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Barrel placement when calling for target

2K views 12 replies 12 participants last post by  2labman 
#1 ·
Hello all,

I am a new trapshooter looking for some advice. Ive heard multiple ideas about barrel placement when calling for a target reletive to location on placement on the traphouse. Ive heard all the way from 5 spots, to dead center. Also, any good advice for hard left and right hand targets? Thank you very much.

-Mark-
 
#3 ·
Mark:

A number of things will determine what is the best "gun hold", including personal preference, whether you are using one eye or two, your reaction time, your "eye-hold" (where you look before calling for targets), whether you swing to targets using body rotation or use your forward arm to muscle the gun to the targets and even the stance (foot position) you are using.

If you shoot with one eye, hold below the edge of the trap house roof. Stand normally with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Stand so that an extended line across the tips of your toes is parallel to a line down station 5 if you shoot right-handed and down station 1 if you shoot left-handed. Use this stance on all stations, one through five.

Being a new shooter, I recommend holding in the center of the trap house roof. Later, you can vary your gun hold from left to right depending on the station you're on.

The center of the roof is also a good place to start if you are shooting with two eyes. The swing distance to targets is greater and will teach you to swing smoothly, which is very important. Later, with experience, you can hold above the house and intersect the targets flight path with your swing but for now, it is a learned timing thing that you don't need to bother with.

The stance used on 1 and 5 often causes problems. The mistakes that are common involve either the inability to swing far enough or being able to swing farther than is necessary, which leads to sloppy swings. Another common problem for new shooters is swinging with the forward arm providing the power to move the gun. Try to learn to swing using body rotation at the waist and hips during all swings. It eliminates all the problems encountered with arm swings.

You have plenty of time to swing to all targets when your swing is smooth and your reaction time normal but it takes practice. Try not to rush your swings. Shooting targets at or just before they reach their maximum height is soon enough for now. Do not rush on straightaways, either. SWING SMOOTHLY; always swing smoothly.

Rollin
 
#5 ·
I shoot with both eyes open and hold just above (maybe a half a barrel diameter) the front edge of the house. I shoot with two eyes because I want to acquire with two eyes, not one and I find that I get surprised occasionally (well...OK...OFTEN) by targets when I try to hold high and "look through the gun". I learned the "Harlan high hold" from Harlan and simply can't make it work for me.

I have three hold points for 5 posts: for posts 1 & 2 I hold about a quarter of the way in from the left corner of the house roof; for post 3, I hold just a bit right of the center of the roof (I'm right-handed) and for posts 4 & 5 I'm about a quarter of the way in from the right corner.

My eyes are soft-focused into the distance at a height of about 2-3 feet directly above the barrel so I can catch the target with my peripheral vision as it leaves the house but grab it with my focused vision at the point where it makes the transition from being a blur to being a target...as Harlan Campbell says, "clear and whole".

Morgan
 
#6 ·
Mark:

Go to the sunrise productions web site and look at the sample video from Harlan's DVD. This short presentation has a lot of information in it.

http://www.sunriseproductions.us/catalog.asp?c=Trap%20Shooting

You will notice in one view there are targets sitting on top of the trap house, these are the post 1 through 5 hold points that Harlan teaches. He also teaches that hold point above the trap house is where the target transitions from a blur to whole and clear target. You will notice that his hold very high above the trap house, it different for everyone.

Good shooting, hope this helps.

Gayle
 
#7 ·
I agree with Rollin (as always, it seems) in that it depends a lot on whether or not you shoot "one-eyed" (one eye shooting while the other is either closed or has tape or a dot on the lens to accommodate a cross-dominance.) Frank Little and Daro Handy also discuss this low hold point if you shoot "one-eyed" (as I do, with a Browning Magic Dot on my off-lens.) I'd advise any new trapshooter to buy Rollin's book, and read it twice, to learn all this important basic stuff. Phil E
 
#8 ·
I shoot with one eye and I have preferred hold points for each station. On post one, I like to hold where the hard left angle comes out of the house. But I do not mount my gun and then move to these hold points. If my feet, body and head position is correct, the gun will come up naturally at the hold point I seek. If it comes up a little off my hold point, I do call for the bird and shoot and then move my feet just a little for the next shot.

The way I mount my gun determines my hold point. Hold point is such a minor issue, compared to seeing the bird and keeping my head down and moving my body and not my arms, if my hold point gets a foot off on a gun mount, I am not concerned. I would rather be a foot away from my desired hold point with a natural mount rather than seek out the point by twisting my body.

Pat Ireland
 
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