The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Trap Shooting

BigJimP · October 24, 2008, 03:18 PM

The BT 99, in my view is too specialized as a first Trap gun - not saying its a bad gun, its not, but it will only handle singles / a lot of shooter may want to shoot some singles, some continental where you can load 2 shells or even doubles ( so I think an O/U is a more versatile first buy). However, if you really want a single barrel the BT-99 or the older BT-100 are fine guns. The BT-100 has the added advantage of a removeable trigger, which I like very much.

Cynergy O/U's are fine - but the ones with the adj comb only adjust up and down - they will not adjust for cast on and off ( left and right) and that's a negative in my view.

Citori XT - with adj comb fixes both of the issues above / so, again that's my vote ( with more detail behind my reasoning ). In my view, the Citori XT with adj comb is a great gun for the money.

To the part of your note that speaks to cost - partly it is what the market will bear in my view. There is more machining in an O/U than a typical pump gun ... wood on most O/U's are a little fancier, more steel ( 2 barrels, 2 firing pins, etc ) - but I don't work for Browning, so I don't know everything that goes into their pricing / and I will tell you that one of the XT's I have is several years old - has thousands or shells thru it - and is virtually as tight today as the day I bought it. But if you want to save a few bucks there are a lot of good used XT's out there - and some very gently used / some beat to heck ....you just need to find a good one.

To specs - we are all different - I'm 6'5" and about 290 lbs - but what really matters on any gun, is does it fit, so it hits where you look. A gun with a paralell comb / and an adj comb is easily adjustable - so it will hit where you look with some adjustment / and you can adjust it to shoot 60%/40% 50%/50% or whatever suits you. Personally, I like my Trap gun up around 10lbs - because Trap in general, has way less barrel movement than Skeet, Sporting Clays or field shooting - and that extra weight helps to keep the gun moving on follow-thru. I also like the way the Browning Citori's - especially the XT model - balances near the hinge pin / the Cynergy feels a little different to me ( although I've only shot them a little ). The Browning BPS Trap grade may be a good gun for you - to me, its way too light.

But to me a Trap gun has to have a couple of things:
a paralell comb - (comb is paralell to rib on gun)
an adj comb ( so I can set the point of impact )
O/U - so I can put different chokes in each barrel / shoot cont or doubles
a 12ga
a 32" barrel in an O/U - 34" barrel in a single barrel gun / around 10lbs

I change to an 8 1/2 lb gun ( for quicker games like Skeet, Sporting Clays, or field shooting in a 12ga ) because they have more barrel movement left to right.

October 24, 2008, 03:18 PM	#15
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	The BT 99, in my view is too specialized as a first Trap gun - not saying its a bad gun, its not, but it will only handle singles / a lot of shooter may want to shoot some singles, some continental where you can load 2 shells or even doubles ( so I think an O/U is a more versatile first buy). However, if you really want a single barrel the BT-99 or the older BT-100 are fine guns. The BT-100 has the added advantage of a removeable trigger, which I like very much. Cynergy O/U's are fine - but the ones with the adj comb only adjust up and down - they will not adjust for cast on and off ( left and right) and that's a negative in my view. Citori XT - with adj comb fixes both of the issues above / so, again that's my vote ( with more detail behind my reasoning ). In my view, the Citori XT with adj comb is a great gun for the money. To the part of your note that speaks to cost - partly it is what the market will bear in my view. There is more machining in an O/U than a typical pump gun ... wood on most O/U's are a little fancier, more steel ( 2 barrels, 2 firing pins, etc ) - but I don't work for Browning, so I don't know everything that goes into their pricing / and I will tell you that one of the XT's I have is several years old - has thousands or shells thru it - and is virtually as tight today as the day I bought it. But if you want to save a few bucks there are a lot of good used XT's out there - and some very gently used / some beat to heck ....you just need to find a good one. To specs - we are all different - I'm 6'5" and about 290 lbs - but what really matters on any gun, is does it fit, so it hits where you look. A gun with a paralell comb / and an adj comb is easily adjustable - so it will hit where you look with some adjustment / and you can adjust it to shoot 60%/40% 50%/50% or whatever suits you. Personally, I like my Trap gun up around 10lbs - because Trap in general, has way less barrel movement than Skeet, Sporting Clays or field shooting - and that extra weight helps to keep the gun moving on follow-thru. I also like the way the Browning Citori's - especially the XT model - balances near the hinge pin / the Cynergy feels a little different to me ( although I've only shot them a little ). The Browning BPS Trap grade may be a good gun for you - to me, its way too light. But to me a Trap gun has to have a couple of things: a paralell comb - (comb is paralell to rib on gun) an adj comb ( so I can set the point of impact ) O/U - so I can put different chokes in each barrel / shoot cont or doubles a 12ga a 32" barrel in an O/U - 34" barrel in a single barrel gun / around 10lbs I change to an 8 1/2 lb gun ( for quicker games like Skeet, Sporting Clays, or field shooting in a 12ga ) because they have more barrel movement left to right.