Turkey stock + trap/skeet shooting

Trap is expensive

Don't kid yourself, trap is an expensive pursuit.

Figure about 5 bucks a round for shells, and 5 bucks a round for birds. Now figure 100 rounds is about average for a practice session.

That's just practice, go registered trap and expenses climb. I love to shoot trap, took me about 3 months of a hundred rounds per Sunday session to break my first honest 25. 23s and 24s don't count.......not from the 16 anyway.

So 40 bucks a Sunday X 12 = 480.00 Perhaps that is cheap to some...it's all relative I suppose. That was just 3 months not counting, gun, gas, lunches, etc.

Trap is a game of perfection, and perfection is never cheap.
 
Don't kid yourself, trap is an expensive pursuit.
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I meant to say, compared to other shooting sports, trap shooting is not expensive. For me at least. I shoot rifle and pistol more than I shoot shotgun. A round of trap/skeet costs, like you said, about $10-$12 a round total. A round of either can last around 30 min (give or take 10 min, depending on how many are shooting with you). Spend 30 min shooting an AR, I spent probably double that in ammo alone. Everything is realitive.


trust me, a cheap gun has a better chance of scaring off the shooter...than a club where good guns are found.
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You're right, for new shooters who don't own a gun yet. I used to be treasurer at a skeet/trap range at my last base and shot and/or worked there 2-3 times a week. What really ticked me off was seeing new shooters who just bought a pump action shotgun getting harrassed by the avid shooters who have been shooting there for decades. Comments like "you're shooting a pump action here? You'll never hit anything with that" and whatnot (if they were tactical, short barreled home defense shotguns, I'd understand. But they weren't). May seem harmless, but I normally don't see those new shooters come back after that happens. They may not realize it, but they were scaring away business. I had to talk to those shooters about it and if they did it again, I kicked them off the range for the day. Thankfully, that didn't happen often.

So that's why I'm a bit defensive about comments regarding you have to own certain shotguns to shoot at trap/skeet ranges. A lot of people are just casual shooters who want to shoot for fun using what they got, not for competition or getting that elusive 25/25.
 
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you were a treasurer of a skeet and trap range, and youre asking us our opinion on an 870 for your wife?

did I miss something?

its not about harassing people. its about steering people in the right direction to save them grief.
people with expensive guns have run the trial and error gauntlet and are just trying to lead others away from the well traveled rut of misfortune and error.

can you shoot the games with a cheap gun? yes.
is it as enjoyable as one that doesn't fail or kick? no.
that's all im trying to say.
and....if it was my wife, and since I love her, I vote for getting her a nice gun that doesn't kick, to protect my hot dinners and clean house in the future! lol.

ps...I was treasurer of the NAS Lemoore rod and gun club in the mid 80's. I currently own a range in mo. come shoot some time.
 
casual shooting is fine. but a casual bruise isn't.
casual shooting would be more fun if every time you shot, it didn't hurt.
if youre going to go cheap, get her a used semi and be done with the kick.
 
have you ever hung out at a driving range?
you can tell those who are trying, and those that are just hacking away....by looking at their equipment.
if a guy just casually drives, sure get a set of clubs at a garage sale some Saturday. buy some used balls and hack away.
call it fun if that's what you like, but don't get frustrated if you can get one to go straight.
shooting casual?
im all for it. heck, the last match we had 54 was top score out of 125. last place shot a 4. we all had fun and went home happy.
but don't handicap someone who may have great talent, obstructed by lousy gear.
ESPECIALLY if shes your best friend.
 
you were a treasurer of a skeet and trap range, and youre asking us our opinion on an 870 for your wife?
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I started the thread with a question about using a vertical/thumbhole grip for skeet/trap. Yes, you'd think I should know that, but it was a topic never brought up. This question was answered about halfway back through the thread.

My wife has owned her 870 for about 4-5 years already. This was never about getting her an 870 since she already has it (she picked it out by the way). Hunting is it's primary purpose. Trap is second. She likes shooting trap, but isn't into it enough to get a new gun just for that.

And yes, the ultimate goal is to get her a semi-auto. They're great jack-of-all-trades for hunting and clay shooting. But until that happens, I'm just looking at avenues to make her current 870 better. In this case, making the forend longer.
 
why would I think you were thinking of getting an 870, if you were asking about wood for one that your wife already has?

here it is. my responses///////

So I'm debating about setting her gun up for turkey permanently since that's all she likes to hunt.
make the 870 the hunting gun and take it to the field only.

But would it screw up her trap game?
yes. get her a cheap semi.

Would she be ridiculed horribly at the range to where she won't want to go anymore?
most likely.
 
do you own more than one pair of shoes?
does she?
drop the do-all gun theory and get a gun designed for the specific need.
sneakers have a purpose.
bowling shoes do too.

so do guns.
 
drop the do-all gun theory and get a gun designed for the specific need.
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Agreed here...to a point. This is why I have 20+ firearms and my wife has 5. Each has their purpose. But, for me, shotguns are just so versatile. You can shoot all sorts of birdshot, buckshot, slugs, etc out of it and change the chokes. One shotgun can be used for multiple different situations compared to pistols and rifles. When I do get a new gun, I have an intended purpose for it in mind before purchasing. I have a rifle for hunting in the woods, one for the open fields, one for big game, one for small game, etc, etc. My semi auto shotgun...does it all. I hunt turkey, ducks, dove, geese, pheasant, coyote, boar, clays, the list goes on. All with one gun and simple ammo/choke changes. As you can see, the primary purpose of our guns are hunting related (self-defense when it comes to pistols). I mostly shoot skeet/trap as target practice for hunting during the off season. With my rifles, I target practice using the same guns I hunt with. I take that same “practice how you play” concept to skeet/trap and use my hunting shotgun. I don’t see many designated trap/skeet guns make it out to the field for hunting.

But yes, getting her a semi-auto of her own is the near future goal. Once that happens, we'll probably set up her 870 for turkey hunting permanently. Or even sell it if she sees no need for it after getting the semi-auto. Like you said, does the need for designated trap/skeet gun exist? In our case, no. Semi-autos work plenty fine for both hunting and trap/skeet shooting. Trust me though, if my wife ever told me the she wanted a gun designated for skeet/trap only, I won't steer her away.

I think this will be one of those agree to disagree conversations, which is fine. We wouldn't be humans if everybody agreed on everything. I agree with most of the points made and I don't disagree that a designated trap/skeet gun will have a small advantage over a pump or even a semi auto for those sports. But I still disagree with the idea that you basically aren't welcome at a skeet/trap range with anything less than an over/under. It’s a public range, not a private range. If people want to shoot pump actions or even single shot, that’s totally up to them. Pointing out to them that an over/under would be better for skeet should just be one sentence and then dropped after that.

what base were you on?
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My last base was Travis AFB, CA. Stationed in New Mexico now. The rod and gun club on Travis had a nice trap/skeet/5 stand range right across the flightline, so I went there every other day during my lunches. 90% of the club members there (which seems to be a trend at most skeet/trap clubs) were 65+ years old. I was one of the few young bucks who shot there all the time, which is one of the reasons why I was voted into a board position: to be the voice for those still in active duty. A lot of the active duty guys had their hunting shotguns and I had to fend off the old guys complaining that the "not serious shotgun shooters" were taking up the range.
 
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There are several well-made semis you can look at from the Remington 1100, Fabarm, Weatherby, Browning, Beretta.....
 
Not Necessary

It is not necessary to spend a crap ton of money on a trap shotgun.

One thing that is about as certain as sunrise and sunset, trap shooters are always changing guns. Always looking for one more X, if that takes swapping guns, you can bet they will do so.
I can't speak for all ranges, but most ranges and clubs are full of old farts who will whoop your butt on the line, and then let you shoot the next round with their gun.
Keep a couple extra boxes of factory shells in your bag for such occasions.

There are always great used guns available, I have a fondness for old, my 1941 trap grade model 12 was reblued nicely, but that reblue made it a 350 dollar gun, vs. a grand or more. It looks good, and it shoots even better. The model 12 was THE trap gun in the 50's, and can be had for cheap if one keeps their eyes open.

Quality never goes out of style. Enlist a buddy if you are not comfortable buying used. Great guns out there, if the shooter sticks with trap or other clay sports the gun is the least expense over time. Yet it is still expense and will likely become part of the "herd" over time if one keeps shooting targets.
 
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