What choke for trap?

7

7.62

New member
I am planning on getting a new single shot for trap with a fixed choke. What choke should it have????
 
Why a fixed choke these days?

What's your handicap?
If you are long yardage or expect to progress there, I have to say Full.
 
in this vein, would a skeet choke be good for trap? i've had a fair bit of luck with my stock modified choke, but what's up with chokes made especially for clays?
 
skeet is BAD for trap. Skeet is very open because in skeet all of your shots take place at distances under 25yds. so there is little need for the pellets to stay together for very long. In trap, your shot must go farther so your shot needs to stay together longer.

hope that helps, and BTW, I use a mod.
 
If you are getting a fixed choke you better get full or trap full. With interchangeable chokes you pattern it to find out what choke works best for your load, with fixed chokes you pattern it to find out what load does what you want.
 
I say go with full choke. My BT-99 and my 870TB are both fixed full choke guns. Full choke allows you to kind of see where you are shooting as opposed to a more open choke. If you can hit a bird with full choke you can with modified or improved. Also full choke is nice for longer shots.
 
I can get similar scores with chokes from IC to Full using my pet load. BUT, the hits are more dramatic with Full.

And, Full will teach you to get on them tighter, and that's a good thing.

Starting out, go with Mod. Once you're hitting most of them, go to Full.
 
Mod or full is best, but I have broken a couple 25's with the skeet choke from 16 yard line. But I shoot real fast and get them before they can get out too far. Not recommended, but it can be done.
 
I shoot with Light Modified from 16 yds and have no trouble breaking them. I also use the LM for scrap, and hit 18/25 the other day. But, all guns pattern differently, and I have yet to pattern my guns.
 
I used to shoot a ton-o-clays with IC choked rifle-sight 20" barrels but.....
I mostly shoot SC now and some of those shots are loooooooooooong.
I really like the fixed Mod (.018) choke on my '55. This 28" gun is proving to be quite adept at close and long shots. It's a magic barrel. ;)
Mike
 
This is my first post on the Firing Line Forum.

From the sounds of your question, you are new to trap shooting.

Modified will work at 16yds. But you should be using 1 1/8 oz #8's if you go with a modified choke.

A very experinced trap shooter once told me that trap is a full choke game. My experience has been that he is right.

I recomend all new shooters use 2 3/4 dr 1 oz. #8 loads and full choke. This helps prevent flinching and other bad habits. I ran my first 25 straight at 16 yds with these loads. I use 1 oz #8's for doubles too.

On doubles, I like Lt Mod for the first and I-Mod for the second.

Good luck and have fun.
D-squared.
 
I have two older BT 99's. One modified an one full ( both 32"). I agree with D-Squared where 8's is the choice for 16 yrd games with modified. Gives you more shot in a slightly wider pattern. However, I shoot 1 oz of 8's in either gun with equal success. It's my load of choice. (1 oz of 8's has more shot than 1 1/8 oz of 7.5" if memory serves.) When I miss with either gun, it's not the gun or the load, it was the loose nut behind the trigger.

Having said all that, I believe that full chokes will make you a better shooter and in the end will make the gun more versitile for handicap shooting.
Of course, if you get a gun with screw in chokes, it's a mute point.

Lastly, gun fit is INFINITATLY more important in trap shooting than choke . Make sure you get one that fits well .
 
Tacoma makes an excellent point about gun fit. Gun fit is indeed the most important item regarding shotgunning.

My O/U trap gun has 30" barrels. One of the best improvements I had done to it was having an adjustable comb and adjustable but pad installed.

It provided a vast improvement to my shooting. With my eyes closed, I could then mount the shotgun, then open my eyes and be looking at a perfect figure 8 stack of the beads. Plus no longer was I going home with a swollen cheek bone from being pounded by the comb and a bad flinch to go with it.

A typical registered trap shoot is 100 singles, 100 handicap, and 100 doubles. That is alot of pounding. If the gun does not fit properly fit, you will develope a flinch. And that is why 2 3/4 dr 1 oz loads are used by so many shooters.

Generally 1 1/8 oz #7.5's are used for handicap distances beyond the 24 yds. Amongst 27 yards shooters, there seems to be a split between 2 3/4 and 3 dram loads.

One tip, most beginning trap shooters will leave thier eyes focused on the beads when they call for a target. To be successfull in trap you need to learn to only use the beads as a reference when first mounting the shotgun, and shift your focus beyond the trap house. I have a routine that I use: mount - check beads - shift focus - call - track - shot.

D-squared.
 
I agree with Tacoma that 1oz of 8 has more shot than 1&1/8th of 7.5 but I used 7.5 after experimenting with 8 because the slightly larger/heavier shot doesn't slow down as quickly and I found I had better velocity consistancy at longer shots. Oh, and I shot FULL choke only.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top