trap shooting

[Looey]

OK, my first post please excuse my grammar.

this past Sunday i went trap shooting with my girlfriends dad this past fathers day, and will have to say that it was very challenging, humbling and addicting.(like i need another shooting sport to put another ding on my shooting budget)

I will have to say it really made me focused a lot on my shooting fundamentals and i think it really is a good way to practice shooting moving targets. wich is something that is really hard to find a location to practice this skill.

my best score at the end of the day was a humble 19 or maybe it was a 18?
I just started this sport and any Tips from anyone that has been doing this longer than me are very welcome.
thank you....

[PrarieDog]

I would suggest that you hire a coach for an hour. It would be the best money spent and will increase your scores immediately. Beyond that, keep your head on the stock, pattern your gun and fit it to you, learn proper foot positioning for each station, and keep your face on the stock. It is a fun and expensive game.

[VA_Dinger]

I shot my first trap with Chris914 a few weeks ago. I will have to admit it was very challenging and damn fun. It got me thinking about shooting it more often. I was really amazed at the money a few of these guys had spent on dedicated trap shotguns.


That being said I'm sure they would choke of they knew how much I have spent on AR's & AK's.

[Barry in IN]

I've gotten into it twice. A few things I took from it-

1) I think it can screw up other forms of shooting for me. To be good at trap, you have to point rather than aim, and that just goes against everything else I know about rifle and pistol. The trigger is controlled differently also- more of a "snap" than a press or squeeze- which I also didn't think I needed to pick up.

2) I've shot about every shooting discipline I can think of except bullseye pistol. I have gotten the coldest new shooter reception- by far- from trap shooters.
My first NRA Highpower (rifle) match, I could hardly shoot for people offering to loan me equipment (and in some cases, hanging it on me) that I didn't have.
It was about the same with Smallbore.
Silhouette pistol- They tool me aside and coached me with sight settings, holds, and other tips and tricks.
IPSC and IDPA- same sort of thing- "What can we do for YOU?"
I didn't expect, or even neccessarily want, help, but it was there in each case.

But trap shooting, forget it. If lucky, you might begrudgingly be allowed to shoot- that's if you wait long enough for the regulars to have a few turns as they show up- but that's all you will get.
I've tried a couple of places and times, but it was about the same.

3) I have seen the most dangerous gun handling at trap shoots. Besides the evidently standard practice of resting a 12 gauge muzzle on the toe and endangering themselves, I have had seen more muzzles in my face at a single trap shoot than the over rest of my life.

I like the game. It's fun. But I was always afraid of screwing up my rifle and pistol shooting, and I sure didn't enjoy the company.

[PolermoM1911]

Hello,
I see your in VA, any chance you were shooting at Bull Run? I frequent there every once in a while and I have the most fun at the Wobble Trap, I strongly recommend it! I don't even bother with the other stations anymore, with the rare exception of Sporting Clays. Now, if only they allowed rifles.

I have seen the most dangerous gun handling at trap shoots. Besides the evidently standard practice of resting a 12 gauge muzzle on the toe and endangering themselves, I have had seen more muzzles in my face at a single trap shoot than the over rest of my life.

Yea, I can't argue with that, even though I'd like to think Bull Run runs a pretty tight ship, I've seen some Elmer Fudds out there.

[Looey]

I would suggest that you hire a coach for an hour. It would be the best money spent and will increase your scores immediately. Beyond that, keep your head on the stock, pattern your gun and fit it to you, learn proper foot positioning for each station, and keep your face on the stock. It is a fun and expensive game.

It is a lot of fun, and i saw how expensive it could get when i looked at the shotguns some of the guys were using.
it is almost as expensive as shooting ipsc, i got to work on monday and started looking at shotguns to buy.
im tought about a coach, i am probably get one of my buddies that has shot in the international level to spend some time with me at the range when he gets a chance.
thanks for the advice..

[Looey]

Hello,
I see your in VA, any chance you were shooting at Bull Run? I frequent there every once in a while and I have the most fun at the Wobble Trap, I strongly recommend it! I don't even bother with the other stations anymore, with the rare exception of Sporting Clays. Now, if only they allowed rifles.


Yea, I can't argue with that, even though I'd like to think Bull Run runs a pretty tight ship, I've seen some Elmer Fudds out there.

We didn't shoot at Bull Run. we shot at the IWL by bull Run, my girls dad is a member there and he goes shooting over there every Sunday.
I think i am going to start tagging along from now on, or at least until i can start beating him
Barry, i do agree with you in some ways. the gun handling was a little hard to get used to, but i will say they were not as bad as you mentioned. i didn't get flagged when i was there, they seemed more aware of proper gun handling. but i still find it a little hard to see myself putting the muzzle of a shotgun on my toes.
i did see more shooters having a rubber piece that they placed on the ground to protect their 2 to 4+ thousand dollar shotguns.
I didn't get the warmest welcome but i did see the clicks formed in the range but every body was very nice, i am glad i didn't go alone.
shooting skills are very hard to keep up and i always look for any way to get better at it, i think i can use this toward practicing shooting a moving target.
i will have to stay on top of my trigger control, thanks for tips and i am sorry to hear that you didn't have that good of a time trap shooting.

[PrarieDog]

Barry,
I must disagree about some of your assumptions about trap. One good thing that it does is that it teaches one to shoot with both eyes open, a big deal for some people and it also teaches you how to shoot on the fly and pick up objects that are moving. One thing that is bad about trap as that is where i started shooting is trigger control is not too important. I was originally tuaght to bang the trigger. works great for shotgunning but sucks for everyone else. Trap can get clicky but it is a very good sport. Some of the shot guns seen at my range run over 20 grand. The funny thing is that if the shot gun fits and is reliable then the price does not matter. My old shotgun coach just recommended a Remington 1100 with a jack west adjustable stock. Exactly what he ran. He would consistantly beat guys with shot guns that cost as much a a decent car. The cost doesn't matter fit is everything in trap.

[Barry in IN]

You're right about it encouraging the use of both eyes (something I needed badly) and tracking moving targets.

I agree that an expensive shotgun isn't a requirement (probably can't hurt, though, IF one can afford it). I think a lot of them are bought for their durability. Many of them have extremely strong and simple actions that are easily maintained. Those guys go through a lot of rounds. One place I used to shoot at held their shoot on Thursday night, and many used it as the warmup for the one on Friday night at another site, which was the warmup for the one the next day at...etc. It added up to a bunch of shells. Every week.

I saw one of the regulars show up one night with a tiny (but very nice) .410 double that he said he brought over when he came from Italy as a boy. It fit him like a Daisy BB gun fits an adult, but he broke every bird he wanted to with it.
So it's still the musician, not the instrument, as with most everything else.

Each time I think of expensive trap guns I think of the time a guy showed up with his new Kreighoff K80 ($8K then) and was showing it to another shooter. He took the forend off to show him something, then opened the action. Naturally, the barrels fell right onto the concrete. I thought he was gonna shoot someone just to feel better, but he shrugged it off like it was nothing. What's a few grand?