The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Pump Shotgun for Skeet, Trap, or Sporting Clays?

BigJimP · January 30, 2009, 02:34 PM

WW2

Just to make sure you understood my point - I'm not saying a pump gun - a Rem 870, Browning BPS, Mossberg, etc is a bad gun for clay target games .... It clearly is not - especially in skilled hands.

I shot a Browning BPS for many years for Trap and Hunting in the 70's and
80's. For a long time, it was the only 12ga I owned / it fit well / I shot it well - and it was very reliable.

If your arms are long enough to operate the mechanism without moving the gun away from your shoulder or taking your face off the comb of the gun - then it can be used very easily in Trap doubles, Continental Trap, Skeet or Sporting Clays. If you can't do that - then the time it takes to dismount - rack the gun - remount - find the bird ... is a problem.

Particularly on a light gun ( like any pump gun is ) part of effective shotgunning on moving targets - is the follow thru ( after you pull the trigger ). On many lighter guns ( guns under 8 1/2 lbs ) - a lot of shooters have a tendancy to "yank" the gun short on follow thru - or "whip" it vs making a nice smooth swing and follow-thru. So on lighter guns, I go to a longer barrel - a 28" or 30" - so it gives me a longer sight plane and helps on the follow-thru a little. Sometimes I will also add some weight to a light gun ( inside the forend / or in the butt ) - but you need to do it without screwing up the balance in your hands - you don't want a gun that's nose heavy or butt heavy. But if you can add barrel weights / a little weight in the butt - it will also help you smooth out your swing.

Shooting moving birds ( clay or feathered ) is very different from Tactical Target aquistion - on birds, the shot does not end as you pull the trigger ( that's the middle of the shot ) - a well executed shot is more like ( see the target, mount the gun, insert barrel on target path, in line and ahead of target - with sustained lead - matching target line and speed - pull trigger - maintain target line and speed as target disintegrates ( then, shift your eyes, do not move the gun ) find the 2nd target - and then make your initial move with the gun for your 2nd target.

I don't care if you do it with a pump gun / or a $25,000 O/U - if you can do that you will break a lot of targets - or kill a lot of birds. Tactical is way different - and I'll leave that to Shotgun Bob and others with more experience than I have on Tactical execution of a shot. I did train with a riot shotgun when I was in the service 30 - 35 years ago / but I am not qualified to discuss it in any detail.

January 30, 2009, 02:34 PM	#10
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	WW2 Just to make sure you understood my point - I'm not saying a pump gun - a Rem 870, Browning BPS, Mossberg, etc is a bad gun for clay target games .... It clearly is not - especially in skilled hands. I shot a Browning BPS for many years for Trap and Hunting in the 70's and 80's. For a long time, it was the only 12ga I owned / it fit well / I shot it well - and it was very reliable. If your arms are long enough to operate the mechanism without moving the gun away from your shoulder or taking your face off the comb of the gun - then it can be used very easily in Trap doubles, Continental Trap, Skeet or Sporting Clays. If you can't do that - then the time it takes to dismount - rack the gun - remount - find the bird ... is a problem. Particularly on a light gun ( like any pump gun is ) part of effective shotgunning on moving targets - is the follow thru ( after you pull the trigger ). On many lighter guns ( guns under 8 1/2 lbs ) - a lot of shooters have a tendancy to "yank" the gun short on follow thru - or "whip" it vs making a nice smooth swing and follow-thru. So on lighter guns, I go to a longer barrel - a 28" or 30" - so it gives me a longer sight plane and helps on the follow-thru a little. Sometimes I will also add some weight to a light gun ( inside the forend / or in the butt ) - but you need to do it without screwing up the balance in your hands - you don't want a gun that's nose heavy or butt heavy. But if you can add barrel weights / a little weight in the butt - it will also help you smooth out your swing. Shooting moving birds ( clay or feathered ) is very different from Tactical Target aquistion - on birds, the shot does not end as you pull the trigger ( that's the middle of the shot ) - a well executed shot is more like ( see the target, mount the gun, insert barrel on target path, in line and ahead of target - with sustained lead - matching target line and speed - pull trigger - maintain target line and speed as target disintegrates ( then, shift your eyes, do not move the gun ) find the 2nd target - and then make your initial move with the gun for your 2nd target. I don't care if you do it with a pump gun / or a $25,000 O/U - if you can do that you will break a lot of targets - or kill a lot of birds. Tactical is way different - and I'll leave that to Shotgun Bob and others with more experience than I have on Tactical execution of a shot. I did train with a riot shotgun when I was in the service 30 - 35 years ago / but I am not qualified to discuss it in any detail.