Need help trapshooting

B

Bwillsonhunter4

New member
This past year I participated in our high school trap club and TBH I was really bad with my scores between 9-12/25 and that was usually the worst at the meets and always the worst in our club. I was using 12ga 7/8 oz 1340 fps rio 7.5 shot. For the off season I ordered a do all raven trap thrower so I can practice. My questions are 1 do you think that getting the wobbler/oscillating base for my trap thrower even though it is an additional $250? 2 what should I use for practice loads? Should I load some light thinking if I can break it with a light load then I can break it with a normal trap load or should I use loads that I use in trap for consistently? And 3 should I get slower 1 1/8 oz loads or just stay with the cheap 7/8 oz for next year? I will be excited to hear what you think
 
Also I do not reload but I would like to get into it especially if you people think light loads would be good for me and I want to know your thoughts on the lee load all
 
Get a mec reloader for shotshell. Have had mine for years and love it! Got it used off a former shooter. It will definitely outlast me and my future kids and likely their kids too

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Do you have a coach?
How old are you?
How would you HONESTLY describe the recoil.
What gun are you shooting?
Have you patterned your shotgun?

9-12/25 something isn't right and it is probably going to take a knowledgeable coach to figure out what.
 
Yes we have one head coach and about 4-5 assistants
15
Recoil isn't horrible but at state with 200 rounds I was starting to flinch the last 50 or so
Beretta 686 o/u
And not with the choke I was using
 
Blindstitch said:
I use cheap federal boxes of 100 from Walmart. Sometimes they sell for $21 which is hard to beat reloading.
Click to expand...
You may save some cash but it all depends how valuable your time is. The real savings come when you reload anything less than 12 gauge. Save an insane amount reloading .410

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1. No.

2. The value packs at Walmart are tough to beat. 7.5 and 1 1/8 ounce is a good place to start. 1200 fps or so is plenty.

3. Use this load for practice and sport.

4. I wouldn't suggest you invest in a reloader at this point. Lot of expense for very little, if any, savings.

What gun do you shoot?

Patterned it?

How is your Form? Have an instructor? Are you above, below, behind, in front of your Birds?

Do you suck more at 16 or 21?
 
Beretta o/u 12 ga
Have not patterned it with that choke
Instructors have not said anything about my form
Not sure where I am hitting
And our club only shoots 16
 
Bwillsonhunter4 said:
Let me clarify instructions have not said anything bad about my form but at the beginning of the year when we did fit and form day it was good
Click to expand...
Bwillsonhunter4,
Let me let you in on a well kept shotgunning secret;
Find a smith who can tune your shotgun to fit you exactly.
Even with the best form and cursory fit a gun that is tuned for you explicitly will make you a better shot and reduce felt recoil.
In Europe you get the shotgun fitted when (before) you buy it. It is part of the process but here in the states you have to search a smith out who can do it. It is well worth the price and the price and quality of the gun is secondary to a well fit gun.
 
Pattern your shotgun.

Have someone watch you shoot. Are you rotating at the hips? Raise your head up? Following through on your shot? Where do you hold before you call for the bird?
 
Welcome to target shooting.

Sounds like a gun fitting session with someone who KNOWS fitting is in order - you're too young to start developing a flinch
DITTO on lessons from a qualified coach
Forget the Lee, it's crap. A used MEC jr. isn't top of the line, but it is way above the Lee in quality. Once you really get going, you'll want a progressive to keep your ammo costs respectable. Buying in bulk and using 7/8 loads, you can reload for ~$4/box - that will save almost $2 per box - and that adds up quickly shooting a lot of trap. Besides you can reload it to whatever speed and weight you want.

If you are shooting on a team, then you need to be shooting at a club with a regulation field and the machines to go with that.

Read this for the basics of trapshooting:

https://support.remington.com/General_Information/Trap_Shooting_Fundamentals_Handbook

Have anyone determined your dominant eye? Many times it is NOT the same as your dominant hand.

Are you using both eyes? Are you pointing and not aiming? Do not look at the beads, focus on the target
 
trap

Every bit of advice that you have bee given here is good.
About reloading....given the costs of set up and components, you are better off buying at Walmart for now. $21.74 for 100 shells...1 1/8oz at 1200 fps.
Knowledgeable shooters will tell you that 7/8ths will work just fine. Yes, true....I do believe, however, that more shot in the pattern can only be a benefit to a new shooter.
I have used both the Lee Load-All and the Mec presses. The MECs are far superior.
Pattern the gun. The 686 that you have....is it the Trap model or is it a field gun?
Trap guns are usually set to shoot high; you can see the bird floating over the muzzle as you follow it and fire. Field guns tend to shoot flat.....in which case you need to cover the bird; if you can see it the whole time, you may well be shooting under it. Every gun, though, is different. Patterning will tell.
 
About reloading....given the costs of set up and components, you are better off buying at Walmart for now. $21.74 for 100 shells...1 1/8oz at 1200 fps.
Knowledgeable shooters will tell you that 7/8ths will work just fine. Yes, true....I do believe, however, that more shot in the pattern can only be a benefit to a new shooter.
Click to expand...

The walmart shells work out to $6/box with tax. Even without reloading, one can order from Academy for less with free shipping and no tax if they do not have a store in your state. As I said before, $2/box difference between reloading and walmart adds up quickly to help amortize the reloading equipment.

1-1/8oz loads is what leads to flinching - all I need to do is walk down to the trap line and see all those big orange "R" stickers on the grip cap to tell you whose been shooting those loads at trap for years. 7/8 or 1oz @ 1200 will break any trap target - even on doubles.

International uses 24 grams on targets flying 50% faster and which are physically made 50% harder to withstand the spring, and they do just fine.

A new shooter benefits the most by having a gun that fits his/her dominant eye, proper stance, learning to use both eyes to point, and lessons from a good instructor; not by trying "spray and pray" with bad techniques.
 
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A coach is usually not the same as an instructor.
Most school coaches are jocks of many disciplines, but masters of few.
Unless your school takes trap shooting really seriously,
If you want to really get good, find a genuine instructor for your particular game.
 
Light loads are fine....personally for 16 yard trap singles...a 7/8 oz or 1 oz load of 8's or 9's at 1150 - 1200 fps is all you need.
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You need to check the "point of impact" on your gun. Screw in the tightest choke you have...go to a pattern board and shoot at a 3" dot...to see what the point of impact on both the upper and lower barrels is for you. Shoot 3 shells per barrel before you know its consistent.

If the gun hits where you look ..you're ok / if it doesn't, then you need some stock and/or comb adjustments ( pads, etc).
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Fundamentals....gun mount, stance, rotate lower body not pushing gun away from your face, focus on leading edge of target, follow thru(pulling trigger is the start of the shot - not the end of the shot - follow thru), keep head on comb and eyes on pieces and follow thru as it breaks or if you miss...all of those things make a big difference.

Lots of good DVD's out there on all these things.
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Enlist the help from guys at your local club...work on fundamentals.

Evaluate your misses ...are they on station 1 .../ or 3 / ...or 4 and 5.../ and figure out why...

Are you shooting as bird is still under power and rising...or is it flattening out or dropping.../ all Trap targets should be shot when they are under power and rising ...never when they are leveling off or dropping ( look at the links suggested above) and DVD's etc
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Keep a notebook on each round...where you miss, etc.
A home thrower is usually a waste of money...go to your local club where you get good targets at regulation distances and angles.
 
Go pattern your gun!

That is number 1 on my list.
Lots of good advice above, 1st and foremost if you don't pattern it, you are guessing.
And as was mentioned, don't look at the beads, focus on the target. Shotguns are pointed, not aimed.
Pattern that gun.
 
Odds are you are shooting over the top or under the bottom of the birds. You won't know until you hit a patterning board.
 
First step is a patterning board. You could be shooting perfect and have a huge hole in the center of your pattern.

Custom fit will get you from low 20s to a few clays higher, but I could pick up anyone's shotgun, pattern it, shoot a practice round, and break 12 to 15 as long as it wasn't super light I started flinching. In most cases probably closer to 20. Probably end up ion low 20s by the end of a few rounds. After a few rounds every shotgun I have ever tried put me at about +-2. Even my H&R pardner.

A custom stock is going to cost at least a few hundred dollars. The foam add on and such are pretty worthless in my experience. If yours is really poor fitting I guess that could be a major issue causing you to miss 13-15, but I doubt it.

A high School Coach isn't necessarily a good instructor.
A good trap shooter(regularly 100/100) isn't either.
If you can find someone who regularly shoots 23-25, appears to have good form, is able to clearly express physical actions with words, and is willing to work with you a bit, that would be best.
 
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