I just joined a trap club having never shot trap even once. I now have questions but need some quick answers.

I have a SKB made Weatherby O/U in 12ga., and my boys are using 20's one is a 870, one Mossy 500 with a mod fixed choke, and a Condor O/U.

I have the belief that mod chokes will probably be pretty good for a while. I'm using #8 in all and Federals, for $50 case.

What do you think about chokes? Briley's worth the money?

Should I be concerned about which shells we're using? The price point on the Federals is good and they are 2 3/4 dram, payload depends on 12 or 20 obviously but the 1 1/8 oz of #8 is what the 12 is.
There were guys using only Win AA but they were closer to $9 box. With three of us in league competition for the first time ever the cost of shells will add up. Not sure if I'm ready to reload until we could all use the same shells.

How bout some pointers from you guys that hit them all. Nate

I haven't shot trap in a while but for several years I competed quite regularly. I never hit them all!

Most serious trap shooters reload and many prefer AA because they can get so many reloads out of them. A lot of that AA ammo you see used on the trap range is really reloaded. If you do use AA, pick up your hulls. You will always find some trap shooter willing to pay a buck or two for them.

Harder shot deforms less in the barrel and subsequently flies truer and retains more velocity down range. It takes more antimony in the shot to make it harder and antimony costs more than lead. As a result, premium shotshells cost more. But don't worry. Cheaper loads won't hold you back until you start making high scores and going to longer yardage. More important at this stage is to pick a cartridge that you find burns clean and gives consistent performance.

A modified choke is fine at the 16 yard line and many shoot with that choke at medium yardage. Heavier loads and higher velocity loads will spread more than lighter and lower velocity loads. This is because the shot gets deformed and doesn't fly as true. At all but the longest yardage you will shoot a better pattern if you don't use heavy handicap loads. I found that #8 was great for singles and the first shot at doubles. I used #7.5 for handicap and my second shot at doubles. But opinions differ and some shooters use #7.5 for everything.

Most people don't know that a 20ga has as much, or more, felt recoil as a 12ga. If recoil is a problem for smaller shooters, I suggest a 12ga shooting a light load. A 1oz 12ga load does surprisingly well but my favorite is a 15/16oz load.

Pattern your shotguns with the load you will be using. Most people do this by shooting a pattern board at 40 yards and then drawing a 30" circle around the center of the pattern. They count holes and look for voids in the pattern. That's great if all you want to do is compare the way different guns and loads shoot. But that is not as useful to a trap shooter as this. Put up a 4'x4' piece of cardboard or plywood, staple a couple of sheets of chart paper over it, and paint a 3" black circle in the center. Shoot it at about 30 yards. It will reveal all sorts of things about the way you are shooting and the ammunition you are using. Very few people do this and they never know where their gun is shooting.

Whats a "square load"?

Your guns and your loads are fine for informal trap shooting.

If you're expecting to run 100-straight, then you'll need to move up to a dedicated trap gun; and if you shoot enough to get that good you'll need to shoot reloaded shells in order to afford it. But is your goal really to become a trap competitor?

If your goal is simply to enjoy busting a few clays, then don't worry about having the finest available dedicated trap gun and loads with shot as hard as diamond.

High cheek piece 870 pump, 30" full choke worked great for me. I've never run 50 but did 25's with it. I'd say get comfortable with the shotgun before investing in anything else.

Shoot at some paper and check your choke.

Rich

You should do fine with a modified and full choke which I suspect is how your O/U is choked. Also factory #8 should do fine as well. The major factor is where your gun is shooting, which very few people check. So, pattern your gun, not looking for pattern density etc. but just to see where it is shooting relative to the POI. A trap gun should be shooting "high" ie. the pattern is above the POA. This is because the bird is still rising when you shoot.
If you want to shoot trap "seriously" then forget all the above!
Peter.

If you want to become a competitive trap shooter, then there's a real art to trap shooting. Similar to shooting a Bow. To be really good you have to practice early and often AND do everything the same way every single time. As a lifetime bird shooter and former semi competitive skeet shooter, I play on the trap field on occasion for fun. I shoot my Ruger SS OU w/ an IC choke in total unconventional fashion. I don't ride the birds like the boys w/ 30 in full choke guns. I bust the birds as soon as they come out of the house/bunker. I can run 50 of occasion and it usually draws a crowd and drives the serios trap shooters bonkers. Have fun w/ your boys and do what works for you.

I shot a lot of trap in years past. I was AA-27-AA when I quit, I think (may or may not have had a reduction off the 27 which was eating my lunch most of the time), and this was before they had AAA. For fun and field practice your guns, chokes, and loads will be fine. If you get at all serious, you will almost certainly need a higher combed stock and better shot, factory or reloaded. In addition, if you shoot very much, your guns, one and all will start to break frequently. This is NOT disparing your particular shotguns, but trap shooting is quite hard on guns because of the volume of shooting that is done and many, if not most, guns will not stand up to it.

Your chokes and shotshells will be fine for 16 yard work but will become very iff much farther back. Even at 20 yards you will need to go to more choke or better shot or both IMO. Playing a game like "back up" you will be at a serious disadvantage.

If you're buying shells for 5 bucks a box don't even think about reloading! And #8's with a mod choke are all you need for a while. Shoot for a while and talk to other shooters at your club, they will be glad to help you!

Cheers,

George

Just wanted to say thanks.
My first scored round I shot a 13! I dropped by before work one afternoon a couple days later and shot two practice rounds. I shot a 21 & 23 with nobody watching. Next scored round was a 19, then a 21, today a 23. It is way more of a mind game than I thought! It seems when I'm trying I can't shoot for squat and when I'm just shooting I do better.

I did switch from an IC to Mod and even shot a round with an IM. It seemed to be the Mod I was doing the best with so I have stayed with it the last three rounds.

Don't know much of anything yet but can see how addicting it could be. We may try sporting clays when they start in the spring. Nate