Dear Gil & Vicki
I am really starting to see the light. After the clinic at Silverleaf, Russ and I have made a point to devote 100 or so shells each week to PRACTICE, not shooting the course. We’ve worked on the skeet field, the trap field and finally on presentations on the course practicing one or two specific moves each week. I can feel it starting to come together for me. Easy, slow, in-rhythm moves that just keeps breaking targets. I shot my first tournament since the clinic yesterday and overall had a very satisfying performance. But I lost 6 targets on a pair of straight going away targets from traps that were at about a 45 to 60 degree angle and positioned about 8 yards away to the10 o’clock side of the cage. What went wrong?
Matt Klotz
Dear Matt,
If we understand what you’re describing, either your gun hold point was too close to the trap or it was too high. What we understand from your description is a pair of quartering targets that are going left to right. The traps are about 8 yards from the cage and off to the left.
As we discussed in the clinic, we recommend shooting trap type targets with a mounted gun when the traps are more than 5 to 8 yards in front of the cage. When shooting these types of targets with a mounted gun, the hold point is very critical because when you shoot with a mounted gun you must move the gun with your body.
Trap targets are unique in a couple of ways. When the target is launched it appears very fast. But the farther away it gets, it slows dramatically because of the angle it is thrown. Also, the farther away it gets from you, the lead diminishes. The quartering bird is a diminishing speed, diminishing lead bird. And depending on how it is thrown, it could also have a transitional line at about the time you are going to try to break it.
So, break point is critical, because this bird is almost in constant transition one way or another. Choosing a break point and committing to it allows your mind to insert the gun on the correct line and in the correct lead. If you don’t choose one or commit to one, there are so many variables in this shot that it becomes very confusing. Misses will occur, and most of the time they will be mysteries to you.
When shooting quick trap targets with a mounted gun, hold point is also critical. We would recommend at least 2/3 of the way to the break point and under the line. Why so far out and low? Once the target flies about 1/3 of its flight path, it will appear to begin to slow down. And although it will continue to slow down, the speed will appear to stabilize for an instant. This is where you want to take the shot. If your hold point is too close to the house, the bird has a better than good chance of beating the gun.
Now you are behind the target. Your only choice is to swing through the target to hit it. On this type of target swing through has great risk. Now you are shooting a diminishing speed/lead target with an accelerating gun. As Jerry Meyer would say, “It becomes a Linda Ronstadt shot— Blew By You.”
The reason we would tell you to always start your gun under the flight path of the bird is in case the bird beats or even crowds the gun, the target cannot be occluded by the gun. If the gun occludes the target during the shot, you rarely, if ever have time to regain focus on the target and shoot it successfully.
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Dear Gil and Vicki,
I’ve been experimenting with different hold positions on different shots. On quick shots I will start the gun much closer to my face and shoulder than on a slower bird. Do you recommend a specific place to hold the gun butt or do you think my “depends-on-the-shot” approach works best?
Steven Schlein
Dear Steve,
We recommend that people start the gun butt evenly with their elbow on most shots. But as you described, on a quick trap target, or a short window shot, or even when you must break the first target in a pair quickly to give yourself time for the second bird, it’s a great advantage to start the gun butt higher and closer to your face.
Gun start position is a personal thing. What feels right is typically right for you. We would caution you about having too many starting points. Our findings indicate that two is about all you need, not including a fully mounted gun. With more than two, you will introduce too many variables that will create inconsistencies in your gun mount. You will never shoot better than the quality of your basic move and mount.
Another thing we might add about the gun mount is the grip pressure you have on the gun when you call “pull.” We see many people that are so worried about the gun mount that they end up gripping the gun so tightly it’s impossible to move it. Keep your grip pressure light. It should be about the pressure you would hold a full tube of toothpaste with the cap off. Keep it in the tube! With soft hands, you will be able to move and mount the gun effortlessly, smoothly, and precisely. Soft hands, hard focus. Good shooting!
