Another good stop over for information is trapshooters.com. If you mention and 870 to them, however, they will fry you. I also don't know many folks who could pump 300 rounds out for the day with one of them and not regret the trauma to their shoulder they caused by doing it.
Whatever shotgun you only spend $800 on will become a "loaner" for you within 6 months. You will undoubtedly want something better when you start hitting 20/25 consistantly. As a comparison, use an image of an old beltloop-arched belt sitting next to a strop that Tony made. Might as well get something at least in the $1,200 range like a used Browning Citori. There are some good autoloaders, but if you use it for trap, make sure you also use a shell catcher. The guy standing to your right will get a little tweaked when you start ejecting shells against his $25,000 Perazzi.
Unless you are going to use the gun for something else besides trap, sporting clays or skeet, I would not buy an auto or pump. If you are going to shoot all three sports equally, you might be better off with a 28/30 inch barrel over/under. If you stick with trap and SC's, then 32 inch barrels might be a better choice. One of my singles guns is a 34 inch. I use a 32 for everything else. Since I sold my Berretta Gold E, I have been using my wife's O/U SKB 85TSS with 30 inch barrels for my doubles. It is really a nice gun for the money. You can get the combo with single barrel and doubles barrels for about $3,000 if you shop around. If you mention an SKB over at trapshooters, the flap is on. Those conversations become more heated than the political threads over here do.
Maybe for SASS or other organizations you have to use new shells for competition, but most ATA (American Trapshooting Association) events allow reloads. For a few years, my wife and I were going through close to 20,000 rounds for the year, three years straight. I reload. Not only do I reload, but I do it with a hydraulic press rig. It's a difference of nearly $2 a box/25. 20,000/25 = 800 boxes of ammo. $1,600 savings. Forget about it... jump in; you're hooked now.
Whatever shotgun you only spend $800 on will become a "loaner" for you within 6 months. You will undoubtedly want something better when you start hitting 20/25 consistantly. As a comparison, use an image of an old beltloop-arched belt sitting next to a strop that Tony made. Might as well get something at least in the $1,200 range like a used Browning Citori. There are some good autoloaders, but if you use it for trap, make sure you also use a shell catcher. The guy standing to your right will get a little tweaked when you start ejecting shells against his $25,000 Perazzi.
Unless you are going to use the gun for something else besides trap, sporting clays or skeet, I would not buy an auto or pump. If you are going to shoot all three sports equally, you might be better off with a 28/30 inch barrel over/under. If you stick with trap and SC's, then 32 inch barrels might be a better choice. One of my singles guns is a 34 inch. I use a 32 for everything else. Since I sold my Berretta Gold E, I have been using my wife's O/U SKB 85TSS with 30 inch barrels for my doubles. It is really a nice gun for the money. You can get the combo with single barrel and doubles barrels for about $3,000 if you shop around. If you mention an SKB over at trapshooters, the flap is on. Those conversations become more heated than the political threads over here do.
Maybe for SASS or other organizations you have to use new shells for competition, but most ATA (American Trapshooting Association) events allow reloads. For a few years, my wife and I were going through close to 20,000 rounds for the year, three years straight. I reload. Not only do I reload, but I do it with a hydraulic press rig. It's a difference of nearly $2 a box/25. 20,000/25 = 800 boxes of ammo. $1,600 savings. Forget about it... jump in; you're hooked now.
