Any trap shooters on here?

DrDan · Post by **DrDan** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 12:08 am

Well it is finally warm enough to start shooting trap again. Tuesday night starts it all. I shoot a Browning BT-99 that is all tricked out. Quite a pleasure to break birds with. And then you open the action and get a hint of that burned gunpowder smoke. Aaaaah What a pleasure! Never shoot competition - that'd be like work and already got enough stress in my life. Just enjoy breaking a few with my friends.

Farmer · Post by **Farmer** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:54 am

In my younger days I spent many days breaking clays and reloading 3 or 400 shells to go to a shoot. All with a single stage press

( finally did buy a progressive a Pacific could do 300 an hour ).

I shot a Remington 1100 tournament trap model . Not to fancy but a little easier on the shoulder and cheek after firing a couple hundred shells . 1 1/8 of #7 1/2 in a Winchester AA hull and some 700X powder . I can smell it know . There were tons of shot thru my old shotgun. ( always wanted a Bt-99 for singles just never had the extra money to buy one )

Always wanted to get to shoot the grand in Vandalleia , Ohio ( spelling ?? ) Closest I ever made it was to Findlay, Ohio at a place called Jaquas . They had something like 20 trap houses and the biggest gun vault I had ever seen . ( well it was impressive to this young Canadian farm boy ) It had to be 25 feet wide and 60 feet long full of new and used guns . They would even let you go out and shoot around or two with a used shotgun

( try that here in Canada

)

Where ever I went to shoot it was always a lot of fun . With the new laws in place in Canada and the USA it is near impossible to do any trap shooting if you cross the border .

Squad ready ? Puller ready ? Show us a bird !! PULL !

Found a link for Jaqua's :

http://www.jaquas.com/

Bow Life · Post by **Bow Life** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:11 am

A buddy of mine and i go out in the back field and throw a box of clays a week. Not much but just for fun. Use the cheep shotguns and the cheep shells haha.

10Ring · Post by **10Ring** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:50 am

I'm a former frequent poster; my posting basically stopped after 3D "died" in this area 3 or 4 years ago. I still look in here quite frequently.

I am now trapchairman at the club where I used to help run the archery program.

I started shooting trap regularily at that club in 1969 and have been shooting trap with very few interuptions, since then.

I'm afraid I do take it seriously

I shot an 870TB Trap as my "main" trap gun from when I bought it new in Dec. 1976 until Dec, 2005, it was not the only gun I shot in that time period, by conservative estimate, it has fired over 75,000 shells +. I still have it and it is very functional.

Funny the other guys mentioned the BT99 and 1100.

I would love to "make friends" with the BT99 34" adjustable stock I received in Feb 2007 from the company as a 30 year service award. However, I bought an 11100 Classic Trap in Dec 2005 and it is my "angel of death" to trap targets.

The 1100CT works so well for me due to the reduced felt recoil and because I have spent 30 years shooting Remington monte carlo stocked trap guns. I have the BT99's adjustable set up for a perfect fit and point of impact for me and have run some good scores but need to put more time into getting used to it's slightly different weight distributution.

Job related moves have resulted in me belonging to the Oshawa Skeet and Gun Club and Crumlin in London for a good number of years. In 1994, I was moved back here and am helping to run the club where I started to shoot.

I make sure that our club welcomes new shooters, makes them feel at home and mentors them, whatever their level of interest.

DrDan · Post by **DrDan** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:31 pm

Yes I know what you mean 10-Ring... I shot a few hundred with a Browning Superposed Trap Model and then ran into this old BT-99 at the ATA National at Vandalia about 8 or 9 years ago. Paid $600 for it and it was already ported, backbored and lengthened forcing cone. I took it to another gunsmith at the ATA shoot and he said I stole it! He said the barrel work alone would cost more than what I paid for it. So I shot it for a year and then decided that I was serious enough to have it custom stocked by Brent Umberger. That added another $1500 and ruined my shooting for another season. Now I have been shooting it for six seasons and have been doing well. Last year I averaged 95 from the 16 yard line. Now then put me in a registered shoot and I fall apart. The more I miss the worse I get. Just nerves I guess, but it doesn't matter because I just shoot with one guy and him and I keep after each other all season. Just enjoy getting under each others skin. This gun gets more beautiful each season... The bluing is starting to wear through on the areas that I touch it all the time. Probably has about 120,000 rounds through it now. 34" barrel, claro walnut high figured stock. The nice thing about trap is that you just cannot change guns. I had a guy tell me that it takes about 10,000 rounds to start hitting well with a particular gun and I believe it. This BT-99 is like an old friend - I know her inside and out and it feels like an extension of my arm. So yes stay with your 1100 unless you can afford an off season. I will never change guns. I have a release trigger on the BT and it broke last year. Sent it to Bob Allem in PA and he put his new trigger in. It is crisp and has fast lock time so it made the gun even better.

Have no interest in Sporting Clays or Skeet. I just relax when shooting trap. No matter what ammo costs I'll keep it up.

10Ring · Post by **10Ring** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:25 pm

DrDan wrote:I had a guy tell me that it takes about 10,000 rounds to start hitting well with a particular gun and I believe it.

I have heard that figure, I have also heard 5,000.

In either case, it usually does take a lot of rounds to get truely dialed in, usually. I see inexperienced, new shooters buy their first good trap gun and expect to do well with it right away. I try to tell them, when you change, even to the "right" gun for you, it may take a while to get to shooting near where you want to be.

I defied the odds and hit the ground running when I bought the 1100CT, I started averaging 96 to 98 right away

Of course I was "cheating" a bit, it wasn't like going to a radicaly new gun.. Stock dimensions were identical to the 870 trap guns I had used for 28 years previously, sighting plane was identical, the only difference was a few oz.'s more weight "up front" and slightly reduced recoil sensation.

I like the BT99, I have it adjusted for similar dimensions to my 1100 and it shoots a 70/30 POI, which I like and am used to, Last spring, in 16 yeard practice, I ran a 98 average with it for about 6 weeks.

The problem for me it that I have been prone to migranes since I was in my late teens. Any break action gun, even my 8 3/4 pound Citori Grade I Trap with dimensions identical to the 1100CT, shot with 1 oz loads can sometimes bring on a headache in hot, humid weather. The gun is not a "hard kicker", it is just me and my low threshold for headaches, the recoil is just a few % more than my sesyem can take sometimes.

I enjoy our little club, it is just 300 yards down the road from my driveway, it has a nice clubhouse and one trap, a Beomat MT400.

Truth is, I still miss Crumlin even though I have been gone from there for 14 years. I loved the Southern Counties Interclub, I took HOA in it in the 91/92 and 92/93 seasons, then we moved; I doubt I could have gone 3 for 3 on the HOA in 93/94anyway

DrDan · Post by **DrDan** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 9:51 pm

I believe if you have the BT-99 ported; lengthen the forcing cone and maybe backbore and you will not get the headaches. My gun doesn't kick any harder than a cap gun. I can shoot it all day with no problems. The Superposed hasn't had any barrel work and after 100 rounds I'm ready to call it a day.

10Ring · Post by **10Ring** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:17 pm

DrDan wrote:I believe if you have the BT-99 ported; lengthen the forcing cone and maybe backbore and you will not get the headaches.

There's a lot of differnt opinions and experiences on these features.

We had all those mod.'s that done to a 1984 manufacture BT that my wife shot in the early 1990's, porting was done by a well know Michigan based outfit. Unfortunately, neither of us could discern a noticeable difference once these were done.

I have my 1976 870TB with the original .725" bore and a 1994 870TC with the factory .745" bore and I don't notice any difference shooting those two guns.

My BT is a newer gun with the factory overbore.

None of these guns have severe recoil, there is something else in play with my system that I have given up on figuring out. I can get headaches from stress, hydrocarbon related odours, certain food aditives.....the list goes on. Perhaps I am paying for the excess of beer consumed in my college years in the early 1970's

DrDan · Post by **DrDan** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:20 am

Are you sure your blood pressure isn't shooting up? I only ask because when mine goes up the first signs are a headache.

Doe Master · Post by **Doe Master** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:51 am

Not a good trap shooter but here is a picture of last sunday`s bronze league shoot.

10Ring · Post by **10Ring** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:09 am

DrDan wrote:Are you sure your blood pressure isn't shooting up? I only ask because when mine goes up the first signs are a headache.

I don't know, it is possible. Every time I get my blood pressure checked, its good (for a 55 year old that eats too much of the wrong stuff

). That's not to say it doesn't "spike", I don't know since I don't have a medical background.

I have been to doctors over the past 3 decades, tried beta-blockers etc. with marginal results. The occurances have slowed down a bit in the past 5 - 10 years, a couple time/month event instead of several times a week. I find it is as effective to carry Excedrin Migrane capsuals and take them at an onset; whether it is physiological or psycological I can't say but 80%+ of the time, they work.

It could be tied into sinus prob's from alergies or muscle tension. I had a motorcyle helmet that was prone to wind buffeting that would bring on a headache, happened once 3 hours from home, not a nice ride back. I wear a Shoei RF900 now, you pay more but they don't buffet in the wind - no headache.

It is a practice day at the club and I wanted to "play" with the BT99 today but as I am sitting here typing this, I feel a bit "delicate" and am hving second thoughts. (and no, I'm not hung over

, I don't drink much any more and haven't had anything since the wine a week ago yesterday at the neighbour's)

There are a lot of folks out there with far worse medical issues than mine so I don't get too down on it; it would be nice to deal with it though.

10Ring · Post by **10Ring** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:11 am

Doe Master wrote:Not a good trap shooter but here is a picture of last sunday`s bronze league shoot.

Doe Master

Nice looking range

, I don't recognize it

, can you please tell me which club that is?

Doe Master · Post by **Doe Master** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:50 pm

I belong to Twin City outside of Kitchener towards shakespeare on 7/8 .In the pictures I took you can see the broken birds for in the league we shoot singles not doubles .

10Ring · Post by **10Ring** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:01 pm

Doe Master wrote:I belong to Twin City outside of Kitchener towards shakespeare on 7/8 .In the pictures I took you can see the broken birds for in the league we shoot singles not doubles .

Thanks, that's one of the ranges I haven't been to.

I can see the pieces against the backgroug of the trees, looks light a "slight" right angle target presentation

Doe Master · Post by **Doe Master** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:47 pm

It`s not set up that way it was windy that day.The ones going to the right rose alot at times and the left ones sometimes dived.