[dolphin62]

I was thinking of buying one for my daughter to try trap shooting with, the rem model 31 kicked a little much for her to continue using. Besides I prefer single ang double barrel guns for kids to start with.

Has anyone used or had any experience wtih these trapguns, for the price they look like they wou;d be a good gun to start a person on. also they make one in 20 gauge. I wounder if you could put the 20 gauge barrel on the the 12 gauge frame. that way my youger daughter could use the gun as well.

any help would be great.

 

[grntitan]

If its recoil your avoiding, don't get the H&R Topper Trap. We have had several kids on our shooting team get them as starter guns and they do kick the snot out of you. I personally tried the one kids and figured out quick why he had become gun shy. That being said it is what it is, a low cost trap gun. You get what you pay for. Save a little more money and buy a used BT-99 and don't look back. ----Matt

 

[coveybuster]

I'm with Matt on this. I looked at a Topper Trap as a starter gun for my wife.

I bought her a 32" BT-99. I had the stock cut off and the new Pachmayr XLT pad put on it.

She is small, 5' 3" 105 lbs, and doesn't have any issues with recoil or it being too heavy. It was already broken in, so there weren't any issues of being tight and hard to open or close.

 

[missemucho]

Before the H&R questions there was the Baikal trap gun (Remington also). Fastest way I know to discourage a beginning trap shooter!
Buy a used 1100, get a youth synthetic stock, and shoot 7/8 or 1 oz loads. Lightest recoiling gun around. You can always change the stock or sell it to some other parent for what you've got into it. Stay away from single barrel trap guns until she decides if she's really interested.
John

 

[goatskin]

They are a 7# gun, for one thing, so any 3dram a/o 1-1/8oz load is going to be pretty salty.

Shoot a more appropriate load and they are both a good shooter and tame.

Wenig's is perfectly willing to send you a Ladies/Youth 'twisted-sister' stock for them, and that will solve lots of problems.

I don't know of anybody who has ever had mechanical problems with the H&R, but 'kid' and 'lady' guns are ALWAYS a fitting issue. Solve the fit issue, the recoil problem disappears.

Of course the Browning Micro or Beretta 3905 RL are a better gun and better overall solution, but that does not foreclose the value of the Topper Trap.

Bob

 

[maka]

I would agree about the 1100 and the lightest 1oz. you can reload or buy.

 

[DecalDude]

Last year or so a guy had 1 of these on here. He went nuts with the thing put a adj. comb and a Graco recoil system on it. It was a good shooter acoording to him BUT he also put $400 more into to get it like that.

Unless you were able to get the comb done cheap, and a used recoil system.

A used BT micro or micro recoiless may be beter.

See if maybe you can find that post and check it out! BUT someone did just post a BT99 for $650 gone in hours.

Heres a few links http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=188513768


http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=189208985

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=188671504

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=188513768





Jerry Lewis

 

[Tron]

Yeah, I'm the guy that went a bit overboard I guess....I think it was 3 years ago now that I think of it. This was a fun project that I did for one of the local guys who more or less wanted it as a novelty....and yes, he is loaded, so money really didn't matter.

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[goatskin]

Joe, what did you think of the gun, itsownself?

 

[Tron]

Well, I really didn't think it was such a bad gun, but I do believe that there are a lot better choices for the money.

Things I liked:

1. The trigger was surprisingly decent and very easy to adjust/modify.

2. The overal craftsmanship wasn't too bad. It had a walnut stock and forearm, the bluing was very nice and the receiver finish was also pleasant.

3. The rib was nicely done...but would have been nicer if it had a taper to it.

4. The stock was pretty easy to deal with as far as making modifications. A lot easier than most Berettas or Browning.

5. The Browning Invector choke system was a great touch and this gun patterned pretty good.

Things I didn't like:

1. The hammer (yeah, I know it's a Topper, but that hammer could be problematic, especially for an inexperienced shooter).

2. The barrel was too short and it was limited to 30". They should have offered at least a 32".

3. The gun has broomstick like handling characteristics. Just no getting around that.

4. It kicks hard.

 

[Quack Shot]

I bought one a few years ago and got one for the girlfriend as well. It shoots better than I thought it would. I'm not particularly recoil sensitive and neither is the GF, to some extent. I have a load using the Winchester AALite powder and 26 grams of shot at 980 fps, or so the data claims. My chronograph has them at about 1030 with the stock IM choke. They are the equivalent of the extra super dooper light Winchester light load of the year. They all sound like bloopers, as do the factory loads. They smoke targets and makes this gun feel like a 28 guage in recoil. It's a very light gun and that works just fine for me, since I have shoulder, spine, and arm issues.

When I first bought it, everyone at the "club" had to try it out. Everyone was impressed with it. The choke is the best part, since almost anything from the Invector/Mossberg/Winchoke style will fit. I bought a Briley Full for it and it inkballs targets. The poi is about right, but still a bit flat for most. Mine hits about four to six inches high at 35 yards with my "weenie lights". I was surpized at just how good the trigger is.

It required a bit of breaking in and tweaking to keep the empty hulls from sticking in the chamber. It was a rough cut chamber, so a little polishing helped eliminate the problem. A 2 or 3 inch 3/8" socket extension is a good thing to carry in your pocket while it gets broken in.

One negative is that the forearm screw will get red hot and burn your bare hand after a round. Wearing a glove or avoiding the screw will help. I'm seriously thinking about a modification to help recess the screw more than it is at present, or somehow relocate it. It's not bad for the Winter leagues as a hand warmer.

Adding a little weight to the gun would work fine for most people. Tron really overdid it on the one he upgraded, but I'm seriously thinking about a few modifications myself. For the price of a replacement stock, I can experiment a little. As it is, the LOP is probably a bit long for most smaller women or kids. Buy a second stock and you can cut it to fit, and still have the original if you ever want to sell it or upgrade.

The Topper Trap is only made in 12 guage, as far as I know. It might be possible to swap a 20 guage barrel onto it. There is also a field gun with a vent rib in 12 and 20 ga.

I paid a little over $300 each. Wally World had them at $325 on special order.

All in all, it's probably not the best gun for a beginner unless you add some weight, fit the stock, and have the ability to load lighter loads for it. 7/8 oz at 1200 is not at all unpleasant. Even 1oz at 1200 isn't bad. Nitros aren't for recoil sissies when stuffed in this gun without some modifications.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

Get an 1100 LT-20 or 1187 20ga, and shoot cheap 2.5 dram 7/8 oz loads in it. They're lighter than any 12 ga promo loads, and the recoil is very, very light. That's the route I went for my kids, and I eventually bought a 20ga 1187 for myself and made a trap gun out of it. The 1100 LT-20 has a bit less recoil than the 1187 20ga, because it uses a heavier action sleeve.

 

[Dark Horse]

If you thought the Model 31 had a kick, just try a H&R. It will put new words about recoil in your young person’s vocabulary and the 20 gauge H&R is not much better.

The shooting range I worked at had both the 12 Ga. H&R Topper Classic Deluxe and a Remington SPR100 Trap that we used as rental and loaner guns. Neither were good guns for the beginner. Both had too much recoil for kids to start trapshooting. Fine for a light weight field gun where the young person would shoot maybe 4 or 5 shells in an hour, but to shoot a round of 25 in 15 minutes is just too much recoil for 80% of young trapshooters. It gets even worse for some girls like my own Daughter.

A used Remington 1100 is much easier to find and a stock like a Jack West Stock that can be cut down to fit that young 10-11-12 year old shooter. It will give a good fitting, low recoil gun that can be resold with the original stock and get nearly every dime back when it is time to move up to the next level. Even the cut down Jack West stock can be resold and not loose a bunch of money on the deal.

Of course, as you can see in the picture, I went a little different route for my own Daughter.

Mark