SINGLE STATION PRACTICE
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Yes, I have done it. You are practicing to improve so work on what needs the most improvement. If it is post 5 then give it more attention, just don't get lazy / lackadaisical if you are over there for too long. Mix it up a bit in between so it is more of a realistic scenario. Two on one, two on two, two on three, two on four and finish the box on post 5, or some variation of that. Practice with purpose.
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2,533 Posts
Welcome to the forum. If I am having trouble on a certain post, hard left, hard right, I go to the club during the week and usually I am the only one shooting, so I set the trap and lock it to whatever position I want and go practice. Last week I got a punch so I will go tomorrow and set the trap to straight away and shoot from post 3 until I like the results and then put it back on auto and shoot a box normal. It helps. Good luck
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3,054 Posts
If hard rights at station 5 are the problem then lock the trap to throw hard rights.
Hold your regular hold point and also look at your regular look point, even though you know it will be a hard right.
If another angle is a problem, lock the trap for that angle.
Jason
Hold your regular hold point and also look at your regular look point, even though you know it will be a hard right.
If another angle is a problem, lock the trap for that angle.
Jason
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6,589 Posts
While I will never dis practice.
I found that my foot position was the biggest hindrance on post 5 hard rights. If your foot position binds your body so the gun has to come off your face you lose birds.
So lock the machine on hard right and don't just practice the swing work on foot position. And other body mechanics.
Once I found foot position the post lost it's mystery! At least for me.
Al
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1,288 Posts
Absolutely, if your fighting a station or a specific target from any one station and you can lock the trap down and shoot that target until it becomes 2nd nature, if it's a particular station that has you befuddled then stand on the station and shoot 50 or 100, I have done that more than once, that's what practice is for, good luck 
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1,332 Posts
That's exactly what I did. Hard lefts from station 1, hard rights from station 5 until I had confidence and found my position.
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1,608 Posts
When I have bought a new gun I start locked straightaways from post 3, and move left or right from there, just don't get too cocky and move til all are smokeballs! Is my opinion, Disclaimer<< I am not an All American, but I still love it!
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5,675 Posts
Yes. Shooting a single station 25,50,75,100 times with the trap moving and locked. Whatever it takes to "Groove your move".
I have spent some time around PGA golfers. Theses guys are all about repetition. I have seen them come off the course after a round and go hit a 100 balls out of the sand or chip a couple of 100. Muscle memory is what comes from that. Trap, like bowling, is a muscle memory sport.Your mind will discard the unsuccessful and retain the successful.
As for post 5, hard rights, 3 good drills.First lock the trap:
1. Hold the gun clear out to where almost you break point would be so that you are waiting for the target to get there. Shoot it so that you don't have to really swing through it. Don't try to "see the lead", just let your brain do the work. Once you are consistently breaking the target, you brain will get trained to get the gun to that point ahead of the target. Start moving the gun back to your normal hold point. so that you are now having to swing through the target. Angles are all about tempo. Get your shoulders moving in time with the target, your gun will come along for the ride.
2. Build confidence that the target won't "get away". Use your normal hold point and call for the target with your eyes closed. Open on your call and go shoot the target.
3. Trap angles really aren't that sharp. Below is a diagram showing a 35 yard target break point from each station for a hard right, 2 hole target. Note how flat that hard right from post 5 really is. A good drill if you safely have the room is to
move 9 feet to the right of post 5( post 6). This increases the angle but you will find you can still break the target. If you can hit them from 6, you can hit them from 5.
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I have spent some time around PGA golfers. Theses guys are all about repetition. I have seen them come off the course after a round and go hit a 100 balls out of the sand or chip a couple of 100. Muscle memory is what comes from that. Trap, like bowling, is a muscle memory sport.Your mind will discard the unsuccessful and retain the successful.
As for post 5, hard rights, 3 good drills.First lock the trap:
1. Hold the gun clear out to where almost you break point would be so that you are waiting for the target to get there. Shoot it so that you don't have to really swing through it. Don't try to "see the lead", just let your brain do the work. Once you are consistently breaking the target, you brain will get trained to get the gun to that point ahead of the target. Start moving the gun back to your normal hold point. so that you are now having to swing through the target. Angles are all about tempo. Get your shoulders moving in time with the target, your gun will come along for the ride.
2. Build confidence that the target won't "get away". Use your normal hold point and call for the target with your eyes closed. Open on your call and go shoot the target.
3. Trap angles really aren't that sharp. Below is a diagram showing a 35 yard target break point from each station for a hard right, 2 hole target. Note how flat that hard right from post 5 really is. A good drill if you safely have the room is to
move 9 feet to the right of post 5( post 6). This increases the angle but you will find you can still break the target. If you can hit them from 6, you can hit them from 5.
Imo, if you're having problems on one or five it boils down to two things:
1. Foot position.
2. Target anticipation.
Position your feet so you don't bind up your move (you'll feel it in the knee) and make sure you don't move your gun until you got a clear target.
Shooting targets from one post doesn't improve your entire game.
1. Foot position.
2. Target anticipation.
Position your feet so you don't bind up your move (you'll feel it in the knee) and make sure you don't move your gun until you got a clear target.
Shooting targets from one post doesn't improve your entire game.
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3,182 Posts
I may be the only one on this forum who does NOT advocate locking the Trap. Doing so promotes bad habits like anticipating the target, cheating the gun hold, breaking the target faster than you would in a normal round, etc…. None of these are good and will lower your scores.
If you’re going to work on a problem post then shoot 25 targets from that post, and let the Trap oscillate. You’ll then learn the left and right flight limits from that post, and where best to hold to cover that range. You’ll learn to hold still and then move AFTER you clearly see the flight path. You’ll also understand how high to hold that’s best for YOU, and best foot position; be willing to experiment.
If you’re going to work on a problem post then shoot 25 targets from that post, and let the Trap oscillate. You’ll then learn the left and right flight limits from that post, and where best to hold to cover that range. You’ll learn to hold still and then move AFTER you clearly see the flight path. You’ll also understand how high to hold that’s best for YOU, and best foot position; be willing to experiment.
I agree, if you lockthe trap and shoot on one station you know exactly where each bird ig going to be. I tried it a couple of times and it didn't help when I shot with a full squad from all five statios with the trap unlocked
You're not alone...and I'd all but guarantee that most who suggest it have never done it.
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5,675 Posts
OK, two specific and one general thing here.
1. If you can lock a trap and know where each bird will be, then you should be able to stand there and break all 25. I know you can't do that on the hard angles and I really doubt you could do that on post 3 locked straight.
2. If you try something just twice, how in heck can you say whether it helped you or not?
3. In general, all sports rely on repetitions of the fundamentals. That is why you have fielding and batting practice in baseball, standing and shooting free throws in basketball, hitting buckets of balls with the same iron in golf. It's also why guitarists will practice the same riff over and over until they have it locked. You want to learn to hit the hard right from post 5? Stand there and shoot until you solve your problem. Or, you if get two per round you can shoot 12 rounds of trap and forget between opportunities what you did that worked.
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36,825 Posts
Just 25? There are stories about some trapshooting legends who shot a whole case from one station. A case was 500 shells.
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5,326 Posts
OP, the best thing you can do is find a good coach. Money spent on good coaching will return a far better yield on investment than just shooting targets
Worked with a young man this morning who has Cerebral Palsy. First thing was to achieve a solid foundation and mount that works with his physical limitations. Second was mounting shooting and adjusting his gun to shoot a desired point of impact. Lastly we went to the trap and set the machine for straight away's. I challenged him to break 10 in a row, took roughly 25 shots till he got in a groove and could put everything together before breaking 10 consecutively. After that he continued till he missed #20, the grin on his face was my reward.
I shot more than 25 each of the 2 times I tried it. I did break a couple of 25's. t didn't help when I shot on a squad with 5 people with the trap osollating.
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1,281 Posts
Station drills are fine for trap, but I'm not a fan of locking down a trap, tried it several times and I feel it only made things worse. I beleive it promotes bad habits. The frustration that it can cause can be a real mental block also.
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