My local range has a trap and a skeet setup. I want to shoot both, no competition. I just want to hit more than I miss. I already have a Franchi Affinity 3, Weatherby 26" Orion 1 (won it on a single $10 raffle ticket) and an 870 Express in 20GA. Sure, I could shoot any one of those at the clay pigeons, but I have room in the safe for another gun...

If you had $1000 in your pocket and were in my shoes, what would you buy?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Why not use your Franchi while you save up some more money for a dedicated clay gun? Even if you are not shooting competition, if you plan on shooting very frequently, you will want the reliability of a target gun.

I do shoot trap and skeet with the same gun. I do have an adjustable comb on the gun and move it for trap. I am a pretty sorry shot at both, partially because of vision, and I do not think the equipment hurts me. From where you are I might look at a used trap gun with an adjustable comb and just shoot the Franchi for skeet.

I do like the idea of one all around gun. For me, I have a 30" barreled Beretta SP1 Sporting O/U with a comb added. Something like that used in Beretta or Browning is probably going to run you $1500. I am at about $2300 new. Since I am totally happy with my gun now I have not looked at alternatives for a while. Some people shoot trap well with a field gun without the comb. But that did not work out well for me. When it got down to it I needed the adjustment both for left and right (the stock stock shot to the left markedly on this gun) and for the extra elevation that makes trap shooting easier for me. I shoot sporting clays with it also.

The other answer is to just buy a gun with screw in chokes that you like and shoot both games with it. Within a reasonable range of weight and barrel length the equipment is not the hold back for trap, or skeet, or sporting clays until you get darn good at them.

Remington 1100 Competition Synthetic.

Beretta A 300.

I shoot all sports w/ the same gun. 2 of my 12g target guns have choke tubes , like God intended and allow me to shoot everything.

IMHO your Franchi infinity will do both well, and sporting clays as well, and do all of those as well as anything else you could spend $1000 on. The 26" Orion is a little short for trap and even sporting, though it would be fine for skeet. Personally, I would hang onto the 10 Bens a little longer and shoot your Franchi for a bit. Then if one game bites you harder than the other, you can start thinking about a dedicated gun for it -- and by then you might have $2500 you could put into something nicer. Just a thought, YMMV.

We have a winner!! I sold mine to one of our club members and he shoots it regularly for both games.

Remington 1100... sorry, I love the old stuff...

I picked up an 1100 with a true SKEET barrel... Searched on eBay and bought a 30" trap barrel..

It's fun... it's old school... but I love this 'vintage 1970s' gun.

Maggs

The same reason I enjoy shooting a BSS.
For my entire USPSA career I shot the same old .45acp single-stacked Colt Gold Cup all the way up to high A class. Could I have changed to a wide body .40? Sure, but it was a lot more fun doing well with the Colt.

tp

Whatever your decision will be, it will be related to your competitive spirt. Any old gun will shoot all the clay games. Shooting well will be decided by your measure, thereto improvement is a goal. Be prepared to spend some money and try to buy that improvement with better equipment. Better image and prestige. Better performance and perfection. Better science and analysis.

Maltz

In trap there is some advantage to having a high shooting gun. In all the rest , not really.

Why not shoot and figure out what you like best ??? I like skeet better than trap and sporting better than skeet. In the various disciplines of sporting , I like small gauge Fitasc the best.

Like Jack said , use the Franchi and spend $1000 on targets.

I have found that if i form a figure 8 with the 2 beads (muzzle and mid)on my Skeet and Sporting clays gun it can work for Trap. The but of th gun might drop a bit but it does not seem to make much of a difference and can be allowed for with practice. Just a thought that works for me.

Beretta 687 All Around. Mine has 30" barrels. If I shoot trap I guess I could get extended chokes, though the chokes I now have already extend 1 inch. I also added a mid rib. For skeet I am shooting with a 70/30 POI, so for trap I wouldn't have to changed that.

Randy

Here is a thought, just a tad late in posting. If your favorite shotgun tends to be designed more for skeet, sporting or field use, try this. There is a device called "Wrapid Comb" that attaches to your butt stock, in a wrap around fashion by means of Velcro. Properly positioned, it elevates your cheek and manner of view down your barrel/vent rib. I have one I have used on my field-grade Remington 1100 for shooting trap. It comes with three flexible spacers that allow you to tailor your POI to what works best for you. Then, when you want to change your shooting discipline from trap to skeet or sporting, you merely remove this device. It will not damage or mar your stock. If you go to GunSolutions.com, you can find this device. Hope this was somewhat informative for you. Good shooting!

My first skeet gun was the O/U half of my K80 Trap combo. Had Briley tube it and started shooting 4gun skeet shoots. Several people commented that it had a tapered step rib and that was a barrel for shooting trap, soooo I traded it for a tapered flat rib barrel and away I went. Several years later I took a clinic for Todd Bender and was greatly surprised to see him shooting a tapered "step" rib barrel, guess he didn't know any better, later I read that he said he shot that barrel because he thought it looked cool.

I'd use the Montefeltro Sporting. I have 2 - one in 12 gauge and one in 20. I shoot all the clay games with them. The 12 gauge is my main go-to gun.

Actually, that's my plan. I will pick it up tomorrow from the FFL. I added it to my sig line after making this post. I was wondering how you knew I had one when it wasn't listed...