Training Tips for Trap/Skeet/Clays

[juelz919]

I am starting to shoot clays just with my little thrower thing I am wondering if you guys have any tips for me?

I don't have a trap gun but i am decent with a couple different pumps and I don't have money for an expensive gun so for the near future I will be using them.

Basically I am asking for tips on how to get better, right now I aim sometimes and point sometimes so i can get a feel for my natural point of aim and stuff.

Also if you guys have any suggestions for a cheap starter trap gun that is very cheap i'd appreciate it just so i can start researching
Thank you

[ROTC sniper]

Go to a shotgun club and start talking to people. See if anyone will show you the ropes. There's nothing like first hand knowledge and instruction. Something as simple as stance can dramatically improve your ability to break clays but reading about it and doing it are completly different things. Plus if you're nice enough most guys will let you borrow their shotgun. Last week I got to shoot a $10,000 shotgun for free (well I provided the shells). Have fun. Good luck.

[BMC]

Some of the most common issues that some people have when shooting flying targets like clays for the first time(s) include:

Lifting their head off the stock during the swing.
Trying to "aim" the gun (like a rifle).
Stopping the gun during the swing.
Shooting under the rising target and over the falling target.

These are just a few of the common ones.
If you are using a standard "general use" type shotgun it most likely shoots flat. Meaning if you were to shoot it at a patterning board roughly half of the shot pattern would be below the target horizontal centerline and half above it. This is fine if you are shooting something that consistently is flying sideways or is taken at a set height. If you are using a thrower then it would typically be similar to shooting trap from the 16 yard line in that the targets will be rising, then falling. Ideally you want to shoot the target on the rise, or just about when it has reached its height apex. If you are like most people and are shooting a flat shooting guns (most 870s, model 12s, 1100s, etc, are flat shooting for most people who mount them) then you will want to "cover up" the rising target. It is common when a person is starting out for them to want to see the target when they shoot it. With rising targets and a flat shooting gun you will have to cover it up. Meaning- mount, call for the target, move the gun barrel in the direction of the target when you see it and instead of putting the bead on the target or under it, continue the movement past it while pulling the trigger the moment the barrel covers the target up. You'll have to experiment with how much you have to cover it up as everyone and every gun and shell speed is different. It may sound technically difficult but it really isn't once you get the hang of it.
If you take your time getting to the target and think "oh im there, bang" while the target has started to fall, then you probably will end up shooting over the target. The target has fallen out of the area you intended to shoot by the time the shot cloud arrived there.

If you do this and KEEP YOUR HEAD ON THE STOCK you will break more targets.

Another thing worth mentioning when people truly believe they were where they were supposed to be when they pulled the trigger, but the target didn't break is to check for cross-eye dominance. This is assuming of course that you are shooting with both eyes open which is the preferred way to shoot clays because they are moving and you don't want to "aim". If you are right handed pick a point on the wall or somewhere in the room and with both eyes open, point to it with your finger and your arm straight out. With your finger on the object, close your left eye. Is your finger on the object? It should be. Close your right eye and open your left eye. Is your finger on the object? Your finger will be on the object with your dominant eye open. If you are right handed and left eye dominant this can really mess with how you see the target and shoot at it. There are work arounds to resolve cross eye dominance should a person have it. If you are shooting one-eyed then it won't really matter. But shooting with both eyes open greatly enhances depth perception and you'll get on the target way faster with both eyes open.

[40cal.]

Anybody have any suggestions on what length of barrel 28" 30" and choke for sporting clays and some field birds once in awhile. Sorry to bud-in on your post, but just taking up the sport too. Thanks

[BMC]

28" will be fine for sporting clays and field birds. Get one with screw in chokes (most modern new shotguns have them). You'll probably want to use the mod most of the time.

[40cal.]

Ok, great. Thanks for the reply. I have an 870 with Mod barrel but I'm looking at an over/under type in the near future.

[ZOMBIEHUNTER]

I have shot alot of 5 stand clays.Its alot of fun and its good training i my best is a 23 out of 25

[Millions-Knives]

Are you launching these clays by yourself?

You might just be making things harder on yourself.
Like someone above mentioned, go to a traditional gun club where everything is automated or a buddy could also launch them for you. It might be easier to pre-mount instead of fumbling on the trap.

[Tallship]

If you're interested in trap, go here: http://www.trapshooters.com

[Foriegn power]

remember to breathe, it gets pretty exciting when you got four of your other buddies blasting off ,waiting for your turn gets exciting and breath taking.

[juelz919]

honestly I am intimidated by most skeet/trap shooters..
THey all have shotguns worth thousands and I have 590 and an old savage shotgun worth about 100 bucks. If I could bust clays I wouldnt even care but I dont want to go out there and make a fool of myself. So for now I am practicing with my friend, I have a mechanical thrower and one of the handheld throwers.

I have been practicing pretty frequently and if I aim I can consistently make hits but I dont want to aim anymore..
My train of thought was if I shoot enough I will develop a natural point of aim like I have with my other guns..

AND bmc your right about the dominance thing. When I shot competitive rifle i determined I was right eye dominant but two or three times when i first started shooting clays I realized my left eye was doing the work.

[solanoshooter]

Go to a shotgun club and start talking to people. See if anyone will show you the ropes. There's nothing like first hand knowledge and instruction. Something as simple as stance can dramatically improve your ability to break clays but reading about it and doing it are completly different things. Plus if you're nice enough most guys will let you borrow their shotgun. Last week I got to shoot a $10,000 shotgun for free (well I provided the shells). Have fun. Good luck.

That wasn't at Yolo last weekend, was it?

[BMC]

Juelz, I too am "mostly" right eye dominant and a right handed shooter. What I found over a period of time is that I have what a lot of trapshooters find they have and this is a neutralization problem that starts to show up when you really start shooting a lot. It seems to occur more on left angle targets and I attribute it to my left eye being 20/15 and my right being 20/20. Some people use a tape dot on their left glasses lense or a peice of opaque scotch tape right where the area is where you look out the glasses. Some people have to resort to a very, very dark lense on the left side to keep the eye focus from shifting. All of those bothered me so I actually use the brim corner of my hat to obscure just enough. If you have the issue then you might try one of those if you haven't already. (or anyone else who might read this and has the same issue). Unfortunately for me i've already established sight picture and technical habit which works fine, but isn't technically correct because I need lead on the rights and sometimes very little to no lead on the lefts.

[Thefeeder]

honestly I am intimidated by most skeet/trap shooters..
THey all have shotguns worth thousands and I have 590 and an old savage shotgun worth about 100 bucks. If I could bust clays I wouldnt even care but I dont want to go out there and make a fool of myself. So for now I am practicing with my friend, I have a mechanical thrower and one of the handheld throwers.

I have been practicing pretty frequently and if I aim I can consistently make hits but I dont want to aim anymore..
My train of thought was if I shoot enough I will develop a natural point of aim like I have with my other guns..

AND bmc your right about the dominance thing. When I shot competitive rifle i determined I was right eye dominant but two or three times when i first started shooting clays I realized my left eye was doing the work.

Don't be intimidated. One of the best skeet shooter at our club shoots a 100.00 JC Higgins pump with a mod choke. Most shooters are very easy to get a long with...Yes, every place has their know it all jerks..we do too. Just stay clear and stick with the rest of the crowd.

If your in the Bay Area, PM me I'll be clad to show you some pointers.

[mif_slim]

Last week I got to shoot a $10,000 shotgun for free (well I provided the shells).

did the 10k gun have negative recoil? its so expensive it better be 0 recoil!