Trap Shotguns on a Budget: Browning, Ithaca, and H&R

Of all the clay-shooting sports, the game of trap is perhaps the least understood. But the concept is simple. Target presentation is based on the taking of a bird as if it were flushed from the ground. The name trap was taken from the original mechanism, which was as simple as releasing a live bird from a box or trap placed on the ground. The practice of using live birds then gave way to tossing glass balls as targets. (We pity the persons who were charged with cleaning up the broken glass.) According to the Krause

The $759 Browning BPS Micro Trap topped two other very good choices for shooting trap on a budget, the $995 Ithaca Model 37 Trap and the $360 H&R Topper Trap shotguns. The Browning BPS Micro Trap offered a shorter length of pull, so it fit more shooters out of the box. The shorter stock was otherwise full-sized so it didn’t skimp on contact area at the butt pad, either. Operation was flawless and as you can see from the quality of the cheek weld that the stock was able to accommodate a left-handed shooter without modification. The beautiful Ithaca Model 37 Trap shot some very impressive patterns, but at times seemed fussy about choice of ammunition. The Topper Trap proved to be a simple solution to breaking clays and is certainly among the best entry-level trap guns you can buy.