Shot a little trap this weekend

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kudu

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I usually shoot skeet pretty exclusively, with a round of sporting clays thrown in now and then. My friend that I have been teaching skeet said "let's go shoot some trap next time", so we did. It's been since last August since I shot 2 round of trap, so I figured I would miss a few, but ended up with 3 24's at the 16 yard line. I was using my M12 and 7/8oz loads of 8.5's, powderpuff light loads running about 1175 fps, and absolutely destroying the targets.

My trap gun. Win M12 trap 002.JPG
A 1963 Model 12 with an Anton rollover cheek stock.
Win M12 trap 005.JPG Win M12 trap 003.JPG Win M12 trap 004.JPG
Nice factory full choke throws a beautiful tight even pattern. I used to shoot quite a few games under the lights at our club, it will take out targets beyond the 27 yard line in shoot-offs where we walked back an additional 15 yards. Of course those weren't standard target shells, they were 1.25oz of heavy reloads pushing 1350fps, #7's. When we got back out of where the lights didn't shine down, it really weeded the people out that couldn't shoot without seeing their barrel and bead.
 
kudu

I second the motion: great trap shooting and a great shotgun! Love the design of the cheek piece of the stock and that fantastically grain of the wood!
 
I should probably concentrate a bit more on trap, but I tend to find it a little boring. And our club only has a handful of trap shooters. We have 3 overlay trap fields and 5 skeet fields and a full sporting clay course that they just expanded to, I believe up to 200 birds, if you wanted.
 
20160307_091025.jpg here's an unfired Yodel from about 1980.
My dad had his mod 12 stolen from the rack at a shoot in Tucson. He bought a used model 12 to finish the shoot and his insurance bought this new Y model.

He is 83 now, and he gave this to me for my birthday.
 
That's good shooting Kudu! Beautiful gun.
Lately I've been shooting trap with 7/8 oz of #9 shot originally intended for skeet. No idea how fast it is but I guess around 1200 fps. I tightened up the choke to IM and started getting better breaks at the 16 yard line. After a couple rounds with thoughs it almost makes the standard 1 1/4 oz load feel like cheating.
 
Lately I've been shooting trap with 7/8 oz of #9 shot originally intended for skeet. No idea how fast it is but I guess around 1200 fps.

My friend was running the same loads that I was, 7/8oz of 8.5's but he was using the same gun he shoots skeet with and he didn't bother to change from skeet chokes. He was breaking about 17-18, with some decent breaks even with skeet chokes. And he had only ever shot a couple rounds of trap ever. 16 yards is pretty close, I have broke 22 there with the .410 with a modified barrel back several years ago. As I get older I appreciate super light recoiling loads, 3/4 oz 20 gauge, 3/4 oz 28 gauge, and good old 1/2 oz .410. I just hate reloading those little .410's, always end up with spilled shot or powder all over.

Looks like we may shoot again tomorrow after work if the weather cooperates. He told me to bring the trap gun and a gun to shoot skeet with, so we will see what we end up shooting. Think I will bring my other Winchester for skeet. 1897 Winchester 003.JPG
 
Howdy

Nice Model 12. I have three of them. This is the one I shoot Trap with. 30" barrel and full choke. It was made in 1948. I usually shoot 2 3/4 dram 1 ounce loads of #8. When I miss, it's my fault, not the gun's.

modeltwelvedeckcolorsedited_zps6ba45dba.jpg





I have an 1897 too, but I don't seem to have a photo of it. It has a 30" full choke barrel too. Works great for Cowboy Trap.
 
To the OP, that is some of the most beautiful wood I have ever seen. Kudos!

You folks bring me back in time to 1969-1970 when I worked at Roberts Shooting Park in Elkhorn NE, no longer in existance. I used to see many, many fine guns, much more spendy than I could afford at the time. There were many outstanding Model 12's, mostly for trap, along with special skeet grade 1100's in all four skeet gauges. I could only afford a Rem 870 12 gauge 26" VR IC choke for skeet.

Funny how you get to meet the rich people and see their guns, only as a puller/setter. My friend and co-worker shot a plain Model 12 20 gauge with a Cutts Comp, which he graciously let me shoot (with my own ammo!) once in a while for skeet. Very nice slick gun, but it was so LOUD! I'll never forget that gun and how light it was. One had to concentrate on keeping the gun moving because it was so light. My 870 was heavy enough that I could consistently hit Station #4 high house birds using only one arm, because I could not stop the gun from moving.

I remember many nights when they would shoot with lights in front of the clubhouse from the 27 yard line (or more) with white targets for turkey or booze shoots. The puller (usually me) would have to use the entire length of cord and lie on my back up against the clubhouse to get out of the way. There were always special clays filled with different colors of powder backed by a circular piece of hard cardboard taped underneath and each one was worth something. One got 5 clays per shooter.

I just pulled, never kept score, and the management doled out the rewards. The normal charge then was $2 for a round of trap ($2.50 for skeet because there were 2 machines). The booze/turkey shoots cost $5 per entry. Turkey was probably less than $.50/per pound and whiskey was probably about $4 a fifth, if that. It was all about the competition! And back then we did not use any hearing protection. Heck! we were bulletproof teenagers!

Those were the days.

Drool...
 
Haha, I think that was a typo.
1 1/4 would be cheating, lol. ...and unnecessary at the 16yd line.

You're correct. I ment to say 1 1/8 oz. haven't got a good trap load yet so I mostly use gun club 1 1/8 oz factory if I'm serious about scoring. 7/8 is fine for 16 yards. 9 s are fine too. Have to admit that I take the shot quicker though, at least that's the goal.

At 16 yards 7/8 will get you a good star burst hit. 1 1/8 grind the target into oblivion with a good hit. I'd just as soon save to shot with a 7/8 load...
 
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