Casual Trap Shooting O/U Shotgun?

[JasonD67]

What's nice about 5 stand or sporting is that it's OK to miss a few. In fact, it's expected that you will. In trap and skeet you better not miss.

 

[OneGunTex]

I've almost exclusively shot 5 stand as i am a bird hunter and i want to practice them coming from every direction.

On a recent outing, i had a youth from a competition team work in with me while his coach stood behind and gave him instruction. He stood with gun near the ready position and coach reminded him which direction the clays would come from. He outshot me for sure, and coach said to me "it helps when you know the tricks of the game." Well fine then you go play your little games sir, but i'd love to see how you do when you've got the gun in your lap and a pair of ducks decides to spin in from behind!

 

[trickg]

Quick update to this thread. I STILL have not managed to put together 25 straight in one round. I've shot a handful of 24s, but no 25. I think part of the problem is that I want it too badly.

I shot 5 rounds last night. Should have stopped after 3. Scores were as follows:

22
23
21
22
21

I know I shouldn't complain - there are folks who struggle to get past mid-teens and at this point I haven't shot under a 20 in quite a while, but I'm a competitive person, and I always strive to do my absolute best, so at this point I'm disappointed if I miss more than 3.

The killer is, most of the ones I miss are straightaways - seems like they should be easy hits. I've even done a good job of consistently hitting my nemesis targets - hard rights on position 5 and to a lesser degree hard lefts from position 1. It's mind boggling to me that I'll shoot 5 straight on positions 1 and 5, but miss on 2, 3 or 4.

 

[pbharvey]

Quick update to this thread. I STILL have not managed to put together 25 straight in one round. I've shot a handful of 24s, but no 25. I think part of the problem is that I want it too badly.

I shot 5 rounds last night. Should have stopped after 3. Scores were as follows:

22
23
21
22
21

I know I shouldn't complain - there are folks who struggle to get past mid-teens and at this point I haven't shot under a 20 in quite a while, but I'm a competitive person, and I always strive to do my absolute best, so at this point I'm disappointed if I miss more than 3.

The killer is, most of the ones I miss are straightaways - seems like they should be easy hits. I've even done a good job of consistently hitting my nemesis targets - hard rights on position 5 and to a lesser degree hard lefts from position 1. It's mind boggling to me that I'll shoot 5 straight on positions 1 and 5, but miss on 2, 3 or 4.

Half the time I feel like I need to go to a shrink after shooting. I'll fret all night about a miss and never celebrate all the hits.

 

[trickg]

Half the time I feel like I need to go to a shrink after shooting. I'll fret all night about a miss and never celebrate all the hits.

SAME! I think part of it was that there were folks hitting straight 25's all around me last night - one guy got two, but couldn't string two together for a 50, the other guy was well on his way to a 50 but missed on his 44th clay, and then another guy shot a 25 on our last round of the night.

I realize I haven't been at this game for long, so I can't be too hard on myself, but I feel like I'm really close to it, and I have this stigma about the fact that I haven't done it yet.

On the flip side of that, I know a guy who has gotten over a dozen 24s, but can't seem to tie it up, and he's been shooting trap for several years. Another guy I shoot with said that he was nearly 3 years in, shooting trap 2-3 times a week before he got his first.

It'll come - I just have to stop wanting it, and I've got to just focus on one clay at a time.

 

[PapiBarcelona]

Half the time I feel like I need to go to a shrink after shooting. I'll fret all night about a miss and never celebrate all the hits.

lol.
If that was me I would find another hobby. I’m don’t have a competitive attitude nor am I that good, I can shoot a 50 at Schraders and then next month shoot a 89 at Hopewell. I don’t even care to keep score anymore really, I just like the time of walking a sporting clay course and the company/entertainment.

 

[trickg]

lol.
If that was me I would find another hobby. I’m don’t have a competitive attitude nor am I that good, I can shoot a 50 at Schraders and then next month shoot a 89 at Hopewell. I don’t even care to keep score anymore really, I just like the time of walking a sporting clay course and the company/entertainment.

Don't get me wrong - I DO enjoy it a lot. There's something really cool about getting a really really hard break, or even seeing someone else on the line just obliterate a clay.

Something we sometimes do, usually the last round on Wednesday nights, is a speed round - we'll just grip and rip, calling as fast as the thrower can keep up. I think that's a hoot - at that point no one is really shooting for score, although oddly some folks do much better on a speed round because they aren't getting in their own way - the whole thing becomes reflexive - and we're getting harder hits than on a regular round because we're more "on" - if that makes sense. It looks like fireworks going off!

 

[JasonD67]

The less you think, the better you will shoot. You are your own worst enemy. I only shoot sporting, and I find I do much better with no thought or planning for a shot like the internet says you should. I don't like seeing the target first...just load the gun, low mount, call for the bird and just shoot it. It's instinctive. If I see the target first, say to myself "see it here, pick it up here, swing here, fire here" I'll miss more than I should.

Stare at the bird, kill the bird...