Any advice to be a better trap shooter

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Celine

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I really want to be a better trap shooter. I think I addict to trap, may be sporting clay in future ;)
Hiring a coach is not feasible at this time.
I have started seriously to shoot trap since November after getting my CG Syren.
I practice every Saturday & Sunday whenever I can. I shoot ard 250 each weekend. I read trap shooting books & watched the YouTube abt how to shoot trap.
My average score now is 23/25. It seems to stuck at 23. (I used to shoot average 9 only :)
I know here has a lot of good shooters.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
 
Don't beat yourself up, starting from an average of 9 you have progressed to mid 20's, a huge advance, so you have the basics down now and have reached your first plateau. It won't be your last. You obviously have a gun that fits and you progressed quickly but you need to find a way to pick up that last couple of birds, welcome to the crowd. Practice, practice, practice, but practice with purpose. Try to determine which presentations are causing you the most trouble and concentrate on cleaning up sloppy habits on these, try to get the machine set up just for one troublesome bird and burn a whole box ( or three) on just this one problem bird until you can hit it every time from each station. Perhaps a few others will join you. There might be a very experienced shooter in your club that can stand behind you and call your misses, this can help a lot to pinpoint a problem. At your point (23/25) you are just missing a couple of birds, don't get impatient. Nobody hits 'em all, even if you break 199 out of 200 you will still be looking for the 200th. The fine tuning stage that you are at now is more mental than physical. Repetition will groove the physical part, the sustained mental concentration is much more difficult. Persevere, practice with purpose, the first 25 straight WILL come, maybe some day when you are relaxed and not trying really hard but the breaks just seem to flow. 50 straight will come one day too but usually takes longer. Some never achieve 100 straight and nobody breaks them all. Above all, have fun.
 
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Thx for your advice. I practice at a public range. It is not a trap/skeet club. I cannot ask to set the trap to shoot in one particular direction. I practice by participate at each squad. The range officers r very helpful. They taught me a lot or may be they couldn't stand me shooting so bad lol.
I keep a journal on what I missed the most. I noticed that I missed a lot at station 3 & 4. I'm not sure why.
 
With scores like that it's most likely all in your head. Pattern your gun again and see where it shoots. Things change, especially when you are first starting out. Read "With Winning In Mind.". Review your stance and gun mount. If you haven't already, start shooting in competition. The extra concentration works wonders for your score...........sometimes. The biggest mistake you could make at this point is to actively "improve" your shooting. If you start changing things now you will regret it.
 
92 average is nothing to scoff at.

Post 3,4 stance as mentioned, gun hold, and remember that there’s no such thing as a straight away.
 
If you are missing a high proportion at station 3 and four but still doing well on station 5 and if you are right handed then there is a good chance that you are mentally not fully applying yourself as you do on station 5 because 3 and 4 are 'easier'. Again, if you can get an experienced shooter to stand behind you they may spot in which direction you are missing and why. You may just need a slight change in foot placement on those stations or maybe you are missing a perceived straightaway that is actually at a slight angle. If you are lucky your misses will have some common characteristics and can be easily corrected. If the misses are random then practice, practice, try to eliminate chippy breaks. Be patient and seriously consider moving to an active trap club if you can, you may be as far as you can go within the scope of a public range.
 
Trap is a game of precision repetition. Getting set-up on the station the same way everytime, moving the same hold point everytime, soft focus to the same spot everytime, moving to the bird and picking up the lead the same everytime. Using the same gun, shell, choke combination everytime. Once you mastered the basics, it comes down to practise and precision. 92% average tells me you are doing everything right, keep doing it and those last birds will fall in line.
 
Start recording your LOST :(. I assume your gun has been patterned
If you find a pattern in the misses work extra rounds on that station(s) only
BIG ONE stop thinking about it and just shoot. It will happen with enough rounds shot
All the best
 
bdft said:
With scores like that it's most likely all in your head. Pattern your gun again and see where it shoots. Things change, especially when you are first starting out. Read "With Winning In Mind.". Review your stance and gun mount. If you haven't already, start shooting in competition. The extra concentration works wonders for your score...........sometimes. The biggest mistake you could make at this point is to actively "improve" your shooting. If you start changing things now you will regret it.
Click to expand...

@bdft
Where can I pattern the gun pls? Any club? The public range doesn't have the pattern board.
I have read the "with winning in mind" . I really like the book. Muscle memory is so important. I set a small goal each time as the book described.
I never think about to participate any competition. That's the goal too far for me to reach.
 
JIMMY 808 said:
92 average is nothing to scoff at.

Post 3,4 stance as mentioned, gun hold, and remember that there’s no such thing as a straight away.
Click to expand...

I noticed that I missed a lot in straight away at station 3 &4..
Would you kindly to explain what you mean by "no such thing as a straight away", please?
 
Maritime Storm said:
Trap is a game of precision repetition. Getting set-up on the station the same way everytime, moving the same hold point everytime, soft focus to the same spot everytime, moving to the bird and picking up the lead the same everytime. Using the same gun, shell, choke combination everytime. Once you mastered the basics, it comes down to practise and precision. 92% average tells me you are doing everything right, keep doing it and those last birds will fall in line.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your encouragement. I will keep doing that. I really enjoy trap. Hopefully, I will be good enough to try skeet & sporting clay.
 
JIMMY 808 said:
92 average is nothing to scoff at.

Post 3,4 stance as mentioned, gun hold, and remember that there’s no such thing as a straight away.
Click to expand...

Simple, but helpful comments. Consistent hold points are everything in Trap. Misreading soft rights as straight aways on 3 and 4 has cost me many straights.
 
Celine said:
I noticed that I missed a lot in straight away at station 3 &4..
Would you kindly to explain what you mean by "no such thing as a straight away", please?
Click to expand...


He means that even though the target may start out going dead straight away from you it will eventually leak a bit left or right. The rotation of the clay naturally takes it to the right but you could have a cross wind taking it left. It may not leak much but it won't be dead straight like you may think it is.
 
Ashcroft said:
If you are missing a high proportion at station 3 and four but still doing well on station 5 and if you are right handed then there is a good chance that you are mentally not fully applying yourself as you do on station 5 because 3 and 4 are 'easier'. Again, if you can get an experienced shooter to stand behind you they may spot in which direction you are missing and why. You may just need a slight change in foot placement on those stations or maybe you are missing a perceived straightaway that is actually at a slight angle. If you are lucky your misses will have some common characteristics and can be easily corrected. If the misses are random then practice, practice, try to eliminate chippy breaks. Be patient and seriously consider moving to an active trap club if you can, you may be as far as you can go within the scope of a public range.
Click to expand...

I think most of the trap/skeet club only open on weekend. Would they allow me to set to 1 direction for practising?
I went to a trap club ard here. The environment / facilities were beautiful but the management was horrible & the members were so unfriendly. At that time, I only had a semi. They looked at me like I have two heads. Also, the management was shouting at the ppl telling them that they don't teach & coach. If they need help, go somewhere else.
It was not a very positive experience.
 
Celine said:
I think most of the trap/skeet club only open on weekend. Would they allow me to set to 1 direction for practising?
I went to a trap club ard here. The environment / facilities were beautiful but the management was horrible & the members were so unfriendly. At that time, I only had a semi. They looked at me like I have two heads. Also, the management was shouting at the ppl telling them that they don't teach & coach. If they need help, go somewhere else.
It was not a very positive experience.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the club management needs to "go somewhere else"
 
Well, the tired and true adage "practice, practice, practice" is only mildly successful for me so I've not got any suggestions.
 
If you gave us an idea of where you're located (I think I already know), maybe someone could offer another club that has helpful members. I've only ever been to one club where the members looked at you with scorn in their eyes if you didn't have a Perazzi or similar. I remember feeling a twinge of joy when their club went under ................
 
BJP said:
If you gave us an idea of where you're located (I think I already know), maybe someone could offer another club that has helpful members. I've only ever been to one club where the members looked at you with scorn in their eyes if you didn't have a Perazzi or similar. I remember feeling a twinge of joy when their club went under ................
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. In order to have this sport to grow, it has to welcome the new comer & also educate /offer guidance. In this economy, how many ppl can afford a high end shotgun. If ppl doesn't know whether they will enjoy this sport, they will only use whatever they have. I love the public range so much. Ppl in there are so friendly. They are their to have good time. They cheer for you whenever you hit a difficult one. The range officers give pointers to anyone ask humbly. That's also a reason I get into trap shooting.
Btw, I live in Mississauga, Ontario.
 
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Most clubs are welcoming and the members friendly and helpful. If you can find a suitable club within your reach you should find help and encouragement, that seems to be the norm at any club that I have shot at. Even if you can only go there once or twice a month you can still continue to use your public range. The club environment provides friendly helpful knowledgeable support and will probably transition you to club level competition. The club will usually have facilities for patterning and will have a higher percentage of shooters that are seriously trying to improve than where you are now. Stay focussed, be patient.
 
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