I’m an average trap shooter. A bad day for me is when I shoot under 22 out of 25. 22/23 is about right for me. My two oldest sons wanted me to try 5 stand. What a disaster for me. I struggled to get 12. Am I ruined because of trap shooting? I obviously don’t have any idea on how to lead the birds from so many different directions. Am I the only one doing so badly in this transition. I almost feel it is a waste of ammunition!!
RetiredinPa
It is a completely different sport. Lot of different target presentations, takes lots of practice, to become good at it.
Buster
Buster
A waste of ammunition because you are not good at it ? I find enjoyment in all shotgun shooting sports. Sporting clays is very challenging - much more so than trap or skeet.
As proof, there are rarely any 100 straights in sporting clays events.
As proof, there are rarely any 100 straights in sporting clays events.
I went and shot sporting clays once. A target coming from the distance and falling towards me is impossible for me to hit. I just can't do it.
Ill stick to trap.
Ill stick to trap.
Any type of clays games helps with shooting the others. You shot better than I did at 5 stand my first time. Working with different leads required for the different games can only make one a better wing shooter.Heck I even tried Skeet for the first time in forty years yesterday. Luckily, we forgot the score sheet inside.... 
I have the same problem with sporting clays. Lucky to shoot 50 out of 100. But I have only done it a few times.
I love 5 Stand, and help run ours. It is fun, social, challenging, and you see a variety of target presentations. It’s a good idea to just practice on certain birds until you get those figured out. It is not fun, if you jump in the deep end of the pool, and just miss target after target. We have a covered, heated, lighted 5 Stand, and shoot all year long in any weather. I haven’t shot skeet in weeks because of the weather. I haven’t shot trap in years, after being the trap chairman for years. With 5 Stand, if it starts to seem too easy, I get out the little gauges. Whole new challenge shooting 410.
5 stand is a pretty tough way to learn how to shoot sporting type birds. First off the menu is confusing to beginners and many dont even know where to look. Then you only get 1 shot per round at a bird from that station and if you miss there isnt a chance to adjust in that round. Shooting sporting for fun gives you the ability to repeat the same bird over and over and alter your move a bit to get a better feel of the lead.
I shot sporting and 5-stand intermittently when I was serious about trap. I hunted a lot, too- so different leads were a little more familiar to me. I wasn’t competitive at it then, but it was fun. I got burnt out on trap and now shoot registered sporting and love the 5-stand events. I agree if you aren’t familiar with sporting or 5-stand, 5-stand can be the hard one to learn on because the different menus at each station and not getting any repetition isn’t helpful when you are learning.
If you’re just out there to be with your sons, who cares what your scores are? Just have fun- but if you want to improve, go to a sporting clays course and shoot there for practice. Pretty soon easier birds will become like 16-yard line targets, meaning more natural for you. Intermediate targets will still be challenging but you’ll break more. Tough targets, most people have to work on those to get good at them, but if you stick with it and want to do it, they’ll come around for you, too.
If you’re just out there to be with your sons, who cares what your scores are? Just have fun- but if you want to improve, go to a sporting clays course and shoot there for practice. Pretty soon easier birds will become like 16-yard line targets, meaning more natural for you. Intermediate targets will still be challenging but you’ll break more. Tough targets, most people have to work on those to get good at them, but if you stick with it and want to do it, they’ll come around for you, too.
I agree with entropy. Any time you're pulling a trigger AND REALLY TRYING makes you a better shot. I mess around once a month shooting sporting and there's a 5 stand near me I take a stab at every once in a while. Just can't bring myself to shoot skeet!! I've got legs that look like they should have a message tied to em and would look just terrible in a tutu!! Lol.
Five stand is a blast, IMO! It is a game that is a little more than what meets the eye. It took me a long time to really realize that even though there are normally 6-8 different machines, each and every station changes the angle and lead that each different target requires. One of the best examples of this is a target thrown directly over you from behind on station 3 then becomes a right to left quartering from station 1, to a left to right quartering from station 5. The same idea follows with every target as you progress through each stand. I wish you the best of luck with your shooting and enjoy spending time with your family!
I also suck at 5 stand, the problem for me, is, that there is a differnce between shooting with 8 guys shooting protection, and practice, I seem to get sucked in, [all you'd fiquire it out] crap I havn't fiquired it out.
The first time I shot 5-stand I swear I was dizzy afterward, it can be pretty confusing at first. Our 5-stand usually opens up in the spring and is pretty casual. We welcome newcomers to our 5-stand, and any one of the regulars is more than happy to help folks unfamiliar with the game. A lot of the trap shooters simply refuse to even try it and I think they’re missing out on a lot of fun.
Five stand is a lot easier if you have a full squad so you can watch the birds. It' really tough with only one or two shooters. A good five stand is set with at least one target on the station before you on your stand and much easier if the scorer or the person before you calls out his targets. Then you know where to look. It can be very difficult if you don't know where to look. A good scorer will always call out the targets as well as dead and lost.
My suggestion for 5 stand or sporting is go with people that are really good. They can watch you and tell real quick where you’re struggling and help get you on line.
Five stand with my 725 .410 shooting 11/16 # 7 1/2s is about as good as it gets. Trap at 16 with the same gun is a blast. SC on closer ins/outs or crossers, too. Never going to be a master at any but it is all fun, that’s the name of my game!
It's not a waste of ammo if your missing but you know why. Then keep shooting that troublesome bird that's messing with you until you can hit it again and again . Satisfaction and mission accomplished. Now go shoot a few that you know you can hit and feel good.. build your confidence.. Now return to a trouble some bird and shoot until you figure it out. Build your confidence with another pair that you can hit. pretty soon you'll be having a great time. Dom
n't give up it's to much fun. Watch some sporting clay you tube. They will explain every presentation that you will see.
n't give up it's to much fun. Watch some sporting clay you tube. They will explain every presentation that you will see.
This is how we built our 5 stand last year. 2 rabbits, 2 chandelle, 2 battue, 1 mini, 1 midi and 6 standards machines. We set the center farthest machine 80 yards out and curved everything back to the shooting stands. The 4H kids I coach really like the different target presentations and sizes. The main remote can store more menus than you would want to program. I made laminated menu cards with magnets that stick to the shooting stands at each station so the kids can be ready. I still like to announce what they are shooting and where they are coming from because they are still kids. Each machine has a large number on it and they are very visible. Menus are easiest to hardest. First menu is 25 targets starting with a single then report pair and then true pair and rotate and repeat. Programmed the target difficulty and then used a random number generator to keep from having repeat targets. If we don’t shoot the menus there’s 2 manual remote and if you are by yourself we have 2 voice activated remotes. Other than the rabbits the machines are mounted on top of 6 ft poles that can rotate 180* and they can be tilted 45*. Course can be set up to be extremely hard or very easy. Built a Behlen type metal lodge with kitchen, bathrooms, big common area with pool table and shuffle board. It’s been a great place for the kids to cool down, warm up and have something to eat and drink. If my group had a choice I think they would chose sporting clays because they get to go in the side by side and shoot. Some of my shooters would change their minds if they had to walk. I split practices up evenly shooting trap one week and then 5 stand the next. I feel 5 stand challenges their ability to recognize different targets and directions but trap makes them concentrate more and builds up their mental toughness. Im all for anything with kids and guns in a safe environment .
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Murph I'm surprised you don't use cattle neck tags for the menu
Looking to the top left of my Competition 16 ga. appears that 54 is the last pair. That is in Wi. dairy country and red cattle tags are everywhere. Most of the outdoor ranges use the plastic erasable menus like you do.
My favorite 5 stand course when it is running in the summer is setup with a trapper that was the class winner at the World FITSAC when it was held at Caribou in Mn. The occasional trap shooter will come over and shoot it then we usually never see them again. I know some old timers that shoot 5 stand and sporting clays and they will only shoot it a couple of times then never come back saying it is too hard.
But some of the HS Trap Teams are now shooting 5 stand in competition as well as Trap and quite a few of them can't seem to get enough of it. They aren't experienced enough to know that it is difficult and eat it up. I love watching them and their scores usually rise fast with experience. You don't get better shooting lollipops all the time. When they go to other clubs and shoot 5 stand guess they do extremely well.
And well done to you for working with those kids
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