Definition Of Shotgun Types

[cyclonebri1 8]

Inspiute of being a keen shot for over 40 years I was trying to help a youngun the other day and he had me stumped. I don't often do clays, and if I do it's just with my normal rough shooting gun.

 

So, he gets side by side, O/U, semi auto's and pumps, even bolts action. He gets calibres, but,

 

I couldn't fully define the difference between lets say. a game gun, a sporter, a trap gun and a skeet gun.

 

Anyone post a link to an article that coveres lese more subtle forms of 12g????

[SportingShooter 0]

I don't know of any articles about them but the difference is as follows,

 

A game gun and sporter are essentially the same. The only difference between the two will likely be a shorter barrel for a game gun along with more open chokes. Both types of gun are designed in such a way that when you pull onto a target, you're required to block the target out, so essentially, the top barrel will cover the target before you swing through for lead.

 

A trap gun will normally have more than 28" barrels and heavier chokes such as 3/4 and full for shooting targets going away from you. This gun's "sight picture" means that the front bead of the gun is brought underneath the target before firing, it doesn't cover the bird completely. In effect, you should be pointing at the bottom edge of a clay before firing.

 

A skeet gun is two things, it will normally have much more open chokes in a traditional skeet gun, hence "skeet choke" which is equivalent to cylinder, however many people are moving away from this and shooting with the same chokes as trap guns. They also traditionally have much shorter barrels, 26" being very common at one time in order to swing quickly through a close target. Again, this has begun to disappear with sporters and trap guns being used more frequently.

 

There was a time when most skeet guns seemed to have very wide top ribs but this also appears to be less common.

 

SS

[cyclonebri1 8]

Hi, thanks for that, but,

 

Can you add into the perspective my pre dispersitions to this.

 

 

A trap gun is heavy, has a double bead sight and a high comb, just how I have come to view them on/off the shelf.

 

I'm told a modern sporter or game gun will have auto safety?

 

What length barrel would you expect a semi or pump game gun to have?, seen few 30" versions

 

Can you explain the typical trap forend against the turned down shnarbel (sp) returned wood on the typical sporter??

 

Again thanks for the info

[willum 89]

A sporter gun will have a none auto safety as a game gun has auto safety as when u are on. A clay shoot and you call for the bird the last thing you want is to forget to take the safety off as for a game gun safety comes on as you are surrounded by people much safer this way or so I'm lead to believe also a game gun usually shoots a little higher than a sporter to help compensate swing and Leed Astor the weight of a gun game gun lighter so your not lugging a heavy gun across heavy sod clay gun heavier to help reduce recoil when shooting a lot of clays you'll be glad of this lol a trap gun is generally longer than a clay or sporter as cuts down Leed and has a high rib as the birds are rising at a very high speed your normally 16 yd behind the trap when the bird is called by the time you mount or pull trigger bird is nearly 40 yd away so high rib cuts ,punt and movement down on trap shooting chokes nor,ally fixed at full n 3/4 some are vents to stop muzzle flip aswell. Skeet guns 26 n very open chokes wide pattern snappy swinging guns as close birds but some clay shooter now going for 32 barrels to cut down on lead point and poke shoot as for the for ends ? Muroko n some browning wide forfend Barretta rolled end ?

[SportingShooter 0]

Semi-automatics have all sorts of barrel lengths but the general rule I've always been taught is that the action on a pump/semi auto will increase the overall length by two inches so in effect, if you want the gun to handle like a 30" barrel, buy one with a 28" etc I tried to shoot a 32" semi-automatic at clays about 12 months back and found it just too long.

 

I can't really account for the fore-end apart from weight saving and the overall style of the gun. The schnabel fore-end is usually quite thin and as a result is lighter than the thicker/chunkier ones on a trap gun. If a gun was designed as a game gun, they're normally fairly light and for use in all weathers, so the thinner fore-end helps when wearing gloves.

[cyclonebri1 8]

Semi-automatics have all sorts of barrel lengths but the general rule I've always been taught is that the action on a pump/semi auto will increase the overall length by two inches so in effect, if you want the gun to handle like a 30" barrel, buy one with a 28" etc I tried to shoot a 32" semi-automatic at clays about 12 months back and found it just too long.

 

I can't really account for the fore-end apart from weight saving and the overall style of the gun. The schnabel fore-end is usually quite thin and as a result is lighter than the thicker/chunkier ones on a trap gun. If a gun was designed as a game gun, they're normally fairly light and for use in all weathers, so the thinner fore-end helps when wearing gloves.

 

Yep, I like a longish gun but when I got a winchester pump last year they had both 28 and 26" barrel versions in stock, I went with the 26" it felt much more swingable and to be honest the 28 was too long for hide shooting.

 

My O/U is classed as a trap gun but it only gets used for wing shooting, pigeons and crows, they can't tell it's not a game gun,

 

Anyway thanks for the background stuff chaps, most welcome.

Edited January 25, 2013 by cyclonebri1

[trenchfoot 4,243]

game guns tend to be at the lighter and livelier end of the spectrum. They tend to be set up to shoot quite flat too. The stock on a game gun has a more open grip. This serves 2 purposes, firstly it tends not to cock the wrist when waiting on the peg with the muzzles held aloft, and secondly, because the game/target can come from any place/angle it enables the shooter to react quicker. They also have a narrower ribs to aid quick target acquisition.

 

Sporters tended to be heavier versions of game guns, wider ribs and a more pronounced pistol grip. As the target is coming from a pre known place the stock shapes enable the shooter to prepare and then tuck into place with the eye looking down the rib. They tend to shoot slightly higher than a game gun too. This allows the shooter to see the bird/clay on crossing shots and thus get a clearer picture of lead. The extra weight also is welcome as clay shooting is far more static than game shooting and this keeps the swing steadier and absorbs the increased recoil from more shots fired.

 

Trap guns tend to have longer barrels. Their stocks are dictated by the type of target to be tackled. Always going away and rising. Hence a trap shooter locks into position and shoots gun premounted, so does not need the livelier feel of a sporter or game gun. They also shoot higher so as to give some built in lead for rising targets.

 

Skeet guns started out as a half way house between game and skeet. Skeet was developed to enable game shots to practice all the different angles/shots that they may be presented on a game shoot. They are lively, short barreled and open choked like a game gun, but with a stock of a sporter.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Yorkie

 

Thats the traditional angle. As times have changed, traditional trap gun set ups have become more common on sporters and the trap gun set ups have become more extreme. Many people use sporters for driven game shooting and game guns have become longer barrelled and heavier, with some people using trap guns for long range driven birds

[cyclonebri1 8]

:victory: Nice one, I'm a philestine and can shoot badly with any gun, the lables don't bother me.

 

The only thing in the replies that did suprise me was the auto/no auto safety aspect.

 

A safety catch is there for a purpose, if the bloke behind the gun isn't coherent enough to figure to switch it out, then he shouldn't be behind the gun.

 

(ex safety officer speaking by the way)

Edited January 25, 2013 by cyclonebri1

[trenchfoot 4,243]

True, but a safety catch is the last line of defence. Good gun handling and a brain is all that's needed