18" barrel improved Cyl. trap shooting?

[Roman2in]

Today I went to a local gun store ready to order Remington 870P with 18" improved cylinder choke barrel. But when I mentioned that, besides home defense, I will also be doing some trap shooting, the sales person told me that I will need to get a longer barrel if I plan to do any kind of trap shooting.

Is 18" barrel with imp. cyl. that bad?

I'm not planning to enter any kind of competition, just some fun shooting with family/friends.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dave McCracken]

Not ideal. Most folks shoot better with more barrel for some inertia aiding the swing and more choke for out there around 35 yards.

In your shoes, I'd go ahead and use the short barrel for now.

 

[Two Cold Soakers]

Yeah, go ahead and try it out. Don't NOT try it because of the barrel. You'll break a few.

 

[EShell]

That 18" IC barrel would be perfect for skeet. If you want to shoot trap "seriously", invest in a 28" RemChoke barrel later on.

 

[MAKster]

Most clays ranges have minimum barrell lengths like 24".

 

[Todd A]

I do it for fun with with my tacticool Mossberg. Just for backyard fun with hand throwers. I don't think I'd try it at a real range though.

 

[Roman2in]

Great, thanks alot for the answers guys!

Seems like 18" will do it for me.

 

[swampshooter]

Imroved cylinder works fine for 16 yd. trap as long as you don't shoot slow. Some of the shooters next to you might object to the increased muzzle blast of the short barrel though.

 

[foghornl]

Trap is generally shot at longer ranges that skeet, so the pattern will probably be rather......well large and spread out. Some ranges also have a limit on how short a barrel can be used.

Good barrel for Home Defense use with buck or slugs.

 

[ReloaderFred]

We do it all the time with Winchester Model 97's and cylinder bore for Cowboy Trap. You probably won't hit them all, but you'll have fun trying.

Use small shot, preferably # 8, so you'll get more pellets in your pattern, and that will help some, too. The IC choke will help.

Years ago, we shot a lot of skeet with riot guns, and they were perfect for that sport.

Hope this helps.

 

[10X]

If you are doing informal trap shooting, such as a hand trap, you will be shooting at close range. The 18" barrel will be fine.