What choke and barrel length do you use for trap ?

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Salibas007

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When I started shouting clays, I used a 21" barrel with an improved cylinder choke on my Remington 1100. Worked for me and allowed me to not be as precise yet still get the clays.

Now that I'm getting better, I find that the barrel is too short and the choke too open for me to disintegrate the clays the way i'd like to. I get them, but to really nail them I need to be super quick and shoot the clay when it's less than 20 yards away. Which doesn't leave much time after pulling the rope on my shooter.

So Now i shoot my 26" barrel with a MOD choke or even a fully choked single shot. Makes me work for it, as I have to actually aim really good, but when I do get the clays, they are blown to smithereens.

What choke and barrel length do you shoot trap or skeet with ? Is that how you started or did you change with experience ?
 
Well now that the can of worms is open. Skeet is a short range game, chokes no tighter than I/C are preferred, years ago the trend was towards short barreled O/U's(26"), current trend is towards longer barrels in the 30-32" range. Your 1100 with a fixed 21" I/C barrel is fine for shooting skeet. Trap is a game of distance, shooting faster and more often, the preference has been towards a heavy(9lbs) long barreled gun(30"+) with a Imp. Modified to Extra Full choke. Action is less important here. Your 26" barrel with a Modified choke is adequate for 16yrd singles trap. However, adding a shell catcher to your 1100 will save you some grief on the line, the guy to the right won't get hit by flying hulls anymore. I shoot a 12ga slide-actions for everything, my guns all have a 28" barrel on them, on the Skeet field I use anything up to SkeetII, the Trap field I always use a Full choke, 1Oz of #8 at 1200 fps for everything.

Welcome to the Addiction.
 
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Which doesn't leave much time after pulling the rope on my shooter.
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Since you aren't actually shooting trap or skeet, the advice given for those games may not be all that applicable for you. In the case of actual trap, the target is launched from well out in front of you, so even if you are extremely quick, you will be shooting over 20 yards at the minimum. In that case, a modified choke is about the least constriction that I would use. On the other hand ,in the case of skeet, all shots will occur at closer range so a skeet or improved cylinder choke is ideal. In the case of O/U guns, most skeet or trap shooters are using 30" to 32" barrels, and with other actions 28" is fairly common. Given that you are shooting neither trap nor skeet, you would likely find that your 26" barrel and modified choke would be quite suitable. In any case, I wouldn't run out and buy a new gun or even a new barrel unless you decide to shoot actual trap or skeet on a regular basis. As for the part about having to "aim really good", if you try to aim a shotgun like you aim a rifle, you will fail miserably at wing shooting.
 
I agree with Stubblejumper, based on your description you aren't really shooting any of the "clay" games.

That aside, I use a Beretta 686E with a 34" Mono-Trap barrel with a modified choke for trap at the 16 yard line and go to full at the 27 yard line.

I use a 687 Silver Pigeon II with 28" barrels choked skeet & skeet for Skeet, and switch to I/C (bottom) and Mod (top) for Sporting clays (I don't usually change chokes at each station for Sporting Clays).

I find anything over 30" is too long for me at Skeet/Sporting Clays despite the current trend towards 32" barrels. YMMV
 
OK. So can someone please school me on what am I shooting ?

I have a clay thrower that throws 1 or 2 clays. I load up the clays, pull the rope and off they go. Depending on the position of the clay on the thrower, i have an angle of about 40-60 degrees ahead of me where the clays end up.

I thought this is what trap was. I guess I'm off then.
 
What you are doing is shooting at clay targets thrown with your portable thrower. Trap and skeet are specific games, that are played using clay targets. You can google trap and then skeet to see the differences, but wobble trap and skeet are both much more challenging than what you are doing. If you don't believe that visit a club and try both games for yourself.
 
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As Stub and BJP stated you are shooting neither trap nor skeet but just clays from a manual launcher. If you find it difficult to pull the string by hand and get your gun shouldered in time try rigging your string to a foot pedal mechanism of some kind. That will free your arms and hands up to shoulder and acquire your target quicker or have a friend join you and take turns releasing the target(s) for one another.
As for your 21" barrel? It will be fine for the game you are playing given you're playing a game of close range shooting that doesn't require a whole lot of good swing chatacteristic from your gun but step onto an actual skeet or trap field and that 21" barrel is going to be a major hindrance in maintaining good swing and follow through. Personally I prefer to shoot skeet with an auto or pump with no less than 26" barrels and an o/u with no less than 27" with 28" being my favorite. As for trap with a pump or auto 30" -32" is ideal, especially if you are ever going to shoot handicap. An o/u or single 32"-34" is my preference. My three trap guns are a Model 12 with 30" full choke, a Perazzi TM-1 34" with screw chokes and a Beretta 687 Silver Pigeon 3 Trap Combo with 34" unsingle and 30" doubles barrels.
 
Not sure what part of Montreal you're in, but their are a couple of real nice clubs in the Montreal area. Right next to my Father-in-Law's place is the Montreal Skeet Club on Route#338(2070 Ch. du Canal) near Les Cedres,PQ, further up the road Valleyfield Shooting Club, 616 Chemin du Canal,St-Stanislas-de-Kostka, Québec, & south of Brossard, Club de Tir L'Acadie 130, Ruisseau-des-Noyers, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. At these clubs you can try the actual disciplines, get instruction and improve your skills.
 
Well, what choke to use for Trap isn't really that straight forward because not every choke will pattern as expected in any given shotgun.

I personally prefer a 30"-32" barrel for Trap with a Modified or Improved Modified from the 16 yard line. Improved Modified or Full for handicap.

I use a 28" barrel with a Skeet choke for Skeet and a Light Modified or Modified for Sporting Clays.
 
32" barrels and Improved Modified choke for singles trap. I learned with an old 870 with a fixed full choke which I honestly think helped me get on the bird better. Now with my XT I switch back and forth depending on the day but usually IM choke in the bottom barrel and full in the top if shooting doubles.

I definitely learned a big difference between Trap shooting and shooting clays in the field.
 
Clocked92 said:
32" barrels and Improved Modified choke for singles trap. Now with my XT I switch back and forth depending on the day but usually IM choke in the bottom barrel and full in the top if shooting doubles.
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Same gun, same chokes. I use IM in the lower barrel the most. Moving back to handicap I'll use the full choke.
 
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