[jeri534]

Just wondering how common this gun hold is? Specifically on post 1 and 5. If you setup for a straight away on 1 and 5, all your moves would be either vertical, or to the left (post 1), and right (post 5). Sometimes if Im on the corner of the house and get a straight away on post 1 and 5 I sometimes blow by them horizontally with too much gun movement.

 

[silver sides]

Some advocate positioning the body for the angle,winding the body to the house while holding for the straightaway.

 

[tmx3200]

Just wondering how common this gun hold is? Specifically on post 1 and 5. If you setup for a straight away on 1 and 5, all your moves would be either vertical, or to the left (post 1), and right (post 5). Sometimes if Im on the corner of the house and get a straight away on post 1 and 5 I sometimes blow by them horizontally with too much gun movement.

I think Frank Little did that

 

[mike campbell]

Yes. On 1 & 5 I set up hips and feet for the hard angle, take a hold point barely inside the corner and look for (not anticipate) the straightaway on 1 and 5. No blowing by what used to be my most -missed straightaways and a smooth, relaxed un-winding of the hips into the hard angles with no independent arm swinging.

 

[58perazzi]

I shoot a straight away quicker, that way even if I am a hair over, I am still shooting on a rising target .

 

[Brady509]

Nailed it!!! A+++mike campbell

 

[jeri534]

Yes. On 1 & 5 I set up hips and feet for the hard angle, take a hold point barely inside the corner and look for (not anticipate) the straightaway on 1 and 5. No blowing by what used to be my most -missed straightaways and a smooth, relaxed un-winding of the hips into the hard angles with no independent arm swinging.

Do you do the same for post 2 and 4?

 

[USSR]

My misses on straight away shots at station 1 and 5 involved me shooting over them. I now concentrate on mentally recognizing that it's a straight away and shooting slower. Has helped me a lot.

Don

 

[derbyacresbob]

That is how I learned to shoot on station 1 and station 5. When I held to the left on station 1 and to the right on station 5, I would be thinking about the left hand and right hand angle targets and them miss the straight away targets way more often that I missed the hard angel targets to the left and right.

I feel way more comfortable starting out behind the hard angle targets than having to swing my gun to the right or to the left to shoot a straight away target.

 

[Big Az Al]

If I am holding on the straightaway I am to far into the house to give my eye a chance to see the hard angle. A move coming back to the nearly straightaway target slows me down so I don't shoot over or to the outside of the slight inwards angle of the near straightaway. While I shoot over the top of a straightaway way to many times. I miss as many nearly straightaways to the outside of the slight angle of that nearly straightaway.

The hold point I set is to give my eye the best look at all targets setting a hold point for one angle only is a recipe to anticipate only one angle or simply the recipe for a lost target.

Al

 

[jk80]

I do approximately the same as Al. If I tried to set up for a straight away from 1 and 5 I feel like a hard left or right bird beats me out of the house. If I'm focusing on thinking straight away I have to go hunting for anything other. I think little and Dysinger promoted the straight away theory and they sure made it work but it's whatever works for YOU!

 

[jeri534]

I understand you don't want to have your eyes fixated on a straight away, Im just talking about the gun hold point, of course my soft focus would be in the general area past the trap house where the bird comes out, but if the gun starts where the straight away is then I simplify my move to a straight on post 1 and 5

 

[derbyacresbob]

If I tried to hold out away from the house far enough to were the target wouldn't beat me I would miss WAY More straight away and slight angle targets than I would hard lefts and rights.

Having the target get in front of my gun on the hard lefts and rights just helps me swing through them and keep my gun moving when I pull the trigger. I shoot swing through method on all trap targets so I don't want my barrel in front of the targets when they come out of the house.

When I hold my gun in the middle of the house on stations 1 and 5 I am looking just outside the left and right corners of the house. You don't have to look where your barrel is pointed to see the target. If the target comes out straight away I raise the gun straight up to it. It the targets come out to the left or right I go after it and swing through it.

 

[Jaburg1]

A lot of good suggestions here, and in the end, the shooter has to find their own recipe for what works.

One additional thing you can do while working on some of the other pointers, is slow down and take your time on the straight-aways from the outside posts. You have a lot of time, so keep your gun dead-still until you’ve clearly identified the exact flight path of that target.

When you see the flight path very clearly, raise your gun to it like you’re serving it a glass of champagne...

 

[dickgshot]

Hiram Bradley was the first one to promote holding for the straightaway on every post. He held a high gun with his model 12 and won many championships.

 

[KS-5 Spec.]

In all cases, think of which makes it easier to hit the target, intersecting two angles at the prefect time, or coming straight from behind, and one angle of target and barrel movement. IMO, it seems quicker, and smoother to the target from straight behind than it is from a different angle.

 

[Ram Rod]

I have no fear of the angle because you can clearly see where it's going and have time to swing through it.
I fear the inside shot because it takes perfect timing .
My way is to hold out on the corner to favor the angle with the hold point while looking to the inside to clearly pick up the straight .
Post one look to the right of the hold point and post 5 look to the left of the hold point.
Henry

 

[o-hale]

Hold for a straightaway from post 1 or 5, no way.
I usually get 5 hard lefts from post 1 and 5 hard rights from post 5.

 

[trapwife]

Leo Harrison’s video has lots of info on hold points, foot positions, and eye focus from each individual post.

 

[AusAmateur]

An Olympic gold medalist in ISSF trap shoots this way (that is, holding for a straightaway) when shooting trap.

Their words: it isn't for everybody. It does help you stop anticipating an angled target on #1 or #5.

My thoughts: what target are you consistently missing? work from there to see if this might help you.