Trap & 5 Stand Shooting - See my new Cynergy O/U

[trippledigitss]

Thanks guys - where is Sunnydell?

I didnt have much time to try the mounting stuff Camp David was telling me about - but I did get my gun out and shoulder it a few times. I was noticing when I mounted it in the position that was most comfortable to me and felt familiar, that the stock was too low and I had to tilt my head way down & forward. Otherwise when I look down the gun I was seeing alot of rail in between the 1st sight. I could move the butt up so I was looking right down the barrel but then it felt like there was only about an inch on my shoulder, just the very bottom corner of the butt. In one class I took - using my other shotgun - he said I was leaning my head too far over the right of the stock and that was changing my aim.

AS far as lifting my elbow- I'll admit I was hitting them when I did it but the recoil hurt like the devil! And it doesnt hurt one bit when I dont lift my elbow. I havent tried it with the Reatar pad in my vest but even shooting w/o it I had no pain whatsoever with my elbow down.

And I found the book by Gil Ash online for $40, I'll check out the other ones too. It will be nice when this snow is gone so I can get out & shoot - they havent really been throwing many targets at Kenmore since it all started.

[trippledigitss]

Oh and I was looking down the barrel with both eyes open too but I see 2 sights (or 4 if you count both sights) I'm not sure which 2 to put on the target?! 

And what does superposed mean wild?

[Camp David]

I assume that you are right handed and right eye dominant. Check to make sure which is your dominant eye. I’m assuming that you are Right and right eyed . Mount the gun and open both eyes. You will see 2 sights  one clear and one a little fuzzy. Now close your left (non dominant) eye. Most likely the clearer sight (the one that was most left) will be the only one you see. Repeat this 1000 time till there is no confusion. When target shooting, your focus (hard intense focus) will be on the leading edge of the target. You will see your sight in the peripheral. Learn how not to measure the lead; it will come instinctive over time. I’m glad you are looking to buy that book. Read it several times. Also look at a lot of sporting clay videos on line and you will see you scores start to climb. Sounds like you need some serious adjustments for that gun 

[trippledigitss]

I assume that you are right handed and right eye dominant. Check to make sure which is your dominant eye. I’m assuming that you are Right and right eyed . Mount the gun and open both eyes. You will see 2 sights  one clear and one a little fuzzy. Now close your left (non dominant) eye. Most likely the clearer sight (the one that was most left) will be the only one you see. Repeat this 1000 time till there is no confusion. When target shooting, your focus (hard intense focus) will be on the leading edge of the target. You will see your sight in the peripheral. Learn how not to measure the lead; it will come instinctive over time. I’m glad you are looking to buy that book. Read it several times. Also look at a lot of sporting clay videos on line and you will see you scores start to climb. Sounds like you need some serious adjustments for that gun 

I took a quick 2hr class at Kenmore called "break more birds" - it was a really basic class but he checked my eyes and said I was right eye dominant. I was just starting out and was shooting my auto-loader but I had NO idea what I was doing (like I do anymore now?) and most of what they were saying didnt make sense. But he said the same things as you, both eyes open, look at the leading edge, & so forth. What do you mean "measure" the lead? I didnt notice the sights looking any different, one being less in focus or whatever, but I will pay closer attention. Yeah, I want to get a new gun that not only makes me feel more confident, but that is designed for sporting purposes and fits me well. I've been holding off on lessons until I get one so I could 'start fresh' and learn with the gun I plan to shoot.

When I 1st bought this Mossberg Silver Reserve Sporting that I'm shooting now, my trap scores went way up immediately. I was shooting 6-8, maybe 10's with my Escort Auto loader, and 15-16's on 5 stand. Then the 1st time I shot the O/U I scored 19 or 20, (but they were all straight birds since I was shooting with my 10yrs old and it was his 1st time) and 16-18's no problem on a regular line. But my 5 stand scores went right down to 7-9, and now I'm shooting 12-13 on 5 stand with an occasional 15-16. But then my trap scores started going down, I miss birds I normally hit. I cant hit a straight bird to save my life when I powdered them before. Now I will hit the hard rights that I use to miss all the time. I used to kill hard lefts and now its 50/50. Lately my trap scores are plummeting further into single digits. I dont know what the heck I'm doing but it drives me insane. I quit shooting trap and stay at the 5 stand cuz I was getting so discouraged.

One of the biggest helps is that lately I've been buying an extra bird card and they will throw whichever house I want. I'll call the same bird 6-8 times in a row and try different things/aims/shot times until I hit consistently. That has really helped me with the problem birds - but doesnt help my scores overall, I'll usually miss the easy ones and hit the hard ones. I dont freaking know. But no matter how bad I do, I always leave with a big smile - well usually....  Its a blast for sure, especially when you hit them.

I think I'm gonna buy some of the Canned Heat shells from Fiocchi that have the glo stick in them so you can see where you shot. That doesnt tell me what my pattern is though and they only let members use the pattern board & chrono at Kenmore.

[trippledigitss]

Oh yeah - and I am right handed. Height/weight pretty average at 5'10" & 185

[Camp David]

First thing is you are way to focused on score....stop it    Get the gun to fit you correctly. You are the average build the most guns are made to fit you. I had to add a rib to my 682, to raise it 3/8s of an inch and now it has an adjustable stock. I’ve been shooting for a while, but I really got into it the last three years. Lots of reading, watching and learning. I shoot 2-3 competitions a month and practice when I’m not shooting. My scores went from 66 (100 targets with a borrowed gun) 3 years ago to as low as 44 a year later. Now I’m in the high 70 and low 80s. I tell you this because you can see that as you change things (hopefully for the better) it will impact your scores. Learn good fundamentals and build up that. As far as the “measure the lead” your new book will talk about it extensively. Your focus is on the bird, but you will want to look at your sight picture and measure the distance between the bead and the bird.  You can only focus on one thing at a time. When you measure, you will most likely stop your swing for a split second and then your swing will change back when you focus on the bird. Learn to understand the “lead picture” while you focus on the bird the whole time. When do you know when you are focusing on the bird? When you can tell exactly where you hit it. Good luck on your journey. Easy birds are normally missed due to poor mounting (head up) and not a hard focus on the bird. Always keep the barrel in front of the bird; easy targets new shooters tend to block (obscure) the bird by having the barrel aligned to close to the bird.

[trippledigitss]

I have a little graph I keep in my case and I keep track of everything, the date, the game, the range, the score, shots fired, chokes, and any other pertinent info like which card I shot, weather, etc, etc. I started it when I got the new gun for the purpose of keeping track of exactly how many rounds I fired thru and expanded it from there. So I can see my scores and how they trend - I guess I should get rid of that if you are saying stop focusing on scores! I guess I could still track only shots fired? I dont know why it matters to me, just thought it would be interesting to know how many I've shot thru it, especially if something broke I would know how long it lasted! 

[trippledigitss]

  For a great time and a lesson might I suggest Chuck Dryke at Sunneydell shooting grounds,he's got a pretty impressive little bag of tricks that you'll wonder "What the heck,I thought this was a shooting lesson" .......it turns into a shooting lesson that if you pay attention will improve your performance by at least 70%(my buddy went for a lesson and the transformation from misser to hitter was impressive).There is also a gunsmith on site at Sunneydell for fitting.

x2 on taking a lesson from Chuck. i took a one day lesson from him its was as fun as it was informative. i took his course even after winning some major trophies and i can honestly say that my scores improved and were more consistant.

if youre looking for some books id highly reccomend "An Insight to Sports; Featuring Trapshooting" i forget the author's name but i know its Dr. something, its all about how to see things and how to make your eyes work better for you.  also check out "The Little Book of Trapshooting" by Frank Little. Frank was a highly decorated ATA shooter and i believe he was a member of several All-American teams.  Good read with lots of usefull info

The only one I could find on the 1st book is - An Insight to Sports; Featuring Trapshooting and Golf written by Wayne F. Martin. Is that the one you mean? Here is a link to it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Insight-Sports-Featuring-Trapshooting-Golf/dp/0961489502

[uplandhunter870]

Yup that's the one great book I refer back to it often. Franks book can be found at franklittleshooting.com it has a yellow cover with a picture of frank kneeling titled the little trapshooting book cost $20 off his sight. Keeping track of scores and progress isn't a bad thing just don't count your misses during the round focus on breaking each bird one at a time it's a lot easier to win 25 games of 1 instead of 1 game of 25. I never know for sure what I shot until after the the round is over and I check the score sheet. Take it one target at a time

[Ellensburg]

Look at my forum sig -

I am a lifetime Cynergy Club member and never wanna change that.

[trippledigitss]

Yup that's the one great book I refer back to it often. Franks book can be found at franklittleshooting.com it has a yellow cover with a picture of frank kneeling titled the little trapshooting book cost $20 off his sight. Keeping track of scores and progress isn't a bad thing just don't count your misses during the round focus on breaking each bird one at a time it's a lot easier to win 25 games of 1 instead of 1 game of 25. I never know for sure what I shot until after the the round is over and I check the score sheet. Take it one target at a time

OK cool - I'm going shooting this afternoon, gonna try a couple new things, mainly both eyes open and different mount. I dont want to try too many things at once and get overwhelmed or lose track of what is helping or not. But I've been taking notes from here and another couple books I picked up already, Breaking Clays by Chris Batha and Wing & Trap Shooting by someone else. I'll review my notes before I shoot and see how it goes.

Thanks again everyone. I havent made a final decision on Citori vs Cynergy but right now I am leaning 80% towards the Cyngery Sporting with adj comb & 30" barrels.... Gonna head up to Kesselrings and shoulder them both.

[wildweeds]

After seeing this.................I'd say your overthinking it,if it were fishin it'd be shut up and fish,since it's shootin...............Pull! 

I have a little graph I keep in my case and I keep track of everything, the date, the game, the range, the score, shots fired, chokes, and any other pertinent info like which card I shot, weather, etc, etc. I started it when I got the new gun for the purpose of keeping track of exactly how many rounds I fired thru and expanded it from there. So I can see my scores and how they trend - I guess I should get rid of that if you are saying stop focusing on scores! I guess I could still track only shots fired? I dont know why it matters to me, just thought it would be interesting to know how many I've shot thru it, especially if something broke I would know how long it lasted! 

[sakoshooter]

Thanks sako - I have tried shooting with both eyes open but I seem to do worse. I see two beads and never know which one to 'aim' from. What do you mean by passing or sustained lead? I am usually coming from behind the bird (on 5 stand) since I am pointed at where its coming from vs where I plan to shoot it at. It is fun thats for sure, but I hate when I miss birds I think I should have hit!

D-Rock - yeah I've thought the same thing. I'd love to have one fitted to me to but I dont know where to have that done at. Can you have a production gun like a Browning custom fit to you or do you have to have a custom gun made? Either way it sounds expensive!

Just sent ya an email.

[jackelope]

Oh and I was looking down the barrel with both eyes open too but I see 2 sights (or 4 if you count both sights) I'm not sure which 2 to put on the target?! 

And what does superposed mean wild?

Quit aiming with the beads. Look down the barrel the same way every time and watch the bird, don't aim. Kind of like drawing a bow and anchoring in the same place every time. This is where gun fit comes in to play. It's also where the psychological effect comes into play. You have to learn to trust yourself when you're looking down the barrel and quit aiming. Pattern the gun, make sure that the shot is hitting where it needs to when you look down the barrel, then go from there. Take a lesson from a pro instructor. My stepdad is an instructor and the president of Seattle Skeet and Trap. He shot 4500 registered targets last year and that's (sort of) how he teaches it. I don't know the exact how-to wording he teaches but that's the gist of it.
Also SST is doing some youth stuff there and the kids can shoot a couple rounds for free every sunday morning. The new sporting clays course they've got up and running is one of the best in the NW. They'll have the Washington State Sporting Clays Championships Shoot there again this year.

[jackelope]

Sunnydell is in Sequim.