New to Trap

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Ok, so I've had my license for awhile and I've toyed with pistols and rifles without being totally sold on either. I joined my local indoor range and left after a few days because ventilation was poor and the sound padding was...non existent.

Recently went out to an outdoor range to Trap shoot with my Father and...well...I'm hooked. Probably the most fun I've had in years, next to being a professional musician by trade ;)

Anyway, I have very little firearm experience; 20 shots on some pistols before the 2 rounds of trap I did. I managed to get 50%-60% of the clays, which to me seems pretty decent for a first attempt. I also found it to be a fun and rewarding challenge.

So what kind of investment would I be looking at to get into trap, in terms of buying a OU shotgun? I don't want to break the bank initially, because I really don't know that much about guns and figure after many thousand shells I might want something more customized. I also have no interest in hunting, so I really would only use it for trap ;)
 
Baikal makes an alright o/u shotgun for about $600, not the best looking gun you will find but shoots good. You don't need to spend a fortune when you are starting out. Even a pump or semi shotgun would work for trap.
 
I'd look into a 20 gauge mossberg silver reserve O/U. Mossy makes great guns and I'm sure you'd enjoy it. Pretty affordable too.

Edit: You might also try the maverick hunter in 12 gauge. Probably find them for $450 and with the synthetic you won't have to worry about maintaining it at all.
 
So I was shooting 12 on the day I went, in both pump and o/u. The pump felt too heavy and didn't weld well. The o/u was amazingly light and felt great. I'll try a variety out and see of that still is the same. No does gauge matter at all in trap?
 
12 gauge is pretty standard for trap although some do shoot with a 20. Don't forget that your trap shotgun will shoot more in a day than some hunters shoot in a year so your gun has to hold up. I don't know that a Baikal will last that long but its a start. The most important thing is gun fit anyway so get a gun that fits right first and then drop the grand or so on the gun.
 
I am in the same boat as you right now, Everyone I know that shoots is recommending a good used Browning or Beretta. They can usually be had for around $1500 or so.
Also check out the Browning Citori Lightning, They cost about 1800 new, they are a field gun but i've talked to a couple of people who have them and have put over 10,000 shots threw them with not a single issue.
They are a field gun so they are a little light and kick a little harder, but toss a good recoil pad on there and problem solved.

You can use pumps or semis as well, it's all just personal preference, I use a Winchester SXP pump and do just fine. Find what feels right and go for it.
Best of luck to you.
 
Also, a dedicated trap gun is different than a field gun in a number of ways, including the stock shape and drop ("Monte Carlo" type) and in having a high or adjustable comb for the optimal point of impact and ability to see the bird throughout the whole flight without covering it with the muzzle of your gun as you move towards it and reach it.

That's not to say you can't shoot trap with a regular shotgun, but there's a reason why all serious trap guns have certain features that differentiate them from field guns.
 
I happened to notice that The Gun Dealer here in NB listed this Browning single shot trap gun in their used section the other day for $699. I don't even know if that's a good deal or not, but figured I'd let you know.

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Thanks again, those are all great points. Yeah, I figure I'll start out cheaper until i learn more about the sport and can really invest in something serious :)
 
Like almost anything else, you get what you pay for. I find this is most accurate with semi's. I spent a lot of time deciding what kind of gun I wanted as a "do it all" from trap to upland and up to geese. Eventually picked up a Remington Versamax due to it's capability to fire any shell for $1300 new taxes in. Within two days I returned it because when I'm paying that much for something I want it to be solid from end to end, this was not the case. Two days later I picked up a benelli M2 for $1700 taxes in and have not looked back. It's basically like night and day between the quality of both guns. There are of course exceptions to this rule ie. I'm told the weatherby Sa-08 is a great gun, but maybe not for you as a strict trap shooter (due to the light weight). I guess what I'm trying to say is to go out to the store, get your hands on some guns, see which feels right, ask around your local range and see what you can shoot, and go from there. If I were and wanted to buy a dedicated trap gun I'd look for three things; weight (the lighter the gun the more it's going to recoil and vice versa), fit (no matter how many people talk about how awesome gun A or gun B are, if they don't fit you correctly you'll probably end up selling it for a loss), and finally quality. If you're just going to be shooting a round every once in a while you can look into a more affordable model. If you're going to shoot it a LOT it may be a good idea to save your pennies and get something a little more known for reliability (ie Benelli with the 5 year warranty). I'm not saying you need to dish out two grand for a gun right away but if I could start my whole buying process over again I wouldn't have bothered with the Remington.

Part of what enticed me to buy a Benelli (over Beretta) was the inertia system. Basically there is no gas system to clean but they are known for recoiling a little harder, doesn't bother me though. A break action like an O/U is popular for a number of reasons like balance, low maintenance (no gas system, barely any moving parts), reliability (part of low maintenance), and with two barrels you have the option to use different chokes should you ever need to (for close and far shots). I know I went on a bit of a rant but hopefully you can pull a little information out of it.

I would imagine that with a decently weighted, balanced O/U that didn't cost you a fortune, you'd be happy.
 
JRodko said:
Like almost anything else, you get what you pay for. I find this is most accurate with semi's. I spent a lot of time deciding what kind of gun I wanted as a "do it all" from trap to upland and up to geese. Eventually picked up a Remington Versamax due to it's capability to fire any shell for $1300 new taxes in. Within two days I returned it because when I'm paying that much for something I want it to be solid from end to end, this was not the case. Two days later I picked up a benelli M2 for $1700 taxes in and have not looked back. It's basically like night and day between the quality of both guns. There are of course exceptions to this rule ie. I'm told the weatherby Sa-08 is a great gun, but maybe not for you as a strict trap shooter (due to the light weight). I guess what I'm trying to say is to go out to the store, get your hands on some guns, see which feels right, ask around your local range and see what you can shoot, and go from there. If I were and wanted to buy a dedicated trap gun I'd look for three things; weight (the lighter the gun the more it's going to recoil and vice versa), fit (no matter how many people talk about how awesome gun A or gun B are, if they don't fit you correctly you'll probably end up selling it for a loss), and finally quality. If you're just going to be shooting a round every once in a while you can look into a more affordable model. If you're going to shoot it a LOT it may be a good idea to save your pennies and get something a little more known for reliability (ie Benelli with the 5 year warranty). I'm not saying you need to dish out two grand for a gun right away but if I could start my whole buying process over again I wouldn't have bothered with the Remington.

Part of what enticed me to buy a Benelli (over Beretta) was the inertia system. Basically there is no gas system to clean but they are known for recoiling a little harder, doesn't bother me though. A break action like an O/U is popular for a number of reasons like balance, low maintenance (no gas system, barely any moving parts), reliability (part of low maintenance), and with two barrels you have the option to use different chokes should you ever need to (for close and far shots). I know I went on a bit of a rant but hopefully you can pull a little information out of it.

I would imagine that with a decently weighted, balanced O/U that didn't cost you a fortune, you'd be happy.
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Thanks a lot, that's some pretty sound advice. I know for sure having held (not shot) lots of guns, that feel is a huge portion. I like the ease of maintenance and simplicity of an OU so some reason. Plus they all feel great!

I guess the other big consideration is how many rounds the gun is meant to handle in a short amount of time. The other day I shot 75 rounds through an instructors 4k OU designed for trap. but that's like 60-70 more rounds than an average shotgun hunter may shot all year, where I'm from ;)
 
Totally agree with JRodko - go to a local store, take an hour and pickup everything, see what fits.

I started shooting trap with an o/u with a crazy long length of pull for a teenager - it beat the tar out of me (black eye every other weekend was pretty good street cred in school though). Switched to an ancient Auto5 - great gun in all respects but the action cycling drove me crazy doing doubles (fire one, see for yourself haha). Onto a BT99 and trap was fun again! Progressed through to a Citori and never looked back.
 
You can't really expect a specific answer for a question like this. It's like asking what the best kind of beer is! I think everyone will agree that you just need to find what fits YOU. Not your buddy, not the guy at the counter, not the local rep, just you! After I returned my versamax I was at the store for 2 hours holding and tinkering with different auto loaders. The moment I held and shouldered the M2 I had made up my mind.

Cheers!!
 
OP, your original post was you want a strictly trap gun. The discussion has moved away from O/U's to semi-autos. This being said you will have a hard time finding a trap SA in a gun shop. Most of those will be hunting models. You need a model with a Monte Carlo stock. As TJSPELLER said, you need this so you don't have to cover the bird with your muzzle as you shoot. This is very important on a trap gun.

I suggest you look used. If you stick with trap this will not be your first gun, and a used gun will mean you recover almost all your initial investment when you resell. I would suggest either the Beretta auto loaders or a Remington 1100. I have no personal experience with the Berettas, but hear they are very good. I have a LOT of experience with the 1100. Mine fit me well, was incredibly soft shooting and could really powder the birds. Over tens of thousands of rounds I had the occasional break down, but the parts were cheap and easy to find and could be changed in a matter of minutes. Very seldom did I have a FTE or a jam. I cleaned it now where near as often as you hear some people claim they need for reliability. All in all it was a great gun to shoot trap with

My $.02
 
R&R Rancher said:
OP, your original post was you want a strictly trap gun. The discussion has moved away from O/U's to semi-autos. This being said you will have a hard time finding a trap SA in a gun shop. Most of those will be hunting models. You need a model with a Monte Carlo stock. As TJSPELLER said, you need this so you don't have to cover the bird with your muzzle as you shoot. This is very important on a trap gun.

I suggest you look used. If you stick with trap this will not be your first gun, and a used gun will mean you recover almost all your initial investment when you resell. I would suggest either the Beretta auto loaders or a Remington 1100. I have no personal experience with the Berettas, but hear they are very good. I have a LOT of experience with the 1100. Mine fit me well, was incredibly soft shooting and could really powder the birds. Over tens of thousands of rounds I had the occasional break down, but the parts were cheap and easy to find and could be changed in a matter of minutes. Very seldom did I have a FTE or a jam. I cleaned it now where near as often as you hear some people claim they need for reliability. All in all it was a great gun to shoot trap with

My $.02
Click to expand...

good point about the Monte Carlo Stock!
 
I have a Beretta Urika 391 Trap model auto. I've been using it for several years, many thousands of rounds, and never a problem. I've never been tempted to go to an O/U. If I could find another in decent condition, I would buy it as a backup so I don't have to worry about what to do if anything went wrong with my gun.

Unfortunately, it seems like Beretta has given up on making trap-specific semiautos, so you'd have to find a used one, and based on personal experience the 391 Trap is nearly impossible to find. Their current line of semi-autos, the A400, does not include a trap specific gun as best as I can tell.

The Remington 1100, mentioned above by Rancher, is easier to find on the EE, and usually for a good price - 500-1000$ range.
 
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