Was denied today

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Stuohn

New member
On my way to the Range today and I noticed that the local skeet/trap club was open and pretty crowded. So I go in and ask the guy at the counter prices and then ask if there are any barrel length requirements. The guy says no. So then I explain that its an 18" barrel pump shotgun. The guy says he doesn't have a problem with it. Another guy (don't know if he worked there or not) states "I think some of the guys out there will have a problem". I then explained that I have shot skeet before with same gun so I can handle funny looks from others. So the second guy asks the first guy what if the ejected shells hit someone? So first guy tells me maybe you should get a longer barrel. (not sure how a longer barrel changes the path of an ejected shell):confused:. So I figured screw it their range their rules said O.K. and left. Sucks though cause I like to shoot skeet with the 18" barrel (challenge) and can't find another range. Oh well just have to shoot at paper.
 
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USMCGrunt

New member
Let me guess, some Fudd is biggoted against anything that looks like some sort of EEEEEEEEEEVIL sawed-off shotgun. Never mind that 18" barrels are perfectly legal and that changing the barrel to a longer one will do NOTHING to change the ejection pattern of any spent hull....it's just that it looks EEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL and has no place in their sport of "gentlemen." :rolleyes:
Now I'm not bashing the sport (although trap and skeet are a couple sports I haven't tried...something I guess I am going to have to remedy when I get back to the world) nor am I bashing those that prefer to use dedicated trap or skeet guns designed for that sport. What I WILL bash however is the biggoted mentality of the Fudd community that would gladly throw another segment of the shooting society to the liberal wolves if it means they get to keep their guns for just one more day! :mad:
 
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johnwilliamson062

Moderator
I use the same 11-87 for trap, HD, and deer hunting. SOmetimes I don't switch all the accessories in between roles, so I end up with extra shell holders filled with 00buck or a camo sling on it when I go to shoot trap. Get quite a few looks.

YOu realize if you work the pump slow it will roll out the ejection port, right?
 
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zippy13

New member
Stuohn said:
...So I go in and ask the guy at the counter prices and then ask if there are any barrel length requirements. The guy says no. So then I explain that its an 18" barrel pump shotgun...
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Perhaps you should have accepted his "no" as being unqualified and just signed-up for the next available squad.
 
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RoscoeC

New member
The club where I shoot has a clearly posted minimum barrel length of 22". If the place didn't have the restriction clearly posted I would have proceeded on.

You're right, their place, their rules, but if those rules aren't clear, then they need to let you go with your short barrel.

Another club where I shoot has no restrictions. I have often shot there with my 20" barreled 870.

I would ask for a formal ruling from management. It sounds to me like you just ran into a cranky old goober with a personal prejudice.
 
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freakintoguns

New member
theres a appropiate gun for shooting baked clay? jeez, me and my buddies use everything from shotgunsd to .22s to shoot clays out of the sky. makes for fun times when out plinking.
 
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TMackey

New member
Thank goodness I don't have to deal with you and your "buddies" when I shoot clay targets.The reason is the rules at the ranges I shoot at.If you do not agree with the rules go somewhere else with your tactical self and go for the "challenge".
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WOW. :confused:
 
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Jofaba

New member
Hmm, I've never even thought about the length of my shotgun before. I have a Benelli SuperNova pump and apparently it's 18.4 inches. Is the restriction based on spread, and thus negating skill? Kind of makes sense...

Guess I'll be looking to get a longer barreled shotgun. I haven't gotten into the actual sport of skeet or trap, but I have a foot-activated launcher and have gotten quite good at it, with my Benelli.

I got the launcher to practice solo before ever joining in on any of the parties that take place at the range. I was really bad at first, getting around 5%, have since gone up to 90+ on singles, 50+ on doubles.

Now that I'm actually decent, it'd be terribly embarassing to be turned away. It's tough enough seeing as the parties consist of mostly older guys with very traditional shotguns.

Glad to see this post, I'll be sure to check with the rules before I show up and find myself slinking off, head down, shotgun in hand unfired.
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
I've run into that before. I took living hell from some old guy at a club once for shooting my 12 gauge cruiser on the skeet range. Did very well with it.

I used the same gun a few years ago when shooting a couple of rounds of 5 stand with Dave (moderator here), and also did fairly well.

Unfortunately, not long after, the place where I shoot adopted the 22" barrel rule.
 
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jr05

New member
What type of barrel was the 18"? Was it choked or a cylindrical bore?

I personally have no issue with an 18" choked barrel, but if it is a cylindrical bore it does not belong on the trap/skeet fields. Other people may chime in about muzzle blast and noise which are also probably valid. I would have asked somebody with a little more knowledge at the club before giving up though.

theres a appropiate gun for shooting baked clay? jeez, me and my buddies use everything from shotgunsd to .22s to shoot clays out of the sky. makes for fun times when out plinking.
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Yes, .22s are NOT a gun to be shooting clays out of the sky with! On the ground...that is a different matter. Shooting flying clays with a .22lr is completely stupid. There are areas where it MAY be acceptable if there are MILES AND MILES between you and anything, but for the average person, shooting .22lr basically just into the air is NOT a smart choice.
 
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Dingoboyx

New member
Freakin'

Yeah mate, all guns are good to blast clays, I have move up on the mound behind the launcher and shot clays with my rossi SbS hammered coach gun and blasted a few :D Have also gone after clays with my vaquaro, got a couple too :D Our range has a high mound and a high hill behind as a backstop so we are actually shooting low into the sky rather than high in the air

Stuohn, I would have stayed and shot, I would have asked for the far right hand spot, so my hulls were ejecting into no mans land (not at the guy on the right, coz there isnt one) IMO, if the guy at the range said "no probs" that is the only opinion that would count ;)

I have seen some of the fudds at my local trap range with their high-falootin' you beaut shotties that eject so violently they nearly hit people (with the hulls) 10' behind them.

I agree it would be annoying to keep having to dodge the guy on your left's hulls as you are readying to call, thats why I say get the right hand most position which eliminates that particular problem. If the others rotate, just ask if you can stay on the far right :D
 
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wyobohunter

New member
I think you may have approached the whole thing wrong. If you hadn't even mentioned it and just went shooting you may have gotten along just fine with the "Fudds". Sometimes things are only an issue because we expect them to be.
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
"I personally have no issue with an 18" choked barrel, but if it is a cylindrical bore it does not belong on the trap/skeet fields."

I have to ask just why not?

A shotgun is a shotgun, no matter what bore constriction it has. I've done very well on skeet with my 18" barreled S&W and equally well on skeet with my Remington 58 with a 26" barrel with the polychoke set, at various times, to cylinder, improved cylinder, and modified.
 
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rjrivero

New member
jr05 said:
What type of barrel was the 18"? Was it choked or a cylindrical bore?

I personally have no issue with an 18" choked barrel, but if it is a cylindrical bore it does not belong on the trap/skeet fields. Other people may chime in about muzzle blast and noise which are also probably valid. I would have asked somebody with a little more knowledge at the club before giving up though.
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I don't give that argument any validity. A ported Sporting Clays Over/Under makes a hell of a racket. I have a tactical Benelli M1 with an 18" barrel and every now and again I take it out for clays killing. It's important to train with a weapon you use for defense. You need to be able to get it on target quickly and reliably. I argue that you NEED to shoot these Tactical Shotguns on a regular basis to develop the muscle memory.

Getting an 18" barreled shotgun on the birds at a Trap Field is not an easy task.
 
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haiyter

New member
if there is no barrel length requirement, i dont see why you would ask in the beginning. You should have just went in and said yours is a 20 inch or some b.s lol
 
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Dave McC

Staff In Memoriam
As some of you know, my home range has a 23" minimum barrel length rule that causeth my BP to rise.

The official reason is noise, but a 21" turkey barrel is quieter than most ported 30" O/Us. And very much quieter than a shotgun equipped with the old Cutts Compensator.

And, like other epithets, "Fudd" is not welcome here.

And Mike, we need to shoot together again.
 
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