Trap shotguns?

[fightingquaker13]

Who've you been talking too!?!  My buddy's both shoot 9mm, although one has a 45 and just picked up a XDM 5.25 in 40 so he can make major in the Steel Matches.  I only have one handgun at the moment (XDM 45) and the next gun I buy needs to be an AR-15 but I have been thinking of.... I can do this.... <sigh>.... a Glock 19.

Its the best SD hand gun in the world for the money. Its less finicky than a 1911, has ironclad reliability, its concealable, accurate, extra mags are available for less than $20, and half the PDs on the planet issue them. Plus they're cheap. You can pick a used one up for less than $400. Its a no brainer for a do it all SD pistol in 9mm.
FQ13

[les snyder]

Magoo541... if you are going to play gun games, get a Gen 3 G34

[fightingquaker13]

Magoo541... if you are going to play gun games, get a Gen 3 G34

That's a whole different animal, but also a cool pistol. Figure out what you want to do with it. But for a do it all, SD, concealed/nightstand gun, it hard to beat the G-19. For gun games, or if you just like .45 the G-34 is very solid.
FQ13

[Tyler Durden]

I don't know which steel plate matches your buddy is shooting, but if it is a Steel Challenge type match where the steel is static, it just hangs off a post, then major power factor doesn't mater.

he could just shoot a 9mm.

[Magoo541]

I dont know what I was thinking, it must be USPSA that he wants to make major power factor.  Either way I'm a big guy so I like big bullets, they're like me-big, slow and hit hard  so the only thing I'll use a 9 for is playing gun games.

[Sponsor]

[billt]

Why would Skeet and Trap guns be any different ?
For that matter why would they be any different than your field gun ?
The only differences between the 3 have nothing to do with shooting moving targets.

There are major differences between the two. Trap shotguns are designed to pattern high. The reason for this is because in Trap the targets are shot on the rise. By having the gun set up to pattern high, it gives a "built in" vertical lead necessary to hit the ascending target. If a Trap shooter waited until the target was at the apogee of it's flight, it would be too far out of range, (40 to 45 yards), to allow for consistent hits. A Trap gun allows you to stack the beads one on top of the other, and hold just under the target, firing as it ascends.

If you shoot Trap with a field gun that patterns at point of aim, you have to cover the target to acquire the necessary vertical lead. Once you do that, you have no idea where the target is. This will cause a lot of dropped targets. This effect becomes even greater when you start shooting at handicap yardages, (17 to 27 yard line). Also, Trap guns are often equipped with very high vented rib barrels to further enhance this feature depending on the shooter, and what his handicap yardage is, along with his shooting style. It is not uncommon for AA Tournament ATA Trap Shooters to run 100 straight from the 27 yard line to win top tournaments. This would be all but impossible to achieve with a field gun.

Skeet guns are almost the exact opposite. They shoot point of aim, and have shorter barrels that are choked very loosely compared to the full chokes used by Trap shooters. The general consensus is Trap is easier to learn, but much tougher to master. The reason for this is in Trap you have no idea where the bird is going to go when you call for it. In Skeet you know exactly where the bird is coming from, and where it is going to go. Once you have figured out the established leads your pretty much good to go.

Skeet is always shot from the same distance, and from the same positions. The degree of difficulty is increased by shooting a smaller gauge shotgun. In Trap it is increased by increasing the distance handicap targets are shot from. A guy running 25 straight in Skeet with a .410 is the talent equivalent of a Trap Shooter running 25 straight from the 27 yard line. Either is no easy task, and takes years to achieve, and thousands of rounds.

Trying to shoot Skeet with a Trap gun, or visa verse is like trying to deep sea fish with a Fly Rod. Fishing rods are the same as much as shotguns in that regard.

[Timothy]

Thanks for that explanation Bill.

When I started shooting trap and skeet about 40 years ago in junior high, we run what we brung...I guess over the years, technology has advanced as it generally does!  I haven't shot trap much over the years, probably two or three times.  Mostly skeet and my 870 works well! 

I suppose if I were competing, I'd look into something different but my cheap little Wingmaster does fine for what I need it too and, at 42 years old (the gun, not me!) it still looks new!  I guess, for me, the whole point in the game is to practice shooting on the wing.  I'd prefer to do that with the gun I'm most likely going to take into the field.

[tombogan03884]

There are major differences between the two. Trap shotguns are designed to pattern high. The reason for this is because in Trap the targets are shot on the rise. By having the gun set up to pattern high, it gives a "built in" vertical lead necessary to hit the ascending target. If a Trap shooter waited until the target was at the apogee of it's flight, it would be too far out of range, (40 to 45 yards), to allow for consistent hits. A Trap gun allows you to stack the beads one on top of the other, and hold just under the target, firing as it ascends.

If you shoot Trap with a field gun that patterns at point of aim, you have to cover the target to acquire the necessary vertical lead. Once you do that, you have no idea where the target is. This will cause a lot of dropped targets. This effect becomes even greater when you start shooting at handicap yardages, (17 to 27 yard line). Also, Trap guns are often equipped with very high vented rib barrels to further enhance this feature depending on the shooter, and what his handicap yardage is, along with his shooting style. It is not uncommon for AA Tournament ATA Trap Shooters to run 100 straight from the 27 yard line to win top tournaments. This would be all but impossible to achieve with a field gun.

Skeet guns are almost the exact opposite. They shoot point of aim, and have shorter barrels that are choked very loosely compared to the full chokes used by Trap shooters. The general consensus is Trap is easier to learn, but much tougher to master. The reason for this is in Trap you have no idea where the bird is going to go when you call for it. In Skeet you know exactly where the bird is coming from, and where it is going to go. Once you have figured out the established leads your pretty much good to go.

Skeet is always shot from the same distance, and from the same positions. The degree of difficulty is increased by shooting a smaller gauge shotgun. In Trap it is increased by increasing the distance handicap targets are shot from. A guy running 25 straight in Skeet with a .410 is the talent equivalent of a Trap Shooter running 25 straight from the 27 yard line. Either is no easy task, and takes years to achieve, and thousands of rounds.

Trying to shoot Skeet with a Trap gun, or visa verse is like trying to deep sea fish with a Fly Rod. Fishing rods are the same as much as shotguns in that regard.

Great explanation, Thanx.
The issue of a lighter gun for the field because it gets carried more than the competition guns was covered earlier.
Now I'm wondering where a Sporting clays gun would differ from the other 3.
Your explanation makes me suspect that it would.

[les snyder]

shoot skeet... trap shooters never smile

[billt]

Another thing I should mention is that it is not at all uncommon to see long yardage AA Trap shooters show up at a Tournament with a many as 3 different guns. One for 16 yard singles, one for handicap, and a third for shooting doubles, (usually an O/U).

Automatics and pumps have fallen out of favor in Trap over the years, being replaced by mostly single barrels, (Browning BT-99 type), and O/U's. One of the reasons is that most dedicated Trap shooters are avid reloaders. If you shoot doubles with an autoloader you'll not only lose your empties, but you will be ejecting them at the shooter to your right. O/U's and single barrels allow easy retrieval of your empties.

BT-99's can be set to just extract, and not completely eject the case. World Champion Kim Rhode can catch both empties in mid air with one hand as they eject from her gun. When you shoot as much as 700 to 1,000 rounds a day, you get good at that sort of thing.