Is an 18inch barrel to short for trap and skeet?

With trap and skeet you will want to try different chokes until you find what you like and the problem with shorter barrels is most of them are fixed choke. 18.5" are especially useless since most are cylinder bore and only suited to home defense.
 
Martin248 said:
Resurrecting an old thread because I am wondering about 590 too, sounds like the survey says just try it. Its my only shotgun. Obviously not ideal but sounds doable until I get a second?

Seems like the bayo would help by adding length and weight to smooth out the swing...
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Yes you are going to be welcomed to a trap range with open arms wielding a bayonet on your shotgun? f:P:
 
The ''elite'' shooters poh-poh many shooters who do not use the high end guns. They also get real annoyed when I beat them with my old wingmaster, trap only. The other day I shot 16 of 25, not a great score, with an old coey break barrel with clinder bore. Oh yes black powder shells. I am not vain enough to say that I can beat every one every day but I can give the pros a good run for their money
 
the spank said:
Yes you are going to be welcomed to a trap range with open arms wielding a bayonet on your shotgun? f:P:
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Why not? As I understand it the longer barrel increases accuracy mostly by giving you a longer sight radius and more weight to make the swing smoother. I know I will look silly but wouldn't a 20 inch barrel with one be better then without? Sure not as good as adding another six inches of real barrel, but better than not having it.

The barrel is cylinder bore but I am thinking about getting it threaded for Remington chokes.
 
I find it funny how I have been reading that guys give "pros" run for there money with lower quality guns saying they broke 15-22/25. well if you go to an actual trap shoot and watch the Master class shooters the real "pros" run 100, then another 100 then go to a shoot off which usually lasts a couple rounds, I wonder how 22/25 compares to those scores... I am no pro by any means especially at trap generally only 20-23 is where I sit, but just because someone shoots a high end gun doesn't mean they are a "pro", they usually just have money.
 
Martin248 said:
Why not? As I understand it the longer barrel increases accuracy mostly by giving you a longer sight radius and more weight to make the swing smoother. I know I will look silly but wouldn't a 20 inch barrel with one be better then without? Sure not as good as adding another six inches of real barrel, but better than not having it.

The barrel is cylinder bore but I am thinking about getting it threaded for Remington chokes.
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There are many disadvantages when using a extremely short barrels for clay targets.

The main one being that you will not have complete combustion of your powder and will not achieve the intended velocity, meaning especially where trap and sporting clays are concerned your pellets will not have the same amount of energy and won't travel as far, you may also experience your pattern spreading out earlier than it should where long distances are concerned.

Sight radius, doesn't really effect shotguns like it does pistols or rifles, since once you mount the gun you shouldn't be looking at the barrel, remember you are pointing it not aiming it.

Short barrels don't have the mass of the longer guns, more weight equals less recoil, which is desirable if you want to do any amount of clay target shooting.

Also not having that weight out further away from you will make the gun whippy and more difficult to control, this would effect skeet especially but trap and sporting clays almost as much.

Short barrels ARE louder and not just because the sound is a little closer to you, no it's the unburnt powder burning outside of the barrel, that's what is making all the noise.

If you are out at a club participating, having fun and being safe and respectful of the others around you, then have at it, shoot whatever you want. But if you are disrupting the environment and you bring a "you're a bunch of old fudds what do you know" attitude with you, you aren't going to have a very welcoming experience.

Believe me most clubs in canada are filled with friendly, helpful shooters that want nothing more than to bring in MORE shooters!
 
The 590a1 I have has a 20" heavy walled barrel and weighs about 7.5lbs so it's not that light, though I guess trap guns can range up to 10lbs, but most seem to weigh in at 8lbs? So it's not THAT much lighter. It has an 8 shell tube and I could probably find a way to use 5 shells length of that as extra weight somehow, since I gather I only really need 2-3 loaded. I am going to get it threaded for a choke, so it should pattern OK. I'm not convinced that velocity is all that big a factor at the distances trap and shoot are shot at, but maybe I'm wrong.

My goal is to shoot the shotgun I have. Maybe one day I will buy a second one for trap, but for now, this is what I have.
 
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577/450 said:
The ''elite'' shooters poh-poh many shooters who do not use the high end guns. They also get real annoyed when I beat them with my old wingmaster, trap only. The other day I shot 16 of 25, not a great score, with an old coey break barrel with clinder bore. Oh yes black powder shells. I am not vain enough to say that I can beat every one every day but I can give the pros a good run for their money
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If 16/25 gives "the pros a good run for their money" I want to shoot where you shoot. :jerkit:

Martin248 said:
The 590a1 I have has a 20" heavy walled barrel and weighs about 7.5lbs so it's not that light, though I guess trap guns can range up to 10lbs, but most seem to weigh in at 8lbs? So it's not THAT much lighter. It has an 8 shell tube and I could probably find a way to use 5 shells length of that as extra weight somehow, since I gather I only really need 2-3 loaded. I am going to get it threaded for a choke, so it should pattern OK. I'm not convinced that velocity is all that big a factor at the distances trap and shoot are shot at, but maybe I'm wrong.

My goal is to shoot the shotgun I have. Maybe one day I will buy a second one for trap, but for now, this is what I have.
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If you are shooting trap singles only one shell is permitted in the gun at a time. If you are shooting doubles trap, skeet or sporting clays the maximum is two shells. Your gun must be open and empty when you are not on the shooting stand.

There's nothing wrong with using the gun you have to start. But leave the bayonet at home.

gwagen said:
If you are out at a club participating, having fun and being safe and respectful of the others around you, then have at it, shoot whatever you want. But if you are disrupting the environment and you bring a "you're a bunch of old fudds what do you know" attitude with you, you aren't going to have a very welcoming experience.
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Quoted for truth.
 
577/450 said:
The ''elite'' shooters poh-poh many shooters who do not use the high end guns. They also get real annoyed when I beat them with my old wingmaster, trap only. The other day I shot 16 of 25, not a great score, with an old coey break barrel with clinder bore. Oh yes black powder shells. I am not vain enough to say that I can beat every one every day but I can give the pros a good run for their money
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16 out of 25 gives "the pros" a run? Your club must only have pathetic shooters.
 
Marin248

Nothing wrong with trying the games with what you have, but I would agree with the advice to leave the bayonet at home. If you want to add weight, get a short piece of steel, wrap it in electrical tape and put it in the magazine from the front, just like you were putting a plug in for waterfowl hunting. You may need to put something similar on the other end to add weight to the butt stock.

As stated by another poster, most clubs are always looking for potential new members. If you ask nicely, if someone doesn't offer it, you can try out members guns. Over the last 3 decades I've let many new shooters try my guns. Nothing fancy or ultra expensive, but all appropriately set up for the clay target disciplines. The vast majority came away amazed at how much easier it is to hit targets with those guns. We've hashed over the whole short barreled/long barreled thing to death already and like any debate on the internet we won't be able to provide you with an answer. Try and decide for yourself.
 
The last shoot I attended this year for 3 days of shooting targets 300$ with 168$ in options available and 32$ in ATA/APTA fees not including shells and fuel any one that shows up and pays is welcome to shoot with me.

Money will kill us long before a few shooters with 18 inch barrels will and I have yet to see this btw.
 
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I can't figure out why anyone would be concerned about noise. I shoot short barrelled and muzzle break all the time and always give people a "ears on" when I see people not wearing their hearing protection on an active range. Anybody not wearing hearing protection on an active range having the nerve to complain about noise, really>? Do they go out in the rain without and umbrella and complain their wet too lol.

Get the barrel threaded, get some chokes. Practice in the pits with a buddy, and then school the guys with $5k trap guns lol.
 
Yes, the noise and muzzle blast is noticeable, with or without ears on; hell even regular porting is a noticeable increase compared to a non ported version.
 
radmacks said:
I can't figure out why anyone would be concerned about noise. I shoot short barrelled and muzzle break all the time and always give people a "ears on" when I see people not wearing their hearing protection on an active range. Anybody not wearing hearing protection on an active range having the nerve to complain about noise, really>? Do they go out in the rain without and umbrella and complain their wet too lol.

Get the barrel threaded, get some chokes. Practice in the pits with a buddy, and then school the guys with $5k trap guns lol.
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There is a huge difference between "buddies trap" and regulation trap. Getting together with your buddies and shooting "trap" in a pit with a manual thrower where you stand next to it and pounding them 20 yards out is not "trap". It is clay target blasting with your buds. We have all done both and personally I have yet to see the bud's ever put it to an experienced trap shooter at either!! I Wonder why...:confused:

And no it isn't the 5K gun!! :p
 
the spank said:
There is a huge difference between "buddies trap" and regulation trap. Getting together with your buddies and shooting "trap" in a pit with a manual thrower where you stand next to it and pounding them 20 yards out is not "trap". It is clay target blasting with your buds. We have all done both and personally I have yet to see the bud's ever put it to an experienced trap shooter at either!! I Wonder why...:confused:

And no it isn't the 5K gun!! :p
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I have to laugh when I hear people compare shooting with their own thrower, to regulation trap, and even worse regulation skeet. If you don't have a high house; and a low house, you aren't shooting skeet. If you think that because you can break 20 out of 25 targets with your portable thrower, that you can walk onto a skeet field and compete with a decent skeet shooter, you are just kidding yourself. If you show up at a skeet field, and you can't break at least the mid to high 90s, you aren't going to run with"the pros".
 
Wow so many assumptions. Let me paraphrase. Practice up shooting clays in the pits. That will gain you experience (practice makes perfect). Then you can walk in with a short barrel $500 gun and bust as many clays as a 5k gun. I don't know why you would quote my post and rant about buddies trap and regulation trap.

You do know that the longest regulation "trap" (not skeet or sporting clay) shot is 47 yards right (clays hit the ground at 50 yards). And that the average singles shot is 25 yards. Could you be blurring the three disciplines into one? Because they are very different indeed in which they are thrown both direction speed and distance.

Just saying if you want to slice hairs :)

the spank said:
There is a huge difference between "buddies trap" and regulation trap. Getting together with your buddies and shooting "trap" in a pit with a manual thrower where you stand next to it and pounding them 20 yards out is not "trap". It is clay target blasting with your buds. We have all done both and personally I have yet to see the bud's ever put it to an experienced trap shooter at either!! I Wonder why...:confused:

And no it isn't the 5K gun!! :p
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