Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

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Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by bah » 19 Mar 2020, 1:13 pm

Hi there,

Looking to purchase my first under and over. I’m decided on the B525. I’ve sourced a 30” Trap One, slightly more expensive than the Sporter. From what I read online the idea of seeing the clays explode due to the slightly higher rib and stock seem to be suitable. I also I like the longer hand guard and the idea of having a balanced, heavier weight between stock and barrel. The gun will rarely be used for hunting, I have other guns for this purpose.

Any and all opinions welcome.

Cheers!
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by Diamond Jim » 20 Mar 2020, 12:30 am

There are others more qualified to speak on this but it depends on what you intend doing with the gun. Trap guns are typically heavily choked (disregard if multi-choked) and the stock configuration and high rib are specifically designed for trap shooting which is a very specialised discipline with very specialised guns at the higher levels.
To my mind, unless you intend to concentrate on trap shooting, a sporter with multi-chokes would be a more versatile gun if you want a gun that will do as a compromise for multiple disciplines as well as the occasional day out chasing bunnies.
Whichever you choose the Browning is a fine gun.
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by TassieTiger » 20 Mar 2020, 9:40 am

How deep do you want to get into trap ?
I ask because, you can tailor a gun to the nth degree ie trap set up for approx 35 yards, skeet can be as little as 28 yards, trap will be tailored to shoot higher than aim point so you sight your target etc etc etc but in saying all that, when I played with DTL socially, I had 3 x 12g myself, plus others that were leant to me to try and in my opinion you can and will adjust to anything.

I shot some 22’/25’s from my old grandfathers baikal side by side, shot 22/25 from the old lever action Adler...and yes, I berth shot 22 with under and over.

But I also borrowed some DT’s - worth a LOT of money, set up by Michael bloody Dismond - and I couldn’t hit crap.

My unprofessional advice wold be to buy the best fitting gun you Can - then go shoot. You don’t need a race car to have fun at a track. :-)
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by av1 » 20 Mar 2020, 6:21 pm

Diamond Jim wrote:There are others more qualified to speak on this but it depends on what you intend doing with the gun. Trap guns are typically heavily choked (disregard if multi-choked) and the stock configuration and high rib are specifically designed for trap shooting which is a very specialised discipline with very specialised guns at the higher levels.
To my mind, unless you intend to concentrate on trap shooting, a sporter with multi-chokes would be a more versatile gun if you want a gun that will do as a compromise for multiple disciplines as well as the occasional day out chasing bunnies.
Whichever you choose the Browning is a fine gun.


Excellent advice, also consider Miroku MK70 sporter.
Regards Robert.
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by rookie » 28 Mar 2020, 9:15 pm

My mate shoots a Browning 525 - great quality and you won’t be disappointed. Miroku and Beretta are also in your price range. I lean towards beretta because of their “forever servicing”. But don’t let this change your decision if you have your heart set on the Browning.

As the guys have suggested, gun fit is what those whom take clays seriously, really strive for. There are some disciplines where you can start with the gun down (ie not pre-mounted), so having a gun that you can bring to your shoulder, trace the path of a fast moving target and shoots where you’re looking probably describes what we mean by a gun that “fits well”.

TassieTiger is right in that you will adjust to your gun over time or you’ll compromise with the scores you will want to achieve. So, you can go either way but you’ll probably ask then, why even have such a thing as a Sporter vs a Trap setup if you will adjust anyway?

Forgive me if you know all this but I’ll put my understanding down for those that might not or those that might want to debate or expand on it ..

Trap disciplines see the targets fly away from you, starting low and rising (until it reaches an apex but in my opinion that’s too late to shoot the target so I don’t wait for that).

This means trap guns can be setup to shoot “high”. (Eg. the shot pattern will be spread 70% above where you’ve locked on and 30% under abbreviated as “70/30”). Most trap guns are setup to hit high.

If your gun was NOT setup “high” (ie. 50/50 as many Sporter are setup), this could mean if you had the target locked and fired, by the time the projectiles reached the target, the clay target might have risen above where you had locked on (I’m trying to avoid the word “aim” on purpose). Anyway, as you can guess, having a trap gun shooting higher than where you look tries to avoid this (missing “under”).

Skeet and other sporting disciplines the targets paths are more varied. So you would typically want to have the gun setup 50/50 to have an unbiased chance of hitting targets going in any direction.

Why I find trap easier (more consistent) to shoot using a trap gun (as opposed to a sporter), is because of the ”view” you can achieve by having this “high hitting” setup

If you are setup to shoot high (read that to mean “hit” high), that effectively means you can point the shotgun barrels low, even lower than where the target is.

This means if your barrel is pointed below the target you can actually see the target unobstructed above the barrels. If u can visualise this, call this your sight picture. How much higher you want the target above the barrel will depend on how high the gun is setup.
Once you get used to your setup (70/30, 80/20, 90/10, 100%), you strive to replicate that “sight picture” to get good scores every time. Bear in mind you want to end up doing this intuitively.. things move to quick to actually measure this out for each shot (ie. “aim”). But this is where you start - most start by “aiming” (and missing) until they get the hang of it and do it more intuitively.

A gun that is setup 50/50 - 60/40 your hitting closer to where your barrel is pointed. This means quite often, you’re sight picture is such so you have to cover the target with the barrel. What you might find, is often you have to start behind the target, catch-up with it, overtake it (establish a lead) before firing.

So this is where the advice of many comes from:

You can shoot Trap with a Sporter.
But because your sight picture with a Sporter might be obscured, it might be more difficult to shoot perfect scores. It can be done (and many do) but if you’re shooting a 100 target competition, it can be harder than someone using a gun where they see unobscured targets (in a shoot off you want every advantage).

Shooting skeet or sporting clays, people typically use sporter shotguns. Trap guns can be more difficult as their lead is setup for targets travelling away from you and rising .. but you gotta adjust and negate this, if the target is moving horizontally.

In my opinion it’s too hard to use a trap shotgun for skeet/sporting because you would in theory need a different sight picture depending on the direction of the target. It’s hard enough trying to be consistent with just the one sight picture.

This is why, many say, if you’re only planning on having one shotgun, the Sporter (with 50/50 setup) can be more flexible and is the choice to make.

but in my opinion, if your are going to spend the majority of your time shooting trap (ie. DTL or Trench), you’d probably be best served with a Trap gun. You will get closer to hitting perfect scores, rising up through the ranks and loving the sport.

Once you’re hooked and shooting trap really well, then move on to skeet and sporting (and buy a dedicated Sporter).

If you are sure you will only ever have one shotgun, try and budget for an adjustable stock (typically $250-$500) if the gun doesn’t already come with one. This will allow you to change your setup to change from 50/50 to something else. Plus it will help you to adjust where you’re hitting left/right as well.

Without an adjustable stock you can change shooting high / flat by the way you grip the shotgun. Eg. if I’m shooting sporting with my trap gun, I’ll grip it lower (so my right pinky finger is off the grip and below it). I might also have the top of the stock above the top of my shoulder. You will find a way .. as TassieTiger said you will adjust.

Hope this info helps! Sorry it was quite long .. just wanted to explain why people have such differing opinions when it comes to trap vs Sporter shotguns

Whatever you do, enjoy it .. :drinks:
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by Diamond Jim » 28 Mar 2020, 10:58 pm

Like I said, "There are others more qualified..." Well explained rookie.
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by TassieTiger » 29 Mar 2020, 12:28 am

Don’t think Rookie...is a rookie lol
Tikka .260 (Z5 5x25/52)
Steyr Pro Varmint .223 - VX 3
CZ455 .22 & Norinco .22 (vtex 4-12, bush 3-9)
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Adler a110 reddot
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by rookie » 29 Mar 2020, 12:14 pm

Diamond Jim wrote:Well explained rookie.

Thanks mate - This COVID “stay at home” situation giving us a little more time to read/share shooting stuff :thumbsup:

But honestly, whilst writing it I was thinking “just listen to Diamond Jim and TassieTiger” :D .. much shorter version!

To be honest part of the reason I was happy to write it was because I’m interested to know whether people just starting off actually understand what we were saying .. whether it’s too much jargon, etc. I help out with “try and shoots” at my club and answer similar questions ..

Makes me think I should’ve added picture .. This might help explain to a novice .. basically I’m aiming at the red dot, in this case standing about 25 metres away (both guns tightly choked)

My 50/50 Sporter:
A7F5E81F-52B5-4B82-AC4F-CD9B1CBB1AA4.jpeg
50/50 shot pattern
A7F5E81F-52B5-4B82-AC4F-CD9B1CBB1AA4.jpeg (36.53 KiB) Viewed 5351 times

The 80/20 Trap gun (recently I’ve setup even higher than this)
B54FD7EB-D8C3-4F22-8503-BE4D14BEDA7F.jpeg
80/20 shot pattern
B54FD7EB-D8C3-4F22-8503-BE4D14BEDA7F.jpeg (31.65 KiB) Viewed 5351 times

Adjustable stock on the trap gun .. this is setup to shoot about 90/10 now:
A4E64413-876C-412B-8155-327DAB6A7FFB.jpeg
Adjustable stock
A4E64413-876C-412B-8155-327DAB6A7FFB.jpeg (179.15 KiB) Viewed 5351 times

U can tell I’m really missing shooting trap at the moment :lol:

... so final message to the original poster .. you can read all this and analyse it to death or just buy the one that appeals to you most and get out there and shoot and enjoy it :thumbsup:

... if u have the means, buy both! :D :clap:

TassieTiger wrote:Don’t think Rookie...is a rookie lol

Haha we always learning something or another - part of the fun :D
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by Mattraff » 29 Mar 2020, 12:40 pm

If you want to shoot trap buy a trap gun as it already has the fundamental stock measurements and weight for a discipline that may see you shoot hundreds of rounds in a day. Trap guns are becoming more prevalent in sporting competition nowadays as the current train of thought is there is more benefit in always seeing the target above the barrels. Traditionally trap guns were fixed 3/4 and full choke but most these days are multi choke making them more desirable for other disciplines. When I bought my last trap gun about 15 years ago I chose a Beretta 682 Gold E X trap with 32" barrels and hardly got much use out of it before kids come along and shooting was put on hold. I have recently started shooting again and am finding my gun a little heavy and am not getting on target quick enough as I have lost a huge amount of muscle and found a little weight over the years. If I pick up a sporter it is easier to use as it is lighter so for beginners they often see decent results quickly with a sporter if they haven't had the help of a coach.
Gun fit is the single most important factor in any shooting discipline. You will notice some guns feel better of the shelf than others and this is due to the fact the measurements are closer to being right for your shape and style. When you have a gun fitted to you by a stock maker or gunsmith they adjust many things with the goal being that when you shoulder the gun it comes up to the exact same spot every time with no cant and everything in alignment. When this is achieved scores will become better with practice and consistent. With great gun fit comes comfort and you will not feel any discomfort from shooting hundreds of rounds in competition.
Others have commented that they have used very expensive guns and shot worse and this will come down to the fact the gun was fitted to it's owner and is suitable for their body shape and style only. Anyone at the club that picks up my gun thinks it is horrible purely because it is fitted to me and me only. You will be more successful with a professionally fitted $1000 Gun than you will be with a $15,000 Gun off the shelf.
Last edited by Mattraff on 29 Mar 2020, 7:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by goat » 29 Mar 2020, 6:50 pm

Thanks for the explanations Rookie and Matraff...i just learnt a whole lot right now
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by rookie » 30 Mar 2020, 2:31 pm

goat wrote:learnt a whole lot right now

Thanks for the feedback mate :thumbsup: .. its a great forum
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by ratpaker » 05 Apr 2020, 8:48 am

Just gone through this a bit myself, I recently bought a fabarm gamma competition, cased, 5 chokes, minimal use (my mate who owned it couldn't hit s**t with it so barely used it) now although the gun is a lovely looking, it just didn't fit me... so I modded the stock myself.
In its original shape, I couldn't get my cheek low enough to look directly along the barrels without pressing my face uncomfortably hard into the comb.
The original owner had the same problem (he since bought a miroku ML11 with high vent rib and now shoots much better)
So, I ground the top of the comb off and re-profiled the very large radius on the cheek piece.
The result is a shotgun that now comes up to my eyes way more naturally and I'm looking along the vent rib not looking down on it.
I only took approx. 8mm off the height and changed the shape to suit me on the left side of the stock, testing it for fit as I went.
I have then used a walnut stain and truoil to get back some sort of surface finish.
You can see what I've done but it doesn't look hideous... will post some photos of how it went.
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by ratpaker » 05 Apr 2020, 8:56 am

Ok, so pictures as promised
91395126_350493979225034_807709943367991296_n.jpg
not perfect but Im happy
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finished
91288651_211324653525046_478663629713965056_n.jpg (342.04 KiB) Viewed 5296 times
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more coats
91844397_557815658175163_2164876607691423744_n.jpg (372.39 KiB) Viewed 5296 times
91284022_512541806102096_5537543979463081984_n.jpg
more truoil
91284022_512541806102096_5537543979463081984_n.jpg (299.8 KiB) Viewed 5296 times
91054462_2929997103761889_881369190840139776_n.jpg
starting to use truoil
91054462_2929997103761889_881369190840139776_n.jpg (233.29 KiB) Viewed 5296 times
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first coat of stain
91183577_234920491038319_4004390695178600448_n.jpg (333.06 KiB) Viewed 5296 times
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8mm lower and thinned
91297008_1432542126928032_3260465714850430976_n.jpg (346.45 KiB) Viewed 5296 times
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Re: Browning 525 Trap One vs. Sporter

Post by bah » 11 Apr 2020, 4:14 pm

I really appreciate all of your replies - no doubt the professional opinions and shared experiences of all contributors to this post have helped countless others make a decision between Sporter/Trap set ups.

I did end up going for a 30” Browning 525 Trap One as I like the idea of seeing my target breaking, rather than having an obscured sight picture. I’m almost certain the chokes on this model are not fixed and can be adjusted (according to the seller). In any case, I will invest time into learning hoe to shoot other disciplines with this shotgun.

Based on my build and height, I decided I decided that the 32” would be surplus to my needs. The market would indicate that there are countless 32” inches out there for sale second hand and brand new on the Trap One configuration, however, the 30” Trap One was incredibly difficult to find. Dealers indicated they were always on back order due to their popularity and rarely in stock. I must have found the last one in Australia in a rural store according to the owner I spoke with - very well balanced but curious to see how I fair with the higher comb. Looking forward to posting updates on how I progress, that is, when our ranges re-open and our draconian left wing overlords lift bans on dealerships brokering sales of firearms/selling ammunition and reopen our ranges.

Shout out to all of you out there (not including the gutless, corrupt SSAA and the fuddy-duddys who allowed gun culture in Australia to be destroyed in the late 90s due to their apathy, spreading dissent and pressing a ‘this doesn’t effect me, I’m a primary producer/occupational shooter/personally don’t own a semi-auto and compete in 3-gun so therefore everyone else should be punished attitude), who wrote to your local members in Queensland, joined the Shooters Union and lobbied for our stores to have 70% of the bans imposed on shooters lifted. Together we are strong. Please consider exploring the following resources/considering membership to these organisations (some of which offer free affiliate membership) to ensure the voice of reason is heard amongst the screaming toddler behaviour of the leftist agenda and anti-gun lobbyists.

The following organisations wish to introduce safe, reasonable, factual, efficient reform that promotes public safety through progressive reform to firearms legislation on state and federal levels as mandated by the ‘Howard Criminal’s’ National Firearms Agreement (which is not necessarily binding on all states, but rather a ploy to bully all states into legislating against innocent firearms owners and enthusiasts - that’s right, Howard threatened to remove federal funding from GST/tax revenues if states, especially Queensland, did not comply).

Together, let’s balance the rights of all stakeholders, work together with our policy makers, create inviting, safe spaces for our community to participate in firearms sport and ensure our message is heard by our state and federal governments, just as Queenslanders have with Queensland Weapons Licensing and the current Labour Government.

Liberal Democrats - Firearms Policy
https://www.ldp.org.au/firearms

Liberal Democrats - Membership
https://www.ldp.org.au/general

Shooters Union of Australia (our closest affiliate to our NRA companions in the US). Please note Shooters Union can provide liability insurance for your sporting and recreational shooting and also operates ranges. Your SSAA money is simply getting flushed down the drain. You are best off continuing to use SSAA ranges in your area on a pay-per-visit basis rather than donating your funds to fuddy duddy’s who have destroyed their organisation through in-fighting and a resistance toward new shooters joining our wonderful sport).

QLD
https://qld.shootersunion.com.au/

Federal
https://shootersunion.com.au/

Please tune into Ozzie Reviews and consider donating to his YouTube channel on Patreon. Ozzie is a fantastic example of the majority of us shooters - educated people with a strong social responsibility who posses centrist views toward freedom and liberty for all in society.

Ozzie Reviews
https://www.youtube.com/user/ozziereviews

As always, please continue to write to your local members to support our farmers accessing sound moderators and handguns for safe and humane dispatch of livestock, reclassifying category C/D small caliber for sporting 3-gun competition and so on. You can find your local members or your state parliamentary website - in Queensland that is the Legislative Assembly in the following link (please bear in mind that we only have a lower house - interstate shooters please consider lower and upper house incisions senate):

QLD Members of Legislative Assembly
https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/members/current/list

I would like to finish with one more comment. Yes, we can banter all we like on forums such as Enough Gun with like minded folk, however, as shooters we are NOT intolerant of others based on race, religion, socioeconomic background, sexuality, gender etc. Shooting is for ALL to experience in a free democratic society. This includes working together with our, once friends, now estranged, Greens, Labour, certain factions of the LNP and anti-gun counterparts. Where once we valued our rich cultural colonial frontier origins, the ensuing ANZAC spirit at the turn of the 20th century and the rich, vibrant, ancient history of our First People, our indigenous brothers and sisters, so did our fellow conservationists who have orientated themselves against us as our opponents. We must cease to insult or ridicule those who do not understand our logic, reasoning and acceptance. We must NOT descend to the bullying, fear mongering, and hysteria spreading antics of such political organisations.

Cheers!
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