I have a Winchester 1300 Defender, 18" barrel, and use it for trap, and it seems to work Ok, but it seems that I shoot better with longer barrel shotguns. Is this due to the barrel or me? Does barrel length really matter, or does the load and choke factor in much more? Can I get a longer barrel if necessary? Thanks.
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Winchester 1300 Defender good for trap?
- Thread starter gazoline
- Start date
Sounds to me like a great trap gun,for you. I wish more folks would shoot some clays with their HD tool, for familiarity and practice.I use my 21" bbled, Kitchen table built 870 for same.
Is it what a trap fanatic headed for the Nationals would pick? Nope.
Is the bbl about a foot shorter than what most serious trap shooters would use, and is it about a lb lighter? Yep.
But we're talking fun here.
Bbl length,load and choke do matter some, but the shooter is the biggest piece in the puzzle.
I've got HD and Deer 870s, with GR sights and mag extensions. I've used them for clays, at the kind of courses where there's more Beamers and Volvos in the parking lot than P/U trucks,and had a good time and score. I prefer to use my "Bird" 870, mentioned above.
I assume your Defender is a HD tool. If the budget can handle same, why not get another 1300 with a longer bbl, tube chokes,and so on? With the controls all the same,you won't get mixed up in a crisis, and you'll gain familiarity with your HD tool while turning satisfactory numbers of clays into clay powder....
Is it what a trap fanatic headed for the Nationals would pick? Nope.
Is the bbl about a foot shorter than what most serious trap shooters would use, and is it about a lb lighter? Yep.
But we're talking fun here.
Bbl length,load and choke do matter some, but the shooter is the biggest piece in the puzzle.
I've got HD and Deer 870s, with GR sights and mag extensions. I've used them for clays, at the kind of courses where there's more Beamers and Volvos in the parking lot than P/U trucks,and had a good time and score. I prefer to use my "Bird" 870, mentioned above.
I assume your Defender is a HD tool. If the budget can handle same, why not get another 1300 with a longer bbl, tube chokes,and so on? With the controls all the same,you won't get mixed up in a crisis, and you'll gain familiarity with your HD tool while turning satisfactory numbers of clays into clay powder....
The nature of trap is such that it favors longer barrels and tighter chokes. There is no way I can shoot trap with my 18" cylinder choke barrel as well as my 32" over/under with tight chokes. I've found skeet better practice for my HD gun with incoming, outgoing and crossing shots. The skeet doubles also help improve your second shot practice.
So if I'm looking for a good score the 18" is not my choice. But the reason to shoot your HD gun at clay target games is not score, it's practice and familiarity.
Dave's suggestion of a second 1300 makes a lot of sense. When I started clay shooting it was with an 18" Remington 870P. Like you, I began to see the point of a longer barrel but when I went out to buy one I discovered that a new 870 wasn't that much more expensive. I bought the second 870 only to trade it off some years later. The original 870P is still mine and while I most often shoot target guns at clay games every month or so the HD gun gets out for a round of skeet or two.
So if I'm looking for a good score the 18" is not my choice. But the reason to shoot your HD gun at clay target games is not score, it's practice and familiarity.
Dave's suggestion of a second 1300 makes a lot of sense. When I started clay shooting it was with an 18" Remington 870P. Like you, I began to see the point of a longer barrel but when I went out to buy one I discovered that a new 870 wasn't that much more expensive. I bought the second 870 only to trade it off some years later. The original 870P is still mine and while I most often shoot target guns at clay games every month or so the HD gun gets out for a round of skeet or two.