Hi. I’m fairly new to Trap. Been shooting about 2 years. I am frustrated and about ready to give up. I shoot singles usually in the 18-20s and then the next round will shoot a 12-15. My problem is station 5 and 1 in that order. I can shoot 15 straight at 2,3,4 and then shoot 0 at 5. I’ve tried changing my holds, feet, etc and seem to only get worse. I’m about to give up the game. Any advice out there. I’ve take a couple of private lessons.
Frustrated Trap Shooter
peggyhouchin
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Good suggestion. I’ll try that too.
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Thank you!
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Thanks Scott. I am going to be attending a clinic in June with the Bartholow Brothers so hopefully, they will be able to help me out too.
As many have said, there is a lot of good information above, ill be repeating some of it.
My guess is you are aiming and not pointing. As someone who shoots a lot of rifles and pistols, it was odd for me to get used to the idea that I should only use the beads when mounting the shotgun and not when trying to hit the clay. You need your mount to be the same every time so that your sight picture is the same. Always focus hard on the target, and understand that your eye is the gun's rear sight (unlike with a pistol or rifle). When I was aiming the bead I would get poor scores, vs point and focusing on the target id get an easy 5-10 more clays per game.
Other things i'd consider thinking about.
My guess is you are aiming and not pointing. As someone who shoots a lot of rifles and pistols, it was odd for me to get used to the idea that I should only use the beads when mounting the shotgun and not when trying to hit the clay. You need your mount to be the same every time so that your sight picture is the same. Always focus hard on the target, and understand that your eye is the gun's rear sight (unlike with a pistol or rifle). When I was aiming the bead I would get poor scores, vs point and focusing on the target id get an easy 5-10 more clays per game.
Other things i'd consider thinking about.
- Practice your mount at home until it's the same almost every time. Close your eyes and mount the gun. Is it aligned correctly? If not, maybe improve your fit if you have an adjustable comb. Remember to bring the gun to your check and then shoulder, not to shoulder first and then lean your head over.
- Focus on pointing with focus on the target, not aiming the bead
- Shoot with both eyes open
- I changed this years ago for pistols and shotguns, which greatly helped. It will be odd at first, but will pay off longer term. But I also know many shooters that do well with 1 eyed shooting.
- Figure out the POI of your gun. Is it flat, high, etc? This can help with understanding how the sight picture is
- Try moving it up or down, I was shooting VERY high (90/10) and brought it down and I feel like it helped me
- I also learned I was shooting slightly left of my aim when I took the gun out to test the POI
- Separate Practice vs Competition/Implementation
- Practicing, you try things, Competition you just do what you practiced and don't change it
- Learn the hold points from each station to have the best movements possible from each station to the target.
- Practice a solo game only on Station 5, and have them lock it hard right if they can/will/
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You are getting good advice. There are many variables from form and process to gun fit to your mental game. My first piece of advice is hang in there. Where are you located? Maybe someone could offer some free advice (assuming they are qualified) or recommend a clinic or instructor. Another thought is to see if you can get your hands on a Shotkam. It will at least show you how you are missing and start giving you some ideas on how to resolve it.
Some thoughts from a clinic I took.
Some thoughts from a clinic I took.
- Go through a mounting process for every shot - Move your mounting shoulder back, push your face far forward on the gun, keep both ears level to ground, and have gun pulled very tight to your shoulder. Your face should be turned against the rib so your nose is almost touching and the white of your eye can only be seen on one side of your pupil. These combined solve a bunch of issues - lifting head, vertical pivot on face, issues with gun cant, etc.
- If you are a one-eyed shooter, your gun hold placement should be below the house roof, with a noticeable 2-3” of house roof visible above it. However, your eyes should look just above the house in a soft focus. This assists with efficiently acquiring the target.
- Aiming and trying to mentally calculate the required lead is a terrible trap to fall into and for many that happens more frequently on stations 1 and 5. A mantra I have followed is "speed makes lead." Your gun will naturally swing through the bird if you have a reasonable and consistent speed. This takes mental calculation out of the equation.
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Try to find a Nora Ross clinic. I have heard nothing but good about her teaching methods.
EDIT: In this video you will see that Nora shoots with one eye closed. @peggyhouchin
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If your gun fits you, you know the POI, your locked into the gun with face on stock, your feet are in a good position( about 45 degrees to trap house) to allow you to swing( from hips or ankles), if one eyed make your hold points on the house so your dominate eye sees the target come out of the house, focus you eye Or eyes over and past the barrel, you need to stay focused on the target and have your peripheral vision bring the barrel to the leading edge of target and while swinging pull the trigger. I've found on station 1 and 5 if I'm not focused on the target I usually miss by not catching up to the target. As stated by others if the Club will let you have a trap and lock it on hard rights or lefts it will help you. Good luck shoot straight
Timb99 is correct. I took her Clinic about 3 years ago. She's very personable and professional. You will defiantly learn from her. Ricky Marshal conducted a Clinic at our Club for 12 Adults on Saturday and 20 youth shooters Sunday. He's an excellent coach also. Nora and Ricky are similar in their teaching methods. If you have a chance take a class it's well worth the money. Good luck shoot straight.
I think every single shooter has gone through a slump like this before. Unfortunately, shooting can come and go but you always have to keep shooting to get through it! Here is my process for when I’m going through a slump or am having a hard time with a particular station/target.
1) verify my gun fit and pattern my gun
2) Focus back on the fundamentals. Shoot several rounds just thinking about the fundamentals of shooting, nothing else.
3) set up the practice trap to throw the particular target. I’m struggling with and work two boxes on hitting it.
4) ask a fellow shooter to stand behind me while practicing
The best words of advice I can give you is to keep your head down and chin up! As a young shooter, I struggled, terribly with gun fit, and sometimes thought about transitioning to another sport. I’m super glad I didn’t as trapshooting is a lifelong passion of mine.
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I took her clinic last year. It was great. I can say for sure that every person in attendance improved. I was thinking about attending again this year but it appears she isn't coming to Minnesota.
Since you are one eyed (closed or lens covered) you eliminated cross eyed dominance as the cause of the error.
Like others said, keep your head down and don’t stop the gun. Looking at the bead will cause you to be behind by stopping or slowing the gun. Focus on the target only - eyes first gun follows the eyes. Follow through.
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Great video, thank you!
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A coach and consistency will help. Changing stance and holds a lot can really mess you up. I’d find a good coach and stick to what you’ve been taught. Also as stated before, if you have the ability to shoot a ton of ammo on each post that can greatly help.
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I'm also very new to trap, having taken it up a year ago with 72 year old eyes and reflexes. I too get frustrated hovering around the 18-20 mark, with occasional drops below that. I very much aspire to become an "average" shooter in the 21-23 range, but do not have any delusions that I will one day be a competitive shooter. I'm doing this because it's FUN.
I don't have the resources to drive two states away for the nearest expensive clinic, or shoot 1200 targets a month, and my club doesn't set up hard rights from post one and five. While all these things are undoubtedly of great benefit, they just aren't happening for me.
I do dry fire at my Terry Jordan Chart with a laser bore sight 150-300 times a week. I also recently purchased the late, great Leo Harrison's fundamentals DVD. I think these things have helped me at least become more consistent.
Now it's just a matter of breaking a few more targets every time to get over that hump. And from there, 25 will at least be within sight.
I am happy any day I get to go to the range and "make noise and break stuff". Those targets that just disappear in a cloud of tiny particles bring joy to my heart - and they'll have to pry this Remington 1100 "from my cold dead hands."
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Interesting.
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Thank you! I'll try that. I think spending a lot more time on station 5 and 1 is the best idea.
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Thank you! Great adice to enjoy it no matter what!! Just being outside and shooting should bring me joy. Thanks for the reminder!!
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