Got me a Trap gun, Yippee!!...

Dave McC · February 22, 2001, 11:31 AM

Yup, went and got a non-870 for trap, the first specialized shotgun I've owned for quite a while,and my first dedicated trap gun ever.

It's the Pedersen I asked about here a little while back.

32" bbls, choked IM and Full, nice stock fit and a Monte Carlo comb.Pretty wood,too.

A little on the expensive side for me, and not expensive at all considering the general price of trap guns.

Weather permitting, I'll shoot it a bit this weekend and report how it,and I,do....

Romulus · February 22, 2001, 12:52 PM

Excellent...I got instead from a web auction my first gun like the ones you so fondly talk about, an 870 Police. Amazing, I was the only bidder for this NIB piece. Can't wait to compare it to my Ithaca...

Dave McC · February 24, 2001, 12:24 PM

Well, went to a trap range and shot my toy....

One thing I noted right off, this thing balances way forward of where a field gun does. Getting used to the swing will take a bit of time.

Scores for 4 rounds of 16 yard trap ran 17-20, a few better than I was doing with my bunty li'l 870.

What I'm doing next is what I should have done first, patterning the thing. I've an idea that I'm shooting over some of the targets, and I need to figure out what my sight pic should be on this one.

Having fun,tho, and can't wait to do it again...

PJR · February 24, 2001, 04:04 PM

Dave:

You probably are shooting over the bird. That seems to be where most trapshooters miss including me.

The gun may be set up to shoot high. Most trap guns are. Secondly, if you are missing mostly on straightaways it might be because you are lifting your head.

The weight forward and the general weight of the gun itself does take some getting used to. I shoot a heavy 32" gun choked like yours the found shooting slower helps. Try and think of that gun not as a snap, reflex proposition but like those big turrets on a battleship that smoothly bear down on the target. You will have lots of choke left in your gun even if the bird gets out a little further.

Congrats on the Pederson. Sounds like a very nice gun.

Paul

Dave McC · February 25, 2001, 09:05 AM

Thanks, Paul. This one is high stocked, I see the whole rib.Floating the clay above the bead isn't enough, I think.

Lifting my head is not the problem,been cheeking hard since the late 60s. Plenty of other glitches and mistakes, tho.

I seem to be doing a little better taking my time, as you said. Compared to the short bbled shotguns I've been shooting lately, this swings slower and with more inertia. The tighter chokes mean I can let things happen at my pace, and IMO that helps.

I must admit I'm having a ball with this piece, since it's so different from what I use the most.Do have my tinkering craving operating,so expect changes.

Dave McC · February 26, 2001, 01:23 PM

There's been some changes....

First, went today and patterned the thing, it was shooting flat, much to my surprise.

Second, after one round, I started the second and had the shell go PAST the extractor. After some work with the Leatherman, got the shell out and,at the urging of the one guy on the line, tried it again. Same result.

Inspection showed that this was going to be a continual problem. So, back to Guns R Us with it. They took it back w/o a murmur,and now I've got what I should have gotten in the first place, a trap grade 870, 30", full choke bbl,trap stock and beautiful wood.

O/Us I know little about. 870s I understand(G).

Planning on hitting the range again tomorrow,will post the results.

Conclusion: Stick with what you know, and with the pro gun shops. I doubt I'd have had the same excellent response from a shop I wasn't a regular customer at, and certainly not if I had gone the cheap route and gone to Walmart,etc.

Ledbetter · February 27, 2001, 01:22 PM

I just got back from a trip and read your thread. Congrats on your new toy, I'm glad to hear about it.

Regards,

Ledbetter

Dave McC · February 27, 2001, 01:45 PM

Thanks, Led. Did fine with the new 870.Best score was 21, and I think I may have the right tool for the job now...

Cannon Cocker · February 27, 2001, 03:14 PM

I had been looking at various trap guns for a couple of months now. I was going to get some sort of over and under since that seemed to be the most popular type of gun at the clubs. In the end I decided to get a Remington 1100 Classic Trap since I have been hunting with various 1100's for years now. Not to mention all the money I saved over an O/U shotgun.

Last weekend there was a registered ATA shoot at the local club. There were a lot of people there from all over the inland Northwest with some mighty fancy, expensive shotguns. They didn't seem to be able to shoot any better than anyone else there. I'm pretty sure that I can compete with just about anyone with that auto.

It ain't about the gun, but about the guy behind the trigger.

Dave McC · February 28, 2001, 07:56 AM

CC, Amen. We tend to concentrate on the hardware, since it's easy to do while sitting at a desk or in front of the computer. Harder is to focus on the shooter. And, a good shooter shoots well with anything.

Enjoy that 1100, and $%^&* those who sneer(G)....

Adventurer_96 · March 2, 2001, 11:23 AM

I recently bought an 1100 Trap from a fellow at the club where I shoot. He brought it out for me and I shot 19 with it and decided to get it.

Two weeks and six rounds later I shot my first 25 last Sunday, on something like my tenth or eleventh round ever. I really attribute it to a good fitting gun and an overall excellent manuafacture of the weapon but mainly dumb luck.

I see several guns upwards of $8000 when I shoot. It makes me smile because hopefully I'll be able to spend that kind of money on a gun one day. Sometimes some of those fellows are lucky to break 20, but damned if they don't have a great time doing it!

I'm glad you chose an 870 Trap as your replacement gun, the 870 may be a future purchase.

La perte des armes est la fin de la liberte

K80Geoff · March 2, 2001, 11:48 AM

I love these threads. Reminds me of my first efforts at shooting clay targets. I decided that I wanted an O/U and that I wanted to learn to shoot sporting clays.

Read tons of literature in gun mags and decided to purchase a Remington Peerless. I knew nothing about O/Us and my only experience previous to this was with remington 870's. I figured that Remington built good guns and the Peerless had to be good.

When I started shooting I was the butt of jokes, most behind my back. The Peerless was a POS and everyone knew it, except me of course. I shot the gun for Two years untill the trigger started to malf... Lots of shooters had a great time amusing themselves at my expense.

But I did learn...

After a few lessons and shooting several different guns.
Cleaned out my gun safe and put a down payment on a K80. Financed the rest of it. I love shooting sporting and I decided that I wanted one gun that was the best. The gun has worked flawlessly and I am very happy with it. It is worth every penny I spent on it. Dumped the Peerless to some foo...shooter who collects Remingtons.

Now the same guys who laughed at me when I shot the Peerless find ways to berate me because of my "High dollar gun". They ask if it bought me any targets, complain it is too heavy or that it has a hair trigger when I let them shoot it. But they all want to shoot it

they brag when they shoot better than me, and if I beat them it is because I have an expensive gun!

What is the point of this diatribe?

Simple, find a gun you can afford and shoot well and ignore the jerks who comment about your choice of weapons.

The 1100 and 870 have won a lions share of Trap and Skeet trophies over the years.

Geoff Ross

Dave McC · March 3, 2001, 06:44 AM

Geoff, some folks are gonna %^&* and moan no matter what you do. I pay no mind to them.

I've an idea I'll be using this one for a while. From the bbl code it was made in 94 or 5, and it looks very close to new. In fact, it still pumps a little hard, but time will take care of that nicely.

February 27, 2001, 01:22 PM	#7
Ledbetter Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2000 Location: California USA Posts: 4,533	Dave I just got back from a trip and read your thread. Congrats on your new toy, I'm glad to hear about it. Regards, Ledbetter

February 27, 2001, 03:14 PM	#9
Cannon Cocker Member Join Date: January 20, 2001 Posts: 32	Go With What You Know I had been looking at various trap guns for a couple of months now. I was going to get some sort of over and under since that seemed to be the most popular type of gun at the clubs. In the end I decided to get a Remington 1100 Classic Trap since I have been hunting with various 1100's for years now. Not to mention all the money I saved over an O/U shotgun. Last weekend there was a registered ATA shoot at the local club. There were a lot of people there from all over the inland Northwest with some mighty fancy, expensive shotguns. They didn't seem to be able to shoot any better than anyone else there. I'm pretty sure that I can compete with just about anyone with that auto. It ain't about the gun, but about the guy behind the trigger.

March 2, 2001, 11:48 AM	#12
K80Geoff Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 1998 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 3,639	Shotguns I love these threads. Reminds me of my first efforts at shooting clay targets. I decided that I wanted an O/U and that I wanted to learn to shoot sporting clays. Read tons of literature in gun mags and decided to purchase a Remington Peerless. I knew nothing about O/Us and my only experience previous to this was with remington 870's. I figured that Remington built good guns and the Peerless had to be good. When I started shooting I was the butt of jokes, most behind my back. The Peerless was a POS and everyone knew it, except me of course. I shot the gun for Two years untill the trigger started to malf... Lots of shooters had a great time amusing themselves at my expense. But I did learn... After a few lessons and shooting several different guns. Cleaned out my gun safe and put a down payment on a K80. Financed the rest of it. I love shooting sporting and I decided that I wanted one gun that was the best. The gun has worked flawlessly and I am very happy with it. It is worth every penny I spent on it. Dumped the Peerless to some foo...shooter who collects Remingtons. Now the same guys who laughed at me when I shot the Peerless find ways to berate me because of my "High dollar gun". They ask if it bought me any targets, complain it is too heavy or that it has a hair trigger when I let them shoot it. But they all want to shoot it they brag when they shoot better than me, and if I beat them it is because I have an expensive gun! What is the point of this diatribe? Simple, find a gun you can afford and shoot well and ignore the jerks who comment about your choice of weapons. The 1100 and 870 have won a lions share of Trap and Skeet trophies over the years. Geoff Ross __________________ I am no longer a member of this forum. Bye!

February 22, 2001, 11:31 AM	#1
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Yup, went and got a non-870 for trap, the first specialized shotgun I've owned for quite a while,and my first dedicated trap gun ever. It's the Pedersen I asked about here a little while back. 32" bbls, choked IM and Full, nice stock fit and a Monte Carlo comb.Pretty wood,too. A little on the expensive side for me, and not expensive at all considering the general price of trap guns. Weather permitting, I'll shoot it a bit this weekend and report how it,and I,do....

February 22, 2001, 12:52 PM	#2
Romulus Senior Member Join Date: January 18, 2001 Location: Kettle Moraine country Posts: 897	Excellent...I got instead from a web auction my first gun like the ones you so fondly talk about, an 870 Police. Amazing, I was the only bidder for this NIB piece. Can't wait to compare it to my Ithaca...

February 24, 2001, 12:24 PM	#3
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Well, went to a trap range and shot my toy.... One thing I noted right off, this thing balances way forward of where a field gun does. Getting used to the swing will take a bit of time. Scores for 4 rounds of 16 yard trap ran 17-20, a few better than I was doing with my bunty li'l 870. What I'm doing next is what I should have done first, patterning the thing. I've an idea that I'm shooting over some of the targets, and I need to figure out what my sight pic should be on this one. Having fun,tho, and can't wait to do it again...

February 24, 2001, 04:04 PM	#4
PJR Senior Member Join Date: May 31, 2000 Posts: 1,127	Dave: You probably are shooting over the bird. That seems to be where most trapshooters miss including me. The gun may be set up to shoot high. Most trap guns are. Secondly, if you are missing mostly on straightaways it might be because you are lifting your head. The weight forward and the general weight of the gun itself does take some getting used to. I shoot a heavy 32" gun choked like yours the found shooting slower helps. Try and think of that gun not as a snap, reflex proposition but like those big turrets on a battleship that smoothly bear down on the target. You will have lots of choke left in your gun even if the bird gets out a little further. Congrats on the Pederson. Sounds like a very nice gun. Paul

February 25, 2001, 09:05 AM	#5
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Thanks, Paul. This one is high stocked, I see the whole rib.Floating the clay above the bead isn't enough, I think. Lifting my head is not the problem,been cheeking hard since the late 60s. Plenty of other glitches and mistakes, tho. I seem to be doing a little better taking my time, as you said. Compared to the short bbled shotguns I've been shooting lately, this swings slower and with more inertia. The tighter chokes mean I can let things happen at my pace, and IMO that helps. I must admit I'm having a ball with this piece, since it's so different from what I use the most.Do have my tinkering craving operating,so expect changes.

February 26, 2001, 01:23 PM	#6
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	There's been some changes.... First, went today and patterned the thing, it was shooting flat, much to my surprise. Second, after one round, I started the second and had the shell go PAST the extractor. After some work with the Leatherman, got the shell out and,at the urging of the one guy on the line, tried it again. Same result. Inspection showed that this was going to be a continual problem. So, back to Guns R Us with it. They took it back w/o a murmur,and now I've got what I should have gotten in the first place, a trap grade 870, 30", full choke bbl,trap stock and beautiful wood. O/Us I know little about. 870s I understand(G). Planning on hitting the range again tomorrow,will post the results. Conclusion: Stick with what you know, and with the pro gun shops. I doubt I'd have had the same excellent response from a shop I wasn't a regular customer at, and certainly not if I had gone the cheap route and gone to Walmart,etc.

February 27, 2001, 01:45 PM	#8
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Thanks, Led. Did fine with the new 870.Best score was 21, and I think I may have the right tool for the job now...

February 28, 2001, 07:56 AM	#10
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	CC, Amen. We tend to concentrate on the hardware, since it's easy to do while sitting at a desk or in front of the computer. Harder is to focus on the shooter. And, a good shooter shoots well with anything. Enjoy that 1100, and $%^&* those who sneer(G)....

March 2, 2001, 11:23 AM	#11
Adventurer_96 Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 2000 Location: Utah Posts: 417	I recently bought an 1100 Trap from a fellow at the club where I shoot. He brought it out for me and I shot 19 with it and decided to get it. Two weeks and six rounds later I shot my first 25 last Sunday, on something like my tenth or eleventh round ever. I really attribute it to a good fitting gun and an overall excellent manuafacture of the weapon but mainly dumb luck. I see several guns upwards of $8000 when I shoot. It makes me smile because hopefully I'll be able to spend that kind of money on a gun one day. Sometimes some of those fellows are lucky to break 20, but damned if they don't have a great time doing it! I'm glad you chose an 870 Trap as your replacement gun, the 870 may be a future purchase. La perte des armes est la fin de la liberte

March 3, 2001, 06:44 AM	#13
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Geoff, some folks are gonna %^&* and moan no matter what you do. I pay no mind to them. I've an idea I'll be using this one for a while. From the bbl code it was made in 94 or 5, and it looks very close to new. In fact, it still pumps a little hard, but time will take care of that nicely.