I occassionally shoot trap for fun and want to get a decent SxS.

 

I like SxS primarily for the looks I don't think I'm gonna get too serious collecting anything.

 

What's a better caliber? 12 or 20 for trap?

 

Is the CZ Ringneck Custom grade worth the close to $2k asking price? They make it in 20ga 28" barrel. What would be the ideal barrel length for trap shooting?

 

 

Thanks!

Trap is a 12ga game.

If you really just want to shoot for fun and do not care about your scores, get whatever shotgun config you want. Serious shooting requires specialized guns. As for what a gun is worth, again that is a long conversation. In short, if you are going to keep it for life and you like it sure it's worth it. If you are going to shoot 1000rds and sell it probably not.

Nobody uses a SxS for trap.......it's a high vent rib put the clay under the front sight kind of game! Generally a 30"-34" inch barrel, and most oftenly a single barrel hinge action.

 

As to CZ line of guns.....I have friends who love their SxS in both 12 and 20 ga. varieties. Great for Sporting Clays and Skeet. So if you're going to invest in a SxS to do everything with, make sure that the gun FITS YOU, cause "looks" don't knock birds out of the sky!

 

Dave

For fun, a SxS is a handy shotgun to shoot as long as the fit is correct; you can be competitive with it if you want. If you become serious about trap, get a 12 ga. From the 16 yd. line, a 20 ga. is still fun and you could hold your own with practice against others shooting a 12. But you'll wish you had something more when you increase distance away from the trap house. 12 ga. SxS's and single-barrel guns ruled the trap range until WWII. Shotguns with a single-barrel sighting plane are preferred today and you will see semi-auto's, single-barrel and O/U's rule.

 

Before the war, SxS's were very popular on the trap range. Remington, Winchester, Parker, LC Smith, and Fox all made SxS's specific for the game of trap. (They also made skeet guns too.)

 

Some examples of pure SxS trap guns:

 

Winchester -

 

Parker

 

 

A.H. Fox

 

Makers back then even made "live pigeon" guns for live pigeon shoots. These are SxS shotguns that you'll find without a safety. Lots of money rode on a live pigeon shoot and no one wanted the disadvantage of a safety impeding the firing of the gun!

 

If you want a nice Turkish gun, I would shy away from the more-expensive CZ and order a S&W Elite from Bill Hanus. He's got a few left at close-out bargain prices now.

http://www.billhanus...wgoldelite.html

 

I ran into this video on the Parker Forum last night. There is no sound, but the first 6 mins. to watch of what appear to be "elite" gentlemen clowning around and shooting trap in 1926 is nostaligic and interesting. (It would be a "how NOT to trapshoot" video by today's standards.)

 

 

There is a group of old double aficionado's who get together each year, get dressed up in tweeds and knickers, and compete in the annual Vintagers Cup. For years it was held in Millbrook, NY on the Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds. Since 2007 it's been held in Queenstown, MD.

http://www.doublegun...om/vintage1.htm

 

At Thunder Mountain up in Ringwood SP, there are a number of us who will shoot on the weekends with only our old SxS doubles. We will shoot a round of trap, a round or two of skeet, and then move up to the 5-stand layout and humble ourselves.

Nice history lesson, thanks for sharing!

 

Also of note is the higher vent ribs on the trap SxS's, like I mentioned. Thanks for the pictures and video!

 

Dave

Thanks for the info guys. Special thanks to Parker for the comprehensive info.

Thanks for the post Parker. One more question for you, what is 5-Stand? I saw it at Lehigh but never got a chance to actually watch the few people there shooting it to see exactly what they were doing.

Thanks for the post Parker. One more question for you, what is 5-Stand? I saw it at Lehigh but never got a chance to actually watch the few people there shooting it to see exactly what they were doing.

"5-stand" or what they used to call "Thunder Clays" there, has them using their regular skeet field, with a standard high house & low house presentation, and then adding additional presentations for the shooter. This includes one outgoing from the base of the high house, one outgoing from the center of the field to project high like a springing teal, a station positioned out in the field to propel a bird angling towards the shooter, and an outgoing from the base of the low house. Each shooter rotates from a station (similar to how shooters rotate from each trap station after five birds) and shoot a number of presentations. They usually are set up as report pairs, with a total of fifty birds. Doubles at each station, presentations vary from each station, and always doubles, at least two report pairs from each station and a single; shotgun at the low-ready position. T. Mtn. has changed the format to 25 birds, I suppose to speed things up for people. The five-stations are setup around the skeet field, so each angle is different for any of the presentations called.

 

5-stand is a cheap, effective way to allow a number of varying presentations from a standard field (in this case a skeet field) without having folks go mobile and walk a course of sporting clays. Original sporting clays was meant to simulate different shot presentations a hunter would find in the field. They would walk a course, usually set up over woods and a field and see all types of presentations from pass shooting, incoming, outgoing, crossing, pairs, rabbit, etc. Over the years, they have raised the bar and made courses more difficult.

 

I haven't been there since last summer, so things may have changed.

I was there a while ago doing 5-stand, and it and I sucked! My problem was target identification in a crowded, dirty, broken target sight pictured area. The presentation's flight trajectory was extremely short in time duration and the birds (some of them mini's) got "lost" in a field of broken bird chips from other landing zones. The absolute worst time I ever had at Lehigh! All of our shooting party felt the same way.

 

There was absolutely NO wait to do 5-stand, nobody shot it while we were waiting to register, nobody shot it for the rest of the time we were there! In hindsight, something should have "clicked" with WHY all of this came to be. We went there on a Wednesday back when it was warmer out last fall. Given a choice between doing another round of 5-stand and having an angioplasty & cathiterization procedure, I'd pick the latter!

 

Now IF they cleaned the field from all of those orange broken bird chips covering the entire visible trajectory of 90% of the birds presented, I MIGHT try it again, lol!

 

This comes from someone who does fairly well with a scattergun..........