Trap shooting advice for getting started.

[George P]

Once I figured out gun fit, I found I didn't really need a bead at all.

We have a WINNER!

 

[SwampWolf]

I can't tell you how many times I have heard that.

"You shouldn't see the sights, only the target" and other stuff like that.

To me, the term "sights" has to do with an aiming device found on the top of barrels. If you aim a shotgun by fixating on the front sight, whatever it's called (Hi Viz, glow worm, Raybar, bead, etc.), rather than pointing a shotgun and focusing on the target, be it made from clay or feathers, you are missing the point (pun intended ). I will stick with the timeworn adage "keep your eye on the target, not on the sight" when it comes to hitting a flying target with a shotgun, no matter how many times I hear it.

 

[Thomasss]

Driftwood makes a good point. I've hear a lot of people who say they don't look at the beads. I disagree and here is why: I'm tall enough that many field guns shoot like trap guns on me, but I still have a problem lining up the gun before I call for a target. A friend and I figured out that if one brings up the gun and as one sites down the barrel allow for a little space between the two beads as they line up, maybe an inch or so, and that will keep your eye, the gun and the target all lined up as one swings through the target. I shoot with only one eye open. I'm left eye dominant and a right handed shooter(cross-eyed) I close my left eye as I call a target and open it about the time I pull the trigger. I have a 93.4 average so I must be doing something right.

 

[mokin]

I took this picture two weeks ago. A good time in progress. Not much sign of snow today and temperatures in the high 50s.



I started shooting trap with a Winchester 1300. A couple years ago I bought a Citori. It was almost like learning all over. I've found if I take a second to make sure I've got the beads lined up with one eye, open both eyes without moving my head, call for the target and use both eyes to shoot, I usually hit the target.

 

[Fishingted]

The appropriate tool is the one that works. Vic Reinders won the Grand many, many years with a Remington Model 31 pump, as did Rudy Etchen and Daro Handy with Remingtin 870's. I've shot many a 25 with a Model 870 myself.

Pumps were more popular from the 40's to the 80's, first the Win. Model 12, Rem. Model 31, and the Rem. 870. Most people shooting trap with a pump today do so because it's their only shotgun, or for nostalgia. You do have to get very fast with a pump to score good on doubles. I was Ok with my 870, but I'd prefer my 1100 Competition for doubles these days. (My singles and handicap gun is a Ljutic single barrel trap gun.)



Your money would be far better spent on a good pump than that Legacy. Your 500 will work, like George P says, if it fits you. The fixed Modified barrel will be fine for 16 yard singles. 12 ga. is the only gauge to shoot for Trap, unless you are shooting a sub-gauge event.



If you have a bead, that is enough. You don't aim a shotgun, like you do a rifle. I do recommend on investing in one of these;

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1018129779

and experimenting with it at the patterning board to find a good fit that gives you a Point Of Impact higher than the 50/50 POI your 500 probably gives now.

At the point you are now, just get out and shoot; watch the best shooters at your club, and approach them for advice. They will probably advise you to get an O/U or SBT (Single Barrel Trap gun; BT-99, etc.) , but if you explain you're just starting out, they might let you try their guns. If they do, offer them a box of shell and a cold beverage of their choice for their generosity. You may find a gun that you just can't miss with; that's how I fell in love with Ljutic MonoGuns many years ago.

Oh, and watch this:



It's old but it's full of good advice. Just like the info in the pamphlet that George P. linked, I have the high schoolers I coach watch that video. You'll notice them shooting Rem. 8780's and 1100's in it. Those guns dominated the Trap fields in the 60's and 70's.

 

[Sniper66]

My brother won many competitions, both trap and skeet with a pump Winchester Model 12 12ga. Most shooters prefer an O/U or semi-auto, but don't let anyone convince you that a pump is "not the right gun for the job". They never said that when my brother took home the prize; be it money, a shotgun, a ham, or a turkey

 

[Blackrock]

Don't do it!! Once you get bit by the bug it take a hold and won't let go. But I do have to say it's a lot of fun and you make a lot of friends. We have a loose knit group that shoots every other weekend. We have one trap stand and a nice trap house and throwing machine and only one guy trusted by the city to open it up and operate it.
Sometimes just around twenty but gets more getting close to bird season. We also put on seperate shoots for youth plus toy drive at Christmas and food dive a couple times a year.