ruger red label shotgun needs middle bead for trap shooting

I have a ruger redlabel 20 gauge shotgun that i wanted to use for trap shooting and not just for hunting. I found after shooting my kriegoff with a middle bead just how much more precise the pattern placement is on a pattern board with it. The ruger field gun was tough to control pattern adjustment without the middle bead to align the rib. Has anyone put new beads or a middle bead on their ruger shotguns for trap shooting?

 

Any gunsmith can put one on for you.

 

Hi Terrence. I would like to know how that red label works out on the trap line. Those 12 Rugers kick like a mule.

 

I could be wrong but I think the shells we use have a lot to do with felt recoil.

 

Putting a center bead on won't make it a trap gun ....probably a better hunting gun.

 

I've found that a middle bead only comes into play when you are precisely aiming, e.g. when patterning.
Won't make any difference when actually shooting at flying targets.

A 20 gage Red Label makes a poor trap gun; it's too light and its payload will put you at a disadvantage. If someone just wants to casually play around on the trap field, they will suffice....until you get serious about your scores. I had one for a decade, so I have some experience.
I also shot a 12 gage Woodside in a trap league for my first two years getting into trap competitions. With a Limbsaver, the gun's recoil was tolerable. Even with the standard pad, the recoil wasn't all that objectionable, even though it was very lightweight for a target gun.

 

I found out that without the middle bead, trying to pattern the shotgun at 35 yards was hard to get consistent centered patterns on the pattern board. I think i would use the shotgun more for sporting clays then serious trap shooting. With my chubby cheeks, my pattern was always to the left of my pattern board aiming spot.I put a rolled up duck tape ball in the center of the rib an in doing so i found that i wasn't centering the single bead causing the pattern to be off. The next shot with the tape bead had me 60/40 pattern centered. The center bead gave me an "attitude adjustment" for mounting and pointing the shotgun.

 

after raising my comb, I have moved my center bead forward -got a true figure eight. just my two cents.