GunXpatriot
New member
Well, as I said, today was the first time I shot trap. Really, it's the first time I've ever shot clays in a "legitimate" setting. Quite a few years ago, probably like 5 or 6, a guy invited my family and another family to shoot clays. He was charging us per shot, so I guess he was just hustling and making some money!
He had what appeared to be a pretty serious rig in his pickup truck. Looking back, I seemed to have shot better haha. We were shooting his Remington Versa Max, or at least I think it was, judging by the colors.
Now yes, this does tie into the questions I mentioned. I (well, my mom) had purchased a Mossberg 500 All-purpose about 5 months ago, and today, was the first time it had been shot. Now when I was in the store, I was going to go with a non-ported barrel, however, all they had was ported. After a little in-store research, I figured, since it was for sporting, it didn't matter much. I'd planned on having it double as a HD gun as well, but now, I'm not sure how I'd like to go about it.
Anyway, the guy in the LGS told me porting was good because it reduced muzzle climb and reduced recoil, or so he said.
The last time I shot my Marlin XL7 .30-06, a few months ago, and the time before that, which was about 10 months ago, I remember after just 20 rounds, I couldn't move my arm. I had the stock gun, with a 3-9x40 scope, which isn't adding a WHOLE lot of weight.
Back when I shot that Versa Max, although I was only about 12, I remember the recoil being fairly punishing. After only about 15 rounds, I couldn't take it anymore. Every shot after 10 hurt. A lot. I was just trying to stay "cool" and just finish the last rounds.
Anyway, so I'm shooting this ported Mossberg 500 All-purpose with a 28 inch barrel, and it was actually very comfortable to shoot. I shot 50 rounds. Now, after 50 rounds, I started to feel slightly uncomfortable, but I could have easily shot another box. What was bothering more, was the fatigue in my left arm from holding up the shotgun at my side between shots. For my last 5 shots or so, I could hardly lift the gun. Honestly, I was glad when I was done! When I was eating, both arms were giving me a little trouble a shaking a slight. ANYWAY....
I shot 15 the first time, and next, I didn't have enough shells for another round, so I just went solo for 20 rounds and shot 16/20. I also was getting the hang of "swinging past" the target, or whatever you'd call it. Even still, I would find myself snapping to the target like it was stationary. I was using Federal value pack "Multi-purpose" loads sold in the box of 100, like this.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Federal-Ammunition-12-Gauge-3-DRAM-100ct/17757345#Product+Reviews
To my surprise, this ammo was actually hotter than other target loads I'd bought to try, but I figured I shouldn't switch ammo mid-session, so I just brought 50 rounds of those.
So my real question is, does a ported barrel really make that much of a difference recoil-wise? I understand the physics behind reducing muzzle climb, but does that reduced climb have anything to do with less felt recoil? Is that simply a matter of me being 12 vs me being 17 now? Like I said, that .30-06 had some stout recoil for me, I could only fire 1/5th the ammo with the same level of comfort. Can anyone explain this?
Trap shooting really isn't easy to do, or at least not like these pros can do it. And if there's one thing that I found really satisfying, it's getting a solid hit and shattering a clay, rather than chipping it or just breaking it into a few pieces.
So yeah, I just wanted to share my experience and ask that question, is all. Actually, I made this post kind of long, but I guess I just had a really good time!
Now I'd like to try Skeet, which I hear is just a whole 'nother animal!
He had what appeared to be a pretty serious rig in his pickup truck. Looking back, I seemed to have shot better haha. We were shooting his Remington Versa Max, or at least I think it was, judging by the colors.
Now yes, this does tie into the questions I mentioned. I (well, my mom) had purchased a Mossberg 500 All-purpose about 5 months ago, and today, was the first time it had been shot. Now when I was in the store, I was going to go with a non-ported barrel, however, all they had was ported. After a little in-store research, I figured, since it was for sporting, it didn't matter much. I'd planned on having it double as a HD gun as well, but now, I'm not sure how I'd like to go about it.
Anyway, the guy in the LGS told me porting was good because it reduced muzzle climb and reduced recoil, or so he said.
The last time I shot my Marlin XL7 .30-06, a few months ago, and the time before that, which was about 10 months ago, I remember after just 20 rounds, I couldn't move my arm. I had the stock gun, with a 3-9x40 scope, which isn't adding a WHOLE lot of weight.
Back when I shot that Versa Max, although I was only about 12, I remember the recoil being fairly punishing. After only about 15 rounds, I couldn't take it anymore. Every shot after 10 hurt. A lot. I was just trying to stay "cool" and just finish the last rounds.
Anyway, so I'm shooting this ported Mossberg 500 All-purpose with a 28 inch barrel, and it was actually very comfortable to shoot. I shot 50 rounds. Now, after 50 rounds, I started to feel slightly uncomfortable, but I could have easily shot another box. What was bothering more, was the fatigue in my left arm from holding up the shotgun at my side between shots. For my last 5 shots or so, I could hardly lift the gun. Honestly, I was glad when I was done! When I was eating, both arms were giving me a little trouble a shaking a slight. ANYWAY....
I shot 15 the first time, and next, I didn't have enough shells for another round, so I just went solo for 20 rounds and shot 16/20. I also was getting the hang of "swinging past" the target, or whatever you'd call it. Even still, I would find myself snapping to the target like it was stationary. I was using Federal value pack "Multi-purpose" loads sold in the box of 100, like this.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Federal-Ammunition-12-Gauge-3-DRAM-100ct/17757345#Product+Reviews
To my surprise, this ammo was actually hotter than other target loads I'd bought to try, but I figured I shouldn't switch ammo mid-session, so I just brought 50 rounds of those.
So my real question is, does a ported barrel really make that much of a difference recoil-wise? I understand the physics behind reducing muzzle climb, but does that reduced climb have anything to do with less felt recoil? Is that simply a matter of me being 12 vs me being 17 now? Like I said, that .30-06 had some stout recoil for me, I could only fire 1/5th the ammo with the same level of comfort. Can anyone explain this?
Trap shooting really isn't easy to do, or at least not like these pros can do it. And if there's one thing that I found really satisfying, it's getting a solid hit and shattering a clay, rather than chipping it or just breaking it into a few pieces.
So yeah, I just wanted to share my experience and ask that question, is all. Actually, I made this post kind of long, but I guess I just had a really good time!
Now I'd like to try Skeet, which I hear is just a whole 'nother animal!