32" O/U
34" single barrel
are the general gudelines.
Seeing that you are a "Lisa" then the gun barrel needs to fit your strength and stature, as well as the gun overall needs to fit you. What LOP do you use? A 32" barrel on an O/U with a short LOP, might not balance real well, especailly if it is a Browning Citori, which have notoriously heavy barrels.
Are you shooting a 30" O/U now? What brand and model?

 

The LOP that I am using now is 14 3/8" and it's perfect. I have handled a 725 Sporting with 30" barrels and I loved it. But then I came home and did my research and I truly want the 725 Trap model. There is only about 6oz different between the 30" and 32" on total gun weight. I'm shooting now my classic Weatherby Patrician pump with a 30" and full choke and my scores have really come up. It's a heavy gun too. So now I want to keep growing into a gun that I will use for the balance of my shooting career.

 

I would try and shoot each gun and see which fits and feels best. Everyone is different and only you will know when you find the right fit. IMHO there is no real difference in performance between 30" and 32", except in the way it swings.

 

The LOP that I am using now is 14 3/8" and it's perfect. I have handled a 725 Sporting with 30" barrels and I loved it. But then I came home and did my research and I truly want the 725 Trap model. There is only about 6oz different between the 30" and 32" on total gun weight. I'm shooting now my classic Weatherby Patrician pump with a 30" and full choke and my scores have really come up. It's a heavy gun too. So now I want to keep growing into a gun that I will use for the balance of my shooting career.

http://www.browning.com/products/firear ... -trap.html

According to the Browning website, there is only about 3 ounces weight difference between the 30" and 32" 725 Trap. That's the GOOD news. The BAD news is that all 3 of those ounces are on the end of the barrel.

If you want to get an idea of what difference 3 ounces makes on the end of your gun barrels, just take 2 loaded 12 gauge shells and tape them to the outside of your current 30" barrel near the muzzle.

Then swing the gun around for a while and compare to the feel of how the gun swung and felt without the 2 loaded shells on the end of the barrel. You may find that 3 ounces of weight added to the end of the barrel is more significant than you thought it would be.

Of course, you can always add more weight to the buttstock to help counterbalance the added weight on the end of the barrels, but now you run the risk of having too much total weight in the gun and having all the handling characteristics of a 4x4 post.

BTW, trying to compare the feel of a pump gun with 30" barrel to an O/U (especially a TRAP O/U) with 30" barrels is an apples to oranges comparison. Also, comparing a 725 sporting gun with a 725 TRAP gun is not a good comparison either. I strongly suggest you compare the two 725 TRAP guns side by side before buying either. Both are very good guns (in the right hands), but there's no guarantee that either is a good gun for YOU. Try before you buy.

 

I am new to it and shoot a 30", when/if I get something new it will most likely be a 32"

 

Thanks Ulysses for taking your time to weigh in here with you thougths. There is nothing I would like more then to have both these guns side by side. But alas I did a search of a 200 mile radius of me and I was lucky to find the 725 Sporting that I did see. Thus I am reading everything I can get my hand on and going after opinions. So with that said to do an actual comparison of each gun is impossible and I have cleaned my Weatherby Patrician for the last time and put it in the safe for safe keeping. So here is where I am going. I am an older gal at 5'9" and just retired from driving an oil tanker for the last 25 years. I have draged more hoses around then I care to think about so I think I can hold up this gun - I hope. I'm going with the 32" as the longer barrel the last time I moved up made a big difference in my shooting. So after talking to my local shooters the 32" double gun is what they shoot and I'm going to give it a go too. I have a Weatherby Orion which is an exact knock off of a Beretta Silver Pigeon and it has 28" barrels and that gun didn't work for me. It was light and responsive and me as a new shooter, I'm thinking swung that around way too much and missed a lot of everything. The longer barrel of the 30" pump taught me some control and I liked it. I hope this Browning 725 Trap at 32" works for me. It's a real investment in money but I can be proud of it for sure. I don't think it can hurt my progress and maybe get me closer to 25 out of 25. I so wish I could have seen just one of these but I'm afraid I have to buy one to get my hands on one. It's either that or go out and buy a $500 Stoeger Trap gun and play with that 'till it falls apart. Trust me, this is a big decision on my part and I hope it works. I'll report back and let you know how it goes. But from what everything I have read about this Browning 725 Trap Adjustable it's a top of the line gun and they thought about the weight and balance. I'm using a 14 3/8 LOP gun now and it fits so this gun should fit too.

Wish me luck.

Best regards,

Lisa

 

You are laboring under two misconceptions here, Lisa.
One: that two inches (on an O/U's barrels) will make a practical difference in your scores (it won't).
Two: that this will be your final target gun. If you are a trapshooter, this gun will not be the last in your "shooting career", so get what you want on the gun because the next gun won't even be a Browning....you can bet on it.

My advice: get the 32" barrels. It will be easier to sell when you get your heart set on that new Perazzi.

 

Thanks mudpack for taking your time to weigh in here. I have to say your last sentence there gave me a broad smile . I ended up with the Browning because it was put into my hands and I liked it. I have handled and shot the Beretta and it did everything the gun should do but it didn't excite me. I've never heald or shot a Perazzi either so I have no idea what I'm missing there. But the issue for me is you kind of "have to dance with the one that brung ya" and the Browning fit, looked good and it's certainly not a junk gun. I did go with the 32" barrels for one of the reasons you stated there. It would be more desireable in resale but I tend to be an accumulator so it's not likely this gun will end up on the market unless there is something seriously wrong with the fit or function and I can't use it at all.

A friend showed up at the club with a brand new $500 Stoeger Grand Trap gun and I put a box of shells through it and I loved it. The gun fit and I shot my best ever score with it and I never saw the gun or handled it before. Again, choices where I live as to what's available for sale is the key. I would have bought a Stoeger just like that one if I could have found one locally. I got to handle a Benelli 828U and fell in love with that gun but it was too light and only had 28" barrels. In reviews it was described as an excellent field gun but to light to put 100 rounds thought it comfortably in a single day. That settled that thought for me and then the Browning was handed to me and it fit and I liked it the best. But it was the "Sporting" model and I wanted the Trap. So I ordered one with the long barrels and now I'm a kid waiting for Christmas.

So thanks again for your thoughts and if I get really good with this gun I'll make sure if I decide to "move up" I'll find that Perazzi.

Best regards,

Lisa

 

You can be thankful you couldn't find a Stoeger Grand to buy.

I think you'll like your Browning. Before you ever take it out to shoot it, replace that factory recoil pad with a flat LimbSaver pad. You'll thank me later.

 

I've never heald or shot a Perazzi either so I have no idea what I'm missing there.

So thanks again for your thoughts and if I get really good with this gun I'll make sure if I decide to "move up" I'll find that Perazzi.

Lisa, I can tell you exactly what you're missing if you do not buy a Perazzi:
An expense of $21,999 (MSRP) for a Perazzi High Tech RS Combo.

I think you've made a great choice, buying a Perazzi might not benefit you much because one of the biggest advantage of a Perazzi is that the gun is fitted to you. When you buy that shotgun, highly skilled stock fitters and shotgun technicians will see how you mount your shotgun and measure the various aspect of you. Heck, they'll even give you a mini-coaching lesson if your technique isn't quite good enough. 3 Italian Perazzi professionals worked with me when I bought mine, I didn't quite know how to handle a O/U as I shoot a semi-auto and they helped me through it, very nice.

If you are new to trap shooting and do not have a consistent mount, they won't be able to do a proper job and you would've wasted your money.

So practice a lot with your Browning, once you've reach a consistency level, there'll be a Perazzi calling your name.

P.S.: Nothing against Browning, they are very nice shotguns and their employees are absolutely nice to work with when I visited their shop at the Grand.

 

Thank you so much "bigbearbear" for taking your time to share your thoughts here. I'm in my early 60's and haven't even been shooting a shotgun for a year yet. In fact I keep a log of rounds down the barrel and I believe I'm right at 3,000 total rounds fired. I have used only two shotguns so far; a Weatherby Orion O/U that got me into this sport and my first gun/shotgun a Weatherby Patrician pump gun that I bought in my mid 20's because it was a beautiful; then I had to learn how to shoot it. The Patrician I just put back in the safe and I was averaging 74% hit ratio on a 100 round day. I promisied myself I would get a real trap gun when I could consistantly break 20/25. I was offered a $5K Silver Pigeon IV Combo set (Brand new, never fired) but it was way out of my price range. I had $3K to spend and the 725 Trap seemed like the gun and it fit and my eye fell right down the barrel. I have a lot to learn and I'm still playing with my mount. The joke with me is "I'm consistantly inconsistant". So while I have broken 23/25 on the same day I'll back it up with a 19/25. I'll commit and merry this Browning and put 10K rounds through it and then we can talk about another gun. But for now I enjoy the game and am really stoked when I hit 22-23/25 and disappointed when I only hit 18 or 19/25. I'm having fun and that's what matters and the men of this club are the nicest bunch of guys and are good sports when I do a solid five on one station and they all got 4's. It's a sport and I'll improve in my own time and I have watched so many video's, read many books and everyone has some good advice that I try and use. But in the end it's just practice and now I think this Browning will not only look good it will be a good solid platform form for me to build on and improve. Sorry to disappoint anyone but if I had $20K to blow I would buy a newer car.
So thanks again "bigbearbear" for your supportive comments and I think I'll do just fine.

Best regards my friend,

Lisa

 

Lisa- this might be out of the barrel range you prefer, but if you plan on doing trap only, what about the good ol' BT-99??? I have owned 2 of them, bought them used. I did sell my first one for really cheap price just to help my friend get into the sport. BT-99's are so common, you can find a decent used one anywhere. I'm one of those guys who likes trying different guns. Since then, I've moved on to a 725 unsingle combo, and currently a tri-star tt-15 combo(just because the price was tempting). Every now and then I still take out the BT-99, because I'm a firm believer that every gun has a distinct character and personality. And that's why I kept my BT-99 and shoot it every now and then.

 

Thanks for your thought "djmanny". I was told about the BT-99 and probably would have bought one of those if I got my hands on it. Where I live my selection is very limited. The 725 Sporting I was able to handle and shoulder and it worked. So I focused my search on the 725 Trap. I'm kind of heavily financially committed to this gun now so I'll shoot it for awhile. If I crossed paths with a BT-99 at a price I could not refuse and it "fit" I'd probably own one of those too. We'll play this now that I have paid for it and see what happens. But I like owning guns too.

Regards,

Lisa