Trap!

JesseB123

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Victoria
Well, picked up my Mossberg Maverick 88 18.5" 8 shot shotgun and 250 rounds of #8 Federal 2 3/4 target load on Monday.

Went to the range today with 3 boxes and paid for three rounds of trap, the first on my own. I'd been once before and used a friends gun for a couple rounds about 3 years ago. On my way in, everyone had a good chuckle at my three pink boxes of breast cancer awareness 12ga target load. They also had a good chuckle at my choice of firearm for the 16yd trap shoot, and even got some head shakes and one 'tsk tsk'. Doesn't phase me, I'm there to have fun :)

I shot three rounds, and by the third I shot 20/25 clays, and people's tones had changed :cool: I got plenty of props on the way out. I was proud of myself for the first time! Just wanted to share cause the community here is great :)

I can't wait to get back and finish off the rest of my pink shells!
 
I get so sick of these trap divas looking down on anyone shooting anything but a 2000.00+ dedicated shotgun. I usually shoot an old Sportsman 58 that I paid 250.00 for and the last time I shot I used a 870 with a folding stock and pistol grip just for the hell of it. Its supposed to be fun after all and everybody has to start somewhere.
 
20/25 after a few rounds of trap seems pretty good to me regardless of the shotgun one is shooting. I don't see what the problem is unless it is muzzle blast with the short barrel. A guy could be penalizing himself in trap using a short barrel too, I guess, because it might be a bit harder to point precisely. Most of us are getting a little long in the tooth too, which leads to hardening of the arteries and a certain personal rigidity.
 
Those guys act like they have never seen pink Top Gun before? They are all over the place out here. The place I shoot is open to the public and 18 inch tackies are a common sighting out here as well.
 
f**k em
Me and my buddy get looks too with our tactical shotties,you got the right additude
It's not the gun. It's the poseur "f**k 'em" attitude that too often comes along with it. It becomes a bit tiresome to explain repeatedly to the tacticool that you can't stuff your magazine to the brim or rapidfire shoot at a single target when you miss. Or that we actually mean it when we want your gun open and empty between stations, that your 3" 00 buck isn't welcome and as much of a tough guy as you imagine you are we do require you to wear eye and hearing protection.

Shoot what you like. Shoot safe, follow the rules and I'll share the line with you no matter what gun you have. I might even suggest we swap guns for a round. You'd be welcome to shoot mine. But leave the "f**k 'em" attitude in your car otherwise it and you will be going home in short order. I'm out there to have fun too and nursemaiding some wannabe mall ninja doesn't fall into that description.
 
I agree with Claybuster, and may i add a phrase "you wouldn't show up to play tennis with a badminton racket and expect to win", or golf with a hockey stick. Cheers
 
At our Club, the regular bunch that I sometimes shoot with are, shall we say, 'established'. They're not snobbish or elitist and could care less what make of firearm and type of action you're using.

But they do notice if you don't miss too often. ;)

Ditch any attitude and/or pre-conceived notion and have fun. :)
 
I too agree with claybuster.
It doesn't appear to me from the OP that he seems to have that attitude. He was simply out to have fun. Truely, that's what its all about.
Sooner or later though, if you become or want to become an avid competitive trap shooter, you will leave your "tactical" toys at home, and want a more dedicated shotgun.
Like goozman says, you wouldn't try to play a serious tennis match with a badminton racket.

OP, good on you for getting out and trying trap. 20/25 is a very respectable score for a guy starting out, I know lots of trap shooters who have been shooting for years that can't break 20 birds regularly.
Be warned though, like most shooting sports, it can get addictive.
 
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A little over a year ago I bought a new Beretta semi and thought I would like to join a club and try trap and skeet shooting. I figured if I didn't like it I would still have my Beretta to hunt with. I am now on my 4th shotgun and finally have the one I want (625 Citori). To say it can be addictive is an understatment. I have never had this much fun shooting in my life. The club I joined has every kind of shotgun you can think of shooting there. Some are worth thousands and some are hundreds, but everyone has a blast. So just go out and enjoy yourself.
 
Attitude matters like Claybuster says, as does safety. There is a difference between shooting at practice and going to a match though. We are a bit looser at practice with respect to what one shoots and how. Sometimes we will take follow-up shots in trap if we are playing, for example. I have a friend, since moved away, who took a follow-up on my shots quite often (never mind the obvious comments here:redface:). He always told me what he was doing, of course. At other times we will break a chunk after a shot hits a bird. (Practice for meat shoots I understand and a way of working on follow through.) I've seen club members shoot off loads that they didn't want to keep around too, though there is concern that you don't want to have pellets going out of the distance allowed on the range. (They moved back to the 27 yard line.) There was some curiousity about how well heavier shot would do on long range shots too. My point is that some different things can go on in practice that won't happen at a match. The main thing is that everyone knows what is being done and that the activity is compatible with safe practice. I know from reading that #4 or #5 would be expected to go far enough on our range to be hitting the farmer's field in front of us, for example.
 
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