I think that with all these youth shooters comes some things that we older guys wouldn’t have dreamt of doing “back in the day.” Are these two examples a little unconventional? Sure. But they work for him so I say the other squad members need to suck it up and use their blinders.

 

Not sure where to start here. Have a young shooter who uses the Otto Pro earbud's. These are some pretty cool earbud's if haven’t seen them. They can make it so you hear everything or nothing. Along with playing a calming white noise or music if you like while shooting. So this young shooter bobs his head a bit or his right knee when he really gets into his groove. Mind you we are not talking about him doing the two step. His feet are permanently planted, but his knee is bobbing to the beat and his head does the same. This keeps him calm and relaxed with his mind free. Until it is his turn to pick up his gun. Is this considered bad etiquette? The young shooter was told that his little movements are bad etiquette and a major distraction to the squad. Is this true?
Secondly the young shooter has a superstitious attitude. He tries to. catch his hulls as they pop out of the gun. Most of the time 90-85 out of a hundred he catches them. Sometimes he misses them and leaves them on the ground until the round or the 4 rounds of 25 are done then he picks them up. If he misses he will throw that case on the ground. We are not talking a football spike we are talking knocking it to the ground as it comes out of the chamber. He doesn’t like the miss’s to be in his pouch. A simple superstition thing. This was told that this is an etiquette issue as well, so is it?
Or is this one shooter just picking to pick? Making me wonder if he’s a weaker minded shooter just picking.

If the other shooters say it’s a distraction then yes it should be considered as such. As far as the shells go it’s not really a big deal depending on where he’s shooting at. Some clubs don’t allow it. If the hull hits the ground it then belongs to the club.

 

His mannerisms don't seem bad to me and the person who complained is probably the only one who has a problem with it.

 

I don't think he would bother me as long as I couldn't hear whatever he was listening to. I tend to be focused on what I need to do and for the most part unaware of the movements of the rest of the squad. Likely would be considered poor etiquette in a setting that's a little more serious than what I shoot in.

 

If that shooter complaining is more focused on the person beside him instead of the next target then he has bigger issues than a head bob or knee wiggle.

 

So long as they don't violate rulebook or ridiculously slow down the squad I don't care what they do. It's the gun mounters/trackers in definite violation of rules that annoy me most

 

Yea, I'm in agreement with Brumfield, if your that concerned about the shooter beside you. Your miss may happen as soon as you call pull.

 

This headgear plus switching to a semi-automatic shotgun should quickly resolve any issues.

 

Personally, I think it is bad etiquette. I don't want to disrupt anyone in the squad, and I don't want to be distracted by a squad mate while I shoot. I don't want people dancing on the line as I am trying to shoot. He may have trouble down the road to find people that want to shoot with him.

 

It works for him but I could see it as a distraction for some shooters.
Personally it would not bother me as I keep my eyes out in front of house watching my squadmates targets in case there is a questionable call.
I do wear blinders and I’m sure that helps me not notice minor movements from others.

 

You say he is a young shooter, so he still has lots to learn. Catching hulls is a good habit but someone should explain that he needs to react to each shot exactly as he would after smoking that target.
He needs to put away his superstitious ways. Every time he refuses to put a hull in his pouch he is thinking about missing instead of concentrating on hitting.

 

Im amazed by people who can shoot to music. I had that happen once with bluetooth headgear at a speed event it drove me crazy. I killed the ability for that to happen on everything after. I drop hulls all the time, im clumsy

 

If he’s not breaking 25s, 50s, and 100s he might just be distracting himself with all the dancing and tossing. Disregard for his fellows is another matter all together that will teach potentially hard lessons off the trap field.

 

We have a bunch of kids at our club that do similar things. We are talking Teenagers. They don’t bother anybody. In fact we good naturedly laugh at them behind the scenes. No big deal here. A couple are rather child minded and pitch a hissy fit if they miss, pitching their hulls. Again, no big deal. They just look foolish.

 

A couple are rather child minded and pitch a hissy fit if they miss, pitching their hulls. Again, no big deal

I have to disagree with allowing this practice. I too, coach a youth trap team. We school all our young shooters on the very first day regarding etiquette on the line. Our kids are told that once you fire your shot, your turn is over. Don't do anything that may distract the next shooter's turn.
Throwing hulls and having a "hissy fit" will get you pulled off the line on our team. Young people need to learn to keep their emotions in check and allowing them to act out does not accomplish anything. I've had the pleasure of observing several well coached teams over the years and you don't see any of these kids acting out after a miss.

 

I am LH one eye shooter when the shooter to my left does some things after they shoot it is a little annoying so if I get squadded next to them I just wait until they stop their antics before I mount my gun and shoot,

 

In my opinion, this is the new normal! I’ve coached high school trap teams and yes it’s real, but that being said truthfully each shooter on the line needs to be concerned with themselves, the task at hand, and concentration on the next target! If something as small as a head bob or knee twitch is bothering you, you are probably not paying attention to the task at hand! Movement is a factor down the line, loading and unloading the guns, grabbing empties and live shells alike, in my opinion this is not an etiquette issue. If it’s not something that is a major distraction, then it shouldn’t be an issue.

 

There are two ways to look at this.

It is polite and courteous to remain motionless while the person next to you on either side is shooting

It is helpful to wear blinders if motion on either side of you is troublesome.

A good shooting friend of mine is fidgety, he shoots on my left, I wear blinders, we always have a good time.

 

We have a guy we call two-step. After he shoots, he takes a step back and waits his next turn. Then steps up, sets, calls and shoots. Nobody has complained yet. As mentioned above, the ones raising their gun to your right before you've even called your bird are egregious pias.

 

We have a guy we call two-step. After he shoots, he takes a step back and waits his next turn.

I've been squadded with him and don't really notice it when I'm shooting. I'm kind of amused by it when I'm watching his squad.

I have kind of a routine and I'm not absolutely still on the line. I've shot about 80,000 registered targets and I can recall a time that a left handed shooter who followed me said my movement distracted him. So, if I am followed by a lefty I try to just lower my gun after shooting and pause until he/she shoots, then start my routine.

 

I started shooting as a young teen and was pretty much throwing my shells on the ground after every miss. One of the older shooters asked me if I wanted to be a good shooter or just look good shooting? Then he proceeded to show me how all the winners of the club shoot. None of them were bobbing and weaving to music, throwing shells, all calm, cool & collected. I wanted to win, so I began focusing on shooting each target exactly the same regardless of hit or miss. Very seldom do very good shooters throw shells, dance around, etc.

 

This is the correct response. If the kid can bounce around and do silly stuff and shoot AAA score, so be it. However, it has been well observed in all things that the more adept a person becomes in a physical activity the less effort is observed. In short they are calm, concise and make it look easy with only the minimum amount of movement required to complete the task.

When I first started shooting I watched the AAA guys. They stood still until they mounted the gun, called, shot, ejected, reloaded and stood still. The D shooters did all sorts of nonsense. Take your pick.

 

Earbuds with music should not be allowed.

 

I do not think it is a serious issue. The person complaining is overly sensitive to the entire world around them and probably doesn't like to take accountability for their missed shots. I personally would never even notice unless hulls were landing by my feet as I was shooting.

However.......if a complaint was made, I believe it should be respected, and an effort taken to minimize or eliminate the movements that bother other shooters.

 

Hyperactivity is a prevalent symptom of people on the autism spectrum. He may not be able to hold still.

 

The music I'm fine with. At least the Otto's have a Noise Reduction Rating, unlike the Apple products I see in use on the line.

The dancing? I hope it's not too obtrusive. I usually shoot to Buxtehude or Bach; not much temptation to dance to that.

The hull catching/tossing? It could be a distraction for others. Moreover, I think it's potentially self-destructive on two points: The display could be reenforcing his emotional response to missing, when ideally you should be simply getting on with hitting the next one. The other thing with the fancy catching business - you're inviting a fumble, which is just going to be another distraction from your routine.

Keep your routine simple, repeatable, and unobtrusive to others.

Larry

 

Gosh, I haven't seen the name Buxtehude in 20 years since upper level music history classes in college. Reading that name on a trapshooting forum was not on my Bingo card for the year.

 

10 years of coaching youth team. A lot of our kids use ear buds. If it helps them relax it don't bother us. Now dumping an empty on the ground because of a miss will stop the squad and have that young person quietly talked to about self control. It is not tolerated and they are told it will only lead to the next miss.

 

First Off, The NSSA and NSCA do not consider Ear Buds Proper Hearing Protection. I suggest his father worry about his son's hearing at his age. I do not know the NRR rating of his Ear Buds. That issue is for his Parents to decide.

I can't tell how much this kid is moving around. So, its a hard call for me to make, as such. However, if your getting at least one person on even 1/3 of his squads complaining about his body movements!!!
Then this kid needs to stop moving, and respect the other 4 shooters on his squad. I was taught to respect other competitors, and adults at his age.

As far as tossing all his missed target shells on the ground, and not placing them in his pocket. That's a No-No!!! He needs to grow up, Period!!! This is a adult sport, and he needs to learn to act like a adult. If he can carry, and shoot a firearm, he can learn to act like a adult IMO. He can learn to move and groove in his head, without the body movements. break em all jeff

 

First Off, The NSSA and NSCA do not consider Ear Buds Proper Hearing Protection. I suggest his father worry about his son's hearing at his age. I do not know the NRR rating of his Ear Buds. That issue is for his Parents to decide.

I can't tell how much this kid is moving around. So, its a hard call for me to make, as such. However, if your getting at least one person on even 1/3 of his squads complaining about his body movements!!!
Then this kid needs to stop moving, and respect the other 4 shooters on his squad. I was taught to respect other competitors, and adults at his age.

As far as tossing all his missed target shells on the ground, and not placing them in his pocket. That's a No-No!!! He needs to grow up, Period!!! This is a adult sport, and he needs to learn to act like a adult. If he can carry, and shoot a firearm, he can learn to act like a adult IMO. He can learn to move and groove in his head, without the body movements. break em all jeff

The OtoPros aren’t just earbuds, they are custom molded active hearing protection at $1,000 to $1,600 a pair. His parents clearly care more about his hearing than I do about mine with my 10 year old $50 headphones or few cent foamies.

Respecting other competitors is a two way street, from the sounds of it the kid is shooting into the 90’s so it may be a case of a sub par shooter being annoyed that a younger shooter is better than him and is finding any excuse to complain. If a little bit of body movement from a shooter that isn’t moving their feet is all it takes to distract them then they need to work on their own concentration rather than giving the kid a hard time for moving.

I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve once shot a round of trap where any of the other shooters effected my score and I’ve shot with some guys that would take every bit of 30 seconds to 1 minute to prepare for their shot, make exaggerated movements to shoulder the gun or yell through the entire shot. Heck my brother and I used to speed run a round of trap as fast as we could load the gun plus would actively taunt each other when one of us fumbled the reload and we still shot into the 20’s out of 25.

As for the dropped shells, if the kid is superstitious about “carrying his misses with him” and wants to drop the handful of missed shells on the ground to pick up at the end of the round again who cares? The vast majority of this game is mental anyway and if it helps him concentrate so be it. It should be significantly less distracting than someone shooting an auto and chucking 100 shells on the ground directly at the shooter on their right. I used to shoot a model 12 so my post shot routine was catching the shell as it was ejected then turning and chucking it into the shell collection bins behind me. Never once had a fellow shooter complain that I was being “too distracting”.

MLB is an adult sport with adult players getting paid tens of millions of dollars a year and they are notorious for being superstitious. We fish offshore tournaments and most of the guys in them have some superstitions, ours is no bananas on the boat and our buddy does his marlin dance to bring up the fish. They may be entirely coincidental but when you’ve been trolling all day without a bite and find a guest brought a banana on the boat so you chuck it overboard and 5 minutes later 4 rods go down or your buddy does his Marlin dance and in the middle of it an almost 500 pound blue marlin comes up and hammers the bait you keep doing it just to be safe.