I decided to take up trap shooting and have a question for you seasoned shooters.
Having never shot trap before and not wanting to spend thousands of dollars on a designated trap gun I purchased a Remington 870 Wingmaster Classic Trap. While the gun looks great and functions well, I've noticed that it shoots 50/50 or flat. I patterned the gun and found this out. This causes me to have to cover the bird and I lose tract of it. The choke that comes with it is called a singles choke (.027). It comes with two other chokes. Long handicap (.041) and mid handicap (.034). Near as I can figure from online charts is the .027 choke is somewhere between a improved modified and a light full.
My question is...is there anything that I can do to make the gun shoot higher? Covering the bird is difficult and I would like to be able to shot under it instead. At present I've shot about 25 rounds of trap and am shooting anywhere between 13-16 out of 25. Getting frustrated. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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It's Alive !!

You can change the impact area with a new recoil pad with a
different angle or length or even add or delete the height of your comb where your cheek rest.

You can also pop the birds when they get to the top of the rise,
if you can wait that long.

Good shooting.

Try a modified tube too.

Hi MDM,
There is only one option if you wish to stick with the shotgun you have now. Have an adjustable comb installed and raise your "rear sight." This will allow you to float the bird, which you need to be able to do...all while maintaining a solid repeatable cheek weld on your stock. You could buy an adjustable stock for your 870 or have yours cut.
The stick-on pads might help, but I would urge you to just get the adjustable comb and be done with it. You will not be sorry you did it.

The offset is also nice if you gain/lose weight. I wouldn't know about that benefit, though.

When shooting Sporting Clays,Trap & Skeet it is SO IMPORTANT that the gun you are using fits you properly. If it doesn't it will really throw your shooting off. Read up on the proper fit of a Sporting Shotgun to see if it will work for what you are doing. Pump Guns are my least favorite for trap, Skeet and SC's. For those sports I much prefer an over-under and use the pump guns for HD. YMMV

Pump guns work fine for trap. I used a Model 12 Winchester for many years. Any shotgun you get used to will be fine. It's the fit that counts. Modified choke works well for 16 yard trap. Might be better off with a full choke for handicap distances.

What yeti said. If you want to stick with your 870 for a while, which is
not a bad idea, an adjustable comb will solve your problem and even
let you fine tune it to suit you. The arena of Trap is much different
from that of classic and vintage gun enthusiasts in that modifications
to guns are normal and can enhance value if well done.

Yeti, +1 on when you gain weight !!

Funny haw a stock fits great at 35 then gets off a little
when your reach 60 !!

I agree with a adjustable comb or build up the comb with something that will raise your head so that you will see a space looking down the rib, This will make the gun shot higher and you will be able to keep the bird in sight all of the time, the bird will fly right into the string of shot which is about 14 ft long.

Keep the two blocks of wood together.

Are you using both eyes open?

Tell us how you are making out and maybe we can give you a few more tips.

Your not having any fun missing.

yeti has given you the correct answer. The comb needs to be raised up so you see the rib sort of like looking at a ramp (not too steep) Do you have a center bead on your rib? If not get one. Minimal cost. The sight picture should be to stack the front bead on top of the center bead.

If you like trap, do yourself a favor and get a dedicated trap gun, you'll be money ahead in the long run. I went through several guns, and finally wound up with a Browning BT99+ it has an adjustable comb, adjustable LOP, and adjustable rib. I set it to shoot 3" high 4 years ago when I got it and haven't touched it since.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Over under with long barrel. You will not easily be competitive with an 870 as good as they are for most purposes. I tried.

Raise the comb gradually until you get the point of impact exactly where you want it. You can add layers of foam/felt. There are many companies who make these products. meadowindustries.com is good resource.

Head to the local pharmacy and get some moleskin. It works perfectly to build up the comb to raise your POI. If you are happy with the results, then you can have an adjustable comb installed.

Absolutely nothing wrong with the 870. It's not the best selling shotgun in history for nothing. The 870 Wingmaster Classic Trap is a dedicated Trap gun and many shooters have used it to win many competitions. Rudy Etchen used one to win the national doubles championship, twice.

The others are correct about the adjustable comb. It's probably a good idea to get one. I know someone who can do it for about $230-$250. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

The real question is, what scores are you shooting? Sure it's nice to be able to float the bird a little, but not necessary. I shot my first 25 with a flat shooting gun.

Just be careful. Trap is highly addicting. Before you know it, you'll have one of these:

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Freedom isn't free.

My son made these from blanks. Won a state championship in 2003.