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Franchi’s new Affinity 3 Sport Trap
is the latest in a commendable trend toward crossover guns made for both hunting and clay shooting. It combines range and field features into one 12-gauge semiauto that you can take from the trap field to the duck blind. Clay target shooting
is the best way to become a good game shot, and I am all for any gun that encourages hunters to find their way to the gun club. Likewise, I’m in favor of any gun that nudges a clay shooter toward the field.
The real test of a crossover shotgun isn’t whether it will work both on clay birds and real ones; it’s whether it’s a shotgun you want in your hand both on the range and in the marsh. So, I got my hands on a new Affinity 3 Sport Trap to find out. Here is my full review.
Franchi Affinity 3 Sport Trap Specs
Length: 52 inches including extended choke
Weight: 7 pounds
Barrel: 30-inch stepped rib, small fiber-optic bead, 3 extended chokes
Action: Inertia semiauto
Trigger: 5.5 pounds
Capacity: 4+1
Finish: Matte metal
Stock: Black synthetic
Chambering: 3-inch 12-gauge
Price: $999
Franchi Affinity 3 Sport Trap Overview
The new Sport Trap has several features people like in a hunting gun, including a 3-inch chamber, a synthetic stock, and swivel studs. It also has a 30-inch ported barrel with a stepped rib, a (thankfully small) fiber-optic sight and extended choke tubes. It also has Franchi’s effective TSA recoil pad and enlarged bolt hand and bolt release, all of which come in handy both on the range and in the field. The trigger breaks cleanly at 5 ½ pounds, which is a plus for both hunting and target shooting.
The OMNI Stock is adjustable for both cast and drop, and the TSA recoil pad is effective at reducing felt recoil. Franchi
In appearance, the gun is basic black synthetic with a few small touches of Italian flair: scaling in place of checkering and accent lines running through the receiver into the furniture. There’s an orange “F” on the grip cap. The metal finish is dull, the better to hide this gun from ducks and doves.
The gun comes with three extended chokes tubes: IC, Modified, and Full. The OMNI Stock comes with shims to adjust for both drop and cast. Additional TSA recoil pads of varying widths are available as accessories. All of this adjustability fits right in line with the idea of a crossover gun, allowing you to make small but important tweaks when using the gun for a variety of purposes. For instance, you can straighten the stock to achieve a higher point of impact for trap, then drop it down for hunting or sporting clays.
**Related: Fabarm L4S Allsport Shotgun Review, Expert Tested
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Franchi Affinity 3 Sport Trap Range Test
The author tests the Affinity 3 Sport Trap at the skeet range. Phil Bourjaily
Since the gun has “trap” in its name and I am literal-minded, I thought a 16-yard trap
would be a good test. Besides, I suspect the intended market for this gun consists in large part of scholastic clay shooters whose parents would like to get them one gun for field and clay shooting. I screwed in the Modified choke, and put a thick rubber band around the receiver as my shell catcher. With its weight-forward balance, the Sport Trap was an easy gun to shoot from the 16-yard line. I do better at trap with a gun that shoots flat or only very slightly high, so the Sport Trap suited me well. It’s one of those guns that feels a little awkward at the store, but once you take it to the field or the gun club, that extra weight forward makes it easy to swing smoothly.
**Related: Trap Shooting, a Post-by-Post Guide
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Although it is a light gun by trap standards, it didn’t kick too much, thanks to the TSA recoil pad. (The name “TSA” by the way, predated the “Transportation Security Administration,” and I have no idea what it stands for. But, it works). The barrel porting may have helped with recoil some, too, although porting mostly reduces muzzle rise.
Everything about the gun worked properly. The inertia system cycled 1180-fps, 1-ounce target loads fine, and the enlarged bolt handle and closer buttons were easy to use. The safety did not receive the same supersize treatment as the other two components, but it’s situated at the rear of the trigger guard and no problem to find and use, even when you’re in a hurry. The shell latch, however, was stiff, which would make loading this gun for trap or skeet doubles or sporting clays a bit of a pain, but no problem for trap singles where you load the gun through the ejection port, then push the closer button.
It was the wrong time of year for me take this gun into the duck blind or the dove field, but I shot it enough targets, including targets emulating field shots, to say that I wouldn’t hesitate to hunt with it. It’s well balanced and smooth-swinging, which should make it deadly field gun, and it’s set up well for hunters.
Final Thoughts on the New Affinity 3 Sport Trap
Pros:
Good balance for trap and waterfowl or doves
Enlarged controls
Good trigger
Cons:
Stiff shell latch
Light for targets (but a good weight for hunting)
In the end, the Sport Trap is a very good choice if you’re after an affordable semiauto that needs to do double duty. Just understand that, like all crossovers, it is a compromise. I’d prefer a slightly heavier gun for target shooting, for example, both for smoothness and recoil for reduction. And I’d prefer an unported barrel for duck hunting, out of concern for my blind-mate’s ears. But when you ask a gun to do a lot of different things, it’s not going to do them all perfectly. To the Sport Trap’s credit, it does them all quite well. When it’s all said and done, the Affinity 3 Sport Trap represents a good value in a gun that can take you from scholastic or league trap to the duck blind or dove field.
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