required length of barrel for trap and skeet?
- Thread starter albertaman238
- Start date
Generally this depends on the type of action, but most people use barrels in the 28 to 30 inch range for skeet, and 30 to 34 inch range for trap, but some people do just fine with either shorter or longer barrels. Some clubs do have a minumum barrel length, but that varies from club to club.
bdft
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Barrel length relates to balance and swing more than anything else. Anything with 28" barrels and up that fits you and feels right is what you want. Most autos have 28-30" barrels anyway.
Off topic: Why would a club limit the length of shotgun barrel you can shoot? Sounds kind of elitist to me.
Off topic: Why would a club limit the length of shotgun barrel you can shoot? Sounds kind of elitist to me.
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
I would not call it elitist by any means. Short barreled guns are extremely loud so I see it as a sound/disruption to other shooters issue.
Maritime Storm
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Riverview, NB
The NSSA doesn't have a minimum barrel length, some clubs, like ours(18") do. Their are disadvantages to too short barrel, swing dynamics. A short barreled gun tends to be whippy and it is harder to break the habit of stopping the gun mid-swing with a lighter, shorter gun. The longer the barrels, the harder it is to get the gun swinging, the more likely it is to stay swinging.
Another reason is to keep short-barreled tactical shotguns off the ranges. One club in my area went further recently and now no longer permits "combat-style" shotguns to be used for clay target shooting.
Additionally, it can be a lot more simple. The long barrels hit the barrel limiting stops. Short barrels keep swinging past.
I've even seen a similar issue where shooters don't crowd the shoot position. Their barrels can sometimes point in directions they aren't made to point, prompting a notification.
Always refer to the club/organization/facility rules prior to going out shooting to confirm your equipment meets the requirements.
I've even seen a similar issue where shooters don't crowd the shoot position. Their barrels can sometimes point in directions they aren't made to point, prompting a notification.
Always refer to the club/organization/facility rules prior to going out shooting to confirm your equipment meets the requirements.
Maritime Storm
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Riverview, NB
After a person tries one of these short tactical shotguns on a skeet field and only hit 3 or 4 targets, they usually will ask why. Usually about that time, they come to realize that a tactical shotgun damn near useless for any practical use. They then look at the fork in the road and decide whether they want to learn to shoot better with the proper tool or hang on to a shotgun that has no practical application until the apocalypse. Generally speaking, the tacticool shotgun ends up on the EE when they get home and they are in search of a decent target gun or field gun. The odd elite shooter at our club will show up with a Winchester Defender or Norinco 1897 for a bit of fun, they typically will drop about 4 or 5 targets, have a laugh, then dig out their target gun and go back shooting seriously.
Shooting skeet with a 14" pump under the lights is a good way to get attention. Lots of noise and muzzle flash particularly with Federals.
Maritime Storm
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Riverview, NB
Both of those models have 18" barrels, we won't allow anything shorter at the club.
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Or they just find a longer replaceable barrel, be it factory, Hastings, etc.
easy peasy with an 870
I used to see the same thing at my previous club. People would come to shoot trap or skeet with a tactical shotgun, shoot poorly and pound themselves with recoil for a couple of rounds, and then they either came back with a more practical shotgun, or they simply never came back. One individual brought out two tactical semi autos with holographic sights, and was very confident that he would do well at skeet. He broke a handfull of targets with each gun, and never came back. I talked with his son at work, and apparently he only owns tactical type firearms for rifles and shotguns, and doesn´t shoot well with any of them.
At the time the club didn't care what gun you used. Personally I don't care what gun anyone is using as long as it is being used safely and the shooter is following the rules. The problem however is that too often a tactical shotgun is accompanied by an wannabe tough-guy "operator" attitude, a casual attention to muzzle direction and a tendency toward belligerence when minor rule infractions are pointed out to them. Just because your shotgun has an extended magazine does not mean it's okay to load 6 rounds. The problem is compounded when a group of tacticool "operators" comes out and takes over a skeet field.
