Trap Shooting Tips

[Tmergen24]

Been shooting trap biweekly for about a year and a half now but i cant seem to get past 23 out of 25 any advice

[jack404]

do you seem to do better at the beginning of a shoot and get worse as you go or ??

[Tmergen24]

yah by about the 3rd or 4th round of the day im usually shooting a between 18 or 20

[jack404]

common enough , its a stamina thing , folks think swinging a shotgun around for a while is easy , take a look at the top shooters , they all have upper body and lower back excersize routines , do like wise build up your upper body so you dont flag so fast and then you should be improving ..

good luck eh ..

[Tmergen24]

thankyou

[ka64]

Don't miss......

[Tmergen24]

That's a good one .....

[aa1911]

practice... I've shot a 2 perfect rounds of skeet my whole life and that was before I was married and spent 4 days a week at the skeet range; wasn't able to shoot very much for a 3 year period afterwards and my scores suffered as a result. As with most things, most people can't shoot a perfect round on any given day, let alone average near perfect.

So unless you dedicate many hours and $$ on a regular basis, don't expect 25 every time. 23 is a very good score btw...

[Tmergen24]

Thanks and I shoot on a team so I prolly shoot 40 to 50 rounds of trap every 2 to 3 months not a whole lot but I'd think I'd see improvement.

[whirley]

I had the same problem until another shooter told me to stand in the #5 position facing in the direction of about 2 o'clock. That gave me enough flexibilityto swing on the extreme right targets. Of course fatigue and physical condition make a difference.

[ka64]

When you get to 25, then it will be 50 - 75 - 100 - 200. I've done 100's before but never 200, a few 199's. Practice Practice Practice. Take each target as the first, broke plenty of 24's & dumped the last due to lack of concentration.

[aa1911]

I always try to put too much lead on trap targets as I'm primarily a skeet shooter; when I just aim right at the sucker it blows up every time! put it on the leading edge, 1oz of #8 seems to be my favorite lately.

what flavor gun are you using BTW? what choke? just curious

[bobski]

you need someone to watch you and tell you what youre doing wrong.

[JohnnyFlake]

For about ten years, mostly the late 70s and through the 80s, I shot both skeet and trap. It took me about two years to become proficient but I finally ended up shooting competition, in Skeet, in 12ga and .410, in individuals and on a team. I have shot many perfect rounds but it didn't come easy. Back then I would shoot 3 or 4 rounds, at least 3 times a week and often more. I was really pretty good from when I first started but, like you, I could not put it all together and shoot the perfect rounds.

The solution for me, was hiring a trainer. Back in the day, for $15 the trainer would walk with you through the round and help you with stance, swing, trigger pull and even how to call "Pull" correctly and so on. I use to shoot in Illinois, at the Lincoln Park Skeet and Trap Range and at the Northbrook Range. Most of the time there were trainers hanging around and you could hire one whenever. Both ranges allowed for them. During my second year of shooting, I must have used a trainer 20 maybe 25 times. My favorite was an elderly woman who had been an Illinois State Champion, several years in a row, in .410 and 28ga.

Anyway, I am rambling too much. By the 10th or 12th time I used a trainer, I was shooting 100s more often than not! However, every once and awhile, even after I started braking 100s, I would hire a trainer to go out with me.

[BETH]

have a video tape done of u shooting and send it to Bobski

[sting75ray]

Most of the kids that I work with in our youth trap shoots have the same problems that most adults have, they do not follow through on the shots and they always shoot just behind the target. The place where these kids used to shoot before I put a trap range in at my house had an old man that would yell and cuss at them when they missed a target and also do the same if they just got a chip off of a target. He is the main reason that I put my range in. A hit is a hit in trap but if you can show these kids that they are getting a piece off of the right side of a hard left target then they will see that they are hitting behind the rock with most of their shot. I praise these kids on any hits that they get but still use it to show them what they are doing. We have one kid that is just 9 years old and when he first shot with us this past April he was getting 5 and 6 out of 25. Four months later and he is now 16 out of 25.

[Tmergen24]

Part of the problem could be I'm using a 870 with no rib I'd about kill for a nice trap gun

[bobski]

there it is, the classic oh by the way, im shooting piece of crap...and wonder why i cant hit anything......

get a real trap gun and start doing better. success costs.

[ka64]

Originally Posted by bobski

there it is, the classic oh by the way, im shooting piece of crap...and wonder why i cant hit anything......

get a real trap gun and start doing better. success costs.

It helps but it won't break em for ya..............









How much you willin to spend????????????????

[aa1911]

if you're going to be a serious trap shooter, a dedicated gun is certainly a good idea. That being said, I've also done plenty of straight rounds of trap with my 870. I've used an 870 for well over a decade, even in my serious skeet days, not the preferred boomstick but it works!

I'm also a wierdo, so doing what I do may not be the best for ya! Save up for a good over under.

[JohnnyFlake]

As far as guns go, that is really, very subjective. You need to try as many guns as you can. Making friends with other shooter, is a big plus, in getting chances to try their guns. Also most of the better ranges will have guns to rent and usually there is a variety to try.

Many of the top shooters from, back in the day, when I was really active, preferred over n' unders. Back then they could cost from around a $1000 up to $6, $8, $10,000 and even more. Beretta, Ruger, Krieghoff, Perazzi and others. Very few could shoot pump guns well enough to compete, so there were only a few in use, a lot of old Winchester Model 12s and some 870s. Then others, like myself, shot semi-autos. The Remington 1100 being the most popular by a long way. Back then I had two 1100s in 12ga, one with a trap stock and one with a skeet stock. Oh yes, the stock makes a big difference when shooting skeet vs trap. I also had one 1100 in .410 with a skeet stock.

The stock is a serious consideration with respect to your sight picture on a target moving across your front, from left to right or right to left and for a target moving away from you and rising. Skeet stocks are curved, like most standard stocks, however, trap stocks are very straight, almost completely horizontal along the line of the barrel.

You should check that out as well.

[ka64]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFlake

As far as guns go, that is really, very subjective. You need to try as many guns as you can. Making friends with other shooter, is a big plus, in getting chances to try their guns. Also most of the better ranges will have guns to rent and usually there is a variety to try.

Many of the top shooters from, back in the day, when I was really active, preferred over n' unders. Back then they could cost from around a $1000 up to $6, $8, $10,000 and even more. Beretta, Ruger, Krieghoff, Perazzi and others. Very few could shoot pump guns well enough to compete, so there were only a few in use, a lot of old Winchester Model 12s and some 870s. Then others, like myself, shot semi-autos. The Remington 1100 being the most popular by a long way. Back then I had two 1100s in 12ga, one with a trap stock and one with a skeet stock. Oh yes, the stock makes a big difference when shooting skeet vs trap. I also had one 1100 in .410 with a skeet stock.

The stock is a serious consideration with respect to your sight picture on a target moving across your front, from left to right or right to left and for a target moving away from you and rising. Skeet stocks are curved, like most standard stocks, however, trap stocks are very straight, almost completely horizontal along the line of the barrel.

You should check that out as well.

Broke my first 25 with a Wingmaster, broke my first 50 with an 1100, my first 100 with a bt99.

[sting75ray]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFlake

As far as guns go, that is really, very subjective. You need to try as many guns as you can. Making friends with other shooter, is a big plus, in getting chances to try their guns. Also most of the better ranges will have guns to rent and usually there is a variety to try.

Many of the top shooters from, back in the day, when I was really active, preferred over n' unders. Back then they could cost from around a $1000 up to $6, $8, $10,000 and even more. Beretta, Ruger, Krieghoff, Perazzi and others. Very few could shoot pump guns well enough to compete, so there were only a few in use, a lot of old Winchester Model 12s and some 870s. Then others, like myself, shot semi-autos. The Remington 1100 being the most popular by a long way. Back then I had two 1100s in 12ga, one with a trap stock and one with a skeet stock. Oh yes, the stock makes a big difference when shooting skeet vs trap. I also had one 1100 in .410 with a skeet stock.

The stock is a serious consideration with respect to your sight picture on a target moving across your front, from left to right or right to left and for a target moving away from you and rising. Skeet stocks are curved, like most standard stocks, however, trap stocks are very straight, almost completely horizontal along the line of the barrel.

You should check that out as well.

Years ago when I first started shooting trap Dad and I both shot Winchester Model 12s and several other shooters would gather around the rack to see the old guns that they thought were made to sit in the back of a safe somewhere gathering dust. I will never forget the afternoon when Dad walked away after running 100 straight on doubles with the old Model 12 pump and 2 other guys who shot less than 90 with their Beretta and Perazzi. They hung their heads in shame as they walked past the old man carrying his OLD model 12 back to the truck. I can never remember Dad shooting less than a 96 on doubles and I watched him for years. When we took the team of kids to Kinsley Ks last Sept and my daughter and another kid on our team walked up to the line with her Model 12 and the other kid with mine, all eyes were on them and several older gentleman came up to me and remarked how nice it was to see young kids shooting such fine old guns. I love my Ruger Red Label and Gold Label and still shoot them quite often but when I want to shoot a round of trap and enjoy the afternoon I drag out my old Model 12 Trap.

[aa1911]

Stock fit is very important, it has to fit correct or it will be a neverending frustration. Don't be afraid to chop and modify on your gun, no matter how expensive; a $10k shotgun that doesn't fit is worthless, cut or add length and cheek weld as needed.

One method is to try using an old sheet; hang it up somewhere vertical and paint a "+" sign thru the entire thing. Take a box of shells and one at a time, bring the gun up and fire quickly at the crosshair center without deliberately aiming. (try about 15-20yds) Repeat until finished and look at where the majority of the damage is; this will tell you your natural point of aim with that gun and will allow you to make adjustments from there. I suppose a pattern board could be useful there as well.

[JohnnyFlake]

Originally Posted by sting75ray

Years ago when I first started shooting trap Dad and I both shot Winchester Model 12s and several other shooters would gather around the rack to see the old guns that they thought were made to sit in the back of a safe somewhere gathering dust. I will never forget the afternoon when Dad walked away after running 100 straight on doubles with the old Model 12 pump and 2 other guys who shot less than 90 with their Beretta and Perazzi. They hung their heads in shame as they walked past the old man carrying his OLD model 12 back to the truck. I can never remember Dad shooting less than a 96 on doubles and I watched him for years. When we took the team of kids to Kinsley Ks last Sept and my daughter and another kid on our team walked up to the line with her Model 12 and the other kid with mine, all eyes were on them and several older gentleman came up to me and remarked how nice it was to see young kids shooting such fine old guns. I love my Ruger Red Label and Gold Label and still shoot them quite often but when I want to shoot a round of trap and enjoy the afternoon I drag out my old Model 12 Trap.

Very nice story. It brings back memories! Those old timers with the Models 12s were fast as lightning. I had the pleasure of using a Model 12 several times back then from friends I had made. I loved them, although I was not very good for lack of practice. They are the ultimate pump guns. I often wonder why they never made them again. Even now, if they started making them, I would be one of the first in line to buy one!