O/U: sporting vs field

A

abs

New member
I'm thinking O/U for entry level trap and I'm surprised to see the sporting models (even without adjustable comb) may be $400+ more expensive than similar field models (e.g. Citori). Besides fiber sights, I don't see much differences in specs. Why is that? And how important is to have sporting model rather than the field one?
Thanks!
 
In trap you the bird actually moves away from you while rising quickly, moving straight or in a certain angle.

You need a shotgun that will actually place the shot above the point of hold compensating for the climb of the target.

If your shotgun's shooting flat like any field gun you will have to swing it all the way up through the target covering the pigeon with the muzzle blocking the actual line of sight.

Trap specialized guns with central shot patterns above the point of aim. This canbe achieved by modifying the rib & comb.

Secondly you'll need a gun that is heavy and has longer barrels because the movement should be fast.

For the brevity of it get a specialized gun of you intend to take up the sport seriously or stick with whatever that you have if it's just for bursting clays on a weekend's sake.

I use a 682 EELL Gold Trap and Beretta DT-10 Trident for skeet.
 
Depending on brand and model (The Cynergy line for example) the sporting models may come ported, as well as with several extended choke tubes for quick changing, and they usually have slightly different measurements for most dimensions.
 
abs

Of the shotgun sports, entry level American trap is the one where an O/U is not an advantage. Where the other sports have doubles presentations where a quick second shot is required, trap doesn't.

If you want a gun just for trap, a single barrel will serve you better and at a fraction the cost of an O/U. For casual club trap shooting it's not unusual to see Winchester Model-12s, Mossberg 500s, Remington 870s and 1100s in the rack. For the more serious shooters, the Browning BT-99 and Berettas are popular. For the really serious shooters, the Perazzis, K-80s, Kolars and Ljutics start filling the racks.

Many shooters have a single barrel gun (pump, autoloader or fixed breech) for trap and a sporting O/U for skeet, clays, 5-stand and trap doubles. Another solution is the combo: a fixed breech gun fitted with both a single and double barrels.
 
A lot of what you see in the specs is just marketing - in my mind there is little, if any, difference in the best guns for Skeet, Sporting Clays and bird hunting. For me personally, I use exactly the same O/U - in all 3.

+ - $ 400 / on a $3,000 gun is about 13% - so you'll probably find different chokes included with some guns ( they're $50 - $60 each), you may see ported barrels, a little better figure in the wood, maybe an adjustable trigger, maybe some scroll work or engraving, some have different barrel length options, ... / and all that relates to price / and demand, etc ... / is the price justified, probably yes / but no way to know for sure. You have to be the judge as the buyer on that issue.

Personally in an all around O/U, I like a gun at about 8 1/2 lbs, 30" barrels, preferably ported, extended chokes, a decent piece of wood on it, a rib with a mid bead, type of front bead is irrelevant to me - and ideally a parallel adj comb.

Trap is different / and when you go to a dedicated Trap gun - I want a gun up around 10lbs, 32" barrels in an O/U.
 
Field guns tend to be a little lighter, have shorter barrels, and also tend to shoot flat, or to POA. TARGET shotguns tend to have longer barrels, be somewhat heavier (good for recoil absorption), and shoot a little high. Depending on the target model, they might shoot 60/40 or 70/30 (usually tap guns).

While both CAN be used for the other, usually it is not a good mix. A field gun will begin to hurt after 100-200 shots in a day, while a target gun will tend to feel really heavy after carrying it all day hunting over hill and dale.
 
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