Doublebarrels OK for informal clay pigeons?

[ZVP]

I think I asked this somewhere before but is it poor taste to use a SxS while shooting trap?
I've been away from shotguns so long I forgot all the "rules"... Don't want to get laughed at for doing somthing not Kosher.
I'd just like to try my sweet little 20ga Uplander out.

[Ricklin]

Shoot what you like!

I've had my ass kicked on the trap field more than once by a guy with a SXS. It's the Indian, not the arrow.

[darkgael]

While I do own a dedicated Trap gun, I also own a number of SXSs. I often bring one of the doubles to the range for 16 yard Trap. At least one other fellow shoots a SXS....and very nicely.
Pete

[Kreyzhorse]

If you shoot it well, by all means is it acceptable. There are a lot of high dollar guns at trap shoots as well as a bit of everything else.

You won't be out of place or scorned for using it.

[eastbank]

i own and shoot several S&S shotguns and shoot them at trap and sporting clays, my favorite double is a remington model 1900 made in 1906 with 32" steel barrels choked F&F. i shot a 25-25 at trap against 30-35 modern trap shotguns and after that the laugher stopped when i take it out of its case. at sporting clays the best i ever shot with my double barrels was 33-50, i think it,s because of the fixed chokes(F&F-F&M) and double triggers, fat fingers don,t help. eastbank.

[SARuger]

Shoot what you like! If there is a gun snob at the skeet/trap range ignore them. Skeet/trap is like "Golf with a Gun", its about having fun and improving your skill level. Some of our ranges even have golf carts with gun racks

[g.willikers]

Sure, what do you think folks used before the 20th century brought the newer designs.

[BerdanSS]

By all means shoot with one. I love to personally. My SxS is my go to upland gun, how better to get in shape for opening day, than shooting trap all spring/summer?
Range snobs all get the same response from me....a nonchalant "couldn't give less of a crap" dismissal.

Heck Ive shot trap (and out shot guys with good trap guns) with a mossy 835 Turkey mag....you want to talk about some sore looser wet hens

[Mike Irwin]

If it's poor taste, then I've been exaulting in it for the last couple of years.

And will continue to do so.

I've become quite fond of my Stevens 5200 20 gauge SxS.

[ZVP]

Thanks guys!
I guess I did let the Range Snobs comments before plain old Common Sense!
I just see all the fancy guns and get bowled over by stupidity!
Thankyou very much for bringing me back into reality!
ZVP

[BornToLooze]

I have a 870 with a 18" barrel and extended mag tube that I use when I shoot trap and skeet. There was a guy that had just bought a O&U so he could shoot skeet and I was doing just as good as he was (not very good).

[Blindstitch]

Yeah it's almost horrible to go to a sportsmans club and watch the guys toting around their pride and joys.

I brought a mossberg 500 out my first time and got a lot of dirty looks from guys with expensive guns costing more than my car. I still managed 20/25 average.

My friend had a Browning trap gun and a Ceaser Greene double if I spelled that right and both were great but not in my price range. I still shot a box through them but don't have any doubt about my Mossberg.

Since then I got a Savage Fox Model B from my grandpa and it's great. Shoots clays just fine and last Wednesday shot two roosters and a hen that I lost in the deep grass.

[darkgael]

About snobs and Trap...
I wonder where it is that you fellows go to shoot that you run into these snobs.
I shoot Trap pretty much every week at the Staten Island Sportsman's Club in NYC. I do not own a high dollar Trap gun. I use a Browning most often, shoot a SXS fairly frequently, started with a Mossberg pump gun , used an old Ithaca 37.
I have never had any unhappy experience on the Trap line On the contrary, other shooters have been friendly and supportive from the get go.
Pete

[eastbank]

thats what i run into at the clay games ranges, 99.9 percent great shooters. as a new shooted at the clay games about 50 years ago i was treated well and was offered a chance to shoot shotguns i had only dreamed about on my income. my 870 field grade plain barreled shotgun mod choke didn,t do very well at first, but i got up to 17-18 on singles trap. i was working a little over time and saved to buy a used 870 trap from a club member who went to a browning o/u. i shot my first 25-25 at trap with it in 1967. eastbank.

[Virginian]

You run into all kinds at a range just like you do anywhere else. I have never shot an O/U well, and just don''t like them. Lots of guys in the club would always offer their latest jewel for me to shoot, and I would, and would say something nice about it. Except for when I would take one of my SxSs, I never felt intimidated shooting my 1100. If some new show off had anything to say, I would usually let my shooting do the talking, but I may have uttered one or two snide remarks along the way as well. Testosterone is a good thing, but it takes some brains about 50 or 60 years to learn how to deal with it properly.

[B.L.E.]

Nothing at all wrong with a side by side double. Even better if it has open hammers.
I suggest dressing up like an Edwardian era gentleman while shooting such a gun...... ivy cap, tweed jacket, short trousers (breeks), and a Ascot style tie.

Also, be sure to shoot paper shells, I love the smell of paper shells when they eject from the chambers.

[Mike Irwin]

I've run into a couple of ass hats over the years who have sneered at my guns.

Generally I don't beat them, but they tend to be a bit surprised when I'm competitive with them shooting a Winchester 1200 or a Remington 58.

[Blindstitch]

I could tell you where I went but I don't want to single it out. In short it's 15 miles from Milwaukee. Sure it can happen at rifle ranges to when you have the guy on the left shooting some fancy well taken care of rifle and the guy to the right shooting a mosin.

One guy that sneered at my Mossberg was supposedly an every day shooter. I watched him for a while before he saw me and he had 3-4 beautiful guns that got rotated in a roll out cabinet in the back of his truck. It was full of shooting stuff and I bet he had at least 2000 rounds of shells in the bed of the truck.

My friend who reloads said he was talking to him and he doesn't have any time for people who reload either. And my friend averages 23-24/25.

But there's no reason this grumpy dog should upset my day.

[B.L.E.]

The snobs are more the exception than the rule. Most people who have the fancy equipment just want you to notice their fancy equipment, not exclude you from shooting with them. Unless of course, you start beating them with a bolt action Mossberg.

[the rifleer]

I beat someone with a $10k custom shotgun with a stock mossberg 500 20 gauge.

Shoot whatever you want.

[B.L.E.]

Originally Posted by Blindstitch

One guy that sneered at my Mossberg was supposedly an every day shooter. I watched him for a while before he saw me and he had 3-4 beautiful guns that got rotated in a roll out cabinet in the back of his truck. It was full of shooting stuff and I bet he had at least 2000 rounds of shells in the bed of the truck.

My friend who reloads said he was talking to him and he doesn't have any time for people who reload either. And my friend averages 23-24/25.

For every person like that, there most likely is another person who enjoys beating people like that with a rat-gun, the shotgun version of the rat-rod. Think of a cheap shotgun that used to have a finish and looks like it spent it's whole life in the rear window of a rancher's truck.

[jaguarxk120]

If the guys with the 18 inch barreled guns are THAT good, why aren't they on the trap circuit making money?

There are vintage shoots around the country where only SxS doubles are used.

If you show up with a pump or one of those cut-down guns you can not shoot. By the way the doubles that are used are 75 to 100 years old.

[B.L.E.]

The trap and skeet club I belonged to had an annual pump gun only sporting clays shoot where you couldn't shoot a semi-auto or double.

Unless it's a restricted shoot like that, nobody really cares what you use to shoot, as long as it's safe. Yea, sure, if you really want to win, you have to have equipment that cooperates.
But if you just want to do some informal trap shooting for bird hunting practice, bring that camo painted hunting gun and shoot with them. They might even give you some pointers on how to shoot.

[Dreaming100Straight]

I shoot a little trap and am now getting into skeet and most guys could care less if you shoot an inexpensive gun. Sure, there are super competitive guys that aren't going to be happy to shoot with a novice since they a new or nearly new shooter can throw the timing of the squad off, but most could care less it you shoot a $300 Mossberg or a $20,000 Krieghoff. Especially in skeet, which more easily lends itself to helping new shooters. I think a lot of what I hear is envy, although I agree that there are some shooting snobs out there.

We do cringe when a group of pocket shooters come on the field some places where the staff offers little supervision since groups of brand new shooters sometimes are oblivious to safety rules.

[Virginian]

Every time one of these type threads comes up, there's always someone who beat everyone with high dollar guns with a Mossberg 500. Amazing the ranges aren't swamped with those.