Dedicated trap gun or sporting autoloader for youth shooter.

My budding Top Gun is in his first year of HS trap as a 7th grader. If you scroll down you’ll see my previous questions about a TriStar Viper 20 gauge, which I bought to get him started. I was concerned that if recoil made him uncomfortable, he would not want to stick with the sport, and with the soft-shooting TriStar he now loves to shoot and regularly does 3 rounds at practice with no complaints.

BTW, the TriStar Viper G2 has been FLAWLESS through 1100 rounds so far. Separate review coming.

He’s now shooting 18 to 19s consistently and he’s hell-bent on breaking 20 this week. He is at the top of his 7th grad group and all but one other shooter is shooting a 12, so he’s doing well considering the 20-gauge handicap.

So now I’m looking ahead to the next gun that will replace the 20. He has a younger brother, so the 20 won’t be headed to the used sale rack, but I sense he’s ready to move up.

The question is simple: Stick with a sporting style of off-the-rack autoloader, but perhaps with an adj comb and 30 barrel? Or… Pony up now for the dedicated trap gun like a BT99, SKB, or heck I might even be tempted to try the TriStar single trap.

Your thoughts please.

Grouse

We have been in your situation before. We started with a 12ga Tristar O/U that my boy couldn’t get use to so he opted for a Franchi 12ga auto through 9th grade. We then upgraded into a Benelli Supersport and that worked out very well for him. It is a nice soft shooting gun with very little muzzle jump. Not cheap but they hold their value well and it can be used for hunting as well. Also as he got older he wanted to shoot skeet as well and that auto performed beautifully. Decisions- nothing is cheap when you go into a true adjustable trap gun.

100% go for the dedicated trap gun. Bt-99 or even a browning cxt if you want gun that could handle other clay games as well. My parents got me an ithica century trap when I was on the varsity team and it made all the difference in the world compared to the old 870 wingmaster i was using. (Still kicking myself for getting rid of it) If he stays in it he will get a ton of years of use out of it.

Only problem with the dedicated trap gun I’ve seen is the inability to jump to the sporting clays or skeet range.
Plus they can’t hunt with the gun they are used to.
I would find a over under or auto loader for him, but that’s personal preference.

I was in the same boat a few years ago.
My son shot trap with his 20 gauge Benelli auto, constantly 18-20. Switched him to one of my Browning Gold autos and he was at a 22.8 average with the 12 gauge.
My thought process was not to buy him a dedicated trap gun, YET.
I wanted him shooting a gun he would hunt with, pheasants and grouse. The more he shot it, the more comfortable he would be in the field, hopefully leading to being safer as well.
He finished in 2nd place for his team.

I would get him a good auto. Find a light weight, softer recoil hunting gun. Let him grow up some before getting him a heavier, longer barrel, more recoil trap gun.

sliderfishn wrote:

My thought process was not to buy him a dedicated trap gun, YET.
I wanted him shooting a gun he would hunt with, pheasants and grouse. The more he shot it, the more comfortable he would be in the field, hopefully leading to being safer as well.
He finished in 2nd place for his team.
I would get him a good auto. Find a lightweight, softer recoil hunting gun. Let him grow up some before getting him a heavier, longer barrel, more recoil trap gun.

This is a very sensible approach. You’re right, I doubt he’d be happy with the weight of the dedicated trap guns for now, so even if that’s the way I eventually go, it’s probably not a good idea now.

It’s going to be impossible to look past the TriStar Viper G2 in a 12 gauge after my experience with the 20 gauge version.

That G2 is a sharp looking shotgun. I think you’re on the right track if leaning toward a auto sporting model. They’ll typically have features geared toward clay shooting, but certainly could be hunted with. The 30″ barrel might be the only downfall for hunting. Another in that price range is the Franchi Affinity 3 Sporting. Although, if you think he may be into trap for the long term, a dedicated break-open would be hard to beat.

I started on an auto when I was that age and I remember being super embarrassed being the only guy who had to bend over and pick up my shells. I begged my dad to let me use the old pump he had. Once I had that I never looked back. I second all the posts suggesting an over/under but would throw in a vote for a good pump. I understand autoloaders are better in ever way, but if you can shoot well with a pump an autoloader will be even easier when you pick one up.

They make shell catchers that hold the spent shell so you dont have to pick them up off the ground. About half of the kids shooting trap on my son’s team are shooting autos. If you get a gas operated one they dont kick nearly as much as a pump too.

I bought that same shotgun for my daughter. Has gone down the line recently, but never had as much as a hick-up from it. A buddy won an adult sized 12 ga. Tri-Star and he is super impressed with it also.