|
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 1
|
Papa Mammatus 
Group: MEMBER
Location: In The Clouds
Posts: 59
Joined: Nov. 2011
|
 |
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,12:07 |
|
  |
I picked up an Ithaca SKB 20ga mod. 100 SxS a couple weeks ago and I've just been itching to shoot. A buddy and I hit the sportsman's club yesterday to shoot a couple rounds.
First, I found that having a 20ga SxS on the trap range draws attention and a few sly grins. I didn't realize how many people are outfitted solely for trap shooting with specialized O/U's and ginormous vented ribs. Some of these guns were really impressive.
I didn't shoot well. Both rounds under 10 pigeons hit. In retrospect, I shot 50 rounds through the IC...next weekend I'll switch to the modified.
After the 2 rounds I took out my old wingmaster and hit 19. It's always fit very well and is a good 12 gauge, but I've had my heart set on moving back to a 20ga SxS.
Bottom line: I was disappointed in my shooting and my confidence took a hit. Should one expect to do as well on the trap line with a 20ga SxS than a 12ga with Imp. Mod?
|
 |
|
|
| Post Number: 2
|
RUFUS80
Group: MEMBER
Location: The Hoosier State
Posts: 513
Joined: Jan. 2007
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,12:26 |
|
 |
Twenty gauges are not Trap guns. Trap is a 12 gauge sport. Also IC is to open for trap unless it is the first shot on doubles. I shoot a lot of trap with a dedicated trap gun, browning citori xt. No, you don't need a fancy gun just one that fits you and has a choke of at least mod or tighter. And a 12 gauge. For bird hunting practice with that 20 try skeet.
--------------
"The gun is the essential link between the man and the kind of sport he pursues. It is not enough that it should be well adapted to one of the other. For the best success, it must be fully adapted to both" - Gough Thomas
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 3
|
Papa Mammatus
Group: MEMBER
Location: In The Clouds
Posts: 59
Joined: Nov. 2011
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,12:36 |
|
|
Thanks Rufus. I'll get looking for a skeet range.
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 4
|
charlo slim
Group: 2013 CONTRIBUTING MEMBER
Location: Montana / Oklahoma
Posts: 2472
Joined: Jul. 2009
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,12:50 |
|
|
Agree with Rufus here, to a degree. I'd certainly expect trap score to drop some with a shift in gauge and choke but likely not anything like a 50% decline... if pointing precision was equal between the 2 guns. So my guess would be that some of the difference relates to gun fit or other issues related to pattern placement. Take that FWIW of course...doubt I've killed a thousand clay birds in my life. I'll be interested to see what some of the real clayshooters have to say on this.
Good luck with getting it all sorted out.
--------------
That is sh**........ and this is Shinola.
Joe
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 5
|
Papa Mammatus
Group: MEMBER
Location: In The Clouds
Posts: 59
Joined: Nov. 2011
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,1:03 |
|
|
It's definitely a different feel for me. It fits/shoulders well, but it has 25" barrels and it's lighter than what I'm used to. I was totally overthinking and stopping on the target while I was shooting, too. 
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 6
|
ANF grousin
Group: 2013 CONTRIBUTING MEMBER
Location: Sandy Ridge, Pa
Posts: 8443
Joined: Dec. 2005
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,1:08 |
|
|
I shoot 20 ga for trap, gun down. Sometimes I'll use the sxs, other times the o/u. I use choke tubes so I go with mod. Once the people at the club get used to it, you wont get any extra stares. I shoot for fun, and a little extra practice for real birds. Best I ever shot was a 21, most times in the 17 target range. It is what it is, I dont lose any sleep over it and I'm welcome on the line with any of the top shooters.
--------------
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body. But rather to ski in broadside thoroughly used up, totally worn out and proclaiming - WOW! WHAT A RIDE !!
Jeff
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 7
|
bosco mctavitch
Group: 2013 CONTRIBUTING MEMBER
Location: Exit 11, VT
Posts: 8207
Joined: Apr. 2004
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,1:11 |
|
|
When I was a kid I shot a lot of trap--had better than an 85% running average shooting a 20ga mossberg 500 with standard 20ga ammo and a modified choke. That's not good enough to win any awards, but it's enough to frustrate some of those guys with fancy guns. The effective core of the IC pattern is smaller than the effective M or IM pattern. That gun is choked a bit tight for skeet and a bit loose for Trap...it's a perfect 5-stand and sporting gun though. You want to shoot trap with it, tell the guys with grins to piss up a rope--just use your tight barrel and get one of those neoprene comb-raising kits and put the thickest pad in it so it shoots really high like a trap gun. You practice a little bit and you'll shoot well enough to hold your head high.
--------------
Please consider our early successional habitats before not printing this email.
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 8
|
Huntschool
Group: 2013 CONTRIBUTING MEMBER
Location: Southern Illinois
Posts: 2307
Joined: Dec. 2002
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,1:36 |
|
|
Papa:
Don't beat yourself up over your shooting with a "new" gun. I am going to take a position like Bosco and ANF. Nothing wrong with shooting with a 20. Gun fit and the structure of the gun are likely at fault at this point in time. Not the shot charge. 7/8's oz is what the Olympic shooters shoot and they break more difficult targets then American trap.
As Bosco said, its a bit tight for skeet and a bit open for trap. I have some of my crossover team shooters shooting IC and LM on the 16 yard line. They break more targets then with those way tight trap chokes.
I assume you intend to hunt with this 20 so practice hunting shots. If you go to a skeet field set the gun on mod for the first shot and IC for the second until ya get to sta. 8. Then shoot the IC. If you and a friend can get on a trap field by yourselves shoot from a slightly low gun position with the mod barrel. You might be surprised what will happen once you and the gun find a groove.....
--------------
Bruce A. Hering; NSCA Lev III Inst.
Program Coordinator/Lead Instructor
Game Preserve/Shooting Complex Mgt.
Shotgun Team Coach
2011 Division I ACUI National Champions
2011 SCTP Collegiate Champions
2012 ACUI Div II National HOA Champions
2012 SCTP Collegiate Champions
2013 ACUI Division II RU National Champions
Southeastern Illinois College
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 9
|
|
|
| Post Number: 10
|
Papa Mammatus
Group: MEMBER
Location: In The Clouds
Posts: 59
Joined: Nov. 2011
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,2:15 |
|
|
That's absolutely correct - just working on shooting the gun in prep for bird season.
Thanks for the info and advice guys, I appreciate it.
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 11
|
Greg Hartman
Group: 2013 CONTRIBUTING MEMBER
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 10440
Joined: Mar. 2002
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,2:17 |
|
|
I agree with ANF, Bosco and Huntschool. While a 20 gauge SxS with IC choke isn't going to be able to head-to-head with a 12 gauge full-race trap gun, both in the hands of expert shooters in serious competition, shooting a horrendous 10x25 at 16 yard trap isn't caused by the gauge, choke or load. You simply aren't putting the pattern on the birds.
That could be a lot of things - aiming error due to inexperience with SxS's; a POI that is way off due to a poorly fitting stock; poor MOI due to the short bbls; or something else - I really cannot say from a distance. Cure that problem (whatever it is) and you should be able to break 20-23x25 on a regular basis. 27 yard handicap trap is another ballgame, but I assume you are not talking about that.
--------------
It's not just a passtime - it's a way of life!
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 12
|
rosies dad
Group: MEMBER
Location: Rural North-west lower Michigan
Posts: 7266
Joined: Mar. 2003
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,2:29 |
|
|
What you want to do, is wait till the Trap shooters are on a coffee break, and ask to shoot from about 5 yds behind the traphouse all by yourself. (for safety reasons) (move left or right a few steps every 5 shots)
The distance will be about right to the target for you chokes and amount of shot. Shoot low gun, and if they let you, use two shots. So its like hunting.
After they trust your gun handling, you may be able to walk back and forth behind the traphouse (sideways) and let the trapper pull, like a surprise flush.
Trapshooters are pretty set in their ways, they dont usually want to do anything different than the usual PULL-Bang.
--------------
There are two seasons, BIRD SEASON and getting ready for BIRD SEASON.
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 13
|
Huntschool
Group: 2013 CONTRIBUTING MEMBER
Location: Southern Illinois
Posts: 2307
Joined: Dec. 2002
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,2:43 |
|
|
What Rosies Dad said is exactly what I was going to say but figured there would be less of a "trap shooter fight" if ya just stayed with the 16.
Rosie.. Oh, yea, LMAO... PULL... BANG (but there is more... *&+$ if its a miss) Then we go into the bad load, cheek piece moved, rib is off, bird was not to spec.... etc, etc, etc...
--------------
Bruce A. Hering; NSCA Lev III Inst.
Program Coordinator/Lead Instructor
Game Preserve/Shooting Complex Mgt.
Shotgun Team Coach
2011 Division I ACUI National Champions
2011 SCTP Collegiate Champions
2012 ACUI Div II National HOA Champions
2012 SCTP Collegiate Champions
2013 ACUI Division II RU National Champions
Southeastern Illinois College
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 14
|
Dave Quindt
Group: MEMBER
Location: Plainfield, IL
Posts: 1087
Joined: Jul. 2003
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,2:54 |
|
|
Just make sure the stock on your SKB is tight, and stays that way. These guns have a reputation for spliting buttstocks, and shooting a few rounds of trap in an afternoon may result in the stock coming loose and being damaged before you know it.
FYI,
Dave
--------------
But Dave...he wrote, he wrote a book.
-Dan Voss, 5 Feb 2011
|
|
|
|
| Post Number: 15
|
Bryan Lee
Group: MEMBER
Location: Central Md.
Posts: 3155
Joined: Sep. 2002
|
|
Posted on: Feb. 06 2012,4:19 |
|
|
You've gotten some great advice.
My suggestion is to try a round of sporting clays with that SKB. The gun will really be in it's element and you'll have a lot of fun.
Bryan
--------------
Whoever said you can't buy happiness, forgot little puppies. Gene Hill
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
