Help with my trap shooting

Gopher7

Gopher7

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Hi Lads
I just started shotgun sports about a month ago and am now
addicted to trap. I have now shot about 10 rounds of trap
and my scores are improving with practice, but I think I am
at the point were a little help would get me over the hump. I
have also switched guns in the process which I am now getting
used to and that has made my progress a little slower. I am a
member of Toronto International Trap and Skeet by the way.

I guess my question is, are there any instructors on the form
that I could take a few lessons from that could help me get
over the 21 hump? Please let me know.
 
Turn the 10 rounds into 100 for a start. Excellence takes time and practice.

There should be a club member that would be qualified to give you some advice that would be immediately helpful to you. It is very difficult to give advice here without knowing where you would see the biggest improvement.

Obvious places to start are the gun mount and fit, and your hold point.

But it has been said that you need 100 rounds to be comfortable with a particular gun.
 
Hi Bufalobil

I guess I just want to get on top of any bad habits early, before they become to hard to change later on. One bad habit that I have is closing one eye. I know it's not the end of the world, but I would like to be able to shoot with both eyes open.

I will approach some senior members at the club and ask if they would mind observing and maybe giving me some pointers.
 
One eye shooting makes me immediately suspect an eye dominance issue.

Hold your index finger out an arm's length from your face and hold it there. Now shut one eye and then the other in turn. With your dominant eye, your finger will look the same with one eye or two eyes. With your non-dominant eye, your finger will appear to "jump" left and right.

It is very difficult to shoot on the same shoulder as your non-dominant eye. If you shoot two-eyed and your dominant eye takes over, you will "cross fire", i.e. your dominant eye will take over and you will no longer be sighting down the rib. There are some tricks - you can put tape on your glasses to block your dominant eye's view of the muzzle but it doesn't work for everyone.

I am right handed and strongly left eyed dominant. Its been giving me enough difficulty that I am considering taking a major step back and learning to shoot left. Though I don't know how I will be able to do this.
 
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MauserMike said:
One eye shooting makes me immediately suspect an eye dominance issue.

I shoot right and I know for sure that my right eye is my dominant eye. I have shot with both eyes open and almost never hit the clay. I then close my left eye, shoot and break the clay. Most of my misses come from forgetting to close my left eye.
Click to expand...
 
One of the most common problems/mistakes made on the trap field is raising your head/face off the stock a split second before firing. Shooters tend to do that to get a better look or some other unknown reason...but it will result in the dreaded word "LOSS".
 
Just be aware that you may still cross fire if your eye dominance isn't that strong. I recall Phil Kiner wrote an article about this and in particular he has found that a lot of women have this problem of weak eye dominance.

As stated lifting your head is also very easy to do. Even raising your eyebrow is sometimes enough! Or losing contact with the stock when swinging right (right handed).

Anyhow, getting some real help won't hurt, at least only the wallet.
 
It's hard to really picture what I am doing wrong, but as I think about it....I think I do raise my head. I will have to be very careful and think about that next time I go and shoot..

Thanks for the help fellows !
 
Shooting one eyed isn't the end of the world. A very good friend/ mentor of mine shot with one eye for 25 years and has a truckload of 100 straights to his credit.When shooting with one eye you have to keep your muzzle on the lip of the trap house otherwise a bird might be blocked from your vision, causing you to snap at it with your gun. A good exercise to help you keep your head down is to always follow the target after you have shot and missed. This is very helpful in helping you analyze where/how you missed. You can do the same thing when you break a bird, just pick a piece and follow it. Hope this helps you. Good luck!
 
Keeping the gun mounted to the shoulder and not "arm swinging" and not raising the head are key points. When you try to arm swing on the bird it chances the relationship between your eye, the rear sight, and the barrel. Same with lifting your head. A good swing starts at the ankles and includes all the joints up the shoulders. Keep the gun aligned with the same spot on your shoulder, don't poke at the bird with your arms. When trying to arm swing on a bird most everyone will pull with one hand and push with the other affecting the angle of the gun to the shoulder meaning the relationship with the muzzle and butt ( eye) is changed.
 
Update

Morning Folks

I just wanted to write a short letter to say thank you to all that responded
with your helpful tips and advice. I especially wanted to thank Florin Marinache who I had a trap lesson with this past weekend at the Hamilton Gun Club. I spent 90 minutes receiving professional instruction and advice on all of the spots were my shooting game was weak. After only the 90 mins, my confidence had improved drastically and that in turn helped me to break more birds. When you mentally feel stronger about what you are doing, I truly believe that it shows in your ability. I needed quite a bit of fine tuning that I know without instruction, I would have never improved on. I'm not saying that I am going to go out and break 50 straight or even 25 now, but I am going to step on my first stand with much more confidence and better form.

I would like to end by saying that it would have taken me endless hours of practice and shells to get my form to were it is after one lesson, if ever. So if you are serious about improving your game, take a lesson from a pro like Florin, you will thank your self in the end.

I do still need more instruction by the way and am going to see Florin again.
If you happen to read this Florin, "I will do my home work". :)

Sincerely
Andy

P.S it was nice meeting your pal Frank as well.
 
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Gopher
Good on you for starting up!!!

A few small minor tips I have been taught

Get your feet set in concrete.. No matter what, do not move them. (Once you find the proper position)

Consider your gun a big paint brush on those hard left and hard rights.

See the target before you move your gun

Dont shoot at the orange.. Concentrate hard enough to see the leading egde of the black

Pattern your gun

Wood to Wood (As was mentioned) You can test this by putting a piece of paper between your cheek and your stock.. If you have fired and the paper is still there.. GOOD FOR YOU!!

Make sure your gun fits you.

At this point of the game.. Shells dont matter. Buy the cheapest and shoot all you can

Join the ATA and get involved with registered shoots.

Its a great sport, with great people.. Welcome to the club

Calgary Guy
 
Jamie Hunt

Alot of these tips that you have mentioned are ones that troubled me.

Thank you for mentioning them though.
 
Hi Andy,

Thank you for the nice words, it was a pleasure to assist you! You pick up fast and, what is more important than that, you work hard to make the new concepts your own while maintaining the self awareness necessary to provide appropriate feedback. You have a great personality and you're a joy to coach. I am looking forward to seeing your future performances.

re: OHIO state shoot, today was SCTP (http://www.nssf.org/sctp/) day.

Imagine a trapline so long it is hard to see the end. Imagine this trapline full of kids and all are shooting at the same time. This is halfof the trapline:
home_feature1.jpg



The grassroots program here is so well established and the kids have some much fun it is hard to describe. Safety is excellent and boy, these kids can shoot! :) Hopefully Canada will get there too someday. People (many of them are on this board) are working towards it, so there is hope.

The weather here is nice, temperature in the low 70s and mild winds at 10 mph. The grounds are amazing and wifi is working great as you can see. I will have some pictures posted on our website (see sig) soon.

Thanks for "doing your homework" :) Like I said, you will see the results soon, not next year not in two but really soon.

Stay safe, shoot well and have fun!

Cheers
Florin
 
Florin

I hope you and your wife have a good time down south. Good luck, shoot straight and make Canada proud.

Looking forward to my next lesson.

Andy
 
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