Originally Posted by
gunauthor
I have shot trap for years and have enjoyed a variety of guns (I don't take the score very seriously so I shoot whatever I grab out of the safe). My most recent purchase was on Sept. 11 of last year, it was a Stoeger M3000 Sporting semi-auto in 12 gauge. It is supposed to to be for sporting clays but works great when I added an improved modified choke tube. It is also MUCH easier to keep clean that a gas operated shotgun. As far as wear, don't sweat it. For many years I used a Winchester 1400 which is supposed to be good for light usage only. I fired 200 shells per week, so that adds up to a lot of blasting. I kept it clean (gas operated guns are notoriously dirty) and it worked just fine. I guess what I'm trying to say is find something you like and can afford, put in an improved modified choke and have at it. And, if you want to experiment, try different choke tubes (they aren't very expensive, check out Carlson's chokes) you might find something you like better than IM.