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What is a good O/U for shooting trap and skeet

3K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  roger8918 
#1 ·
What is a good 12ga over under for trap and skeet? I have recently just took up shooting trap. I live in MN and needless to say it gets cold here. I currently use a Super Black Eagle II. I have issues with my bolt not locking and the gun not firing.

I am looking into getting an o/u for at a reasonable price. I enjoy the way they look and feel there are maybe a little less moving parts to be effected by the cold.
 
#2 ·
There are several of the up-scale manufactures that have introduced target models that were designed to cross over to the different clay target disciplines. On the lower end of that is the C. Guarini Impact and the top end is the new Krieghoff K-80 AR. A used Impact could be purchased for maybe under 4500.00. All available are serious target guns and spending over 10K possible.

For less adjustability, less money and less gun, a good sporter O/U in 32" with an adjustable comb gets you close on trap, on the mark for sporting and skeet in 12 ga. Trap is very popular in your home state, with some of the best clubs and people anywhere. Many of those frozen trpashooters are my friends, but beware of some of them squareheads. Speaking proper english could an issue :wink:

maltz
 
#10 ·
I shot skeet for a couple of years as there was no SC's club. I did it w/ my hunting guns as I did not have a clue what a skeet gun was. I shot my 1st 25 straight w/ a hunting gun.

Then I bought a target gun ....shot skeet and trap w/ it. Did not know what a trap gun was (we had 4 skeet fields but only one trap field) so I started shooting trap w/ my "target" gun. Not too long after , shot my 1st 25 straight at trap.

Then a SC's club was built.....and someone told me I was actually shooting a sporting clays "target" gun , so I shot SC's w/ that gun. I have never shot a 100/100 in sporting but did once shoot 68 straight in the middle of a tournament.

NOW -- years later, I have learned there are specialty guns for all three games. BUT until I "learned" this I was perfectly happy shooting all the games w/ one gun and while I was never great (and still ain't) , I did OK --score wise.

Generic target gun : O/U ; 30 or 32 inch barrel , screw chokes , weighing over 8 lbs but under 9 lbs shooting flat or slightly high.

Beretta SP is a good place to start.
 
#11 ·
I sure like what SERA says! It sounds like he has had a lot of fun and enjoyment shooting targets while he was blissfully ignorant of what was the "right kind" of weapon he was supposed to use.

I guess simply having fun is different than the pleasure some folks get from the technical nuances that come with the equipment. I don't see anything wrong with either view, but find it annoying when someone preaches "right and wrong" on matters that are pleasurable.
 
#12 ·
Rob: The 1st time I shot clays was at an NRA fundraiser. We shot a modified round of skeet...16 targets including some pairs. The 1st guy up had an O/U which (back then) was unheard of in our area. I did not even know how he made it fire the 2d shell. I looked hard for some switch or other device that would help him fire the second shot , but could not see one and was too shy to ask anyone.

He also had a shooting vest. I had seen these on TV (remember Robert Culp) but did not know anyone who had this fantastic garment....had no clue where to buy one .

He also had a fine tooled leather pouch on his belt. Again , he was the only one who had one of these , too.

And I watched him like a hawk....b/c he was obviously a pro and I could not wait to see what he did and to try to pick up any little trick he surely knew.

He hit 1 of 16.

My friend David --who'd brought me--hit 15 out of 16 w/ his 16g pump and I hit 11/16 w/ my 1100. After that , I never let any guy who looked like an expert fool me.

It was years later that the skeet club opened and by then I had my own hunting O/U . We were not regulars at the club , and shot mostly to warm up for hunting season and to shoot other NRA and DU fundraisers.

In a later life (meaning NOW) , I have become an addicted clay shooter and tournament chaser...and have learned all kinds of things about guns.

Like in shooting an O/U , you simply pull the trigger twice....there's no little magic lever you have to throw to make the gun reset. :wink: .....Duhh.
 
#13 ·
A flying target is a flying target, be it quail, goose, trap target, skeet target, dove, blackbird, sporting clays, or any other you can name.
If you can hit one of those with your shotgun, you can hit them all. You don't need a "trap" gun to go straight in trap any more than you need a "duck gun" to kill a limit of ducks.
The gun doesn't break targets, the shooter breaks targets.

The best "all-around" target gun is a sporting type, with maybe a skeet gun being a close second. The "trap" gun, since it is the most specialized, is certainly the least versatile. For your first real target gun, get a Beretta or Browning Sporting gun and have yourself a ball!
 
#14 ·
Beretta 682 with adjustable comb and pad.
 
#15 ·
First question is what do you consider a reasonable price? That means something different to everyone. I'm of the mindset that I like to buy quality, even if I have to save a little longer. I recently got hooked on Trap, and shooting my 26" 20ga field gun started feeling like I brought a knife to a gun fight (even though I shot some good scores), so I set out to buy a better trap gun. I bought a used Browning XT. Arguably it is the best bang-for-the-buck Trap gun at its MSRP, and used it becomes a tremendous bargain in my opinion. Built to shoot high volumes, proven 525 frame, it is well balanced, has adjustable comb, and high post rib... a clay busting machine. While the gun might be tweaked for Trap, it does extremely well Skeet too, as the previous owner was a very competitive Skeet shooter and used two XT's for skeet (mine was his back-up gun).

First thing you need to do is go to gun shops and shoulder as many guns as you can. You will quickly narrow down your choices to the brands that fit you well. I love Berettas, gorgeous guns, but they just dont fit me. Brownings do. Do your homework and try many, and in the mean time, save up for a quality gun. $1500+ for a quality Trap gun is money well spent.
 
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