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I went trap shooting today!

so, I may have mentioned that my wife was going to pay for me and a friend to go to one of the local gun clubs and do some trap shooting for our 1 year wedding anniversary. our friend instead sends us an email informing us of a fundraiser being held at the gun club and thought this would be a good primer for me. Just as i'm about to leave the wife happens to be up early and I somehow talked her into going with. she had absolutely no interest in watching me shoot guns so imagine my surprise when she said she'd go. we get to the gun club and as we're signing in one of the resident instructors (who happens to be female) ends up talking my wife into trying out trap shooting. imagine that. no matter how much pushing, prodding and cajoling I did I couldn't get my wife to entertain the idea of handling a shotgun, but then when some instructor comes along she's instantly convinced. I thought it was a good thing and the truth of the matter is, this instructor turned out to be a state champion trap shooter and is trying to get more women to participate in the sport.

fast forward a half an hour and i'm up there with my friend's Winchester pump finally getting my feet wet. I got a whopping 2 out of 25 clay pigeons :huh:. after the practice round my instructor test fired my friend's pump and discovered it was shooting about a foot too low, hence the reason I was missing so many shots. once we got to the competition portion of our day I switched to a Remington 1100 semi-auto and then to a Browning Citori O/U and damn, what a difference that made. I still stunk and only got a 9 out of 25 shots but I just loved the way the Citori felt in my hands and the ease of use over the pump shotguns. I had the female instructor helping me and she was a great teacher. the other instructor had me focusing on the end of my barrel but when the female instructor came around she said my stance was equally as important. sure enough, when I changed my stance it made a significant difference. all I can say is, I had a blast trap shooting and my wife had fun too. I still want a rifle but I now want to own an O/U :tongue_sm
 
Well, first off, let me give a hearty congrats to you and your wife. Second, I would say what a great improvement you made from 2/25 to 9/25! For a newbie, that is quite good especially using a field gun! Most trap shooters use a gun with a special trap barrel that is longer and often sports a raised rib that gives distinct advantages to shooting that game.

Stance, where to look for the bird, and timing are all critical in trap (as it is in skeet or sporting clays as well). Gun fit is prime. If it doesn't fit, it will shoot high/low/left/right or a combination therein.

It is a truly addictive sport and great fun. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Though primarily a sporting clay shooter (and my wife a skeet shooter), I shoot trap quite often because it is my weakest game of the three venues and of all the target presentations in clays, the trap shot for me is problematic (I shoot trap in the low 90s FWIW).

You might look on bulletin boards at the gun clubs. Shooters are always upgrading their equipment from 1100 to Citori to Beretta, to Krieghoff, everyone has their choice at the moment (I shoot Krieghoff, wife prefers Perazzis- go figure). You might find a great used (but well cared for) gun for a very good price......

Enjoy!
 
I love shooting trap. I had a female friend back in highschool who's dad owns a shooting range. First time I went up there and shot trap I got 18 of 25. One of the employees there liked me so much he gave me a free gun rental any time I went there and gave me ammo at employee price. I was there a few times a week that summer. My best score was 24 of 25. Always used a break action shot gun. Though I can't remember the manufacturer.
 
I haven't been trap shooting in ages, sounds as if you had a good time. I wish SWMBO would take up the sport as it would give me an excuse to go out more.
 
As mentioned, trap shooting is an addictive sport. The perfect example of the power of intermittant reinforcement! I shot trap until rotator cuff surgery made shooting often too uncomfortable. It is a great sport! Skeet, sporting clays, 5 station are related but all develop different skills. Rifle shooting and handguning are totally different and rely on skills in many ways antithetical to shotgunning. All shooting sports are great fun, satisfying, challenging-keep it up!!
 
Congrats! It's a fun sport and it's wonderful that your wife shot too. How did she do? And do you think this is something you will get into together with her?

Be prepared to drop a lot of money as you get into the sport. It starts with a decent gun, then the shells, then the reloader(s) to load your own shells, then the competition/league fees, then several other more expensive guns to shoot competitively, then the travel expenses, etc. etc.
 
Did your wife shoot? How'd she do? That'd be an interesting end to your gun safe thread.

EDIT: oops, I see Luke already asked. Didn't read very carefully. I hope everything works out great for you!
 
Did your wife shoot? How'd she do? That'd be an interesting end to your gun safe thread.

to answer your question and stobes21's question, my wife shot 4 out of 25. I know this stinks but consider this - our instructor, who is now state champion, shot 2 out of 25 her first time :001_tt2:. I don't foresee us doing this together in the future but I guess anything's possible. she woke up the next day with sore arms and shoulders....she said it was because she was so tense holding the shotgun :001_rolle
 
Shooting is very fun!

My cousin and a buddy are hunters and they took me sporting clay and skeet shooting a couple years ago and it was great. Gotta get out and do it again.
 
Shooting is very fun!

My cousin and a buddy are hunters and they took me sporting clay and skeet shooting a couple years ago and it was great. Gotta get out and do it again.

Sporting clays can be a very humbling sport for those of us who shoot a lot of trap or skeet. I go from shooting high 80s/low 90s in skeet to shooting in the 50s on the sporting clays field. The variety and unpredictability of shots is a lot of fun, but it is a bit sad to watch so many clays fail unbroken.:blush:
 
so what is the difference between trap, skeet and sporting clays exactly?

Trap features a single house that throws birds always away from the shooter. The shooter moves around (and eventually back from) the house. Usually the birds are thrown as singles, though trap doubles does exist.

Skeet features two houses facing each other. The shooters move around a half circle shooting both singles and doubles (where both houses throw at the same time and you have to shoot both targets). Shots are much closer than in trap, but feature much more extreme angles and regular doubles.

Sporting Clays is supposed to simulate a variety of hunting situations. No two courses are the same and good courses change their stations regularly. In some ways it is like golf: a sporting clays range will have a number of different stations (akin to holes in golf) each with different challenges. The variety of shots is huge: common shots include a "rabbit" which rolls along the ground, birds thrown straight up or dropping straight down, different sized or speed targets, etc. You do both singles and doubles and will likely face targets both very close in and very far out. Even top level shooters miss a fair number of birds, especially compared to their equivalent level shooters in trap and skeet. It also tends to be more expensive to shoot because the course setup, maintenance, and land needs are much higher than trap and skeet.
 
Good Job! Practice and you'll be hooked (if you aren't already).
An O/U is nice for certain. If you have the opportunity, give an actual Trap gun a try (like the BT-99).

It can be an expensive hobby, but it's fun and satisfying when you see the little puff of smoke that used to be a clay bird.

:thumbup:
 
Would you mind commenting on whether or not your ears were ringing after this outing? I've got mild to moderate tinnitus and am very cautious about exposure to any high volume activity that could cost me later.
 
Would you mind commenting on whether or not your ears were ringing after this outing? I've got mild to moderate tinnitus and am very cautious about exposure to any high volume activity that could cost me later.

shooting ranges do provide ear plugs. or you could invest in a nice pair of noise canceling ear muffs
 
Would you mind commenting on whether or not your ears were ringing after this outing? I've got mild to moderate tinnitus and am very cautious about exposure to any high volume activity that could cost me later.

I had a pair of custom earplugs made which I wear under earmuffs. Overkill maybe but I'm trying to keep the hearing I haven't already lost.
 
Would you mind commenting on whether or not your ears were ringing after this outing? I've got mild to moderate tinnitus and am very cautious about exposure to any high volume activity that could cost me later.

my ears were fine. the gun club provided ear plugs and eye protection
 
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