Looking for suggestions for a shotgun to shoot trap with, I hear a lot of buzz about browning BT 99’s , What say you I would also use it for turkey and ham shoots probably

BT99's are a great option...unless you decided to shoot doubles

Forgive me as I’ve never shot trap so are there times that you shoot doubles? Or is that a different discipline altogether?

doubles is a different sport

any full choke gun will get you started.

The longer the barrel the better. At least 30”.
I prefer a single barrel gun.

Whatever you get, make sure the gun fits you.

Doubles is hardly a different sport when it is shot on a trap field, falls under the rules of the ATA and is an event at all major trap tournaments. (Perhaps the smiley implies something else.)

RickcNY, Yes there is another American trap event where two targets are thrown simultaneously....it is shot from the 16 yard line only.

There is also an International Doubles game, which Is mainly shot in England and European countries and has a different format than what is shot here under the ATA..

And, even tho it doesn’t apply to American trap, there is Olympic trap, where 2 shots are allowed to break a single thrown target.

To muddy up the water can the same gun be use for sporting clays?

Trap guns usually have a high POI, the comb has less drop.. this is because most trap targets are normally shot while rising. All Sporting targets are not rising, but I’ve seen some shooters do well at Sporting with shotguns set up like a trap gun. So yes, you can.

most trap shooters I've know consider doubles a completely different sport.

Like skiing, can be snow or water.

Here both are considered trap. There is 16yard trap, handicap trap and doubles trap....All under the umbrella of ATA trap.

Unlike your example of using different equipment on a different medium....The above three are all shot with a trap gun on the same trap field...

A lot depends on how much you want to spend. You can shoot trap quite successfully with a Browning Superposed or Citori trap gun and get into the game for about $1000-1100. You can spend thousands and buy a Perazzi or a Krieghoff. Beretta, Rizzini and Guerini all make trap guns that fall into a price range between those two extremes.

Were I you, I'd try to shoot a number of different brands and see what seems to fit well. Stocks can be altered (and in the case of trap guns, seem to be altered more often than not), but that adds to the cost and generally depresses the amount realized when you go to sell.

Have fun looking for the right gun.

#1



All good advice above though.. I've shot both singles and doubles.. If there's budget concerns, get an O/U that FITS YOU..... Down the line if you really get into it, a good set with combo barrels might be a decent choice..

How serious about shooting trap do you plan on getting?

Recreationally at this point possibly joining the league if and when retirement ever comes around

Take a look at the Tristar TT-15 adj... completely adjustable both stock and rib. very reasonably priced... I picked one up just for trap and love it... easily adjustable. They have both single barrel and double barrel and even a combo that comes with both. Great for a beginner and someone who does not want to drop a lot a cash.

Careful, smashing clay targets in flight can be addictive.

Most trapshooters are pretty good about letting someone try their guns. If you have a good club to shoot at, go out during practice for league night and talk to some of the guys. You can look at guns in the rack and probably try a few different guns once they know you are looking to buy a new gun. Lots of times they may have or know someone who has a trap gun they are looking to sell. It is hard to go into a gun shop and grab one off the rack that will work the best for you.

Goose, I appreciate the insight

Excellent advice there.. Kudos.

Yeah but that mandates a screw in choke option on the barrel or barrels as case maybe. Lot of sporting Clay's target presentations are best with a more open choke than a trap gun has. Mb

You could get a decent old Wingmaster for maybe $300 and shoot trap. It’s a place to start without a lot of cash up front. Starting out, you don’t know if you want a BT99, a Citori, or whatever else. When you shoot, you can talk to the other guys on the line. Some will let you try their guns. One guy at our club shoots an old Wingmaster he bought new in about 1960. He shoots in the mid 90% range. If you don’t like trap, or if you like a different gun, you can sell your 870 for about what you paid for it.

Like a few others posted, the fit of your shotgun is most important.

I started shooting trap when I bought my first shotgun just to learn how to shoot it. I started with league shooting then moved on to ATA registered shooting. When I started registered shooting I bought a Browning BT-99 with a 32" Improved Modified barrel and a 34" Full choked barrel.

I rarely used the Full choked barrel, and the IM barrel got me to class AA in 16 yard singles and to the 27 yard line in handicap. For trap doubles I bought a trap model Browning Citori over/under with Invector choke tubes. That gun got me into ATA class A doubles, which is a sanctioned trap event.

After I got to that level in trap I started shooting skeet. Again I started with league shooting then on to NSSA registered skeet shooting, all with my 30" barrel trap model Citori. I had Briley fit small guage insert tubes in that Citori so I could shoot 20, 28, and .410 shells in the same gun. That gun then got me into NSSA class AA or A in all four skeet gauges and class A in skeet doubles, which is also a sanctioned skeet event.

Then I used that same Citori to win the class AA sporting clays event at the Montana Big Sky State Games one year.

My point of all of this is just to show what can be accomplished with a proper fitting gun and a lot of practice.