I'm enrolled in a NRA Instructor class next week that requires all prospective instructors to shoot a score of twelve out of twenty-five. Anyway, I haven't shot trap for decades and didn't remember anything except that you have to lead the bird.
Being bright, I brought along a Win 101 that was never shot. Didn't know if it fired the upper or lower barrel first. I shouldered it and realized that I can't look down the rib because of the high comb. The front bead can be seen, but not the rear bead. First bird and it was on safe. Guffaws in the background. Couldn't see the markings since aged eyes need reading glasses. OK, disengaged the safety and called, "Pull!" Another bird comes out and click! Guess the first shot is from the lower barrel and not the upper. Unintelligible mumblings are heard from the spectators. OK, let's try a third time but with the shell in the lower chamber. Boom! Unmolested by any shot, the bird sailed safely through the air. I can't find a foxhole to jump into to hide myself. Furthermore, I found the recoil jarring the shoulder. What's going on? Even my center fire rifles doesn't kick that much. In the old days I used a Rem 870 and had no problems with it. The other unsatisfactory thing is the recoil on the cheekpiece from leaning my head down (like a rifle). It's the only way I can see the bead with that comb. The embarrassment continues for the remainder of round and every now and then one of my birds break. By the end of the round, yours truly has the lowest score in the group with a marginal fourteen. Our rangemaster and former classmate congratulates me anyway for qualifying. While embarrassing, what a relief that was.
I paid for a second round. It was with a different group of shooters this time. The recoil and jar to the cheek were still there but by the end, twenty-two out of twenty-five were hit. Not sure why there was a twenty-eight percent improvement in score but I was happy. Anyway, it was time to let other folks shoot and I spent the rest of the evening talking with our repair instructor.
I need to make a new stock for it.
Being bright, I brought along a Win 101 that was never shot. Didn't know if it fired the upper or lower barrel first. I shouldered it and realized that I can't look down the rib because of the high comb. The front bead can be seen, but not the rear bead. First bird and it was on safe. Guffaws in the background. Couldn't see the markings since aged eyes need reading glasses. OK, disengaged the safety and called, "Pull!" Another bird comes out and click! Guess the first shot is from the lower barrel and not the upper. Unintelligible mumblings are heard from the spectators. OK, let's try a third time but with the shell in the lower chamber. Boom! Unmolested by any shot, the bird sailed safely through the air. I can't find a foxhole to jump into to hide myself. Furthermore, I found the recoil jarring the shoulder. What's going on? Even my center fire rifles doesn't kick that much. In the old days I used a Rem 870 and had no problems with it. The other unsatisfactory thing is the recoil on the cheekpiece from leaning my head down (like a rifle). It's the only way I can see the bead with that comb. The embarrassment continues for the remainder of round and every now and then one of my birds break. By the end of the round, yours truly has the lowest score in the group with a marginal fourteen. Our rangemaster and former classmate congratulates me anyway for qualifying. While embarrassing, what a relief that was.
I paid for a second round. It was with a different group of shooters this time. The recoil and jar to the cheek were still there but by the end, twenty-two out of twenty-five were hit. Not sure why there was a twenty-eight percent improvement in score but I was happy. Anyway, it was time to let other folks shoot and I spent the rest of the evening talking with our repair instructor.
I need to make a new stock for it.