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abs
May 4, 2008, 05:23 PM
Some questions from a newbe:
A gun shop salesman told me it's not a good idea to buy a hunting shotgun for trap/skeet. How much truth is in this? As far as I understand, it's all about ported barrel and double-bead sights. Is there more than that?
Then another question: can a "pure" sporting shotgun (whatever this means) be used for home defense? I know that barrel length may be a problem; just wondering if a ported barrel can shoot 00 bucks as efficiently - or we get into ethernal topic of "stopping power"...

Two more questions:
Is rifled barrel only for slugs or it can shoot buckshots?

Wood stock vs plastic: just a beauty contest or more than that?

Thanks!!!

mikenbarb
May 4, 2008, 07:48 PM
ABS, A trap and skeet gun are 2 different animals. One is designed for trap and one for skeet shooting. Alot of hunting guns have ported barrels and double bead sights. A trap gun is usaully longer barrel and custom stock to fit shooter and choked tighter.(Imp.Mod.) and most are single shot unless shooting international style. Skeet gun is usually a shorter barrel gun with 2 shot minimum capacity for doubles and more open choked.(Skeet or Imp.Cyl.)It depends the type of hunting your doing to recomend a gun type. If your looking for a dual purpose then look at a good over under or semi auto. A nice dual purpose gun is A Remington 11-87 in 12 ga. And yes, Any gun can be used for HD. Porting is to help with taming muzzle jump and recoil and doesnt take away from the velocity or energy. Its alot louder with a ported barrel than a regular barrel because some gas exits the sides vs the front. Fully rifled barrels are for Sabot type slugs only and not for shot of any type. If its a smoothbore slug barrel you can shoot any rifled slug or shot out of it. I like wood on my guns and the only advantage of plastic is that its totaly weatherproof. Wood is good in all weather if you take care of it and oil when done using.

oneounceload
May 4, 2008, 07:58 PM
why do you think you need all that firepower???

mikenbarb
May 4, 2008, 09:47 PM
What firepower??

lon371
May 5, 2008, 05:22 AM
mikenbarb said it all.:)

chilie23
May 5, 2008, 05:33 AM
why do you think you need all that firepower???

r u kidding? or did u really mean for all those words to come out toegther?

oneounceload
May 5, 2008, 07:13 AM
oops - misread the original post - thought he was going to use 00 for targets..:o

mikenbarb
May 5, 2008, 08:24 PM
Oneounceload, Now thats a challenge.lol We have tried and did well with .22 shorts with a very well known safe backdrop but never with 00 buck. Thanks for the idea.:D

Frank Ettin
May 5, 2008, 11:45 PM
One big difference between my trap and sporting clays guns and my field guns is that my field guns are lighter. For competition, I shoot a lot -- sometimes 200 to 300 targets (often more in a day of practice) in a day or 1,000 to 1,500 targets in a week long shoot. The weight of a competition gun helps tame the recoil. Even though I shoot light loads for clay targets, recoil gets fatiguing over a lot of shooting.

For hunting (upland birds), I carry the gun a lot more than I shoot it. So I prefer a light gun. I'm not going to shoot it enough in the day in the field for cumulative recoil effect to be any kind of a factor.

And I believe that any shotgun used for flying targets should fit the user. You'll always hit your targets, be they clays or birds, better and more consistently with a gun that naturally shoots where you are looking.

BigJimP
May 7, 2008, 03:45 PM
To throw a little different wrinkle on this discussion - my primary gun (in 12ga) for Sporting Clays, Skeet and in the field - is a Browning XS Skeet model O/U , 30" barrels, paralell comb with the adj comb. Its a very versatile gun - about 8 1/2 lbs - good long sight plane - still swings well (not too whippy ) - fits me well ...... Browning makes the same gun in a 20ga model / and you can get guns made in 28ga or .410 in the same model. It is not my primary Trap gun - but I can shoot trap with it. All of my XS-Skeet models shoot a pattern that is about 60% / 40% ( high / low ) for the point of impact.

If I feel like traveling with a lighter gun / another gun that will do everything for me ( from quail, doves, pheasant, grouse, ducks - Trap - Skeet - Sporting Clays ) is a Benelli Super sport semi-auto with the comfort-tech recoil system in it, carbon fibre stock ..... 12ga is my preference, but they make a 20ga model as well. My super sport will cycle any load in 12ga as long as it's at least 1200 fps ( so 7/8 oz on up to whatever you want to shoot in it ).

My Primary Trap gun is a Browning O/U XT - 32" barrels - about 10lbs ( longer barrel and heavier), Adj comb set so the gun shoots about 75% / 25% on point of impact. You want to shoot a Trap bird as its rising - so typically you want a gun that shoots a little higher so you don't obscure the sight of the bird - and a heavier gun because there is less left / right swing than on Skeet, field gunning.

Dimensions on stocks / gun fit is a big deal. "Field" guns usually have no paralell comb, no adj comb - so they have drop at heel, comb etc. If that "style" of gun " a field gun " fits you - then you can use it for all the games and in the field. The problem is, that "style" doesn't fit many of us - and it beats us up - so we each have to figure out what fits us - what style of gun we need. For me - the Browning XS Skeet fits my shoulder, neck to cheek bone, length of pull ( with the paralell comb and the adj comb up about 1/2" ) - so regardless of whether you call it a Skeet Gun - for me its a Field Gun, Sporting Gun, Skeet Gun - and a good all around gun.

I have "field guns" like the Browning BPS pump guns - they don't fit me - they never did - but I endured and used them anyway for years. Once I finally figured out this fit issue ( which means going to a pattern board, shooting at a spot, seeing where the gun hits) all the face, shoulder, etc pain went away - and I hit was I was looking at ( doesn't mean I don't miss ) but the gun shoots where I look ( my eye is rear sight ). I could custom stock the BPS's I own / or put adhesive pads on them to level them out, raise them up, etc ( but they look ugly ).

I don't want to say your dealer is mixing his terms - doing a bad job. There are a lot of issues here - and companies sell "field guns", "Skeet guns" etc ........ but you don't need a typical "sporting gun" for sporting especially if it doesn't fit you ( and none of them fit me, unless they have a paralell comb - meaning comb is paralell to rib on gun ) and then I move the Adj portion of comb up or down to change the point of impact at range to fine tune the fit.

Not all Trap guns have custom stocks - there are stocks - and Browning sells a system on some of the XT models called a GraCoil recoil reducer with an adj Jones pad that rotates - that can make their gun fit almost anyone. I have a 2nd XT model, 32" barrels, with GraCoil, custom wood .... all that on it ......its a very pretty gun but you don't need that to shoot Trap. I'm long winded - but I hope this helps - many of us, spent a lot of money on different shotguns - before we figured all this out about gun fit, lenght of pull, comb height, etc .

Firepower!
May 7, 2008, 04:19 PM
Ok, then I also have a question since shotguns are not my domain. I usually use USAS 12 for HD or assualt rifles.

Question: What would be optimal use of my Beretta A391 Tecknys Gold? Can it be used for hunting and trap? Skeet? Shoot slugs?

BigJimP
May 7, 2008, 04:52 PM
Assuming you have taken the gun to a pattern board - so it hits where you look - then evaluate the pattern. Most 391's - regardless of the sub-model is probably set up to shoot a 50% / 50% pattern - and while it may not be ideal ( because it doesn't ideally shoot high enough for Trap where you might want a 70%/30% pattern thats a personal issue ) - you can certainly use it in the field, Skeet, Sporting - and Trap.

Shooting slugs - no reason why not - but I'm not an expert of slugs and what they may do to a barrel.

The only style of gun on the market that is really only a one function gun - is a break open, single barrel - where you load one shell at a time ( like the Browning BT-99) - its a one shot gun - suitable only for Trap singles. I suppose in theory you could hunt with them - but why would you - when there are so many other guns out there that will hold 2 or 3 shells. The 391 will do whatever you need done ( even defense ) although its a longer barrel than you might like - it will still work just fine.

BigJimP
May 7, 2008, 04:57 PM
These days - Beretta makes more than one verison of the Tecknys Gold - they make it in what they view as a "sporting stock" dimension, a "target" dimension and a "Trap" dimension . So there is a lot of "marketing speak" out there from all the gun mfg's in terms of what they think the best stock configuration for a variety of uses are.

But if the " sporting " stock fits you - then neither of the Targer or the Trap stocks will work for you - because they look like paralell combs - and if a drop at the comb fits you - the other one just won't.

oneounceload
May 7, 2008, 05:08 PM
Ok, then I also have a question since shotguns are not my domain. I usually use USAS 12 for HD or assualt rifles.

Question: What would be optimal use of my Beretta A391 Tecknys Gold? Can it be used for hunting and trap? Skeet? Shoot slugs?

the 391 would be a great gun for clay target games....don't use it for slugs....it would also do a fine job on the dove fields or pheasants.....

Scattergun Bob
May 7, 2008, 05:53 PM
Welcome to this board,

I always like Bigjim's posts, I think I am jealous of all the shooting he gets to do.

Rifled barrels are really set up to shoot slugs only, if you search our board for slug barrels you will find a wealth on information on what not to do.

Search under slugs and you will get another gold mine of slugs to use.

I have used Remington, Mossberg and paradox rifled barrels, many different manufactures of rifled chokes. None of them liked shot.

Good Luck & Be Safe

BigJimP
May 7, 2008, 06:22 PM
As I'm sure you already know Bob - its about the jouney .... you have to have a good time / otherwise there is no point to it. Like an old friend used to tell me, regardless of how things were going " Even my bad days are Great " .... and its a good way to look at things ... ( I try at least to do that ).

But I am lucky, my wife is very flexible in allowing me to spend a little money and let me take the time to play a little ..... And spending time with things that go bang - can't ever be too bad.

I enjoy the technical aspect and explanations of your posts as well Bob - and a lot of other posters here - its good stuff man / you explain yourself well. Thanks for the support - and your participation as well.

T. O'Heir
May 7, 2008, 09:14 PM
Hunting is a sport. However, lots of people use their hunting barreled shotguns for skeet and trap. Just as many buy a skeet/trap barrel for their only shotgun. Whatever make it may be.
Buckshot isn't reliable enough for hunting anything. Shot fired out of a rifled barrel will fly in a spiral. The shot patterns tend to have big holes in them. Doesn't hurt anything though.
A shotgun is a shotgun when it comes to HD. A long duck barrel may be awkward in your house though.

mikenbarb
May 8, 2008, 09:18 PM
T Oheir, I have to strongly disagree with you on the buckshot good for hunting nothing. I live in a state where its always been shotgun only and have killed and seen countless deer killed with Buckshot. With the rite choke and load combo buckshot is good for 50+ yards. And it packs alot of wallop to it. I personally shoot 3 1/2" #4 buck for our swamp drives and a slug gun for open woods and have never shot a deer that ran further than 20yds after being shot with either and many drop on the spot. Take your 12ga and go to the patterning boards and you might be suprised that it groups good when you find the rite combo for your gun. I will keep an average of 40 out of 54 pellets in a 18" circle at 40 yards and approx 30 pellets at 50yds. 00 buck is between 4 and 7 pellets. Sounds like a dead deer to me.:D