I went trap shooting for the first time

[gaseousclay]

with the wife of all people and we had a blast. I was originally going with a friend to a gun club fundraiser but I managed to convince my wife to come with at the last minute. I wasn't expecting her to participate but she was convinced by one of the instructors to try it. all I can say is, wow. I started off using my friend's Winchester 1300 pump, but after missing nearly all 25 of my shots the instructor came to the conclusion that it was shooting a foot low. when we did a new round I started with a Remington 1100 semi-auto and then switched to a Browning Citori O/U.....I loved the O/U! it felt comfortable in my hands, it loaded and unloaded with ease and I hit more targets than I did with the pump shotguns I was using. I was also very proud of my wife. this is the woman whom i've been trying to convince to allow me to keep a firearm in the house and who doesn't like guns. the fact that she was a good sport about trap shooting made me happy. I know it's not something she'll want to do again but I know she had fun during our time out.

[Dave McC]

Thanks for making my day better.I love to see new folks getting into shotgunning. And your wife MAY want to do this again as a shared experience.

A couple suggestions.....

A lesson or five from a trained instructor will get both of you off to a good start, ESPECIALLY your spouse.

Try different guns out, but a name brand auto like an 1100, 390-391, etc, will go a long ways towards filling all the niches and provide some kick mitigation.

Or a US made pump like the 500,870,1300,37, etc, with a short barrel for HD and a longer one with choke tubes for clays and birds covers even more bases, but provides no mitigation. They also run cheaper.

Whatever you get, make sure it FITS your spouse. Usually that's not that hard if someone who knows, like that instructor, guides you through.

[gaseousclay]

A couple suggestions.....

A lesson or five from a trained instructor will get both of you off to a good start, ESPECIALLY your spouse.

Try different guns out, but a name brand auto like an 1100, 390-391, etc, will go a long ways towards filling all the niches and provide some kick mitigation.

Or a US made pump like the 500,870,1300,37, etc, with a short barrel for HD and a longer one with choke tubes for clays and birds covers even more bases, but provides no mitigation. They also run cheaper.

Whatever you get, make sure it FITS your spouse. Usually that's not that hard if someone who knows, like that instructor, guides you through.

agreed. we had two instructors who were a husband and wife team. they were both incredibly helpful and once I learned about how to properly hold the shotgun, how to stand, how to pivot with my waist, etc., it all came together. I don't think I can convince my wife to do it again but I'll definitely be going again in the future. now if I could only afford a nice O/U

[BigJimP]

Glad to hear you had a good time....

Dave's points are solid / focus on going a few more times, renting a gun, borrowing a gun - if you can .....don't focus on buying a gun yet. Pciking a gun is not about the action type ( O/U vs pump ) its about "Fit" - so the gun hits where you look. The comb on the pump gun you were shooting was probably too low for you /so the gun was shooting low - but that is easily changed with a comb pad. It has nothing to do with the fact that it was a pump gun.

There are O/U's that have the same stock configuration that the pump gun you shot has - and they won't fit you either....and spending $ 1,500 on one would not be a great idea. You need to learn more about "Fit" ---so you can pick the right gun.

Read a little, talk to some shooters - have some fun ....as you focus on picking the right gun / with some adjustability in it - so it will "Fit" you. Every mfg has different stock dimensions on drop at comb, drop at heel and length of pull .....so it may be that one pump gun will fit you better than others...

Have fun with the process ....don't be in a hurry to buy a gun ...

[gaseousclay]

Dave's points are solid / focus on going a few more times, renting a gun, borrowing a gun - if you can .....don't focus on buying a gun yet. Pciking a gun is not about the action type ( O/U vs pump ) its about "Fit" - so the gun hits where you look. The comb on the pump gun you were shooting was probably too low for you /so the gun was shooting low - but that is easily changed with a comb pad. It has nothing to do with the fact that it was a pump gun.

no worries there. the truth is, I want a shotgun but I want to get a rifle first. in the meantime, i'll do more research, practice more and figure out what shotgun works best for me

[rtpzwms]

Check these out here. Not to pricey and very nice fit. Close to a Citori for physical fit. Let me guess you stand about 5' 9" to 5' 11". The Browning shotguns are made for someone about that size. They fit me well at 5'11". I have a Citori 525 field and I tried out the Stoeger I listed earlier and did well with it as well.

Check the range rules with the auto loaders. Some ranges don't like you to throw hulls so you have to add a rubber band or a hull catchers to your shotgun. Just be aware that some don't like them. I normally shoot with a buddy when I go to the trap range and if I bring my Benelli Montefeltro I just make sure he is to my right. He is OK with this plan because he likes using it too, when he is shooting it I'm to his right.

Also if you get to shoot doubles you might have the same problem with a pump. My Browning BPS pump handles it with bottom load and eject. So my empties just drop at my feet. It helps minimize the distraction of the flying hull as well.

Now for the bad news I started trap shooting three years ago and had zero shotguns at the time. I now have five shotguns and still looking for at least one more and I also have a MEC 650. So I think I've dropped about 8K in three years just for trap. Not including shooting fees.

Good luck on this one. This is addictive for a shooter. I liken it to cocaine for shooters. Its a blast and can't wait until next week to do it again. I feel that way every week. Saturday morning is the best time heading to the range and Saturday afternoon is the sadist time of the week knowing it will be another week before I can do it again...

[Old Chipper]

Very good advice! As an retired Skeet instructor, I had many men/women and women shooters. Best way to get them to stay at home is to have them shoot the full course using a 12ga. The rem 1100 20ga is a good choice. The 410 can be used but is not a good choice. Their scores will be lower! The better they do the more they will want to try it again.
There are many clubs and they always need new shooters.
Good luck!

[zippy13]

+1 on BigJim's reply
I always enjoy hearing from folks who are enthusiastic about a fresh shot-gunning experience.

I don't think I can convince my wife to do it again but I'll definitely be going again in the future. now if I could only afford a nice O/U

If you liked the feel of the Citori O/U for trap shooting, then Browning's BT-99 will have you thinking you're in heaven. And, the single shot Browning trap gun is about $1,500 less than a comparable Citori O/U.

Of course, this assumes that you'll be shooting only trap singles. In a perfect world, you'd have a single barrel trap gun and an O/U or a two barrel trap combo. More than one forum member has opined that you can never have too many shotguns.

[BigJimP]

I'm having this same conversation with a young associate - and he's looking for his first shotgun / and has limited experience - but he's really excited.

I think there are 3 good options - I'm exposing him to / and he has to pick ultimately what fits him but:

a. a good pump gun is never a bad option. I prefer the Browning BPS Hunter and they're selling new for around $ 525. It doesn't have much adjustability - but comb pads can solve a lot and its a good price option. There are other pump guns - 870's, etc ....

b. a good semi-auto / probably a gas gun - like the Beretta 391 series or a Browning Silver or Winchester X3's for $ 850 - $ 1,250... There is some adjustability on some models - with shims between receiver and stock... If he goes this rounte - adjustability is the key...

c. an O/U -- but its usually about a $ 1,750 - $ 3,000 option. One of the best guns on the market - with lots of adjustability is the Browning Citori XS Skeet with an adjustable comb. It will fit 99.9% of the shooters out there - but new its around $ 3,000. Not all Citori's are created equal - they are solid guns / and I own close to a dozen of them ....but there are models, with a lot of drop at the comb, some not so much ...some with no adjusability. To say a Citori will work / when there are 24 models ...is a little misleading in my opinion. The Citori XS Skeet models fit me very well / so does the XT model, or the XS Special ....but the 625 series ( or 525, or 425 series ) have too much drop for me - and literally beat the daylights out of me / because the angled comb on those guns makes the gun recoil into my cheek bone. They're solid mechanically - just like the Citori Lightning at around $ 1,750 ...but the question is do they "Fit" ...

There are a lot of O/U's on the market - less than Browning or Beretta's options - but for the money, I think Browning or Beretta give you a lot of gun for the money. Some shooters are having good luck with some of the lower priced guns - like TriStar sold by Cabela's for around $ 500 and it comes with a 5 yr warranty ...but honestly, I just don't know about their longevity or their resale value.

The young fella I'm conseling ....he has to be honest with himself on his budget - and if its $ 600 then, for him, I think his best option is to probably buy the BPS Hunter pump gun. Its a gun he can keep a long time / get a few thousand shells under his belt ....and save some money for the next gun / that will really optimize his clay target shooting.

For many of us - we go to a longer and heavier dedicated gun for "Trap" - but Trap can be shot with any gun really. But for serious Trap shooting - I want a 32" barrel on an O/U and a gun around 10 lbs. For general shooting - Skeet, bird hunting, sporting clays -- I like an O/U with 30" barrels and between 7 1/2 and 8 1/2 lbs ( personally, I lean toward 8 1/2 lbs ..)...which gets me back to the Browning Citori, XS Skeet models with the adj comb...

but Beretta has similar options ...