new shotty for trap

E

EnoughGUN

New member
I have started doing some trap shooting using a 50s A5 sweet sixteen and am interested in a new shotgun for this.
I have shot a lot of 12gauges for fun but the recoil has always seemed like it would be a bit much for trap where I'll be doing strings of 25 rounds. Even the 16 leaves the shoulder a little sore after 100 shots. I would stick witn the 16 gauge but there arent many offerings in modern guns and I rather not go down to a 20 for trap.
Question being, whats with the everyone saying to get an o/u ? I like the auto, its quick to load and less gelt recoil. The whole breaking it open, pulling shells and reloading seems like a pain compared to throwing in a shell and hitting a button. Why are autos less desired? Competition where an auto may have a higher failure rate I get but for fun an o/u seems like more work.
I have mostly ruled out a Benellis with the inertia drive in favor of a Browning or Beretta gas gun since research suggests lower recoil and better operation with varied shells. I like the Maxis and the new sweet sixteen although it is recoil operated too.
Anyone have exp with these or can offer any insights on effectiveness and recoil compared to the usual o/uguns like the citori, 828, etc?
 
Are you talking about American trap singles? Then get the BT-99..If you are also wanting to shoot doubles, maybe skeet, maybe 5-stand and sporting, get the O/U............a Beretta/Browning/SKB -whichever one fits - will be a good choice

If you really want the semi. there are several that will work from Beretta, Browning, Fabarms, etc.
 
You need to shoot 1-oz trap loads. That alone will reduce the recoil significantly. Some trap loads, like Baschieri & Pellagri (B&P), use a special Gordon System wad that extends the recoil impulse very slightly as it progressively collapses. The slightly longer recoil impulse gives the impression of less recoil.

As for O/U versus semi-auto - that's your choice. The O/U balances better with a longer barrel because the receiver is so much shorter than a semi-auto. This places the center of gravity of the gun further back towards your shoulder making the gun swing more easily.

Also, with most O/U trap guns, you can select the barrel that shoots first. Most people select the lower barrel as the first and the top barrel second. This makes the recoil impulse lower and straight back into your shoulder.

An O/U with extractors is a real bonus as you simply pull the empty shell out of the chamber and put in in your waist shell bag - meaning you don't have to police the area and collect the empties when you're done with a round of trap.

You're concerned with one type of gun being "more work" than another type. Work is relative, you either break the gun open and extract the shell, or collect 25 empty hulls at the end of a round - either way - you're doing work. I think it's far less work to simply open the gun and extract the hull, than chase 25 empty hulls spread over the ground at five different shooting stations.

I shoot a Beretta O/U with a recoil system in the stock and B&P 1-oz trap loads. The recoil is about like a .243 rifle - negligible.

If you want a low recoil semi-auto, I'd suggest looking at a Beretta A400 Xcel Parallel Target as it has a hydraulic recoil system in the stock and a special butt-pad. Using 1-oz trap loads with that gun would give extremely low recoil.
 
An O/U with extractors is a real bonus as you simply pull the empty shell out of the chamber and put in in your waist shell bag - meaning you don't have to police the area and collect the empties when you're done with a round of trap.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen a quality trap O/U with extractors in a long time - that said, it is easy to put your hand over the chambers when opening to capture the empties without throwing them everywhere
 
I haven't seen a quality trap O/U with extractors in a long time - that said, it is easy to put your hand over the chambers when opening to capture the empties without throwing them everywhere
Click to expand...

Well, I'm not sure if my Beretta O/U qualifies as "a quality trap O/U" but it allows me the choice of setting it for either extracting or ejecting the shell. I have it set to extract and it lifts the empty hull very slightly so that it can be pulled out of the chamber.

I realize a Beretta 692 is at the lower end of trap O/U shoguns - but, I don't shoot registered trap and it's really all I need for recreational trap shooting.
 
Last edited:
I haven't seen a quality trap O/U with extractors in a long time - that said, it is easy to put your hand over the chambers when opening to capture the empties without throwing them everywhere
Click to expand...

When I got my Browning Citori I was worried about having to chase empties around the pheasant hunting fields. There was a simple mod of replacing the springs in the forend with 1911 springs. It was a cheap mod that worked great.

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=145108
 
but it allows me the choice of setting it for either extracting or ejecting the shell.
Click to expand...

That feature is becoming more and more prevalent now (and I think it is a great idea), not just for trap shooting, but also for field shooting where you don't want to leave your empties in some farmer's field.
Unless you're doing some fast and furious shooting - whether in a competition, or in the dove fields of Argentina, I'd rather have just extractors.
 
Ejectors can be disabled in a few minutes by any competent gun guy. At many ranges & clubs, emptys that hit the ground become their property, just saying. As for the autos -- at trap you're only going to load one shell at a time, unless your shooting doubles.
 
I shot almost all my Trap singles and handicap with an 1100 TA.
Cost was less and felt recoil was less.
A shell catcher at the ejection port saved my hulls for reloading.

I did keep an O/U around for doubles and as a spare if the auto went down.

Otherwise, traditional pumps, nice O/Us and special purpose Trap singles had just enough more kick to reduce the fun factor and I never stayed with one for long.

These days, the Beretta autos seem the leaders in target autos.
 
To at least appear to be a serious and successful trap shooter, you will absolutely need an over and under shotgun.
That's generally more important than your actual scores. :)
But seriously, have you checked out the shotgun episodes on the power factor show?
There's plenty of good info on effective light loads for trap.
 
IF all you intend to do is shoot trap singles, something like the Browning BT-99 is really hard to beat from a cost and reliability viewpoint. As for loads, 7/8 @1200 is all you need for ATA-style targets; anything heavier and you will join the ranks of old guys using a release trigger because of the recoil-induced flinch they acquired over the years.............;).
 
For casual Trap shooting ...shoot whatever you want ( pump, semi-auto, over under, single shot ) / and generally yes, a gas operated semi-auto will give you less recoil. Browning and Beretta will both give you a lot of gun for the money...in semi-autos or over unders.

Why folks don't like semi-autos for Trap:

a. It means you have to go back and pick up all your hulls / unless you use a shell catcher.

b. Cycling reliability ...for that 2nd shell ( if you are shooting Continental Trap - where you can load 2, to kill one bird )--- Contintental Trap birds are faster and wider angles left and right an up and down than typical Trap singles.

c. Minor issue - but with O/U you can put in 2 different chokes ( Mod and Imp Mod )...especially for Continental Trap or maybe for doubles.

d. Its bad etiquette to bounce hulls off the shooter standing to the right of your station ...for serious shooters, it breaks up their concentration and ryhthum.
---------------
I have a single barrel break open Trap gun ( BT - 100 )...but the gun I shoot 99% of the time for Trap ..is a Browning XT-Trap with 32" barrels and around 10 lbs. Heavier and longer guns tend to work better for Trap ...helps on smoothing out the follow thru on Trap - where your angles are not as abrupt left and right ( like Skeet, Sporting Clays, etc ). It also means I can shoot one gun for Singles, Continental and Doubles....vs the BT-100 for singles and handicap only .

All of the Browning Citori's I have ( BT-100, XT's and XS Skeet models ) ...have a cam adjustment in the forend...to convert them from ejectors to extractors. Easy to change or adjust. Its also easy to just put your palm over the breech as you open the gun and stop the shells from ejecting.
--------------
If you're recoil sensitive ...shoot 1 oz shells at 1150 fps or 1200 fps...to reduce recoil. Personally I like 1 oz of 8's ...for a Trap shell - singles, Continental, Handicap Trap or Doubles in a 12ga ....( 1 oz is the typical load for a 16 ga )....and shoot a heavier gun .../ for every lb you add to the gun, for a typical shell, you will reduce recoil about 15-20%.

Recoil is cumulative ...so if you shoot a typical 6 - 8 boxes a day ( 150 to 200 shells ), yes it adds up to wear you down mentally.

But if you have a sore shoulder, its because you have a flaw in your fundamentals ( mount, swing, pushing gun away from face, etc -- or the gun doesn't fit you right). Most adults can easily shoot 200 shells a day from a 12ga...3 or 4 days a week in practice ..plus tournaments on weekends with no pain ( but its because their fundamentals are sound - and their guns fit !! ).
--------------
They are "shotguns" ...not "shottys"...( and get off my lawn !! ) :D
 
FITASC....what do you think of the A400 XCEL multi target...semi auto from Beretta.../ adj rib, etc ...and it doesn't come in that ugly "smurf" color...??
 
boom stick

I went to my LGS yesterday to check out some options. Saw several citoris the benelli 828 and one old citori that was beautiful. Honestly I was underwhelmed with the o/u and auto guns. For the price they ask 2+ thousand bucks the quality seemed really unremarkable. I cant believe how little 2 grand gets you in a shotgun. My 2 ruger vaquero revolvers cost less and the workmanship is beautiful. With the exception of the 40yo browning they all looked like guns that could be bought for half the price. I balked a bit at the $1600 price tag for a sig 556xi pistol but it seems like a bargain compared to shotguns. Like 1911s is a 5k gun really that much better than a $1300 one? Apparently some guys use o/u shotguns that cost 10k or more at the club! We are talking shotguns right? A chamber with a smooth pipe on the end. Are any of these going to put shot on target better than a 870?
 
Used might be your best bet if you're worried about quality vs price. I bought my 2014 Browning Citori a few months back. It was used and I paid $999 plus tax. It had a bit of wear and scratches in the wood where someones ring gouged it. I would have probably done the same so I have no worries about it.

If I was going to spend the $2k I would probably end up with a Beretta and a long story to tell my wife.

 
will they put more shot on the target? nope. but you will have to work harder to get skilled to shoot any two bird clay games with a rem 870, i find it easier to shoot a hinge shotgun on long runs of clay games shooting(loading and ejecting empties). push the lever, take out the empty and insert a loaded shell and close the hinge gun. as a matter of fact i shot my first 25-25 in the mid 60,s with a 870 12ga trap shotgun. eastbank.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top