Shoot trap with a 20 guage Benelli Montefeltro?

It depends on what your goal is. If you just want to go out and shoot trap to have fun and try it, sure! I’ve been known to occasionally shoot trap and sporting clays with my defensive 870 with short barrel, fixed cylinder choke, and rifle sights (probably close to the worst option for shooting any clay sport). Pretty much any shotgun you have can be used to shoot trap recreationally.

If you want to be competitive, you have the wrong gun. Not saying that you can’t shoot competitively with it, but it isn’t a good choice. 20ga is going to be a big limiting factor - trap doesn’t have separate 12 and 20 categories, so you’ll almost always be at a disadvantage because a 12ga will always have more pellets for a given shot size (meaning a better chance to break the target). A double barreled gun will allow you to have different chokes for doubles, as well as have more weight out front which can help with your swing. A trap gun will usually have an adjustable stock which brings a whole new side to the term “gun fit”, and includes the ability to adjust the POA/POI relationship by slightly altering the height of your cheek rest. And honestly a field gun is not made to put up with the high volume that dedicated competitive shooters are putting through their guns.

I actually started shooting trap competitively with a Benelli Cordoba (12ga) and while I really like the gun and think it’s great for hunting, I very quickly moved to a dedicated trap gun. The Benelli inertia system generally requires that you stick with the heavier target or dove shells in order to function well, especially once it starts to get a little dirty. I was also not pleased with the consistency of the OEM chokes, so I would recommend going with a good aftermarket option.

You can certainly shoot at a trap range for fun and practice with a 20 ga non-competitively within the limits of the gauge and ammunition. You can shoot skeet competitively with a 20 ga. using a cylinder or skeet choke. See the diagrams below for the difference in the 2 games.

Competition trap is exclusively shot with 12 ga shotguns using full or modified choke, to use a smaller gauge would put the shooter at an insurmountable disadvantage in a registered shoot. Trap is a game of distance where the targets (clay pigeons) are thrown from the house in front of the shooters who stand on the fan tail behind the house. The distance location of the shooter on the fantail determines difficulty with the shortest distance to the low house where the targets are thrown is 16 yds nearest to a maximum of 27 yds at the furthest. In standard trap the targets are thrown at the same arch in the air but the angle from the house changes from throw to throw at random. A regulation trap target is thrown up to 61 yards from the house.

Skeet is a game of close shots at difficult angles. Angle of each shot is changed by location on the fan tail between the houses. Skeet handicap difficulty are increased by using a smaller gauge. Skeet targets are always thrown from the two house (high and low) at the same angle and arc.

When I shot trap regularly years ago the trap and skeet shooters would have a little competition on each others rang using their standard gun in the other groups game. Skeet was difficult to shoot with a 30" full choke trap gun but the skeet shooters had more difficulty scoring as well at the trap range with short barrel cylinder bore shotguns.

I shoot trap infrequently and sporting clays often. When I do shoot trap, I generally use my SC gun which is a Browning BPS 20 ga. I shoot both trap and SC non-competitively. More as a social function and practice for hunting.

I have found my trap scores are marginally better when I use a friend’s 12 ga Beretta semi auto. That gun does not fit as well either.

I say all this to tell you that you absolutely can shoot trap with your 20 ga Benelli and I would encourage you to do so. If you really get into it you may want to get a good fitting 12 ga and possibly even a trap specific shotgun depending on your level of enthusiasm.

Sure you can shoot trap with it. And break most of the targets. But a few will slip through or by the thinner pattern.

Actually with field guns what usually causes lost birds is as kudu said, you have to cover the bird on straightaways and near angles. If you have screw-in chokes, Modified, Improved Modified, or Full will be what you want to use. 20's do put less pellets out there; the pattern will be a little more open for the same choke as a 12, as Bill M. mentions.
I shot some Trap with the 4-H loaner gun, a Tri-Star Raptor 20, and it usually only cost me hard left birds on 1 and 2- I felt rushed on those.

If you find it difficult to hit try a more open choke until you get comfortable with this type of shooting.

i,m close to the same scores with 12 ga and 20 ga at trap and skeet but the 12ga wins out. at SC,s i sometimes beat my 12 ga scores with my 20 ga..

entropy said:

Actually with field guns what usually causes lost birds is as kudu said, you have to cover the bird on straightaways and near angles. If you have screw-in chokes, Modified, Improved Modified, or Full will be what you want to use. 20's do put less pellets out there; the pattern will be a little more open for the same choke as a 12, as Bill M. mentions.
I shot some Trap with the 4-H loaner gun, a Tri-Star Raptor 20, and it usually only cost me hard left birds on 1 and 2- I felt rushed on those.

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But yet, in International trap, aka Bunker, those 12 gauge guns are shooting a 7/8 oz load (well actually 24 gms, so more like 6/7oz) and those targets fly faster and thus are made harder to withstand the forces of the traps.

OP, if your gun fits, and you know how to point and not aim, there is no reason why you can't do well with a 20.

A friend got arthritic and 12 gauge trap loads hurt his shoulder. So he got a 20 gauge Purbaugh tube for the bottom barrel of his Browning Broadway. A big gun to start with, the tube really ballasted it, and the 20s gave it very little recoil.

yellowroses said:

Thanks for your input, gentlemen. I can hit a stationary target right on with the shotgun, but no idea about moving ones. I may be lousy at it, but it looks like fun. The group shooting seem pretty pleasant to be around and it feels good to get back outdoors on a range. I doubt I will ever want to shoot a 12 gauge. It is hard on an older shoulder and I have too many friends with shoulder replacements.

They have skeet also and that may be a choice later on, especially if a 20 gauge is better there. I don't expect to be good at it, so any time I hit the clay will be a hurrah moment. Good practice in case a friend ever asks me to go bird hunting again. No competition is planned- just a fun way to spend a Saturday morning.

Thanks,
Kate

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I’m not advocating you go out and buy a 12 gauge. You are shooting an inertia operated shotgun though. Inertia shotguns have to be on the lighter side weight wise to function correctly. Also since the Montefeltro is inertia operated it will generate more felt recoil than a comparable gas semi. A gas operated 12 gauge that isn’t super light and shooting 1-.75 ounce loads could very easily have less felt recoil than your Benelli.

Be that as it may I would try to make the Montefeltro work, especially if you shoot it well which I inferred you do. There are shooting vests and jackets you can get that will help with the recoil. I personally use an EvoShield shooting shirt which isn’t space age, it just spreads recoil over a larger area of your shoulder. To my shoulder that’s had three operations it really helps.
https://www.evoshield.com/en-us/pro...otective-recoil-shoulder-guard-shooting-shirt

cdb1 said:

I’m not advocating you go out and buy a 12 gauge. You are shooting an inertia operated shotgun though. Inertia shotguns have to be on the lighter side weight wise to function correctly. Also since the Montefeltro is inertia operated it will generate more felt recoil than a comparable gas semi. A gas operated 12 gauge that isn’t super light and shooting 1-.75 ounce loads could very easily have less felt recoil than your Benelli.

Be that as it may I would try to make the Montefeltro work, especially if you shoot it well which I inferred you do. There are shooting vests and jackets you can get that will help with the recoil. I personally use an EvoShield shooting shirt which isn’t space age, it just spreads recoil over a larger area of your shoulder. To my shoulder that’s had three operations it really helps.
https://www.evoshield.com/en-us/pro...otective-recoil-shoulder-guard-shooting-shirt

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Bold #1 - that is a MAYBE, because IF the inertia gun fits better, then the felt/perceived recoil will be less; if both are the same, then the Benelli might feel like more - because the actual will be more

Bold#2 - the issue with using these pads in the vest is that now you have changed the LOP and possibly the cast and pitch, thus making the gun not fit as well as it should which in turn, leads to greater perceived recoil.

The answer to both bolds is to have the gun fitted; with semis, most now come with shims that can get you close. Otherwise, adjustable combs and butt pads are cheaper than a custom stock (but not as pretty!)

I have two Franchi Affinity’s. They fit very well. Felt recoil is more with them than with my SX3’s which fit well too, using the same shotshells.

The reason I use the EvoShield system is because it has very little impact on LOP and none on cast and pitch. At least for me.

You can definitely shoot trap with it but maybe not in the Olympics you can always get a better trap gun down the road.
Did your gun come with a package of 2 or three funny looking large washers? They can be used to adjust the fit of the gun so it points where you look.

But before you do anything else get a little instruction on the proper stance and the proper way to hold the shot gun and track a moving target. It will not beat up your shoulder if you hold it correctly tucked tightly in the pocket and firmly against your shoulder.

Light7/8 oz #8 shotshell loads will also help, Federal makes these and they are not expensive https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...e-2-3-4-7-8-oz-shotshells-25-rounds?a=1582837. Your club may offer basic instruction/ a clinic or you might get a little help from another regular trap shooter. Then take it out and shoot it a few times and see how you do.

Here's a PDF of a brochure Remington used to publish about the basic fundamentals of trap, including foot positions and how to approach a target from each station:

http://www.damascusiwla.org/Remington_Trap_Fundamentals_2004.pdf