I am an old fart that was recently introduced to trap shooting and I'm excited to explore this further. I have a Beretta Whitewing O/U with 28" barrels and I have a Remington 870 All American Trap gun from the 1970's. I have used the Beretta for my first couple of rounds and it worked pretty well for me. I picked up the 870 a few years ago at an auction and have never fired it. I'm wondering if you folks think I should stick with the Beretta or try using the 870 as I get more involved in this sport? I'm not looking to purchase another shotgun so it's going to be one or the other of these two.

Take the 870 out and give it a go. I was introduced to shotgunning in the early 80's using a buddy's 870 Trap model. I rarely shoot trap anymore but kinda wish I still had access to it when I do.

Try the 870! A friend of mine won some state championships shooting the 870. He had to leave his Beretta 682 at home and that turned out to be a blessing.

Trap shooting is much about point of impact (POI). To use a gun with a POI that matches your sight pic preference is magic. Try the trap gun and remember the POI is probably higher than the field gun. You may not need to cover the target up with bead/barrel visually. Never losing sight of the target during the shot is a great advantage.

Good luck - shoot well........Maltz

Excellent advice. Get the 870 out and enjoy it.

Pattern both guns at the patterning board. Shoot the gun that fits you better, and shoots where you are looking. They both should shoot pretty much flat, if you are looking down the rib.

so the question here is whether you should use a trap gun to shoot trap.
I think I'd go ahead and use the trap gun for trap shooting.

So with your encouragement I took the 870 to the range today. First thing I did was fire 2 rounds at the pattern board. I had patterned the Beretta last week and found it to be shooing pretty flat and a little to the left. The 870 shoots considerably higher than the Beretta--I would estimate 70/30. I fired 25 rounds just to get a feel for the shotgun without worrying about hits and misses. Then I shot another 25 concentrating more on trying to hit the clays. I think I broke 19 which is a nice improvement from the first couple of rounds with the Beretta. I'm going back to the range tomorrow to practice some more but I was very pleased with today's experiment.

I could be wrong, but most trap gun ribs are higher in the back, or breech end. The tapering in height from breech to muzzle makes the gun shoot higher. So, the Remington trap gun should shoot higher, not flat. IMHO that is the gun you should learn to shoot. You want to be able to see the bird above the barrel when you pull the trigger. Good luck. Paul

put your head where it goes and leave it there, and focus on the target.
don't worry about breaks or chipping the front edge, or what the sights are doing, just focus on the bird.

As a new trapshooter, you should focus on the bird but, at the same time, you must be aware of where the muzzle is pointing in order to hit a moving target even semi-consistently.
The "see the bird shoot the bird" ability comes after several thousand targets are broken.


I once saw a new trapshooter heed the advice from a well-meaning, long-time trapshooter who told him to "just focus on the bird and pull the trigger, you'll break the target".
He did, and placed his pattern squarely on top of the traphouse. He did exactly what he was told to do and had neglected to move the gun.

Those of us who have broken thousands of trap targets can ignore the muzzle; muscle memory will take care of that. A new shooter has not developed the necessary muscle memory and must consciously place the muzzle in the right place in order to hit his target.

New shooters get all bunched up! Ego plus lack of experience as per trap line etiquette all make the targets down the focus list. Try a small snort of your favorite flask for a little relaxer!

Plus 1 a couple of times for what Mudpack said. I got in a argument on the internet a year or two back with a big named instructor who I won't name. It was about shooting 90 degree crossers. He said just look at the bird, you'll hit it. I very respectfully said no, at skeet if I don't shoot 4 feet in front on station 4, it'll be a miss. You'd have thought the roof was falling in, he went ballistic. Annnny ways, IMHO, you have to learn what sight picture looks like when the bird breaks. To be a little technical, I wouldn't call it muscle memory because your muscles don't have a memory. But your brain does, and seeing a correct sight picture over and over puts it in your long term memory. Then everything goes on auto pilot and you can just look at the bird. If it were me, I'd get the trap set on a straight away and shoot. When you're breaking them pretty good, move over a station and do it again. Move again and try it. You'll first learn how high your gun shoots, or doesn't. Then what leads look like. Good luck. Paul

Back when I first started shooting trap in 1973, all the good shooters were either shooting 870's of Model 12's. Pump Guns Ruled.
When I started shooting trap again about 15 years ago, I got on GB and bought the wife and I each an 870TB. I had the local gunsmith put Morgan pads on both. I am sure that I will not shoot another shotgun any better than my "Field Stock" 870TB. Fit does play into things as was said above. My 870TB has a Field Stock, the wife's has a Monte Carlo stock. I do not shoot her Monte Carlo stocked gun well at all. With my gun I shoulder it, and make sure the beads are stacked, and call for the bird. When I shoot her gun my cheek is into the stock hard before I am looking down the rib.

Bob R

Said far better than I did, or could have....

The first part is quite accurate.
The last part will get you an invitation to "sit this one out" at almost any club I've shot at.


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Wow mudpack, just a test to see if anyone actually reads any responses!

Yep Mac I caught it too, but didn’t say anything. I agree with mudpack.

What did I win..?!

Your correct answer and a buck gets you a cup of coffee.