I ran two rounds of trap again on Wednesday.
A 12 and 13. Okay, so that’s horrible, but I’m starting to notice what works and what doesn’t.
1) I started using an isosceles type stance. I’m not sure why that’s helping but it is. Noticed the guys breaking more birds tend to stand that way and figured I’d copy them.
2) Making damned sure I get a good cheek weld and concentrate on the front sight for a split second before I call for the bird.
3) Making sure that bead is actually slightly below the clay when I pull the trigger helps a LOT! Shocking, eh?
4) Slowing the hell down. Takes a while for that bird to hit the ground, so there’s no huge rush.
5) Starting with my barrel higher. I’m ignoring some advice I got years back on this one, but when I start too low I end up frantically raising the barrel on a quickly rising bird, get excited, and blow the shot.
Note to self: Time to break out the shooting gloves. It’s getting cold out there. Better switch to the winter coat too.
That’s a little better than I shot last weekend. There was a strong wind in our face, which made the birds “hover” a little. I found myself shooting under them nearly every time. Losing a bird on an easy straight-away from station-one is pretty embarrassing… In that situation, slowing down definitely helped me break more of them.
The good news is, down here in FL, the weather is just starting to get nice enough to shoot more than one or two rounds without overheating!