If trap is a mental game...

ezsqueezy

ezsqueezy

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...then what's a good short description for the other clay sports?

It took me a couple months of shooting trap to get what the statement "trap is a mental game" meant. I had to get the basic mechanics sorted out first, then it was on to the mental focus part.

How would you describe skeet, sporting clays, and 5 stand?

Is skeet a swinger's game? :):d
 
The statement is true. Most trap shooters are very good at what they do hitting the rising target, at varying angles. The sport is highly regimented and controlled. The mental part is the repetition target after target. You need to get that mind set, and have focus and concentrate on each target. Sporting clay is more reactionary, as no two course are the same. It requires you to learn to shoot multiple angles and ,target sizes and presentations. When you get good at sporting clay you will know exactly where your gun shoots in almost every possible situation. It will make you much better hunter than trap ever will. I was a very good trap shooter few years back, and still like the game now and then. However if I can find sporting clay somewhere that is where I'll be.. regards have fun
 
Skeet, sporting clays, and 5 stand offer different presentations, which tend to make it more challenging. Couple that with quicker shots in many cases, and you need to be on top of both your physical and mental game. For me, it means "being in the moment".
 
They are all mental games in one way or another. Trap and skeet are repetitive games with fewer variables among targets so mental focus is a must. Sporting clays varies and while focus is required what is equally important are analysis and planning. Being able to read the flight path of a different targets and develop a plan how to shoot changing presentations are not critical in trap and skeet.
 
Rob! said:
All clay sports are 50% mental, 50% technical, 50% luck, 50% innate ability and 41% equipment. The science is settled!
Click to expand...
Even though I possess 100% of the above I still manage to miss with alarming frequency !!!

All of the clay target sports require mental discipline. Some require different techniques; maintained/sustained lead, swing through, pull away, etc. But if you're not concentrating on the target, they'll all end up the same was: LOST ........
 
When you first start out in the clay target, or any shooting disciple the physical and mental components are more or less equal in importance but the higher you climb in the ranks, the more important the mental side of the game becomes. Focus and confidence become very important. For example you learn to concentrate on "what you are doing" (what is my procedure for this station?) rather than "how you are doing" ( damn, now I am down 2 and one target behind the leader). You learn to compete against yourself to do better than ever before rather than worry about the other guy's scores (which you have no control over anyway). In terms of confidence you must practice until you EXPECT to hit the next target, not HOPE you do so. Some competitors never get it but the good shooters all do. Simple eh?
 
In all three games, you have to be confident that you are going to execute properly and hit the target. You cannot be thinking about your mechanics while you shoot. It has to become instinctive.

It is similar to golf or tennis. A golfer would not attempt to change his swing midway through execution.
 
The 41% equipment gets 90% of the blame! Haha

So does it make sense for a beginner to work on the repetitive games first before going on to more varied presentations? Trap for mount and rising/departing targets. Skeet for crossing and quicker mount. Then add other aspects in 5 stand and sporting.

Is this a natural progression or do people just shoot whatever they get into. I started with trap because it’s the most accessible. Also fewer variables means I can isolate things to work on on my way to instinctive shooting.
 
How many times have you seen a guy lose focus on the last bird ,lost, and cost him the shoot. Watched it so many I started to worry ,
 
I think that once the mechanical aspects of shooting are mastered ( stance,foot position,gun position-everything that feels physically "right" for the shooter ),the breakdown becomes a mid to high 90% mental game for trap and skeet.When I was a registered skeet shooter in the early 80's,the shootoffs would often run into the hundreds of rounds ( sometimes 500-800 targets straight before a winner was declared,especially in the big shoots like the U.S open ).The shootoffs for skeet have now changed to doubles at station 4 ( I believe ).

The ability to change the target flight paths in sporting clays can keep shooters off balance enough to make long strings without a miss much more difficult,but the outcome of the final scores can still come down to "who's more focused and mentally in the zone" when shooters of equal ability are in the same competition.
 
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