You have to check/adjust your point of impact.

Go to your club and have a trap set to throw straight aways from post three.

Stand on post three (at the 16-yard line) and adjust your comb until you are smoke balling targets consistently.

Move back to the 22 at post three. You should not need to adjust your comb for that yardage, but check it anyway. You should be able to smoke targets from there with your 16-yard set up.

After that, just point and shoot.

 

I do decent at 16 yd singles, but I’ve recently started shooting handicap at the 22 yd line and my scores have been pretty low. Anyone have any pointers?

You have to check/adjust your point of impact.

Go to your club and have a trap set to throw straight aways from post three.

Stand on post three (at the 16-yard line) and adjust your comb until you are smoke balling targets consistently.

Move back to the 22 at post three. You should not need to adjust your comb for that yardage, but check it anyway. You should be able to smoke targets from there with your 16-yard set up.

After that, just point and shoot.

Thanks I have already already done that, it helped a lot with my 16 yd scores.

 

What is the constriction of choke you are using?

How much shot are you using?

 

Light full and 1-1/8 of 7.5 in my reloads

 

I do decent at 16 yd singles

What do you consider a "decent" score in singles?

 

I do decent at 16 yd singles

What do you consider a "decent" score in singles?

Usually usually between 22-24 with a random lower score, and a random 25

 

I had to adjust my thought process of keeping the gun swinging through the shot to a thought of completing the shot. My $0.02 worth.

 

Thanks I will definitely keep lead in mind as I practice more

 

Things handicap has taught me me. Maybe you take something from it, maybe not:

1) My mount was inconsistent. I started noticing that I would mount a little higher on my shoulder then a little lower. When I started mounting more consistently, my handicap AND singles scores went up.

2) Leads changed slightly, but not nearly as much as I thought I needed as I moved back further.

3) My movement driving through the target on right/left angles were flatter. Meaning not “floating” the target.

4) Hold points move down as I move back.

5) The mental game is different for handicaps vs singles. Yes, we all try to break every target. In a lot of singles events you have to be nearly perfect to win. Perfect scores are far less common in handicaps. If I miss one I still keep the mentality that I may still have a top score. Miss a second? Same thing.

6) It takes more mental focus. If I’m shooting singles, my mind can drift a little more and I can reign it back in enough to break a target. When shooting handicaps, if I let my mind wander I miss fairly soon after.

7) I have to walk before I can run. I shot my first 1k handicap targets and got a reduction to the 19. I felt slightly embarrassed, but I was no where near competitive at the 20. However, I moved up and quickly caught on and have since earned 2 yards. I feel I can now be competitive as I move back but I truly believe I flattened out the learning curve for myself by moving up a little.

8) My foot placement doesn’t rotate as much the further back I go.

You get away with a lot of little mistakes at the 16. As you move back further, those little mistakes become more pronounced.

 

Respectfully, It's just a place to stand; to deliver the shot with the proper amount of lead to break the target. Same thing you do at 16 yards

 

Leo Harrison made an instructional video that fully explains handicap.

 

I will check it out thanks!

 

Could be your hold point. At handicap distance you'll want to start a touch higher so you're not chasing the bird. Made a big difference for me.

 

I'm no expert by any means but here's what I've done and it helped. At handicap use the fullest choke you have. Also LOCK onto the target with your eyes and make a smooth move to the target. As others have said your margin for error is greatly reduced at handicap yardages. Learn to smoke 16 yard targets and it will help center handicap targets. Good luck in your shooting.

 

I really do think there is an "aha! moment" in shooting handicap where it comes together and makes sense. I remember back in the day standing on the 27 yard line and thinking how in the world am I ever gonna break these? But you shoot, and shoot, and shoot some more until it starts to click.

Keep in mind, you can be sloppy at the 16 and get away with it. No so with longer yardage. Suddenly, gun mount, hold points, eye focus, shooting mechanics, choke and ammo choice start to really matter. Most clubs I have been to will have guys out on the line pounding singles, and few (if any) shooting handicap. No wonder handicap scores are low. I usually shoot twice as many handicap practice rounds as I do singles rounds. But then again, I love handicap.

Paul

 

That's all I shoot is handicap at trap.

 

More money!! To Win!!

 

For myself…….I continually remind myself to swing through the target. A smooth follow through automatically helps me adjust for lead. Otherwise, I’m shooting behind it. A slightly higher hold point can also benefit.

Bob

 

Do you notice how many guys say you got to be smoother??

 

Yeah I’m seeing a trend here

 

In handicap... the bird, the machine throwing it, and the bird speed have not changed. What has changed? The distance you're taking the bird. For anybody who knows a little physics, your needed compensations are obvious. Of course, it is another matter whether you'll be able to properly compensate. My two cents.

 

Remember that the further you go back, the smaller the angles get because the posts spread more outward as you go back. This means that your moves will be shorter. It takes a smaller move to get to the proper lead on a 22 yd target than it does on 16, and even less at 27 than 22.

My boys had a hard time slowing down and making shorter moves as they moved back, so they were constanly shooting in front of the target. After remembering to make shorter moves, they started to be more consistent with their breaks.

And don't take the method of changing POI lightly. It will take time, but taking good notes on how many spacers you're putting on your comb will help immensely when you have to switch from singles to caps.

Of course if you were to get a gun with an adjustable rib, all you have to change it the height of the front bead instead of adding spacers to your comb when practicing. You can make small incremental adjustments on the fly until your breaks are consistent.

 

Master Your Mental Map and Hold Points, at longer yards, your setup becomes critical. A small mistake in your initial setup is magnified into a big miss.

 

Its between your ears. The shots not loosing any significant speed or any noticeable drop in that distance. Shoot them the same way you shoot singles. With good fundamentals, smoke on the 16 will still be a hard hit from the 22.

 

Have someone video you shooting handicap and send to me. Only way to know what's going on!

 

Send me a video of you shooting handicap! Theres not a significant change from 16 to 22!

 

I was taught to shoot handicaps back to 24 yds the same as the 16 yd line. The angles are less as you move back making for an easier shot once you get that thought locked in your head. Also, making your shots at 16 gives you a little leeway on your handicap shots.

 

Head down on the stock harder. I find that the farther back I go the tighter I have to pull the gun into the pocket and the firmer my face has to be on the stock. That prevents any movement of the face off the stock and also tighter in the pocket helps with driving with the back hand. 16 yards is more forgiving.

 

Once you get the fundamentals down, it's 90% mental !

 

Shooting at 22 yds is same as shooting at 16….just a little faster. A full choke will help with 1.125oz loads too. Same POA

 

Just my opinion but I wouldn't do anything differently at 22 yards than I would at 16 yards. Keep your head on the stock and don't let the gun move independent of your body. I had a bad habit of letting my head come off the stock and let the gun move without my body. I try to move mostly from the waist and keep my upper body as much as one piece as I can. I don't know it that's the correct way to do it but it's working for me.

 

Handicap really changes at 22 yards.Most on here probably don't remember when some "GENIUS " in the ATA changed the BEGINNING yardage from 20 yards to 22 yards. After several new shooters struggled and just quit shooting handicap ( or just quit altogether) the ATA finally and changed the beginning shooter handicap back to 20 yards. Timing ,distance, and time to target all change in handicap. . Also there is less gun movement in handicap.. The main difference is that in singles you might get away with a bobble or false start before the target gets away from you . You don't get that in handicap shooting. I also ask those who say there is NO difference in the two to explain to me why a singles shooters scores are ALWAYS higher than their handicap scores. Frank Little said they should be and he knew a LOT more about the subject than 99% of those here !