Trouble on the Right Trap

tell it you're going to sell it to a Trap shooter...that'll teach it ...
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Yeah, and then get a set of .410 tubes, your higher scores will show that whippy little magnum peashooter how the game is really shot. ;)
 
It won't hurt to work on the mental part of the game and to that I am definitely staying away from Prado on the weekends. I also think I will try getting there early so that I can really practice. I may just shoot the first box or two all on 5. Other than that I am going to keep it simple as possible; be a bit aggressive, head on the rock, look at the leading edge of the bird, and work on follow through. That is plenty to work on in one session.
 
baby steps my friend ....baby steps ...

I'm assuming you're keeping a notebook - on each round ....and you have established your average on 100 targets ( not the wishful best out of 30 ...like some guys count )...

but whatever your average has been ...challenge it by adding a bird to it ...and no one station less than a 4. Small steps like that.../ until you get consistently up in the 23+ range --- then you can fine tune the little things, to get you over the hump ..and string some 25's together..
 
KlawMan - if you are missing targets on stations 4 and 5 it may be because you are arm swinging your gun. Get your head down on the stock and work on keeping it there by feeling the pressure against your cheek. Then, with elbows up parallel to the ground, rotate your upper torso rather than swing with your arms. Arm swing almost always pushes the gun away from your face if you are not rotating your upper body. Once your face comes off the stock your point of aim changes and you'll miss the target.

Your lead should be to the right, about a barrel width visually, for the quartering shots, and about 2-3 barrel widths for the hard right shots.

If your range has a fifty yard stake, you can use it to set up your body position before you call for the target. On station 4 you should center your body a bit to the right of the post, and a bit more so for station 5. The fifty yard post is marked straight out, 50 yards, in line from the number 3 position.

Good luck!
 
I just got back from Prado. I went there in the heat of the afternoon so I could have a field all to myself. I concenterqted on two things; foot position and keeping the gun moving. This time I put even more tape across my left lens.

First I shot up a box on 4 & 5, but taking a few shots on one.

A veteran shooter was leaving and I asked him a quesion about follow through on straight aways, so he came over to see what I was doing. I also let him play with my gun and we agreed it shoots nice and straight and that it hit about as high as I thought. It shoots pretty flat. He had me take all the scotch tape off of my left lens and try shooting. I did that but squinted with my left eye. It looked like I was getting better at follow through and I seem to keep my head on the stock

After he left I shot a full round at the 16 yard line by myself. This was in very gusty wind. Two things; I shot as well on the right as I did down the line and my score jumped 3 hits above my average and this was a 3 in the afternoon on a hot and windy day when I was tiring and normally shoot worse. Half of my lost bords were due to the wind playing havoc. I also found that the slower I swung into the bird I got it closer in. With all this my kills were quality hits, by which I mean they were fairly sqarely struck and not just by a single golden BB.

Thanks for the tips.
 
Make sure you have determined your "dominant" eye. If you have a diagnosed astigmatism in your two-eye line of sight, close the non-dominant eye. It was my problem because I was trying to compensate with a slightly doubled target!
 
All I know is that last August the optometrist said that my eyes hadn't changed much except that an astigmatism was sligthly worse. I always thought that I had a right dominant eye and didn't notice a problem shooting a single barrel 870. When I got the over/under, soon after pointing I would go from seeing the top of the over barrel to seeing it and the left side of both and they point left of target. The last time out, I stopped taping the the left lense and squinted with the left eye. It is driving me crazy(ier). what may be making things even worse are these varifocal lenses. I wonder if getting some shooting glasses with for distance only will help.
 
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Yes, they will help.

I have bifocals for close work. My script is for astigmatism only, surgery corrected me to 20/20 a few years back.

My shooting glasses are the astigmatic script only. My Opthamolagist shoots a little and recommends no bifocal or varifocal grind on shooting glasses.
 
Thanks Dave. I guess its time to break down and get some dedicated shooting glasses. I have been e-mailing a trap shooter/optometrist who makes them and he never even suggested that I get his glasses. He did suggest that I get back to fundamentals such as focusing hard on the bird and all but ignoring the bead. Forget about tape and gadgets. I like fundamentals and found that paying attention to them in my work was always a good move, so that is what I will try. And I am placing an order for some glasses.
 
I am. Tomorrow, I mean today, I have to give .300 Weatherby a lesson on the Skeet field. If I can only remember to release my Citori's trigger after shooting the first of the doubles.
 
Bifocal eyeglasses

Eyeglasses are expensive, and if you require bifocals, even more so.
What helped me was when I got a new prescription, I had them lower the bifocal element a millimeter when they cut them out. This makes the bifocal
easier to look over when shooting, so it doesn't mess with sighting so much. My dispenser was happy to do it for me. Just ask.
 
One reason I'm an effective instructor is I've done everything wrong at least once.

And some things many, many times.

So, I can relate.....
 
I guess its time to break down and get some dedicated shooting glasses.
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If you look at something like the Randolph Ranger XLW, you can get your prescription as an insert, allowing you to get whatever different colors work best for your area without all of them needing to be a prescription. And if your scrip changes in a year or so, you only need to get a new insert made and not new lenses
 
My friend, Randolph Ranger XLWs are Decot Hy-Wyd wannabes, and they come from Massachusetts. Decot is in Arizona. Who has more experience in shooting in TheKlawMan's bright SoCal sun: someone in neighboring AZ, or guys in far away MA?
 
Mine came from TX Shooter's Optical, Skippy. Tom is knowledgeable about all shooting conditions and made some recommendations that changed my mind for what I was originally wanting and thinking about.........:D
 
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