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Youth trapshooting
dpmule
Member Posts: 6,652 ✭✭✭✭
My dilemma, trapshooting has been sanctioned by the National High School Rodeo Assoc as an event for the 2017 season.
My 13 be 14 YO Grandson will participate. He currently shoots a Beretta 391 Urika 20 ga and is deadly on pheasants with it.
My question is to let him start shooting trap with this shotgun or go ahead and find a proper single barrel trap gun such as a SKB Century or a Browning BT99?
My concern is getting into bad form/habits early and wondering if a proper trap gun will benefit him.
Hoping one of your fellas has a bunch of time between the 16 and 27 yard line and can steer me a little. I really want to try to have him relatively competitive by April 2017
Mule
My 13 be 14 YO Grandson will participate. He currently shoots a Beretta 391 Urika 20 ga and is deadly on pheasants with it.
My question is to let him start shooting trap with this shotgun or go ahead and find a proper single barrel trap gun such as a SKB Century or a Browning BT99?
My concern is getting into bad form/habits early and wondering if a proper trap gun will benefit him.
Hoping one of your fellas has a bunch of time between the 16 and 27 yard line and can steer me a little. I really want to try to have him relatively competitive by April 2017
Mule
Comments
I did get some strange looks and comments on my last go with my combat 870, a 20" pistol gripped extended magazine with a sling. I was one bird less than the best guy in the group - much to their surprise.
First of all Congratulations! Helping any young person to get acquainted with shooting sports is a commendable past time. That this involves your grandson is a gift.
Competitive trap needs a 12ga. that's all there is to it. Anything less is simply that, less.
Start him with a decent quality trap gun with the right barrel length, rib, choke and stock. This way he will not have to relearn if you start him with a field shotgun. It is two different things when you start with field guns then switch to a proper trap gun.
I started with a Remington 870 TA trap which was inexpensive but provided me with the basis for learning the essentials of shooting trap. I used this shotgun from the 16 yard line all the way back to the 27 yard line. In fact I still have it and still shoot it in competition. I did switch to Perazzi's for awhile but I have an affinity for the Ljutic Space Gun and their Monogun. Still, the 870 is my my regular club shotgun for trap.
Best.
dpmule,
First of all Congratulations! Helping any young person to get acquainted with shooting sports is a commendable past time. That this involves your grandson is a gift.
Competitive trap needs a 12ga. that's all there is to it. Anything less is simply that, less.
Start him with a decent quality trap gun with the right barrel length, rib, choke and stock. This way he will not have to relearn if you start him with a field shotgun. It is two different things when you start with field guns then switch to a proper trap gun.
I started with a Remington 870 TA trap which was inexpensive but provided me with the basis for learning the essentials of shooting trap. I used this shotgun from the 16 yard line all the way back to the 27 yard line. In fact I still have it and still shoot it in competition. I did switch to Perazzi's for awhile but I have an affinity for the Ljutic Space Gun and their Monogun. Still, the 870 is my my regular club shotgun for trap.
Best.
I have a couple 12 ga 870's, could I get a Trap barrel for it, or do the Trap ones have different angled butt stocks? I also have a 12 ga Beretta Urika 391 that he shoots well, but just long for him. Thought about possibly swapping butt stocks with his ladies/youth model 391 if it would work?
(an early one if you can find it) is probably the best choice there is.
I started the trap game with one in the early 70's and I hunt with the same gun.....it's still going strong.
gun club. They shoot for free and we bring our youth guns for them to
shoot. Well to the point, i help with the 20 ga line, but the 12 ga
line has some pretty good shooters and they're using single barrel
high rib 12 ga shotguns, with screw in chokes. The single barrel break
open helps give it a bit more safety on the line and the high rib helps
keep the barrel just under the bird, so they get more hits.
You want to start out with a trap gun, single barrel as you're not
going to shoot doubles. I would search through the single barrel
shotgun section here and compare guns and prices, and make a pick.
His bird hunting skills are would make him an excellent skeet shooter,
and his Beretta would be the best choice at that. But trap has a
higher degree a difficulty and you need a trap gun to meet that need.
good luck with your search, Thor
A guy here got arthritic and bought a Purbaugh tube for his Superposed and extended his shooting career.
A comb pad to give Grandson the lift for rising trap targets might be enough. You have time to work on it, if he does not do well, then you can start throwing money at the problem in the form of 12 ga trap guns.
If he's been hunting and "is deadly on pheasants", he's probably already developed "habits"(good or bad).
quote:I really want to try to have him relatively competitive by April 2017.
We understand that you want the best for your grandson but does he want the same thing? This is an important question which may take a little time to get an accurate answer.
Competition is not for everyone especially in the shooting sports. Like any form of competition, there is a rising level of stress associated with improvement. Sometimes young folks don't see the need or don't have the desire. They need to achieve self satisfaction to be successful.
It also gets expensive real quick. Trying to be conservative with costs will usually not work. Competitive trap requires practice, practice and more practice. Practice requires shot shells, lots of them. That's why most of us who are not sponsored, get into reloading in order to maximize our practice while conserving on the cost of shooting during practice. At the peak of my competing I was shooting 25,000 shells a year. Do the math.
There will always be those who state that you can do anything with a 20 ga. that you can do with a 12 ga. Well, not competitive trap. You need every piece of shot you get in the 12 ga. shot cup to make good hits.
The shotgun needs to fit the shooter, especially a young shooter who can be prone to bruising and lost targets because of an ill fitting gun. Bruising goes with the turf until you get toughened up. Lost targets can be remedied by teaching and practicing proper techniques, practice in general and increased knowledge of the sport. A proper trap gun and proper teaching will go a long way to keeping the young shooter interested when they don't have to battle the equipment. My scores went up appreciably when I discovered the adjustable butt stock and a sighting rib which I could use correctly. Used, I think my T/A Trap cost me about $400.00 from another shooter looking to move up.
Grandpa may find himself outpaced quickly by a talented, competition motivated young person. Make sure that the club you support also has the ability to help support the growth of a new younger shooter. If not, find him help. It took me a couple of years of flailing around at the club I belonged to in Chicago. It was right on the lakefront and as beautiful a spot to shoot as could be found anywhere. But most of the members were only interested in having me on a squad in order to beat me. That went on until an older shooter approached me on the observation deck one evening to ask about my dedication to become a better shooter. I stated that I wanted to be able to beat everyone at the club then everyone in the state. He nodded his head and set up a schedule to help me improve.
Don't be afraid to ask for some help either. But most of all, do what you're doing now, being supportive of your grandson.
Best of Luck and keep us in the loop please!