Posted on 08/06/2017 10:43:23 AM PDT by Tucsonican
I'm relatively new to the sport with roughly 30 rounds under my belt but I'm finding that the first station is the bane of my existence. I pretty regularly shoot stations 2&3 clean. I might drop 1 on 4&5 but that first station kills me. I mean I NEVER shoot it clean and that's whether I shoot it first, last or in between.
If anybody has an idea of why this is happening and what I can do to correct it I'm all ears.
Hooyah! If that isn’t the next Olympic sport, I ain’t a-goin’. Heck, it might even save synchronized swimming.
practice...
I used to take my son trap shooting at a local Armyy base before deer season so he could get used to the gun. He asked one year if his buddy across the street whose dad was a AF 0-6 at the time if he could come with. The kid had never held a gun much less fired one. He missed ONE. Incredible. I told his dad that he should buy him a shotgun and start working him up towards a scholarship or something. They didn’t. Last I heard the kid is now an AF fighter pilot.
Radar guidance coupled with proximity fused explosive slugs might help.
Yes the 12 stand is more fun. Golf with a shotgun. :-)
You nailed it! I bet it is the stance. Open up your left toe and keep both eyes open. #1 is my favorite. Shot years of international in France. Absolutely loved it. Anyone who likes the game should invest in a trap gun. The fall of the stock and the rib will make a great difference. I favor Brownings.
Also make sure you’re not “winging”.....keep those arms tucked down close.
Good afternoon.
“Try sporting clays sometime. Way more fun than trap”
Agree. Poison birds, rabbits, etc, it’s a boat load of fun.
5.56mm
Prefer Brownings myself, have several.
Other than that treat it like a good time with your friends and your score won't matter quite so much.
Have a cold beer when you're done if you're so inclined, and clean your shotgun(s) when you get home.
Someone else mentioned stance and I’ll see if changes on #1. As far as Brownings, I’m using a Citori Lightning 28”
I know what the problem is, you are no good.
Hey, just keep shooting. Experience and time on trigger is all you need.
Funny, that’s what my mother says too.
I did some trap shooting with a scoped 22. Someone had set leg traps illegally around our property. I shot them to set them off, then my father welded them open. We then put them back. Fun, that trap shooting.
I assume you’re shooting from the 16 yard line, so you will be breaking the bird while still rising at about 37 yards. Although I’ve shot less trap than skeet or sporting, on #1 I hold about a foot above the left corner of the house, focus my eyes (without moving my head on the stock)about three feet above the center of the house, that keeps my eyes off the gun (if the barrel is in focus, you’re not looking at the bird), and allows maximum focus on the target when it appears. Use a smooth move to the target and shoot when you have the proper lead (side to side) and are a hair under the bird.
Your side to side lead, even on the most angled targets is not that much in trap.
Also from the 16 yard line, shoot a light load, which will prevent fatigue from recoil, especially since you are shooting a pretty light gun (a 28” Citori is about 7.5 lbs at my guess), I shoot a Caesar Guerini high rib that is closer to 9, and still prefer light loads.
Try the (Cabelas) Herter’s LR 1 ounce at 1060 FPS, or B&P at 1160. They’ll break anything on the clay’s course where I work, even a 50 yard fast crosser.
You know what’s more fun than shooting sporting? Being the target setter and figuring out how to have a target that looks bigger than a beachball that people still miss. If you’re ever traveling on I-40 through NM, freepmail me, I work at a range east of Albuquerque, 9 miles off the interstate.
Me too. Glad you’re a fellow admirer of Browning. All of my guns except two are Brownings.
Good for you! Keep at it and one day it will all “click’ into place and you’ll feel completely at ease in all positions. Try changing your position a bit on all five shots. You’ll soon find the sweet spot where it “feels” good. Welcome to a great sport.
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