges. Is reloading as necessary for trap as it is for benchrest where it is an absolute must? You won't hit anything over 700yds with factory ammo.
 
When the instructor I went to saw my Baikal, he called it a hunting gun, but said it was fine for busting clays. My gun is around 7.2 pounds.

Why not get started with the Baikal, or something even cheaper, like a pump gun. Then, if you think you like trap (and you probably will), start saving up for whatever gun you want. One problem with that though is that it will be hard to save with all those clay targets, shells and rounds you will be paying for, unless you don't go to a range but do it yourself/with a friend.

I may be learning bad habits with this hunting gun, but as a beginner I can tell you I felt no big difference between my gun and an expensive semi-automatic Benelli, and neither did the person who was shooting with me.

Maybe, you could go to a local range, many of them have shotguns for rent, or that you can borrow for free if you get a lesson (which I highly recommend if you haven't gotten one).
 
Isn't a 20ga a bit small for trap?
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Not at all. Trap shooting started out with paper shotshells and felt wads, and a 12-gauge was du riguere. My own trap loads were 1oz. of #8 shot over 3 dram equivalent of powder, and they worked quite fine. You can certainly duplicate that load with a 20-gauge. No reason not to try trapshooting with a 20. You'll do just fine with it!

Happy shooting!
 
You can do whatever you want - and have some fun with it.

But most serious, competitive, trap shooter will stay with a 12ga and most of them are still using 1 1/8 oz of 7 1/2's ( very few of them shoot 1 oz loads of 8's - although I think it's a good load ).

A heavy gun is better for trap - and a longer barrel - 32" or 34" because you have less barrel movement and the heavy gun helps you with the follow thru. Most shooter have a "dedicated" trap gun - and adjust it so it shoots high in the sense that they can float the bird above the barrel. Where floating the bird is not very good in skeet or sporting clays.

Sight picture is the same over a single barrel - something like a fixed Browning BT-99 - or a semi auto or an over under with both barrels hitting the same point / you seeing the same sight picture over the barrels.
Side by sides - you have a different sight picture over the left and right barrels. So it takes a little more adjustment to shoot a SXS - but it can be done.

In general for clay games ( a 32" semi-auto is the same overall length as a 30" over under ). The most popular gun for Trap is a 32" over under. Most popular skeet gun and probably sporting clays gun is a 30" over under. Mix in a 28" semi-auto in there once in a while - but most clay shooters are reloaders - and picking hulls up off ground gets to be a hassle. If we shoot semi's we shoot cheap shells and let them lay.

My favorite trap gun Browning XT over under 32" with adj comb / favorite skeet - sporting clays gun Browning XS Skeet with 30". I like a semi-auto and Benelli super sport in 30" is my choice. Occasionally I will shoot a single barrel and Browning BT-100 or BT-99 is my choice in a 34". But just get out there and have some fun - and shoot whatever you want to shoot.
 
Annie Oakley earned her reputation as a Trap Shooter. She used a 16 GA SXS! She could outshoot just about everybody in her day!
 
"In her day" being the operative phrase.
She set a women's record with a 98. The only time she ever shot in the Grand, she broke a 97 but was then 65 with only a year to live.

Or consider John Philip Sousa who was a president of the AATA, predecessor of the ATA and had Ithaca name a single barrel trapgun after him. He shot "winning scores" of 94 and 95 in handicap.

Nowadays a 100 straight just gets you a ticket to the shootoff in an event of any size. Not with a SxS.
 
Side by sides are good for nostalgia and that sense of accomplishment. And for a big dent in the bank account for one of sufficient quality to shoot much trap with.
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I can't argue with that. If I had to replace my SxS trapgun today, it would cost me a couple of grand. The good ones work just fine, but they don't come cheap. That's why I broke down and invested in a gunsafe this year.

I'd always thought I'd like a nice mahogony and glass gun cabinet, but the steel safe with the three bolt lock just seemed like a better idea.
 
Thanks again gents. Looks like I will probably go with an O/U now. I don't mind plunking down the big bucks for a high quality gun but I do want to make sure I will be sticking to it first.

Gonna spend the day looking at brand names and prices. There is a range right up the road from me which I will probably be joining.
 
Suggest you go to the range FIRST.
Get acquainted, act interested, and you will probably get to try some different guns out before you buy. You can shoot two different guns of the same general specifications, quality, and price and hit with one but not the other. Shotguns should fit like a good pair of shoes.
 
hey Griz...I grew up shootin' my grandpas Fox B sXs 16 ga. At 52 years of age I still shoot it. I don't shoot trap, but I do shoot sporting clays. Most new guys I shoot with kinda laugh when I take 'er out of the case. Funny thing is after I kick their azz with it they quietly put their Benelli's and Brownings away and want to take a second look at Grandpa's gun. Most Gun manufacturers quit making sXs's for a number of years because of lack of demand........today most have renewed selling them but are having them made overseas.....Stevens and Remington now import the Baikal with their name on them. My youngest bought one when they were still being distributed by EAA and it is a fine shooting gun for the money. They still have to fit right to shoot well, no matter what price you pay...........
 
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