Dilema... Is there a shotty good for CAS and Trap?

[Musketeer]

I have been shooting trap with an 870 that I picked up a used Wingmaster barrel for. It fits me horribly and needs the stock sized.

I am thinking of getting a gun for trap this year, under $1,000 for certain, but would also like to one day get into Cowboy Action Shooting.

Are there any shotties, side by side I'd assume, suitable for trap but also legal for CAS? If so then which and how much?

 

[HPH]

I would think that a repo Winchester 1887 lever action or an 1897 pump action would fit the bill.

 

[Musketeer]

I'm really thinking more of a double gun. What barrel length is common for CAS? Would using one meant for trap be an inhibiting factor?

 

[SDC]

SASS rules say only that shotguns have to have barrels at least 18" long, but given the types of close-in targets that they're usually used against, most of them are cylinder-bored and cut off to somewhere between 18 and 24 inches. Because of that, most of them aren't really suitable for trap, because trap requires longer-range shots that need a tight choke to hit a clay out at 40 or 50 yards. You could probably use most cowboy action shotguns fairly well in skeet, but trap is a different game entirely.

 

[Musketeer]

Thanks. That is what I thought but figured someone here would know best. I will go with a dedicated trap gun for the game I play now and invest in CAS when I have the time and money later.

 

[Frank Ettin]

One thing to consider, if your interested in shooting Amateur Trapshooting Association sanctioned registered competition, is that you shoot a lot. A typical match will be 200 to 300 targets in a day. Multi-day matches could run over 1,000+ targets. And don't forget practice. During the course of a year a competitive trapshooter will shoot a lot, and his gun will therefore be taking a beating. The guns that are popular with trapshooters tend to be guns that are well made and robust to take that level of use. And it's also desirable to have one that it's easy to get parts for and that's easy to repair.

 

[tplumeri]

Does anyone make a CAS shotgun with interchangeable barrells?

 

[Frank Ettin]

Among the makers of double shotguns, quite a few will make multi-barrel sets. I'm sure that one could make a CAS legal shot gun (extractors only, no ejectors) with a set of barrels suitable for CAS and another suitable for trap. It would probably be about the price of a new car.

 

[tplumeri]

It would probably be about the price of a new car

American or import?

 

[tplumeri]

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=290169

would this work?
Sorry, too lazy to look up the rules.

 

[Frank Ettin]

tplumeri,

I'm afraid it wouldn't work. As I recall, the only pump action shotgun legal for CAS is the Winchester '97 or one of the reproductions. And the only other repeating shotgun legal for CAS is the Winchester '87 or one of the reproductions. I think that the Marlin '93 was at one time legal, but was dropped because of some kind of safety concern.

Edit -- A nice Model 12 though

 

[Hawg]

A model 97 should fill the bill for both but you want a double. Maybe an L.C. Smith? There's plenty of them around that don't cost an arm and a leg and the Hunter Arms L.C.'s are very dependable. You don't need short barrels for SASS. Lots of folks use long barrel shotguns.

 

[Frank Ettin]

The disadvantage of a '97 is that I'm not sure how well it would hold up well to heavy use if someone wanted to use it for serious trap competition. It's true that we use light loads, but we shoot a lot of them. How will a '97 handle 10,000+ shells in a year (just for trap)? And how available are parts?

Of course, for recreational trap with the occasional club match, a '97 might be just the ticket. But the OP wanted a double.

 

[jlchucker]

I don't do CAS, but shoot trap regularly at my gun club. Mostly I use a side-by-side, Baikal 12 ga or 16 ga. The 12 has a 28 inch barrel and choke tubes. I do better at trap with it than I do with my Rem. 870, shooting in the low to mid 20's. Before anyone scoffs at Baikal guns (or the Remington Spartan-same thing) they may not be beautiful, but they are built as rugged as the T-34 tanks from which they were probably recycled. And they do have choke tubes--any flavor of which can be purchased from Colonial, a US maker of tubes. I expect that one of these would maybe work OK for CAS, and they are priced affordably. Mine has functioned without a problem for 5 years or so now.