How to hit the risers?

triton

triton

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When I shoot trap. I can never hit the the going away risers. I'm not sure if I have ever even hit one! Seriously! Any suggestions? If I could get these i'm sure I could add 3-5 to my score. Atleast then I could rank up there with a blind guy. Thanks!:bangHead:

Dave.
 
There are two potential problems missing trap straight aways. They are lifting your head or rushing the shot. Both result in shooting over top the target. Focus on not lifting your head off the stock. Try to slow down a bit as well. Lock your eyes on the target, raise your forward hand up to the bird and keep your cheek glued to the stock.
 
Claybuster is right, however I am of the opinon that there are no real straightaways, they just appear that way.

I also think that you should pattern your gun. If your gun is shooting 50/50 you may want to cover the target before you shoot or float the target a little if your gun shoots high.

Whenever, I start to miss a particular target I go to practice and set a machine to only throw those types of targets that I am missing and I work it out until I am hitting them. Try this and it may really improve your scores.

Jacky
 
Rushing the shot is my problem. That damm target looks tooo easy.:) Also good advice about keeping your cheek glued to the stock. How can any concept be easier than that....but oh so hard to do.:bangHead:
 
triton said:
When I shoot trap. I can never hit the the going away risers. I'm not sure if I have ever even hit one! Seriously! Any suggestions? If I could get these i'm sure I could add 3-5 to my score. Atleast then I could rank up there with a blind guy. Thanks!:bangHead:

Dave.
Click to expand...

Claybuster covered the mechanics, but have you ruled out the dominant eye thing? Sometime a left dominant right hander ( or right dom lefty ) will be able to hit those screaming angles because of the shot string, but miss the straight aways. Pattern your gun at about 32 yards and see where it actually covers a clay target sized mark. After that ask a really experienced shooter to go to the trap with you alone and watch your shot. Usually a dusted target means a high pattern and no dust mean low. You never mentioned your hold point, but try making it low enough so that you can see the target asap when it leaves the house and take your time. If you do this you might surprise yourself how fast the target can be had. Keep at it and remember there are no easy target out there, especially those straights.

and being a deer hunter, you might want to check if you have slugs loaded:D
 
An eye dominance problem is possible but unlikely with a shooter that is missing only one specific presentation.

I'm not precisely sure what is meant by "shot string" accounting for hitting the hard rights and lefts. If the suggestion is that shot expands laterally during a hard swing like the water from a moving garden hose then I'd suggest reading Brister. He disproved that theory years ago.

Dust off a target means that you shot slightly over. No dust means you shot under, to the left or right or way over. Walk downrange on a trap field and you'll find a depressing number of whole targets with nicks and grooves on the top.:mad:

The advice about hold point is worth trying. So too is trying a higher hold point while focusing your eyes on the edge of the trap house. I shoot trap with hold points I learned years ago that always let me see the bird when it leaves the house without the barrel getting in my way. No matter what clay game you are shooting the secret is getting your eyes locked on to the bird and keeping them there.
 
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Claybuster said:
An eye dominance problem is possible but unlikely with a shooter that is missing only one specific presentation.

I'm not precisely sure what is meant by "shot string" accounting for hitting the hard rights and lefts. If the suggestion is that shot expands laterally during a hard swing like the water from a moving garden hose then I'd suggest reading Brister. He disproved that theory years ago.

QUOTE]

No I am not suggesting that the swing causes shot expansion. What I am suggesting is that not all shot arrive at any given point at the same time. No flat pancake like pattern. A shot string may be quite lengthy and thus is forgiving of some lateral pointing errors. ie.the target may be broken with the tail end of the string.

I once had a beautifull little SXS.410 which drove me crazy. Usually goose eggs and weak breaks on station one and low 7 got away ever time. Station 3, 4, and 5, I would consistently score but the breaks were not spectacular. Patternig showed the right barrel put the entire pattern left of point and left barrel put the pattern right, but in spite of this I was able to connect on angle shots. I corrected for shots and started to break targets on all stations. Life is too short for such mental gymnastics and I got rid of the gun.

A shooting friend had a similar experience with a 12 gauge express. Disaster on station 1,2, 6, and 7, but got all the crossers. He had a good swing and follow which seemed to account for his success on the more difficult ones but said that even though right dominant his left eye seemed to take charge when he concentrated on the taget.

I am not suggesting that Triton has a dominant eye problem or that his gun is not patterning right, but these this should be checked out. Maybe what you said about gun hold is appropriate. Maybe Triton is holding so that the center straight is obstructed by the gun and he is jumping at it?
Click to expand...
 
going away risers

I too am having that problem.
Mine is raising my head.
The only way I can cure this for a while is off to station 3 set trap for straightaways and shoot at least 100 of the blighters.
Sooner or later I will get this right:eek:
Good luck
Don
 
Many people only lift their head on the straight aways. When you swing hard left/right, your cheek generally stays glued on the stock. Just tilting your head up enough to raise your eyes is often enough that you will miss a straight away.

How are you picking up on the bird? Do you hold above or below the trap house? Are you keeping your focus out beyond the trap house? Often, if a shooter doesn't see the bird quickly enough and its a straight away, the shooter will subconsciously lift his head to try and see it better.
 
dcan has the solution that's worked for me a number of times on problem
targets. Lock the trap down, get someone that actually knows what they're
doing coaching wise to help you work on it, ... then go and shoot a bunch ... not just 3 or 4, but a real "s*#t-load" of them till you can get consistant breaks, time & time again. When they stop looking like fast aspirins and start to look like big ol' garbage can lids, you're not going to miss too many.

Gun fit, gun mount, cheek on the stock, rushed swing, patterning, hold-points & eye dominance issues can all be worked out. But from 16 yards, station 3, with a gun that fits, and a choke that gives a nice, well distributed pattern that is maybe 60/40 ... "straightaways" should be almost a "gimme".


Nothing like shooting a few hundred to make it so ! ( That good coach should be able to tell you easily if you are over/under, stopping your gun, lifting your head or otherwise have developed some other form of "tic" that's making you shoot like crap. Remember, if it ain't working ... do something different ! ( Expressed otherwise: Doing the same thing, the same way, and expecting a different result = INSANITY ) Listen to your coach, don't be afraid to change, shoot lots and work it out !!!

PS: The attitutde " I can never hit the going away risers "
is non-productive. Be that little train that could: I think I can, I think I can, I KNOW I CAN !!!! Drop the " I can't" pronto.
 
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beretta boy said:
Lock the trap down, get someone that actually knows what they're
doing coaching wise to help you work on it, ... then go and shoot a bunch ... not just 3 or 4, but a real "s*#t-load" of them till you can get consistant breaks, time & time again.

..

Nothing like shooting a few hundred to make it so ! ( That good coach should be able to tell you easily if you are over/under, stopping your gun, lifting your head or otherwise have developed some other form of "tic" that's making you shoot like crap.

.
Click to expand...
This is solid advice regardless of the discipline. When ever I have a problem (skeet) this is exactly what I do to fix it.

Brad.
 
triton said:
Thanks fellas! I will give your advice a go. I appreciate it!

Dave.
Click to expand...

One more little bit of advice. Concentrate on the target! Advice I should follow! Today I shot in our club league shoot. I was really grinding em til I got to station 3 and then I thought of this thread. My thought was interupted by the word LOST. Next shot I heard that word again. LOST! Later,grinding 4 rights on post 5 did not make me feel better.

Looking forward to next week:D

Good luck Triton, or better still work at it and make your own luck:D
 
straight away

In my former shooting days , those targets were hard as well. I apprecaited a coach who advised of many of the mentioned tips. As well, I changed my stock to a monte carlo on my model 12 and rem 1100. I then built up the comb with some mole skin. What it did after I patterned it was allow me to shoot at the bottom of the targets and the increased angle caused the shot to string higher than where I was looking. I could hold a little lower on the house and pick the bird up right away. It was very effective for doubles . Nothing like leaving a few "ink spots" out there

good shooting....
 
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