Don't do a thing different than you would if the both of you were going to shoot practice for the Day!!! Don't worry about how things go. Just go to have fun and to learn. Most importantly just stay relaxed. Be sure to kid around and make a few jokes. Ask a few questions when you feel the need too. Try to enjoy the camaraderie, and make a few new friends at the club. break em all jeff

 

Start with your bags: ear plugs and extra set, glasses, tools, spare shells, pouches, hull hamper, spare blinders if wearing on glasses.

Gun, all lubes

Shells: events, practice, and shoot offs. Clearly marked if reloading.

Clothing: enough to stay warm, but not so much it affects fit. Being a little uncomfortable with the temp all goes away when breaking a good score. Just like being cold in the blind, but when the birds show up, all of a sudden we warm right up.

Show your kiddo where everything is. Your a team.

I'm excited for you guys. Let us know how it went.

 

Go there have fun, meet some new people, and just take it one target at a time!

 

Let him shoot and have a good time. Don't be to picky about stuff unless it is a safety problem! Have fun!!!

 

I wish somebody had told me how you know what bank your squad is shooting on.

 

Funny how that’s still an issue! I still look at the squading sheets wondering what all the letters, numbers and symbols mean.

 

I wish I would have remained calmer than I was and just treated it like practice, and not been timid about asking what I thought were stupid questions. Very likely great people will be there and more than willing to help. Also, a fair amount of people with fancier and more expensive gear than you or your son have will not shoot better than you.

 

Dont be afraid to ask questions. Nobody minds helping a pleasant polite newbie.

 

Enjoy the day and do everything you can so your son enjoys it also you never get a second chance to do something for the first time , I still get butterflies in my stomach and have to have a nervous pee before the first round every shoot, once I get going it's just another day shooting, I think if I every loose those butterflies I'll know it's time to quit.

 

Drove 80 miles to Elysburg, Pa. to compete in the ATA Eastern Zone Championships. Ready, excited, remembered gun, shells, glasses, earplugs, extra underwear, etc. Just wished I would have remembered that the shoot was the - wait for it - NEXT weekend.

Empty parking lot at Elysburg is eerie looking!

Mike Mann

 

I wish I’d known how much more enjoyable it is to shoot with my sons than just watching them.

 

Enjoy yourselves and have fun.

It should be about fun for him to want to keep sport shooting for a lifetime.

 

Don't be so nervous that you forget something before you walk to the line whether it's your shells or ear pro.

 

I just squadded with someone I knew and followed them around. If that is not possible, show up early and ask the cashier what trap house you are shooting on, then watch that trap house so you don't miss your squad. Don't sign up for post 1.


The years of frustration and expense was not explained to me in time to prevent it all. LOL.

 

Take your time and shoot the targets the way you want. They are your targets. You paid for them. Have fun. Meet some nice people.

 

Totally agree, take your time and do not take station one on a squad if you are new. If you have an issue mid shoot, do not just live through it, stop and take the time to correct the issue (ear plugs, glasses, etc).

 

Pull & Mark Had it right on the first response.

 

Go and have fun. What in your life will change if you finish DFL?

 

Go make memories with your son and enjoy the day.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Get there early and get a feel for things. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need to. Everyone should be willing to help you. The first big shoot I went to was the fall handicap in Missouri. I had just paid for my squads and was standing looking at the banks on the board by the clubhouse kind of lost. A gentleman named Dave Prior ask if I needed help. Told him my situation with it being my first big shoot. He went out of his way to help me the rest of the week and I never forgot it. It formed a friendship that I made a point to look him up at every shoot if he was there. Since I've tried to help shooters in the same boat. We were all there once! If you get help, pay it forward!

 

I want to thank everyone for the info. My son’s first shoot was at the Silver Dollar Trap range benefiting Paralyzed Veterans of America.

He walked away excited and ready to do more nightly mounting practice so he could get better. He shot 28/50 and also hit 3 puffer targets so he also took home with 3 boxes of ammo too.

My takeaways for anyone starting out, especially kids, were:

1. Reduce the goals to two things. Be safe and have fun.
2. What’s the worst thing that could reasonably happen? He thought this would be missing everything. We talked through what that would look like if it happened and he realized it wasn’t a big deal.
3. He was bored. We realized just how much waiting there is. I brought snacks for him. Next time I’m bringing something for him to do. I think that would be an issue even if he was shooting with kids his own age.
4. Ice cream after the shoot is always good.

Thanks again. I will keep lurking around here to read and learn.

 

Wish I got there and learned the lay of the land before rushing into the clubhouse and classifying etc. Also to just stay calm bc at the end of the day we’re just trying to have fun.

 

My first major competition was the English Open Championship in 1961 at the age of 13 and a bit. I'd never shot trap before in my life, not even a practice round! I was as nervous as hell and didn't know anybody. The people I shot with couldn't have been nicer, but I was still trembling at the end having hit 38x50 with my grandfather's side by side made in 1917. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end!

 

I wish I had learned/known more about banks and squading. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. And I would have started on posts 4 or 5 so each reset a couple more experienced shooters were ahead of me for timing.

 

Just remember as a dad, you coach on the practice field - not at the shoot --let him shoot --have fun -- there is plenty going through his head with out your corrections --plenty of time for that later --just enjoy the day -- will be a life time memory!

 

Everybody I’ve ever come across is friendly and willing to help. If you have a question, no matter how dumb you think it might be, ask the group in front or behind, just be courteous and wait until nobody is actively shooting so as not to interrupt someone.