• Mossberg Owners is in the process of upgrading the software. Please bear with us while we transition to the new look and new upgraded software.

Maverick 88 for trap

G

Goater

.410
About 6 months ago I returned to trap shooting (recreational) after laying off for a couple of years. My primary trap gun was my Silver Reserve. I quickly had to deal with the reason I gave it up ... low scores (9 to 13's).

Because I wanted to keep trap up I decided to revisit my Maverick pump. I was soon averaging about 19 and shot 21's four weeks in a row. I found those scores to be acceptable for my purposes ... two recreational rounds of trap each week.

Thinking I had worked out some issues, I then revisited the Silver Reserve and shot a 10. At that point, I sold it and bought a Beretta A300 Outlander SA.

My first outing with the A300 I shot a 20 and was quite happy busting 20 the first time that I had the gun in my hand. Over the past 6-8 weeks my scores have crept downward to the point where I'm averaging between 16 & 17.

Today I decided to again shoot with the Maverick pump and had my best two rounds ever .. shot a 23 and a 22.

Now I'm wrestling with what to do in the future. I can't see turning my new Beretta into a closet queen but the evidence is suggesting that I do better with the Maverick.

Any thoughts from others on this?
 
Sometimes I also bring my 20" 7+1 Mav 88 to the skeet range. I get a kick out of the stares I get. No one ever gives me a hard time, but the look on their face really says it all. "Is this guy serious?" Keep in mind I don't look the part of a skeet shooter either at all. I'm heavily tattooed, both ears pierced, shaved head and wearing shorts and flip flops most of the time(a hot rim of a hull across the foot only hurts for a sec anyways). But sure enough, I hit em all w my security shotgun. Instant cred w/ the old timers dressed to the 9's in professional shooting gear, $2k + shotguns, and been shooting skeet since Jesus was here.
 
I have been pumping my 500's on the Skeet fields for a while.
They call me an instinctive shooter, whatever that means.
To me it means, I kick the butts of the old men with the expensive O/U's on the Skeet fields.
Skeet is just fun for me.
Trap is where I get serious.
Goater, my guess is that SR you were shooting had some badly regulated barrels.
You probably should have patterned it.

I will let you in on a secret.
When I first pick up a gun like you did when you picked up the A300 or like when you go back to the Maverick.
I personally shoot great scores.
Something about picking up a gun that is not the "Usual" gun.
It makes you concentrate and pay more attention to what you are doing.
Thus eliminating errors.

Keep shooting that Berretta.
Keep your head ON THE STOCK!
Have fun and before you know it, good scores will become second nature!
 
LTG .... I was about to pattern it and try shooting from the top barrell ... but I got the price I wanted. I just kept thinking that I might need to spend a bunch of money on a gun that had little value. When I tried the "close your eyes and mount the gun" I almost never had the right sight picture with the O/U and almost always had the right sight picture with the 88 ... so among other things, the O/U did not fit me very well.

I'm still toying with a couple of issues with the Beretta. I'm not certain that I always maintain the same sight picture because it has no mid bead. I added a weighted forend cap (6 oz) but I may need to adjust the weight.

Maybe you can comment on this ... I'm thinking that I may need to move my left hand farther out on the forend and not as close to the receiver. I sense that most of my misses are from swinging over the clay. Do you have a rule of thumb for hand placement on the forend?
 
OK Step 1 STOP TOYING!
Shooting Trap without a Mid bead (Target Bead) is tougher but it is not needed.
My wife started (First couple years) with a Beretta 686 with no target bead and did really well.
Adding weight?
You added it!
Good!
Trap guns are HEAVY!
You did not buy a Trap gun and that Beretta will NEVER be a Trap gun.
The weight has been added now forget it is there and leave it alone......Less crap to think about and mess with on the gun the better.......BELIEVE ME I KNOW!

Some people put their front hand really close to the receiver. I am not one of them.
The gun balances better in my arms with my front hand out more forward. Find a place that balances comfortably and make that your grip place.
I also always teach new shooters to run their pointer finger along the left side of the forearm (right handed shooters) so that when the gun is mounted you are actually pointing at the target. The other 3 fingers can wrap under the forearm to hold up the gun.

Work on these things:
Try your hand further out front and pointing your finger.
Get the same exact sight picture EVERY time you mount the gun. Practice mounting the gun in your living room.
Keep your head on the stock no matter which way the bird goes.

"two recreational rounds of trap each week" Try to double this amount of shooting or more. Before you know it you will be cracking 25's
 
LTB ... thanks again for the feedback.

I do use the finger pointing technique and I will get my hand out farther on the forend. I'm glad you suggested that because that is the way I was leaning. It almost seems there is too much leverage on the barrels with the hand close to the receiver and almost too easy to have lurches.

When I was getting ready to buy a new gun, I wrestled with buying a true trap gun ... but because I am a recreational shooter, I didn't want to compromise my ability to shoot skeet or sporting clays and buying two guns wasn't in the cards

Your points about the mid bead and the weight are well taken.
 
I tried this trap shooting this past week with my 88 and had a blast ! I know I missed more than I hit but I was pretty happy when I hit 7 in a row :)
Norm
 
Norm,

I find trapshooting to addictive in the best sense of the word. I would probably shoot more often if I weren't playing senior softball the times a week. My advise would be to keep it up.
 
Tried to bust a few clays (trap) with my 500A this past Fall at a turkey shoot in Rocky Hill, CT. I only scratched 5 of a 10 clays. Would have been easy back in the day when I shot clays all day. And these were straight out (make the customer feel good about himself)" rubes at the turkey shoot" flights I'd have made with one hand back in the 80's without my prescription glasses. Practice is the key. After not popping clays for 15 years I found myself stopping on the shot (not following through) and getting my head over the gun. Always shot from behind and followed through, but that reflex is rusted for sure. It's not like riding a bike, I guess. The fundamentals I remember, but mechanically the form isn't there. I wanted at it again, but the line was forming for the turkey shoot. Humbling experience for sure. Put my turkey choke in and finished "2nd (no turkey, chump.)" in 5 of 5 rounds for the frozen birds. Left quietly with my 500 in the trunk, sunglasses on and hat tilted down.
 
Some really good advice in this thread. Especially the finger pointing tip.
 
I haven't been back for a while because I haven't shot the Maverick for quite a while but I wanted to tell this Maverick story. This weekend I was rushing and grabbed my 20 ga semi auto instead of my Beretta. I was also taking along the Maverick for my friend's father to use. With no 20 ga shells, we decided to take turns with my friend's Beretta and the Maverick.

I used it first and shot a 23 while my friend shot a 22 with his Beretta. The next round we switched off and I shot a 22 with my friend's Beretta while he shot a 25 with the Maverick.

It is fun to see a gun, that is arguably the least expensive gun on the market, produce results like this. Too bad we weren't shooting with someone shooting a 5K or 10K gun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top