Trap Shooting… Have you tried it?

Trap Shooting… Have you tried it?
by gunner

One of my favorite types of shooting is Trap. I started sporadically shooting trap in 1983. Then in 1987 I stopped hunting all together and Trap shooting quickly filled the void for my love of shooting. I have loaded thousands of shells and shot thousands of shells. I walked away from hunting because it was just not for me anymore. I had gotten a little older and my taste for hunting just up and left. But my taste for shooting was still as strong as ever if not more.

So trap shooting became a normal part of my life. I started going every other weekend instead of a few times a year. Bought a different loader and went at it. My biggest problem was since I had only went a few times a year, I really did not practice as much as I should have and picked up some bad / wrong shooting habits. With that I had to FORGET everything I had done for those 4 years prior and start new.

The best way to do that is get a buddy that has been trap shooting for years and have them watch and evaluate you as you shoot. Also you can get a video camera and tripod and film yourself. Later watch the tape and SEE what you are doing wrong. Then practice the right way, even in front of a full size mirror. SAFETY NOTE : MAKE SURE THE SHOTGUN IS UNLOADED CHECK THEN CHECK AGAIN!

At this point you can get advice from an experienced shooter and or instructional tapes. Write down the proper ways and compare to what you are doing. Make notes of the correct way and PRACTICE it the correct way. It will be difficult to do, as we all know old habits are hard to break, but it will improve your score better than you ever imagined.

I now have a few ribbons and trophies that I won 1st and 2nd place in events. It took a while and you get worse BEFORE you get better. Just don’t give up when you start to get the lower scores. It is worth the time an effort put into it. The right way to place the butt stock into your chest/shoulder. The way you grip the front of the shotgun. The way you stand, I turn at the waist, not with the knees.

There is so much more involved in trap shooting then just grabbing a shotgun and shooting the clay targets. But I think that if you love to shoot but do not want to hunt, this is one way to feed the need for shooting. Plus you get to meet many people that love the sport. Maybe even join a club and most have special events throughout the year. Kid camps, Holiday club parties, local carnivals etc… It could open a whole new world up for you.

And I repeat…. Any of my articles that I talk about the handling of guns, PLEASE SAFETY FIRST. If you are not sure about a gun you own or want to buy, ASK questions, take someone with you that IS knowledgeable about firearms. SIGN up for a safety class or two… When it comes to firearms and your life or the life of anyone… There are no dumb questions. Never point a loaded gun at anyone, NEVER have ammo and your gun together where & while you are cleaning or working or practicing with it. And ALWAYS check to see if the firearm is unloaded before you start to do anything to it. Safety is the best thing you can know when it comes to firearms, and you can never know enough about it… PRACTICE SAFETY along with anything else you practice.

Any type of shooting is fun, and SAFETY is part of it……..

See you on the range….
gunner