Skeet vs Trap shooting - differences and guns

[nmondal]

I always wondered about it.
Are there differences? Are not both shotguns?
Just want to increase my knowledge base.

Also, if anyone can easily explain the difference between the sports!

[rkittine]

Trap and Skeet are very different shotgun / clay games. Major difference between a Skeet Shotgun and a Trap Shotgun, though there are cross ovr shot guns out there that can do both, but that require re-adjusting the stock and changing chokes. Skeet is shot from 8 different stations and uses two trap houses, a High House over Station 1 and a low house over station 7. Trap has 5 stations and all shots are away, though at different angles. Skeet targets are much more uniform as to how and where they fly. Trap is much more random.

Skeet is usually shot with a shotgun patterning at 60/40 or 50/50 and with very open chokes. Skeet 1, Skeet 2 or Cylinder Bore. Though things have changed over the years 26" Barrels used to be the norm for Skeet, buy today 30" are common. Stocks normally are Parallel.

Trap guns typically have long barrels with 34" not being uncommon, but were at least 30" in the days of the 26" skeet gun. Chokes of Full or close to full are typical depending on where shooting singles or doubles and if shooting 16 yards or farther out hand-caps. Point of impact normally 70/30 to make up for the outgoing, longer shots with stocks that usually have a monticarlo rise.

Skeet shells are typically No. 9 shot while Trap are No. 7.5, occasionally no. 8.

Todays Cross Over Shotguns have screw in chokes and adjustable combs so can be adjusted for either game.

Now onto Sporting Clays, 5 Stand, International Skeet etc.

Bob

[Green_Canoe]

A point of clarification: When Bob says it shoots 70/30, 60/40, 50/50 he's talking about the percentage of the pattern that shoots above the point of aim vs below the point of aim. i.e. 70% of the pattern is above the point of aim and 30% is below on the patterning board.

[dulcmr-man]

Here's a short video that provides a very brief overview of trap shooting. Although you cannot see the clays, note that all of them are rising and going away. The elevation at which they are thrown is the same every time. The azimuth angle at which they are thrown is random because the trap machine oscillates left and right randomly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDWCFIJ0XZs

Here's another on skeet. In skeet the clays from each house always fly exactly the same angle and height. It's the shooter who changes position and therefore will have to shoot at incoming targets, outgoing targets, and various angles of crossers, depending on which station is used. Additionally, on stations 1, 2, 6, and 7, the shooter will shoot two singles (one high house and one low house) followed by a double in which both houses throw a target simultaneously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RNgyPIYqTI

Many nuances are not apparent from these videos, but they are a good overview.

Dennis, aka Dulcmrman

[Green_Canoe]

The video Dennis attached for trap shows American trap which is the most common game in N. America. Here's a video that shows the difference between International trap and American:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A6fiwFgSIQ