Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clay

Drummer101 · June 24, 2011, 04:14 PM

I know for the most part that they require different tools.

But what actually makes the firearms different or unique?

How they are regulated/point of impact? How high the barrel(s) are? weight?

What works in one field but not the other?

Slugo · June 24, 2011, 04:22 PM

you're asking for the Encyclopedia Britannica. Read this and use Google...

http://www.nssf.org/shooting/sports/shotgun.cfm

Jim Watson · June 24, 2011, 04:36 PM

My main experience is in trap, so I will start there.
An ATA trap gun is always shot at an away target. The singles stands are 16 yards behind the machine and normal timing will get you on target within 20 yards for a 36 yard shot. That calls for modified or closer choke. The target is still rising at that distance so the stock has a high comb and the rib is high so as to center the pattern a bit high and apply built in upward lead. Pattern may be 60% or more above the bead. Barrels are long and guns are heavy so as to knock back some of the recoil. I have shot 700 targets in a three day state championship.
Handicap is shot from 18-27 yards depending on your ability, so shots are longer and choke is tighter. Modified will still do for short handicap but most folks at middle and long handicap shoot full. Doubles is shot as a separate event, I used one O/U with IM and full chokes and another with screw chokes, IC and full installed.

Skeet is shot on a two-house field that provides for incoming, outgoing, and crossing targets. But you need not take a shot longer than about 21 yards so little or no choke is required. Skeet choke is about .005" constriction in a 12 gauge, less than improved cylinder. Angles vary so the guns shoot pretty flat. Barrels are longer now than they used to be and guns are pretty heavy to soak up the recoil of a long event. The recreational skeet shooter can still do well with his quail gun, though. Doubles are shot on every round so you gotta have a repeater, if it is a pump you must be a good shucker. Autos and O/Us are much more common now.

Sporting clays is highly variable as to range, angle, and presentation. Guns have adjustable stocks for a good fit and quick-change choke tubes to handle any target. Doubles are common, so you need a gun that will make two fast shots.

oneounceload · June 24, 2011, 05:38 PM

Trap targets are always going away and rising - from Maine to LA - it is the same; skeet targets are a nice combo of crossing and quartering targets that NEVER vary - from Maine to LA

Sporting clays targets will ALWAYS vary - each club will use their terrain to the best of their advantage - just like a golf course

There is not a lot of difference between the guns for the casual user. Hard-core competitors will acquire guns specific to the use.

Trap guns tend to be single barrels, heavy, for one use only - singles

Skeet guns tend to be O/U or semi's (O/U preferred) with chokes constricted to .005 as the targets are a max of 21 yards

Sporting guns tend to be O/U and a few are semi with choke constriction s varying from .005 to .040 depending on the target presentation.

In any event, a well-balanced 8+# gun, properly fitted will work best for any or all of these games

BigJimP · June 24, 2011, 06:31 PM

You can shoot all the games - with any gun you want ! I did that, for many years with a fairly standard filed grade Browning 12ga, BPS, pump gun with a 28" barrel and screw in chokes.

As I matured in the games ...I got better when I went to a heavier and longer gun for "Trap". I have a single barrel break open Trap gun ( Browning BT-100 / forerunner of the current BT-99 model) in a 34" barrel ..but it isn't my favorite gun. My favorite Trap gun is a Browning O/U Citori XT with 32" barrels and gross weight of about 10 lbs. I like a Trap gun to shoot a 70%/30% pattern over the Point of Impact or maybe a 60%/40% ...so I can float the bird above the rib a little. I like a heavier gun / because it absorbs more recoil - and because since in Trap / there is less left to right barrel movement than the other games ..a heavier gun is an advantage / it maintains its momentum - and stays smooth thru on follow-thru. I shot 25's with my Browning pump ...but I never shot 100 straight ...and the Citori XT's let me get to that level - once in a while ...

On all of the other games / personally I go to a Browning Citori O/U XS Skeet model with 30" barrels and gross weight of around 8 lbs. The 8lb gun /and shorter gun ...allows me to be a little quicker on those hard crossers / where you might get more left and then one to the right ( like on a Skeet field). But I use that same gun for upland bird hunting, for Skeet and for Sporting clays and 5 Stand. To me - that style of gun is a good "all around gun" ...does a lot of things well. I'll never master Skeet - in 12ga, 20ga, 28ga or let alone in the .410 ...and the 100 straight is eluding me ..and father time, and poor eyes ...are making it as "slim to none" odds ....but I keep trying ...

A Trap gun ...32" and 10 lbs ...swings like a big ole sewer pipe ...at the faster games like Skeet and sporting or hunting birds like quail, phesant, etc. ...not that it can't be used / but its not optimal, in my view.

But all of this is personal / at 6'5" and 280 lbs or so ..and 60 yrs old ...what works for me / may not work for you. My shooting buddy is 6' or so / mid 60's and 165 lbs ...and his general purpose guns ( skeet, sporting, 5 stand ...are a little heavier than mine / he likes a 10lb gun / and he goes to shorter barrels at 26" ). To him - that's a perfect balance. For Trap he goes to a single barrel break open gun / Krieghoff / KX 5 in a 34" barrel - at around 10lbs as well. He likes his guns for all games at about the same weight / but longer for Trap and specialized ( he likes a 70%/30% pattern or even an 75%/25%)......

Both of us shoot guns with parallel combs --- for all games and for hunting birds.

Marketing depts for gun mfg's ---- have skeet, and sporting, and field, and whatever guns ( Browning has about 28 models of their Citori line of guns ) and I think most of it is nonsense. You have to figure out what "Fits" you - so the guns hit where you look ( not all guns will fit everyone / heck, some guns, from popular mfg's will not fit hardly anyone ...) - but they still sell a lot of them....

For fun / casual shooting -- having some laughs ....shoot whatever you want / within reason of course - that will give you some success. This week - to my buddies - I issued a pump gun challenge at Skeet ( 100 targets, loser among the 3 of us ...buys lunch ) ...and we're arguing right now on how many birds to give eachother to make it even. Its not about lunch or who gets a free coke out of the deal ...its about having a good time and some laughs !! You have to decide where you fit ..on all these trend lines ....

Slugo · June 24, 2011, 09:19 PM

A Trap gun ...32" and 10 lbs ...swings like a big ole sewer pipe ...

I love readin' your posts!! LOLOL...

BigJimP · June 25, 2011, 12:03 PM

thanks ....( it describes it pretty well I think..._

oletymer · June 27, 2011, 09:53 AM

If you get in condition a 10 lb gun is no problem. I have no problems at 6'4 and 220 lb. and in my 70s.

BigJimP · June 27, 2011, 12:44 PM

Try a 10 lb gun ....with a torn bicep, a torn rotator cuff and some bone spurs...and you'll change your mind ... ( but I'm only 60, and I'm probably just being a ***** ) ...

My shoulder and bicep were surgically repaired 18 months ago ...and I'm a lot better ....but even at 6'5" and 280 these days ( and not in great shape ) ...I can swing that 10lb gun at Trap ...but not at Skeet or Sporting ...with any decent results anyway ...

June 24, 2011, 04:14 PM	#1
Drummer101 Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 2009 Location: DFW Posts: 943	Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clay I know for the most part that they require different tools. But what actually makes the firearms different or unique? How they are regulated/point of impact? How high the barrel(s) are? weight? What works in one field but not the other? __________________ "I would say that we have to make up criteria." OK, which is better for 2 Bantu, 5 Hottentots, and 3 pygmies playing a war march on a calliope at 3 a.m. during a monsoon? Show your work and round to the nearest decimal. -Mike Irwin

June 24, 2011, 06:31 PM	#5
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	You can shoot all the games - with any gun you want ! I did that, for many years with a fairly standard filed grade Browning 12ga, BPS, pump gun with a 28" barrel and screw in chokes. As I matured in the games ...I got better when I went to a heavier and longer gun for "Trap". I have a single barrel break open Trap gun ( Browning BT-100 / forerunner of the current BT-99 model) in a 34" barrel ..but it isn't my favorite gun. My favorite Trap gun is a Browning O/U Citori XT with 32" barrels and gross weight of about 10 lbs. I like a Trap gun to shoot a 70%/30% pattern over the Point of Impact or maybe a 60%/40% ...so I can float the bird above the rib a little. I like a heavier gun / because it absorbs more recoil - and because since in Trap / there is less left to right barrel movement than the other games ..a heavier gun is an advantage / it maintains its momentum - and stays smooth thru on follow-thru. I shot 25's with my Browning pump ...but I never shot 100 straight ...and the Citori XT's let me get to that level - once in a while ... On all of the other games / personally I go to a Browning Citori O/U XS Skeet model with 30" barrels and gross weight of around 8 lbs. The 8lb gun /and shorter gun ...allows me to be a little quicker on those hard crossers / where you might get more left and then one to the right ( like on a Skeet field). But I use that same gun for upland bird hunting, for Skeet and for Sporting clays and 5 Stand. To me - that style of gun is a good "all around gun" ...does a lot of things well. I'll never master Skeet - in 12ga, 20ga, 28ga or let alone in the .410 ...and the 100 straight is eluding me ..and father time, and poor eyes ...are making it as "slim to none" odds ....but I keep trying ... A Trap gun ...32" and 10 lbs ...swings like a big ole sewer pipe ...at the faster games like Skeet and sporting or hunting birds like quail, phesant, etc. ...not that it can't be used / but its not optimal, in my view. But all of this is personal / at 6'5" and 280 lbs or so ..and 60 yrs old ...what works for me / may not work for you. My shooting buddy is 6' or so / mid 60's and 165 lbs ...and his general purpose guns ( skeet, sporting, 5 stand ...are a little heavier than mine / he likes a 10lb gun / and he goes to shorter barrels at 26" ). To him - that's a perfect balance. For Trap he goes to a single barrel break open gun / Krieghoff / KX 5 in a 34" barrel - at around 10lbs as well. He likes his guns for all games at about the same weight / but longer for Trap and specialized ( he likes a 70%/30% pattern or even an 75%/25%)...... Both of us shoot guns with parallel combs --- for all games and for hunting birds. Marketing depts for gun mfg's ---- have skeet, and sporting, and field, and whatever guns ( Browning has about 28 models of their Citori line of guns ) and I think most of it is nonsense. You have to figure out what "Fits" you - so the guns hit where you look ( not all guns will fit everyone / heck, some guns, from popular mfg's will not fit hardly anyone ...) - but they still sell a lot of them.... For fun / casual shooting -- having some laughs ....shoot whatever you want / within reason of course - that will give you some success. This week - to my buddies - I issued a pump gun challenge at Skeet ( 100 targets, loser among the 3 of us ...buys lunch ) ...and we're arguing right now on how many birds to give eachother to make it even. Its not about lunch or who gets a free coke out of the deal ...its about having a good time and some laughs !! You have to decide where you fit ..on all these trend lines .... Last edited by BigJimP; June 24, 2011 at 06:37 PM.

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June 24, 2011, 04:22 PM	#2
Slugo Junior member Join Date: September 15, 2001 Location: Central PA Posts: 1,007	you're asking for the Encyclopedia Britannica. Read this and use Google... http://www.nssf.org/shooting/sports/shotgun.cfm

June 24, 2011, 04:36 PM	#3
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,528	My main experience is in trap, so I will start there. An ATA trap gun is always shot at an away target. The singles stands are 16 yards behind the machine and normal timing will get you on target within 20 yards for a 36 yard shot. That calls for modified or closer choke. The target is still rising at that distance so the stock has a high comb and the rib is high so as to center the pattern a bit high and apply built in upward lead. Pattern may be 60% or more above the bead. Barrels are long and guns are heavy so as to knock back some of the recoil. I have shot 700 targets in a three day state championship. Handicap is shot from 18-27 yards depending on your ability, so shots are longer and choke is tighter. Modified will still do for short handicap but most folks at middle and long handicap shoot full. Doubles is shot as a separate event, I used one O/U with IM and full chokes and another with screw chokes, IC and full installed. Skeet is shot on a two-house field that provides for incoming, outgoing, and crossing targets. But you need not take a shot longer than about 21 yards so little or no choke is required. Skeet choke is about .005" constriction in a 12 gauge, less than improved cylinder. Angles vary so the guns shoot pretty flat. Barrels are longer now than they used to be and guns are pretty heavy to soak up the recoil of a long event. The recreational skeet shooter can still do well with his quail gun, though. Doubles are shot on every round so you gotta have a repeater, if it is a pump you must be a good shucker. Autos and O/Us are much more common now. Sporting clays is highly variable as to range, angle, and presentation. Guns have adjustable stocks for a good fit and quick-change choke tubes to handle any target. Doubles are common, so you need a gun that will make two fast shots.

June 24, 2011, 05:38 PM	#4
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	Trap targets are always going away and rising - from Maine to LA - it is the same; skeet targets are a nice combo of crossing and quartering targets that NEVER vary - from Maine to LA Sporting clays targets will ALWAYS vary - each club will use their terrain to the best of their advantage - just like a golf course There is not a lot of difference between the guns for the casual user. Hard-core competitors will acquire guns specific to the use. Trap guns tend to be single barrels, heavy, for one use only - singles Skeet guns tend to be O/U or semi's (O/U preferred) with chokes constricted to .005 as the targets are a max of 21 yards Sporting guns tend to be O/U and a few are semi with choke constriction s varying from .005 to .040 depending on the target presentation. In any event, a well-balanced 8+# gun, properly fitted will work best for any or all of these games

June 24, 2011, 09:19 PM	#6
Slugo Junior member Join Date: September 15, 2001 Location: Central PA Posts: 1,007	*A Trap gun ...32" and 10 lbs ...swings like a big ole sewer pipe ...* I love readin' your posts!! LOLOL...

June 25, 2011, 12:03 PM	#7
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	thanks ....( it describes it pretty well I think..._

June 27, 2011, 09:53 AM	#8
oletymer Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2005 Posts: 338	If you get in condition a 10 lb gun is no problem. I have no problems at 6'4 and 220 lb. and in my 70s.

June 27, 2011, 12:44 PM	#9
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	Try a 10 lb gun ....with a torn bicep, a torn rotator cuff and some bone spurs...and you'll change your mind ... ( but I'm only 60, and I'm probably just being a ***** ) ... My shoulder and bicep were surgically repaired 18 months ago ...and I'm a lot better ....but even at 6'5" and 280 these days ( and not in great shape ) ...I can swing that 10lb gun at Trap ...but not at Skeet or Sporting ...with any decent results anyway ...