Soft rights station four

K

Kenny

CGN Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
24   0   0
Location
London Ont area
We did a little problem solving at the club yesterday. We set the machine to throw only hard rights, then went to hard lefts, al all targets inbetween.
I shot very well and found out my biggest problem. Soft rights from station four
I don't know what the heck I am doing but I miss likely 30% of these targets.
It is driving me nuts.
I don't seem to do anything different for the ones I hit, than the ones I miss.
Maybe I'll pick up a box of those tracers see were I am shooting.
Trap is a game of mistakes. The one that makes the most is the looser.
 
I sometimes miss a few too many soft lefts from station 2....I wonder if the problem is the same ?? lifting my head would be the first guess.
 
When I have had trouble with the soft rights and lefts I have always attributed it to not having my focus locked on target at the time of shot.
 
I used to hate the 'straightaways' with the softest twinge of right/left; in particular right. It's a natural blind spot for a RH shooter, and it took me a while to correct it to the level I needed for competition.

What I did was lower my gun hold, believe it or not.

I know it sounds hinky, but if you stick your bead at the closest edge of the house rather than at the top of the deck (i.e. bring in your bead roughly 6 feet) it naturally removes the urge to 'peek' at the birds when they come out. I found it helped me really slam the hard lefts/rights as well, since the lower bead hold forced me to start the gun swinging upwards more aggressively - this led naturally to a more complete follow-through to the up-right or up-left instead of the subconscious "leveling off" many do at hard angles. Literally, the momentum of the gun carried it perfectly through the shot.

Once you position your barrels such that physics does the thinking for you, then let the gun work for you rather than against you, the weakest part of the game (your damned brain!) is helpless to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

I ran a straight 25 at nationals in Edmonton @ the center field (in only the second time I'd ever shot on it, I might add) with a bead hold almost 8 feet IN FRONT of the bunker. The gun speed isn't as limiting as most think - it's moving the gun wrongly then having to correct that will kill you; going from a 'point' to an 'aim' is death for your scores.

-M
 
Also, as close as you may bring in your gun's bead hold, NEVER bring in your eye hold. Out-focus is passive and rate-limited, in-focus is active and as fast as you need it to be.

-M
 
Maybe you've convinced yourself it's a "SOFT", therefor, "easy" target ... and subsequently don't give it the respect it deserves ... till you miss it ? Just about the second one thinks a target is a "gimme" is the second it goes drifting away !

PS ... IMHO, the "tracer loads" don't work very well ...
you're better off to have a skilled shooter/coach watch what you're up to. On an overcast day, a sharp eyed observer can often see the shot swarm going out toward the target ... (the shooter can't ... but a practiced observer can)
 
Last edited:
If you are missing the quarter angles and can't tell where/why you are missing them, 99 times out of a 100 it means you are "peeking" and lifting your head off the stock. Bring your initial hold down and it may help to keep you from sliding over the top of them. Good Luck!
 
If you are lifting your head to peek, you may have done this because you have momentarily lost track of the target. You may have lost track of the target because of hold point, but I think that the most probable cause is making a move on the target before it is clearly in focus. If a premature move blocks the target before the shot, one of two things happen. You may slow or stop your swing or you may check you muzzle target relationship which causes loss of focus on the target. Both are subconscious reactions to loss of focus or not not getting proper focus on the target. This is best detected by getting an experienced coach watch you shoot.
 
much thanks

thanks for all the feed back. Heading out tomorrow am to try some changes. Will try the lower hold, and better focus on target ,,I'll see where this takes me
 
Kenny ... let us know how you fared !

Interesting line from Gill Ash ... para-phrased :

If you keep doing what you've always done, you're always going to get what you've always got ....

If it ain't workin' .. . well then, you've got to CHANGE something ! :D
 
You might want to try forcing yourself to pick a piece after the break and track its fall. If you are peeking you will have a hard time getting on a piece and you will know you are lifting you head.
 
lower hold

I think I like this lower hold.
I tried it sunday and smashed all my soft right targets. It is like forcing you to hurry to get on the target so you can't stop your gun out of momentum. The lower hold gives you a good look at the target, less chance of lifting your head
Of course I was concentrating on my softs so much, I missed a straight away and a hard right. 48/50
Anyway it will take a few weeks to see if I can put it all together.
Thanks again for all the pointers,
I am a pretty good trap shooter, about 96% on my singles. I have broken 125 straight once. Even if I never get to be a top gun, I still love shooting clay
 
dwc said:
You might want to try forcing yourself to pick a piece after the break and track its fall. If you are peeking you will have a hard time getting on a piece and you will know you are lifting you head.
Click to expand...

I think that not getting on a piece will only prove that you were unable to quickly focus on another target and the probable cause was your focus on the bead or barrel was drawing your attention. If the focus was on the area that the target was at the time of break, your subconscious would have no trouble getting on the peice. Not getting on the piece shows that your subconscious is no longer in control and you are in conscious mode which is very slow and can not help but be desperate to find what it has lost control of.
 
Shifting to a broken piece after the shot is mostly a follow through exercise, to keep you centered through the shot. It is also good training for doubles as you have to stay with the gun and shift to a second target.
 
That shot is history. I see no need to follow up, and I especially see no need to be centered after the shot. If there is a second shot as in doubles I would think that being centered over the gun is the last thing I would want. By being centered I mean being focused. There is a second target in the air and that means a new center of focus must be established or all that staying with the gun will be for not. Only after the second target is clearly established and focus locked is it possible to consistently steer the gun to the kill zone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom