Posted: 8/15/2012 6:39:26 PM EDT
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I'm looking for suggestions of a decent beginner shotgun for trap shooting. I would like to stay under $1000 preferably under $500. Once I shoot for a bit, I have no problem spending a few grand, but I don't want to spend the money if I'm not going to enjoy it.
Supposedly some ranges require a side by side. No idea if that's true. Thanks for the suggestions! Mark |
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Do you have a shotgun? If you do run it.
If you don't have one and want something to start with an 870 would serve you well. The double barrel is a nice way to go but will cost you more money. When it comes to double barrels I like over unders, but everyone will have their own opinion there. Good luck and welcome to Arfcom. |
| IMO, its more about getting a shotgun that works for you than getting one that's 'right' for trap shooting. I'm actually the best with my brother's old Auto-5.....its just magic. But - like everyone else has said - hard to go wrong with an 870, at least to start. I picked my Citori up for a song....good deals on O/U's are out there, you just have to keep your eyes open. |
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For my opinion, which is worth less than the bandwidth it is using, a Remington 1100 is hard to beat for trap. I started using one when I was 13 and have never stopped. Soft recoiling and nice to swing around. Not $200 but not $2000 either. Im with you there. I absolutly love my 11-87 which replaced the. 1100. Natural pointing, easy swing. Low recoil and a fast enough action to get any job done. It is my do all shotgun. |
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My trap team includes a Ruger red label, a super black eagle, a stoeger, a winchester 1300, an 870, and an off brand pump.
I say this because each gun has shot the best round before. Trap comes down to skill. I suggest renting the gun for a season and then buying if you know you like it. 2 dollar gun rental and $1.25 over retail for shells is a lot less expensive than 289 for a bone stock 870 @ Dunham's best price. |
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I started with an 870 that was my dad's. I bought a Mossberg 835 which besides cleaning it and Fiocchi rounds it was decent. I upgraded to a used Franchi 612 which I still have and btw love the crap out of.
I thought about getting an M2 this year, but only shot trap once  because life is busy so I figured I would save my money.
I paid under 350 for the Franchi a few years ago, but semi-auto would be a good way to go to pick up those doubles 
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The best value would be to buy a used 70's era shotgun with a 2 3/4" chamber. You can even find dedicated trap guns for under 1k. These days everyone thinks they need a 3" or 3.5" chamber, no one wants the old 2 3/4". For gaming you never need more and frankly few people ever NEED more for any application except Goose hunting.
You can get a quality Wingmaster, 1100, Winchester, Browning, Beretta or other. Pump, Semi, SxS, O/U or single shot. Get a 28" barrel so it is a bit more flexible in its uses but a 30", 32" or even 34" is fine if it is a dedicated trap gun. If you compare a field gun to a trap gun you will see some obvious differences in the stock and rib. Go on Proxibid and look up BT-99, there is one on there now. It is a good example of a used dedicated single shot ttrap gun. The problem with a dedicated Trap gun is if you decide you don't like trap, that gun is useless to you. A used Wingmaster, 1100, Model 12 or an O/U of some kind can be used for other things or more easily sold. Trap guns have raised ribs and stocks designed to benefit the trap shooter. Fit is everything, especially in Trap since it is the most muscle memory intensive of all the games. If you shoot a 28" Wingmaster and it fits you well enough, then any similar Wingmaster or even 1100 will too. You should shoot a particular type of gun in trap before you buy it. It will suck big time if the gun fits you poorly and you have to struggle to get to even 80% or better hits. Go to a local club and rent a gun or two for a few rounds of trap. |
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Heck, I've used my 12 gauge Browning BPS for trap. It's my "do everything" shotgun. You could use a single shot in trap... Me too. Got an Upland Special model for bird hunting (22" barrel, Invector, straight non-pistol grip stock), and a full camo "waterfowl" model, with 26" barrel, Invector Plus, for waterfowl. Being left-handed, I like the thumb operated tang safety and bottom ejection. The only thing I don't like is the stock Browning recoil pads are on the hard side. Not a big deal with trap or grouse/pheasant loads, but with waterfowl or turkey load, it's a not much help. I wanted to put a Limbsaver on it, but they do not make a "pre-fit" model for the BPS. But... I found out that the pre-fit Limbsaver made for a wood stocked Savage 110 is almost a perfect match, and my waterfowl BPS now has one. I have a 110 that had a Limbsaver, and I took it off and put it in the BPS. I had to elongate the screw holes on the inner surface of the pad with a Dremel, because they were "off" about an 1/8", but it works, and looks like it should look, like it was made for it. 
I also own two 870s, two 1100s, Winchester Model 12, Browning Auto-5, Beretta Pintail ES100, Mossberg 500, Mossberg 935, and an Ithaca 37.... and a couple NEF single shots. I've shot trap with them all except the Mossberg 935 (it doesn't cycle with 2 3/4" trap loads... it's designed for heavy 3" or 3.5" duck loads. I could use it, but you must cycle the bolt manually with light loads, making it just a complicated single-shot). I use the Beretta ES100 the most for trap, because it's a Benelli recoil action, so cleaning it is a snap... run a bore-snake down the barrel a few times and you're done. I only clean the bolt after about every 2,000 rounds. It's the cleanest shooting shotgun I've ever owned, and it has never jammed or misfired. The only issue I have, is the safety cannot be reversed to LH. Back on track.... For a beginner, I think the 870 is about the best choice. Easy to use, extremely reliable, and if something ever does break (highly unlikely) parts and repairs are inexpensive.... as are the 870s themselves. And they make a great hunting, home-defense gun too. If you're LH, the safeties on Remingtons can be reversed (requires drilling new hole on Express for detent-ball/spring, just a simple parts reversal, with existing parts, on Wingmasters and 1100s, which already have the necessary hole). You can't go wrong with an 870, and used ones are everywhere, they've made millions. |
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I have one that I have taken all over the country. Being semi and with the 21" barrel it breaks down nice, handles Skeet or clays well enough and mine is one of a run of 50 from the custom shop that year that had a standard Monte Carlo stock instead of the English stock.
Me too. Got an Upland Special model for bird hunting (22" barrel, Invector, straight non-pistol grip stock), and a full camo 26" barrel, Invector Plus, for waterfowl. For the money and buying used, my favorite semi auto would probably be a Beretta 303 in 12 or 20 but I often see used Uplands for $500 -$550. |
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I picked up an inexpensive Mossberg auto (935) and it's been very good to me. I think at the time I picked it up from Sportmens Warehouse for ~$475. I've been very happy with it for clays, hunting, etc. I've got a 935 too (Walmart - $435) and with standard trap/target loads there's not enough gas siphoned off to push the bolt back far enough to cycle the action. The owners manual tells you that this will happen, as it's designed to function with 3" or 3.5" heavy hunting loads, and you should not use anything less. I have had no problems running heavy magnum 2 3/4" shells through it, but anything less than a magnum load, no matter the length of shell, won't cycle it. It works great with 3" Black Cloud duck loads. What ammo are you using to shoot clays with your 935, I might give them a try? This is not a gun I'd buy strictly for target shooting, because it's designed for kick-ass hunting loads. The 930 (which will not shoot 3.5") might be OK with lighter loads, and costs even less than the 935. FWIW... Brownells sells a real nice aluminum steel replacement safety button for Mossbergs that's easy to install (getting the existing "one-way" screw out can be tricky). It has a raised center ridge and more aggresive serations so it's much easier to use with gloves on. I've got one on both my Mossbergs (935 & 500). They're about $20. |
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Quoted: Quoted: I picked up an inexpensive Mossberg auto (935) and it's been very good to me. I think at the time I picked it up from Sportmens Warehouse for ~$475. I've been very happy with it for clays, hunting, etc. I've got a 935 too (Walmart - $435) and with standard trap/target loads there's not enough gas siphoned off to push the bolt back far enough to cycle the action. The owners manual tells you that this will happen, as it's designed to function with 3" or 3.5" heavy hunting loads, and you should not use anything less. I have had no problems running heavy magnum 2 3/4" shells through it, but anything less than a magnum load, no matter the length of shell, won't cycle it. It works great with 3" Black Cloud duck loads. What ammo are you using to shoot clays with your 935, I might give them a try? This is not a gun I'd buy strictly for target shooting, because it's designed for kick-ass hunting loads. The 930 (which will not shoot 3.5") might be OK with lighter loads, and costs even less than the 935. FWIW... Brownells sells a real nice aluminum replacement safety button for Mossbergs that's easy to install (getting the existing "one-way" screw out can be tricky). It has a raised center ridge and more aggresive serations so it's much easier to use with gloves on. I've got one on both my Mossbergs (935 & 500). They're about $20. Weird - I've had good luck buying whatever cheap target ammo was around (Winchester, Fiochhi, etc) when I shot league. The only issues I can think of are a few of my father in law's reloads that he loads light on purpose for his shoulder. I'll take a look at what I have at home. That safety button can be a PITA with gloves - I had no idea there was a replacement out there - thanks!
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| I too second the 1100. You can put a rubber band over the chamber and it will avoid kicking shells in to the shooter next to you. I've been thinking about buying a Benelli Super Nova so I could put an extended tube on it too. They are versatile and you can find them for around $499 or less. |
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I've been using my 20" NEF Pardner Pump with an XF choke. Seems to do just fine. My dad uses his Pardner Pump Defender, 18" cylinder choke. Doesn't "dust" the clays like my more concentrated XF choke does, but it will still break them apart. My NEF was $135 used, from Gander. My dad's was $190 new. |
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That safety button can be a PITA with gloves - I had no idea there was a replacement out there - thanks! Here's a link. It doesn't list the 935 as an application, but after I put one on my 500, I checked out the 935's safety and it was the same. Fit perfectly. As I said, removing the one-way screw that secures the existing "plastic" safety button can be tricky... as a locksmith I have special bits designed to work on this type of screw. You will "bung" it up a little bit, but they also sell new replacement screws. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=26966/Product/MOSSBERG-500-590-835-ENHANCED-SAFETY-BUTTON edit to add: there's a small detent ball under the button... be careful, don't lose it when you take the old one off, you need to re-use it. They sell those too in case you do lose it. Also, I said it was aluminum... my bad, it's steel. |
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None of us mentioned how much of a pain in the ass a safety is, that resets every time you open the damn action. O/U's and Doubles that are field guns will have this and you will in short order do it yourself or pay someone to disconnect it. You will forget to flip to that safety at least once in ay given round.
Shell Ejector versus Extractor only is another major plus. Even if you only shoot 25 shot rounds x 4 rounds in a day pulling out 100 rounds is a bit of a pain too. It also helps to have a Wife/GF/SO who shoots clays. The weather this weekend will be ideal for a shoot together. |
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Not mine, but about the best there is out there: http://www.armslist.com/posts/519526/milwaukee-wisconsin-shotguns-for-sale-trade––beretta-al391-urika-sporting
My 391 has been flawless. |
| If you have a shotgun use it. I had a Mossberg 500 and used it for a couple of years. Then I bought a Stoeger Condor Supreme and love it. I reload for trap and have keep track of how many reloads I have done. It is now over 10,000. Mostly in the Condor but at least 3000 were in the Mossberg. |
| the best advise I got before my trap league was "use the shotgun you bird hunt with, Your used to it and the gun doesn't do anything but throw bb's down range you do the hard work" That being said I use my Mossberg 500. The gun has never missed a bird but I sure have. |