Weight is a factor when choosing a trap gun

bdft

bdft

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My daughter decided to take up trap shooting so we loaded up a pile of trap guns and headed for the range. After shooting 6 different guns we decided that the Remington 3200 worked the best for her, hit the most targets and fit the best for her. After a few rounds of trap she just couldn't seem to hit much more than 10/25. We worked on gun fit, cross eye dominance and all those other little things but her scores didn't really improve. Then a guy handed her a BT99 and she took it and shot 21/25 first time out. Same success with a 1100 Competition. The 3200 seems to be too heavy for her to bring to the target and the lighter guns work much better. She shot my Charles Daly SBT last night and hit 20/25 twice in a row. Something to think about with new shooters, especially Millenials with only Xbox muscles. Gun fit and cross eye dominance are definitely important factors but some trap guns are just heavy. Something that is often overlooked.
 
Yeah, I like that xbox muscles too!

When you said "a few rounds of trap" I immediately thought of fatigue, to stand and repeatedly shoot target after target eventually gets fatiguing even for some one with strong arms and women are not known for their arm strength!
 
I own a 3200 as well. I’ve never weighed it but I am sure it’s pushing 9lbs? I was going to add a Gracoil and adjustable comb kit but that would put it over 10 pounds for sure and even 20 years ago, in my 30’s a 9lb+ gun got “heavy” by the end of a 200 - 300 registered targets day. My 34” barreled TMS comes in at 8.10lbs and feels like a featherweight next to the 3200.
 
A semi-auto gas piston design will let her shoot a lighter gun with less recoil than a break-action of the same weight. You are using the right approach by letting her try out different shotguns. Once you find the type she can handle best, you can consider modifying for better fit to her.
 
bdft said:
My daughter decided to take up trap shooting so we loaded up a pile of trap guns and headed for the range. After shooting 6 different guns we decided that the Remington 3200 worked the best for her, hit the most targets and fit the best for her. After a few rounds of trap she just couldn't seem to hit much more than 10/25. We worked on gun fit, cross eye dominance and all those other little things but her scores didn't really improve. Then a guy handed her a BT99 and she took it and shot 21/25 first time out. Same success with a 1100 Competition. The 3200 seems to be too heavy for her to bring to the target and the lighter guns work much better. She shot my Charles Daly SBT last night and hit 20/25 twice in a row. Something to think about with new shooters, especially Millenials with only Xbox muscles. Gun fit and cross eye dominance are definitely important factors but some trap guns are just heavy. Something that is often overlooked.
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I had the same experience as your daughter... On my second outing I was noticeably better than the first and the only thing I did differently was to use a single shot break-action... The lightest shotgun that I currently own...

FarmerDanz said:
Millenials with xbox muscles. Haha hilarious.
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I am a 220+lbs boxer & Muay Thai fighter... I guarantee you these arms know real strength... But swinging a shotgun to target uses (some) different muscle groups than playing an X-Box, working a construction site etc...
 
bushwhacker said:
A semi-auto gas piston design will let her shoot a lighter gun with less recoil than a break-action of the same weight. You are using the right approach by letting her try out different shotguns. Once you find the type she can handle best, you can consider modifying for better fit to her.
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I think a gas gun is probably the next move but I'm going to let her break some targets and learn for a while before she changes guns. As you all know, it's no fun if you're not breaking targets.
 
I love the Xbox muscles comment.... I'm gonna use it down the road on some of buddies that are soft throwers.... beretta gas models shoot so soft!
 
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