[BigJimP]

Yes, accepting the generosity of fellow shooters - to put a few rounds thru some of their guns is a great deal !!

It will give you a much better idea of how they have their guns set up ( ideally to float a target )...and what that particular gun feels like in terms of balance, weight, etc.....

Personally ( and I'm not a serious Trap shooter )....but my personal Trap gun I like the best is a Citori XT Trap, 32" barrels, with the adj comb....and I like it weighted to about 10 lbs...and while that seems heavy ( its not a gun you'd carry all day chasing Quail )....the weight helps to smooth out the follow thru...because on Trap, you don't get a lot of left to right movement on the birds ( like you do on Skeet ) ...so a heavier gun, helps smooth out the swing and keep you from stopping your swing.

When I shoot Skeet, Sporting Clays or 5 Stand....I go to a Citori XS Skeet model, 30" barrels and around 8 lbs....a little shorter, a little lighter ...still heavy enough to help on the follow thru ...but not clumsy like the XT Trap feels ( at least to me ) on a Skeet or Sporting field.

Most field guns....870's, BPS, Browning Silver semi-autos, etc.....are pretty light ....down in the 7 lbs ....maybe 7.25 lbs range....and to some of us, that makes them a little whippy ....making us "slap" at targets vs executing a nice smooth shot, with a smooth follow thru..../ so if I go to a real light gun, like a Benelli Super sport model in 12ga ( at 7.2 lbs..) ...I go to a 30" barrel on the semi auto ...and on a pump or semi-auto the action makes it about 2" longer than an O/U ....so it makes that semi-auto with a 30" barrel give me a sight plane similar to my O/U's in 32"....but its light / so the length makes it less "whippy"....so I don't tend to "slap" at targets vs staying smooth.....

So while any gun will work for casual shooting ....some combination of this weight and barrel length issue ...will work best for you.

Fit is the other issue here....and every angled comb gun, changes its point of impact as you move up or back on the comb a little ( so in winter with a sweater and heavy coat on ) ..vs summer when you're in a T shirt....the point of impact on that gun, is different. That's why most of us, for clays, like parallel comb guns.....where winter or summer we move up or back on the comb, based on depth of our clothing....the point of impact does not change.

Adj comb also let's us dial in a gun....so point of impact suits us...up / down, left or right....so it hits where we look. A shotgun has to "Fit" so it hits where you look because when you mount the shotgun, your eye is the rear sight...even with a 30" pattern, if the gun doesn't fit ....you won't be successful.

So field guns will work...maybe...

Then there is the durability issue....depends on how much you shoot...serious shooters are shooting 12 - 16 boxes a week in practice, then 6 to 10 or more on weekends in tournaments...so 500 shells a week / 25,000 a yr....will a field gun hold up to that for 5 yrs, 10 yrs....probably not...will a Citori XT Trap or XS Skeet model (yes, for 20 yrs...easily -- at a reasonable price )...so where is the "value"...it depends..../ the higher end guns like Blazer, Perazzi, Kolar, Krieghoff will all stand up to well over a million shells as well...but at 150% - 300% more than the Citori.

and no matter what you decide.....make sure you have fun with the process !! ....and I don't care if you shoot 4 boxes a month or 4 or 12 a week...make fun part of the process !