Knuckles Bandera #43963 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Howdy Pards, My whole family (wife and twin 12yr old boys) shoot CAS. We have two sxs coach guns for shoots. My boys are now shooting for their middle school Sportsman club (shotgun, rifle, archer, orienteering) and have been borrowing other peoples pump shotguns for shooting clays. I think I'd like to add another SASS-legal shotgun to our collection that could also double as their gun for clay competition. I'm thinking of getting a Model 87 but don't know a thing about shotgun chokes and how this would work. Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickel City Dude Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Maybe a SXS with a 28 inch barrel. This could be used for Skeet as well as Cowboy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 87s can be a challenge to operate. you have to find the proper length hull for your gun. and learn to throw the lever hard! the Coyote Cap 87s have a 3 screw in choke set. 87s are good pointers, so would likely make good skeet guns. if you shoulder it, open the action, you are looking right down the barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 My main match shotgun is a Lassiter tuned 87. For me it points very naturally. Could be a lot of fun using an 87 clays but you will definitely need to get a gun that has been properly tuned. I doubt very many out of the box will work. Choke tubes are a must for anything other than skeet. The stock on an 87 has to be a lot shorter than any other shotgun so that the lever can be cycled properly and they have to be cycled with authority to function properly. Before you spend the money see if you can find one to shoot first. They are not like any other shotgun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Have they tried their SxS, I was invited to a industry Sporting Clays Match a couple of months ago and hit 35 out of 50 with my SKB with 22 or 23” barrels and no choke. It did better than I expected. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 '87 lever is not a good choice here. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Howdy You have not stated exactly which Clays game they are shooting. Generally speaking, a shotgun that is good for Skeet and Sporting Clays is not a good Trap gun. And vice versa. I have never shot a Model '87, but I have shot lots and lots of Trap. I suspect if you don't want to buy your boys a modern gun but want to buy them another CAS shotgun, a Model 1897 would suit them better than a Model 1887. Generally speaking, for Trap you want a long barrel and a fairly tight choke. Many shooters today shoot Trap with an Improved Modified choke. I learned to shoot Trap with a Full choke, which is a bit tighter. For Trap you want a barrel at least 30" long, and the gun should point up a little bit when it is mounted. I normally shoot a Model 12 with a Full choke and 30" barrel for Trap, but I have been known to do pretty well with a Model 1897 with 30" Full choke barrel. Skeet and Sporting Clays generally use shorter guns that are more suited for hunting. Skeet shooters usually use a Skeet choke. Sporting Clays chokes vary with the presentation of the shot. But frankly, if you don't want your boys to be handicapped, and embarrassed too, I would buy them a modern gun. The Remington Model 1100 Semi-Auto is a good beginner's gun, as is the Remington 870 Pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 To add-just because a screw in choke is marked 'MOD' doesn't mean it will pattern as such. Check the pattern on a pattern board. I use IC choke in my Remmy 11-87 trap gun. It patterns as a modified choke, and the pattern is very even. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 You would be better off getting another SXS then a 87. Just sayin Rooster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Model 87s have a huge learning curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knuckles Bandera #43963 Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 We have two SxS, a Stoeger and a Bakail. Just thought they wouldn't be as good for clays but maybe I'm wrong. Their coach told them the spread was to wide. What kind of choke would y'all recommend? Do you choke both barrels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Saywut Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 On 11/15/2017 at 5:32 PM, Noz said: Model 87s have a huge learning curve. I have to agree. I love the 1887 lever and have been practicing dry firing a Coyote Cap version since this past summer, but I picked up an 1897 pump last month. First time ever trying it with dummy shells, I was faster than with the 1887. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 The first competative shooting sport I ever tried was trap. I used a Remington 870 with a 30" full choke barrel. I did okay with it. I am sure that with practice that I would have gotten much better. I have also shot exactly 1 round of trap with a 20" no choke Winchester 97. I had a lot more misses than I normally did. On the other hand, a few years ago I tried a round of trap with a 30" full choke 97 in a game where you were partnered with another shooter. If you missed, your partner tried to shoot the bird and vice versa. We took home the certificate for winning that game. I have shot one round of skeet, using a 20" barreled over and under with no choke. I did respectable. I have shot one round of Sporting Clays at EoT two years ago. I shot it with my 20" no choke 93/97. I found myself wishing for a longer barrel with a tighter choke. Take all of that with whateve value you think it deserves. I do own an original Winchester 87 with a 30" full choke barrel. This would make a bad skeet gun, a your milage may vary trap gun, and, well, I don't have enough exerience with sporting clays to say one way or the other. Might be a fun gun to try it with, but probably not the best thing to use in serious competition. Also, something else to consider with the 87. Most of the reproductions on the market have short open choke barrels. If you want a longer barrel with a tighter choke, your options are much more limited. I think one of the reproductions has a 28" barrel with screw in chokes, but I can't remember for sure. (Plus, I hate screw in chokes. I am wierd.) So if you want the long barrel, your best bet is an original Winchester. That means using black powder. This may get some nasty jeers from other people on the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlaw Gambler Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 My son and grandson are serious, and good, sporting clays shooters. They were in my shop and eyed an 87 and started handling it and asked if they could use it to shoot a round of clays with it. They did and they had no problem with it, other than they had to get on the bird really quick as the gun did not have choke tubes. They didn't do terrible but didn't do as good as normal. They had fun with it and got lots of comments and questions. When they brought it back I asked them if they would need it for their next shoot and they said no. When asked why they said the shoot they used it on was just for fun and they would go back to their clays guns for league shooting. So if you get an 87 you will certainly need choke tubes and since you are only shooting two shells at a time the learning curve will not be as long or bad as if you were shooting CAS and having to reload on the clock. Carlson's has a very good choice of choke tubes for these guns. Good luck with your choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 2 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: On the other hand, a few years ago I tried a round of trap with a 30" full choke 97 in a game where you were partnered with another shooter. If you missed, your partner tried to shoot the bird and vice versa. We took home the certificate for winning that game. I too have a Model 1897. 12 gauge, 30" barrel, full choke. It makes a pretty good Trap gun, and when we used to have Cowboy Trap events at The Great Nor'Easter I would often win the event with it. However for serious Trap shooting I always bring my Winchester Model 12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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