Any advice to be a better trap shooter

FIMMICS said:
Unfortunately Oshawa just closed off memberships for this year. There's 3 "trap" fields - one regular, one doubles and one wobble - that you can try. The skeet fields are self operating - you can join a squad or find a partner but you don't have to shoot a "normal" round if you don't want to. It's usually not that busy where you can't get a field to practice (depending on time and day). I usually use skeet for practice - the clay flight is always the same and the leads are known. The first few times can be intimidating - the clays move faster than trap and can be very close to you e.g. station 8 - but it soon becomes second nature. There's a very good series of youtube videos from Shotkam that demonstrate how all the stations of skeet are shot. Maybe we'll see you out there one day.
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Damn it.. I'm too late again. I checked the price. It is like $10 @rd. Normally, I played 12rds total during weekends. It will be $129+shells.. omg.. I need to get a loan lol. The public range is half of the price. But I think I will still give it a try. I'm a bit nervous abt skeet. I will watch the Shotkam videos. The Shotkam looks so cool but it is very pricy.
 
jim75 said:
Going by the amount of shooting you are doing it is maybe time to progress to shooting registered competition.
We all started in the same place, worried that we would embarrass ourselves and found that there were other shooters in the same place in their shooting careers, all scared to death and loving it.
My experience with ATA shooting is that it is a very welcoming community.
You will be exposed to some top notch shooters but..... you will be shooting against others in your class, shooting at different clubs and backgrounds and different people every day.
Watch the good shooters, there is a lot to learn about pre shot routine ,stance , gunpoint, consistency .
Watch the ordinary shooters, try to understand why they miss or not, where they go wrong.
Find a mentor if you don't have a coach, some one who has shot a while and has been down this road before.
Remember all the advice you get might not be good advice, consider the source.
Become a student of the game, the game rewards good study and work habits.
And when you get there pass it on, the new people need your help and advice, give it back to the sport.
I am at the point now where teaching new people is as much fun as shooting myself.
I don't regret this journey a bit.
Have FUN!
Jim
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Thank you so much for the advice.
You are right. I'm really scare that I will look like an idiot in the professional clay club. I'm afriad I won't even shoot half of my average under pressure.
At work, I always recruit my colleague to try shooting sport. Im very happy to share my knowledge & passion with others. Couple weeks ago, my colleague 1st time holding a shotgun, he got 15/25. He was so happy. He is dying to try again and he is going to bring his partner to try.
 
Celine said:
Thank you so much for the advice.
You are right. I'm really scare that I will look like an idiot in the professional clay club. I'm afriad I won't even shoot half of my average under pressure.
At work, I always recruit my colleague to try shooting sport. Im very happy to share my knowledge & passion with others. Couple weeks ago, my colleague 1st time holding a shotgun, he got 15/25. He was so happy. He is dying to try again and he is going to bring his partner to try.
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That keeps many new shooters out of the game.... understand that every one started somewhere! Just go out and have fun, don't worry about competing with the pro's!
 
Oshawa is hardly what I would consider a "professional clay club" considering that my friends and I are members. We get a wide range of expertise (or lack thereof) since walk-ins are welcome so there are a lot of very casual shooters that come out that are more than happy with a 15. As mentioned you could actually shoot alone on skeet if it's not busy. I rarely shoot skeet with more than one or two friends - it's that slow in the afternoons. We have no problems inviting newbies to shoot with us - getting them to break on station 8 for the first time is always fun to watch.
The round cost for trap, skeet and 5 stand is actually $9 for non-members - just $2.50 more than for members - it would take quite a few rounds to make up the membership and initiation fee (~ 6 months for you). Clays are an expensive sport any way you look at it. Make a day of it and shoot all 12 rounds (ouch) and the savings on gas would make up the difference lol.
Bring an old cap with you for when you get your first 25 - 'cause it will happen ! Happy shooting.
 
Falconflyer said:
That keeps many new shooters out of the game.... understand that every one started somewhere! Just go out and have fun, don't worry about competing with the pro's!
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You're never competing with the pros anyway. D class shooters compete against other D class shooters. You can be shooting beside an AA shooter but you aren't competing with him/her.
 
Lots of good suggestions in this thread. After 6 years, my average is about the same, so I think you are doing well. I have done 50 straight a number of times, but my average still seems to be around 23. My issue comes down to not focusing for the whole round. I managed a 96/100 (24, 25, 24, 23)in league shoot last weekend, and was really pleased with that.

I started shooting a winter league the first year that I started trap. I think the competition actually helped my scores, and watching better shooters didn't hurt. I'm in Mississauga as well. There are a number of leagues in southern Ontario. I have been shooting 3 leagues this winter. There are plenty of ATA shoots starting in the spring, if you want to try competitive registered targets.

I'm curious what club you found to be so bad, as I have not had that experience, and have shot at many clubs west and north of the gta. I was a member at one club for 6 years, but just moved to a new one.
 
2tall2 said:
Lots of good suggestions in this thread. After 6 years, my average is about the same, so I think you are doing well. I have done 50 straight a number of times, but my average still seems to be around 23. My issue comes down to not focusing for the whole round. I managed a 96/100 (24, 25, 24, 23)in league shoot last weekend, and was really pleased with that.

I started shooting a winter league the first year that I started trap. I think the competition actually helped my scores, and watching better shooters didn't hurt. I'm in Mississauga as well. There are a number of leagues in southern Ontario. I have been shooting 3 leagues this winter. There are plenty of ATA shoots starting in the spring, if you want to try competitive registered targets.

I'm curious what club you found to be so bad, as I have not had that experience, and have shot at many clubs west and north of the gta. I was a member at one club for 6 years, but just moved to a new one.
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Where do you find ATA schedule pls?
I'm not sure wheatherI will perform the same in different club. I know a new environment can affect the score. How does league work? I never participate any league/competition etc.
Re for the club I mentioned, someone else has already mentioned in the forum. I'm not going to repeat it. ;)
 
Thank you everyone for all the tips & advice.
I think my game plan will be like this:
-continue to practice
-try to shoot in different clubs, to get use different environments
-find a clay club to join & hopefully get some advice from the club members
-watch the competition to understand more
And have FUN.
ALSO, I want to shout out to the forum members who reach out to me & invite me to their clubs. Thank you
 
Celine said:
Thank you everyone for all the tips & advice.
I think my game plan will be like this:
-continue to practice
-try to shoot in different clubs, to get use different environments
-find a clay club to join & hopefully get some advice from the club members
-watch the competition to understand more
And have FUN.
ALSO, I want to shout out to the forum members who reach out to me & invite me to their clubs. Thank you
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The winter leagues are a great way to shoot at different clubs, ATA too I would imagine. I haven't shot any ATA yet.
If you are on Facebook, the OPTA has a page. Good way to learn of open events, league and ATA shoots.
There are many clubs west of the GTA. You can probably shoot as a guest at many of them, including both my old club and the new one.
Good luck.
 
Celine said:
Where do you find ATA schedule pls?
I'm not sure wheatherI will perform the same in different club. I know a new environment can affect the score. How does league work? I never participate any league/competition etc.
Re for the club I mentioned, someone else has already mentioned in the forum. I'm not going to repeat it. ;)
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Each league is a little different. Some you shoot 50 targets, some 100. Usually once a month for each league starting September, until April. Each month you shoot at a different club in the league. Most of the leagues, you sign up as part of a team, usually your home club, but it's not necessary. Some have Lewis payouts, where you can win money no matter what level shooter you are. The 3 leagues I have shot this year are the Silver Horseshoe, the Bronze, and the Intercounty. The Silver shoots at Galt, HAHA, Waterdown, and Waterford. The Bronze shoots at Galt, Bridgeport, Wilmot, and Twin City. The Intercounty shoots at Hamilton GC, and Toronto International.
If I can answer any questions, feel free to PM.
 
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