Beginner Trap Shooter Question

[ZBill]

I have a question on proper stock/cheek placement. When I pull up my Remington 1100 to a "natural" placement" to my cheek and shoulder, I am looking uphill on the vent rib, meaning I see the entire rib back to front with the front bead sitting pretty high. I assume I should not be seeing the rib - just the front bead meaning I have to push the stock higher on my cheek pushing pretty hard against the bottom of my cheek bone. Is that the correct placement? Also - how does stock length play into this? Should I consider a cheek pad. I shoot left handed. Thank you for any assistance. I am a pretty good shot, but hit only 5 out of 75 clay pigeons yesterday, disappointing. Regards, Bill

 

[Dave McCracken]

Seeing all the rib means it's shooting high. This is where a patterning board becomes your new best friend.

Trap guns shoot high for best results, but too much of a good thing....

Adding some drop, either by shims or adding length will fix this.

HTH....

 

[RM]

I like to line up the top bead directly over the mid-bead for a "figure 8" configuration as I look down the rib. If the stock fits you correctly, you should not have to press your cheek down excessively hard to get this sight picture. So you may need a different stock or stock adjustment. Ideally, you should be able to shoulder the gun with your eyes closed and when you open your eyes, you have the correct sight picture. Gun fit can be difficult, and you may want to see a professional stock fitter. I might add that some shooters don't need/use a mid-bead at all. This is possible with proper gun fit.

 

[mswestfall]

Trap is a "rising bird" sport. The target should be shot on its way up. To see a bird on the rise, it helps (but is not required) to have a gun that shots higher than its "apparent aim point". This appears to be what you have. You can get used to what you have or you can alter it. That is a choice that you have to make yourself. I would say that the higher the gun shoots relative to its aim point the less useful it is for other shooting sports.

Dave's suggestion about the patterning board is the BEST first option. Find out where it shoots and decide if you are willing to make the mental adjustment or if you need to alter the gun.

Putting a pad on the comb is a very good, inexpensive way of finding out what will work for you. Be careful not to pad the stock so much that your eye moves inside the center point of the barrel.

The impact of the length of the stock is relative to the length of your neck and the drop at comb and back to the butt. A field gun has a relatively sharp drop as compared to a trap gun. A long neck can push your head forward on the comb and offset much of the stock drop. Try sliding your head back on the comb and see if the stock comes up forcing the muzzle down. This will change your aim point. This may also tilt your head toward your shoulder making your eyes less parallel to the ground. This is a bad thing.

I hope this isn't too much input and is useful to you.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

 

[dmarbell]

Proper trap mount

If you have an 1100 trap gun, or an 1100 with monte carlo stock or parallel comb, you could be seeing that much rib. However, if you're shooting with an 1100 that has some comb drop, like a field or sporting gun, then to see that much comb you probably are not locking the comb into your zygomatic arch.

I believe for proper mount you should lock the comb into your zytomatic arch, the bottom part of your cheek bone.

When I do this with my 870 Wingmaster field gun, I can see nothing but the back part of the receiver, none of the rib.

All this might have been obvious, but I thought it was worth discussing with a beginning trap shooter. That score sounds like an inconsistent mount along the jaw, like a good field mount used for shooting quail.

Danny

 

[ZBill]

Thank you for all the replies

and good information. I will pattern it this weekend and work on my cheek placement. This looks to be a good sport if I can begin hitting the targets.

What a great source of information! Regards, Bill