Outside of practice, what made you better at Trap?

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Sheepdog1968

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I joined a trap league about a month ago and we meet weekly. I really love it. Prior to joining the league, I'd do sporting clays about 4 times a year. I typically hit about 60% which in the past was good enough to keep my happy and enjoy the outing. The more I do trap, the more I enjoy it. I'd like to get better. Outside of just doing it a lot (which I plan to do), what else did you find that seemed to greatly help? Many thanks.



Post #33 is my update on my progress. :)
 
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I got better the day I started competing against myself and not everyone else on the line. I used to worry about what everyone else was shooting. Now, I couldn't tell you if the guy next to me shot a 5 or a 25.

Remember....there's 25 games in a round of trap. Each new bird is a new game. You can't worry about the bird before it, or the bird after it.
 
As a boy who grew up in Sparta, IL and have worked the traps there at the ATA center two summers during The Grand, I have found that cigars. beer bellys, and orange glasses are quite common on some of the best shooters. Might be worth a try!
 
My best move besides practice was making sure my gun fit me properly and then not worrying so much about it from that point on. I don't get to shoot as often now as before, but I can still shoot an avg 23-24 after being idle for 6 months. Worry less and keep your head and eyes down when the bird flies. Good Luck!
 
Want to make sure you succeed? Get yourself a few lessons from a high-qualified instructor.
Practice does NOT make perfect
PERFECT practices makes perfect. If you are doing something wrong over and over it will soon become muscle memory and even harder to unlearn

Remington has a brochure with some basics for trap

http://www.remington.com/pages/news-and-resources/downloads/brochure-downloads.aspx

That will give you some good pointers, but a hands-on lesson or three will really do the trick to prevent you from learning something the wrong way.

"Head on the stock, eye on the rock" - keep your head down, and your eyes on the bird - not the bead, not the rib - just the bird; and then follow through once you pull the trigger

Enjoy your new addictive hobby!
 
i seem to need a adjustable morgen pad or adjustable comb,with those additions i shoot very well. many 25,s and 50,s,no 100,s yet but have done 97 out of a hundred eastbank.
 
Having a gun with an adjustable stock that fit me and shooting off my left shoulder (left eye dominant) made the most difference to me.
 
Been shooting trial for 23 years. #1 find a gun that fits and you can shoot and stay with it. #2. If you have adjustable rib, comb, etc find a place you can hits targets and leave it there. It's a poor musician that blames his instrument. #3. Relax. Like someone else said its just you and the targets, everyone else around is just for show. #4. Break the first and last targets. Nothing gets in you head worse than missing first target and running the rest or running them and missing 25th.

I love trap. It calms me and allows me to clear my head. I'm 39 and will be able, God willing, to shoot another 30+ years.

Great sport. Enjoy
 
I have been shooting about as long as you have been alive......69 is NOT old.....I shoot with two gents who are mid 80's. They have each been SHOOTING for 75 years......

This is not a sport you have to quit when you get older IF your eyes still see.. ;)
 
Just concentrate on the bird coming out of the house, not your last bird, not your next bird, and definitely not some one else's bird. Don't even watch the other people on the line, stare at a piece of grass instead.
 
Shooting with something on the line......meat, money, or a trophy. Nothing helps you improve like competition. You learn from the others, you learn to handle pressure, and.............you learn a whoe new bunch of excuses.
 
Trap tips

put the barrel on the house in a location where the barrel will not block you seeing the target coming out of the house,do not look at the rib or bead anymore, keep the barrel moving after the shot in the same plane of the bird of a few feet..... A FEET IN FRONT OF THE BIRD IS BETTER THAN ONE INCH BEHIND.......
 
Shooting trap myself for past year, tho' I've been shooting skeet many years.
I've always been better instinctively on dove and grouse, so I got nothing to offer other than full choke, focus on Your game, and get on that bird fast, remembering 'slow is smooth, smooth is fast'.

I can tell you, no matter how long I lay off any shotgunning games, I consistently break the first 2-3 birds, then miss 15-18 straight, maybe pick up a couple at the end.:banghead:
Took my nephew for his first time ever shooting any firearm--he hit 3 straight, grinned at my chagrin, then he missed 37 in a row. I gotta believe instinct prevails over deliberation.

After my usual long run of misses, I tried a buddy's dedicated trap gun and broke the last 5 straight---thought a new trap gun might be the answer, Nope--:cuss:

I quit golf b/c I could play the first 3 holes well, then alltochit.

As much as I wish I were a better wingshot, I am a rifleman at heart.:banghead:

I would believe the other posters are onto something--as are great golfers--shoot each target as a single, 25 singles per round. With a gun that fits.
 
"Head on the stock, eye on the rock" - keep your head down, and your eyes on the bird - not the bead, not the rib - just the bird; and then follow through once you pull the trigger
Click to expand...

That pretty much says it all. I'm not the greatest trap shooter in the world, but I find that I shoot much better if I keep it simple. Head down, eye on the bird, and don't think about anything: just react.

The only time I look at the bead is when I'm mounting the gun, before I call for the bird. After I'm lined up, I focus long and look for the bird. I really don't understand when people tell me how much they lead, etc. Every time I try to figure that out, I end up looking at the bead as the bird is flying, and then I miss.

Head down, eyes on the bird, and let your mind go blank. Your instincts will take over.
 
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ThAt is why I said 30+ years. ;)

Trap is a great sport. Most of your misses are lack of concentration and focus. Like shooting free throws, same thing every time.
 
Keep your head down. Really, keep your head down. Keep it down until you see the clay break.



















keep your head down.
 
It sounds like you're past the beginners stage, but one thing that's help me get more comfortable with shooting, has been practicing on a consistent gun-mount. The biggest thing that help me achieve that, was standing in my living room, mounting the gun to my CHEEK first. Cheek first, then pull the gun into my shoulder. This helped make the mount more consistent, so now I don't have to worry about a sloppy mount and all of the things that come with it. (Cheek slap, bruised shoulders, missed targets...)

Oh, and have fun. No point in doing this if you aren't enjoying yourself...
 
It sounds like you're past the beginners stage, but one thing that's help me get more comfortable with shooting, has been practicing on a consistent gun-mount. The biggest thing that help me achieve that, was standing in my living room, mounting the gun to my CHEEK first. Cheek first, then pull the gun into my shoulder. This helped make the mount more consistent, so now I don't have to worry about a sloppy mount and all of the things that come with it. (Cheek slap, bruised shoulders, missed targets...)
Click to expand...
One thing to add is to do it while looking in a mirror, and make sure the beads on the rib cover your eye partially.
 
Thanks all for the feedback. I will try to incorporate this into league night on Thur.
 
I found that signing up with the best shooters at the club helped me learn their rhythm. Also read a few books to learn about staying in front of the bird and to keep the gun moving. Didn't hurt to load my shells with slow burning powder to lessen perceived recoil.
 
If you want to lessen recoil, use the heaviest gun you can with the slowest and lightest loads. I shoot a 3/4oz 12 gauge reload for sporting clays, FITASC, and 5-stand. My reloads do the job when I do mine, AND I get 533 rounds from a bag of shot that way
 
DJW and oneounce make good points about shells. It's not a bad idea to load up or buy some nice light loads. Nothing is worse than a long day of shooting and having soreness create bad form and make it hard to be consistent. It also takes your concentration away because you're too busy worrying about the pain and not the bird.

As for me, I found that just getting out there by myself with no one else watching really helped. Allowed me to concentrate on just the bird without worrying about anything else. My Trius One-Step just arrived today, so now I can get out and shoot a lot more. Previously used a Do-All, but the spring was so tight on that it tired me out after 50 birds. Don't worry about breaking birds so much, main thing is to get your form down and be consistent. The rest will just fall into place.
 
The only issue I have seen with the home throwers is that their speed is typically no where near what the regulation machines throw - and US trap is a LOT slower than International

Both US trap and skeet targets are thrown right at 42mph; whereas the International games throw targets at 62mph --AND they have to use smaller payloads, yet have higher scores.......................
 
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