Challenging Conditions

Over the weekend we went to the shoot in Portland. For that club, the weather was pretty nice, the sun was shining and the wind wasn't blowing too hard. Saturday was cold, but Sunday warmed up. I am happy that I had the overall high scores for singles and handicap on Saturday, but, even better, Tony won his class in doubles on Sunday. That was no small feat even though the number of shooters was low, however that is always the case in Portland. I really love to shoot at that club and it always kind of saddens me (but never surprises me) that the crowd is consistently small. It's a tough place to shoot and I understand why many avoid it. In my opinion though, it's shooting in these kinds of conditions that make me a better shooter. It makes any bad habits and inconsistencies glaringly obvious. I really have to be focused to get decent scores there and I like how much I have to 'work' to be consistent. So, I want to challenge anyone who reads this to show up and participate the next time you have the opportunity to shoot at a location where you know it is going to be tough. It will make you better in the end.

--Heather

The UGB is Back!!!

So, we went to the Blanket Shoot at Medford over the weekend. We came home with 2 blankets, a Beretta UGB, 2 BT-99's, a little money, and are now minus one Beretta 682 combo unsingle. Tony has had nothing but problems since trading his previous UGB for the 682, so we are happy to have one back. Ever since he started with the 682 his scores have dropped consistently at every shoot. There is definitely no reason to hang on to a gun just because other people like it.

--Heather

Just A Note

For everyone's information, our components and ammunition business, Archer Trap Supply, is now up and running. Anyone interested is welcome to call at 541-992-4148. We are offering a full range of ammunition - shotgun, rifle, and handgun - along with the full range of reloading components. Prices are pretty competitive so give us a call.

--Heather

Yes, we have been busy

I want to say thank you to everyone that has been periodically checking this site, especially those who keep needling me to update. We have finally completed our move, gotten the new component business up and running, and, yes, I am still attending college.

I haven't been getting much practice in with all of this going on. Today is the first day I have really been able to spend a little time focused on nothing but breaking targets in the last 45 days. However, I shot a few Nitro's yesterday and I was feeling it in my shoulder today. Between a sore shoulder and a lot of wind I missed about 3 each round. Having even the slightest bit of pain is incredibly distracting. I think I will put some ice on it tonight, and be back out to practice on Wednesday.

--Heather

Changing Places

First of all, I want to say hello to the returning shooter I met on Thursday. I forgot to ask you your name but it was very nice to meet you. To elaborate on our conversation:

I like to go to different clubs to shoot practice. I find the exposure to varying backgrounds really helpful for mental focus. My favorite club to practice at is the one with the most difficult background. We spent an entire day there on January 31 shooting practice. It is tough since there are horses in the background, a major airport, residential homes and apartments, and all kinds of other noise. My scores are never as good there but the focus it takes to concentrate without becoming distracted really sticks with me when I go somewhere else. For example, today I was shooting 27 yard practice. Tony was standing behind me to observe and a group of shooters arrived waiting for the trap. Another person was with the group to act as a coach. They came into the trap area right behind me and were talking. I know it was intentional to see my reaction. I continued what I was doing so that I wouldn't keep them waiting. Then the 'coach' (whom I personally think is an excellent teacher even though I don't shoot his style) decided to chuck a few pieces of cardboard in front of me as I was about to call 'pull'. I didn't even turn around to look. I knew who it was, I didn't startle, called for the target and broke it.

Plus, there is another club we like to practice at and we have someone pull for us. This person will pull slow, fast, cough, holler, and other things to attempt to break focus. It really is great mental practice. Honestly, the one thing that continues to interfere with my concentration (and it certainly should) is my son's voice. If I can hear him when I am at the line I can't focus on anything except his voice. But then again, he is only five.

Another thing I find really helpful is to have someone (usually Tony) stand back and observe me. I also find it helpful to be the observer. Having someone to let me know when I shot faster than I usually do, moved slower to the target, picked up my head, and things along those lines enables me to analyze myself better. Sometimes I know I did something 'off' but I don't know what it was and an observer might be able to see it. Watching other people (and I mean people, not their targets) also gives me insight into mistakes I might be making. The one thing I want to point out that I do not ask observers to do is give me any advice on how to shoot unless I specifically ask for it. For me, it is very important to be able to figure out what works and what does not on my own. That way I understand the reasons why and why not and can replicate it or avoid it.

--Heather

Happy Birthday Tony

Happy Birthday Tony. Have fun at the club today!

--Heather

Point of Impact Overview - Part 3

Moving on to part 3 in POI

Now you have found the POI on your favorite trap gun and looking to get it to center on the moving target. This next level is not possible if you haven’t accomplished the fundamentals in elementary and Jr high. You need to have established your form, consistently hitting your body balance, foot placement, gun mount, head/eye/cheek position, elbow level, etc. Maybe studied Rollin Oswalds book. Must have learned how to stay in the present and switch from thinking to vision before calling for the target. Have established your visual and timing routine. Mistakes will be made, so hopefully you will be able to recognize mistakes and disregard those errors.

We have discussed and cussed, debated and bantered target break reading. Although there will be no debate among our nations best trap shooters. So without controversy or sorted debate on the merits of target reading, lets assume the reason these great shooters made it to the top is not only based in perfect form and timing, but their choice of gun being center target. This is one variation of how to get there.

Trap shooting is 12 inch game. The center core of your pattern is the only part of the pattern that can guarantee a solid break. The rest is unreliable, and depending on choke performance, may have uneven shot distribution in the periphery every shot down the barrel. So for this example lets put in a choke with over 32 thousands of constriction, full choke by some measure, certainly IM. The only important part is that it will turn the target into dust if perfectly center. Something to look for and measure by. Those that subscribe to the open and hope choke theory, your wasting your time reading this. Your past the beginner stage anyway, so play along, and fine out how to own a forgiving trap gun. At least get the gun on center before you open the choke up and make the next level of mistakes.

Start with a gun that breaks targets. Just needs to break targets, not smoke’em, but smoke would be good thing. You have already set the left and right on the patterning board, so the only thing we are concerned about is the vertical setting. If you decide to set the vertical on straight away targets that fine, a good place to start, but realize that your timing could be different for angle presentations. Easy to break the straight target and just as easy to get out of timing or go after the easy one more aggressively. Our goal is to set the POI for all targets and concentrate on maintaining control during the easy straight birds. The straights will also remain the most lost target in trap shooting.

When breaking the target and setting the vertical, just look for low or high hits. Low hit target will have smaller debris on the bottom and larger chunks going up. A high hit target is visa versa, shall chips on the top and the big chips short stopped or seem to be pushed down. If your getting chips left and right its either your pointing/timing error or you need to go back the bench and pattern. A choke tube could be off, or your changing the cheek pressure applied to the comb while moving with the shot. Usually left and right shooting is your fault, and something we pay attention to, to monitor our timing and pointing.

Once the gun is set to center, it time to move on to using the target break information to enhance our concentration on staying in the present. To measure our speed, control, point..... timing. The next level of skills to be focused on. Higher education with a sound base of fundamentals from gun fit, to stock setting, to vision and timing. You have complete confidence in your equipment and developing confidence in your pointing skills. With the POI issue settled you can focus on learning to be consistent or making minor changes in your approach. This is the point where if you decide to spend your money on a Phil Kiner clinic, you can actually learn better shooting skills, solve problems and listen to ideas or theory. Not spend his time working on your basic or fundamentals. Local coaches and mentors are for the basics. This where you get your moneys worth. Kiner, Chambell, Ohye, Harrison clinics are like going to college. You need to go there with a high school education for them to offer the most value for the money in information.

From this point on you can use the target break information to measure each shot. Can enhance your focus and self analysis each shot. On a good day, you will be completely absorbed in every detail of your shooting. Its called the "Zone" when each targets technique and control is the only focus. You don’t here others talking, see distractions, or find concern. You are completely absorbed in your shooting and the presents of the next target. One target at a time. Mental skills and management. The difference between the Kiner’s in trap shooting and the everyday average shooter even with a lifetime of experience.

--Maltzie

Point of Impact Overview - Part 2

Part two is finding where your point of impact needs to be to center moving trap targets. The next step or going from elementary to Jr high.

A new or less experienced shooter steps to the line on a trap field. They have not developed their skills or have not had the opportunity to repeat each shot thousands of times, developing their personal form, timing, visual target acquisition, bead/barrel relationship or shot placement. They tend to be a slower and more deliberate shooter than the experienced old timer standing close by. They are shooting at the target as it peaks or the targets only horizontal level during its flight time. They are still trying to aim or relate the bead to the target to gain confidence and shooting data for their internal target solutions computer. In their minds eye they can see the recent patterning board results and are thinking they can place the pattern while the target is at its easy spot. With the chips, chunks and losses, they soon feel lost, because they know exactly where the pattern is as it relates to the moving target. It’s the moving part that changes where the POI needs to be at.

At this point the shooter needs to understand that aiming and pointing are very different, and pointing is the only way to break moving targets. Keeping a visual lock on the target and seeing the bead /barrel relationship in the periphery vision essential. It’s the targets path and movement that generates the shooters movement. Look away (bead check) and loose the target.

The 60/40 or 70/30 percent POI settings would work fine for the new or slow shooter, allowing for visual bead contact with the target. After your muscle memory has mastered the moves to the target and the shooter is comfortable with all aspects of form, mount, move, many shooters will start to naturally speed up timing. Taking the target sooner and while still climbing. This is where we need to start raising POI compensating for the targets vertical momentum. Raise the POI or try to control your timing every shot. My theory is, the shooter needs to shoot their natural timing. This speed should be based on vision. How fast visual target acquisition is locking on the target and how fast the shooter is responding to the targets movement. You can count on the trigger being pulled/released when the sight picture is accomplished. Can’t stop it, it’s a trained subconscious response, data you have loaded in your brain. Many will also find advantage in not making visual bead contact with the target, and float the target above the bead/barrel relationship. If you tend to flinch the float could be good. This again represents a higher setting on the stock for POI. As we can see its not hard to need and get settings that are 100% or more high at target distance (5 inches high at bench 13 yards). One thing you can count on, is each shooter must find what works for them, and how high their trap gun must shoot to center moving trap targets.

Once your gun is set for your proper or natural ability, any timing error will represent a lost target. Any visual mistake or jump will be a loss. The guns POI is set on your capability and normal shot sequence. A bead check is a stop movement, a jump is out of control movement. Once you establish your form, mount, vision and timing, thereto setting the POI to center, each shot must be in the same manor. So the shooter needs to self analyze every aspect of how a well placed shot was made, and know what the difference is of any error made.

--Maltzie

Point of Impact Overview - Part 1

Lets have a serious discussion regarding point of impact(POI). One of trap shootings most important fundamental. Where the shot must be to center the target. More important in trap shooting than other shotgun shooting disciplines based on the trap targets vertical travel during presentation.

Part 1

To premise this discussion, let's review the process of shooting at a moving target. A new shooter must load targeting data into their minds eye. Relating the bead to the target and being aware of timing, or speed and control moving the bead to the target. We all will imprint the bead/barrel to target sight picture into our brain, allowing for our subconscious to recognize the relationship and be able to pull the trigger without a conscious command. Every shot sequence of visual relationship, timing, angle/lead and proper follow will be stored in our minds eye. In trap shooting we have few angles, only one speed, and varied bead/barrel relationships are stored. Easier than the variable in target presentation of sporting clays, but similar to skeet based on consistent target presentations.

What is different in trap shooting compared to other shooting disciplines is the consistent vertical climb of every target. Angles are minimal even from post 1 or 5 with the wide presentations. Even a special design in gun configuration has been introduced to compensate for this vertical travel. A trap gun is born based on the vertical attitude of each target.

A side note. Often I see posters advising that a field or clay stock/rib configuration is a good choice to start shooting trap with. OK....I will buy into that advise, but we should also make the shooter understand that this choice will allow them to maybe get to average. With few exceptions for those that have the physical characteristics that allows for enough vertical height in shot placement from a low comb setting. All others will need a trap designed gun to get past 84 to 88 percent average shooting. If your stuck on 21's and 22's with as many lower scores as higher scores, you are average. You may have the skills and capacity to improve, but your limited by your choice of equipment. The reason I made this statement is based on experience, personal and witness.

There are 2 issues in finding your proper POI setting / stock and or rib setting. First, you must know where your gun is shooting. Both where the gun places shot and where you place shot during the shot sequence. Only the patterning board can give you this information. 13 yard bench patterning to know where the gun is sighted in at and target distance patterning to know where the gun places shot offhand. In both cases you only see a one dimensional depiction of a pattern and its impact logistics based on a stationary target. This is the fundamental. Relating this known information to a moving target and learning where the shot cloud must be to center targets is the next step in becoming a better shooter.

We make posts noting a gun shoots 60/40%, 70/30% or some variation in percentage, Another will post 3,4 or 5 inches high at 13 yards. Someone else will relate patterning from target distance. All confusing to a new shooter and all the same data, just in different perspective. I like the inches at bench 13 yards, because the info can be counted on to be accurate, but patterning info using any method can be equally counted on if done consistently. Knowing where your gun shoots/places shot is the only important point by any measure.

--Maltzie

The Importance of Health, Nutrition, etc.

Since Tuesday's practice was cut short because I was late, I am going this afternoon. I was thinking about watching my Frank Little videos before going and I remembered reading in his book a section about the importance of overall health, diet, rest, etc. I normally ride my bike for exercise but I am trying to think of other things I can do which will complement target shooting. A friend of mine who knew Gary Morlan told me that he used to spend time (if I remember correctly it was hours a day) repetitively mounting his gun while watching television. Plus, this has been on my mind lately because of all those athletes advertising Five Hour Energy. I particularly like some of Maltzie's commentary about shifting focus from mental thoughts to actual visual processing. Since my educational background is neurological psychology I understand the value of using repetitive thoughts and motions to 'train' the brain - increasing ease and familiarity. Scientifically, the more often a neural network is stimulated the more quickly it becomes active when called upon. I am going to work on this.

--Heather

Vision Commentary from Maltzie

Vision, just as important as equipment, form, and the mental aspect in shooting.

Here are some interesting points of information regarding vision. Your quality of vision and Rx changes through out the day. Changes with what and when you eat. With stress or fatigue, high or low blood pressure, and blood sugar.

Your favorite eye doctor has an industry gimmick that is advantaged at every opportunity or visit to the clinic. Your eye poker tests your vision on lab equipment in a relaxed environment, gives you choices or optical setting during the test that are in a controlled setting. Your eyes are relaxed and the test is to find what optical settings are most clear or more clear based on relaxing focus muscles in your eye. Probably the only time you completely relax focus muscles during the day. Your eyes will inherently try to focus all of the time, even through an old prescription or without a correction. If your buying new glasses every 2 years, based on the above noted eye test you could be buying sooner than truly needed. The doc is making your eye focus muscles weaker with every new prescription just based on allowing you to see clearly without your eye making an effort to clear vision.

The eye doctor will find what Rx is best for you at any given appointment and then one of his staff will measure your pupil distance (PD). This is the distance each pupil center is from the center of your nose. Very important to you and the lab that manufactures your lenses. The optical lab needs to center the ground optic into the lens your eyes and face. Its only the very center of the optic that you see clearly through. You can prove that by moving your present glasses around on your face. The stronger the Rx, the easier or more obvious it will be. For someone like me, that makes shooting and street framed glasses for clients, getting the PD centered is the difference between customers liking the product or not.

Offsetting the optic center for shooting. 3 to 6 MM left or right based on left or right hand shooting. If you tend to look closer the left side of the lens (right hand shooter) of your glasses, while mounted and looking down the rib you are not looking through the optic center. Your vision is less clear than possible. Some customers aware of the offset advantage will request an offset when ordering lenses. What they do not expect is the glasses will not be as comfortable to look through, anytime other than while looking down the rib. Again, the user is not looking through the optic center while using this shooting frame for the street. If your like me, I put on my glasses when I get to the range and wear them all day, offsetting is uncomfortable for normal use. I have made shooting glasses for myself that are offset 6 MM left and they never get used. I also require a somewhat strong Rx.

I almost hate to bring the subject of "color" up, but every shooter puts great value on color selection. The shooting frame industry has made it easier by having few colors available in light, medium and dark, but if you ever looked at an industry color chart you would see over 1000 variations, and be even more confused. So lets review what is important in choosing a color. The most important fact is, the guy manufacturing your shooting glasses can’t see through your eyes. Has no clue of what your eyes light sensitivity is, and I’m convinced that we see color differently from one shooter to another. There are some truisms in color like yellow or gold will tend to brighten the day for most all shooters. Any color that has orange in the mix tends to accent orange. That accent can be perceived as white or iridescent by different shooters. But..... the effect of light in eye comfort and accenting is relative to perceived background contrast. For my way of thinking the accent is as important as what happens to the background. The bigger the contrast the better the visual acquisition. For me, on a bright sunny day, shooting orange dome targets, vermillion brings out the contrast. In the color mix, the ruby red tends to naturalize the background, even darken it and the orange accents the target orange almost making it an iridescent lighter shade of orange. The next guy will tell me that vermillion makes the orange on the target appear white. There may be a perfect color for you, but few shooting lens providers will offer colors other than traditional shooting colors. To my way of thinking, it doesn’t take a large color selection, but the light, medium and dark option an important decision.

If you decide to use a gas coating on your lenses for anti reflection, also note that before the lenses hit the gas chamber they experience 2 washes, one of which is aggressive and will tend to wash some of the color dip out, making the end product lighter than expected. Polarized lenses use a filter impregnation in the lens blank itself, compared to looking through window blinds. Designed to take reflections off of what you are looking at (example water). No target has ever had a surface reflection. Anti-reflective coating are available for your lenses. A spray on type that scratches easily, and a heat & gas coating making the lens material clearer and harder, easier to clean. Both will take reflections off of your lenses. This is the shooters goal. Polar lenses add $100.00 in cost and restrict/filter your vision. Transitional lenses add $100.00 to the cost and get too dark for most shooters. Gray and bronze are the only colors available. AR takes reflection off of your glasses. Know what your paying for and make better decisions.

Thinking and vision is misunderstood by many. Some words used in trapshooting are confusing, like "concentration". Lets all understand that you CAN NOT focus in thought and see clearly at the same time. You need to commit to one or the other. Staying in-between only diminishes both. What I call a "transition" from thinking to vision is what we must do every shot. We think through the last target, form and mount and must switch our focus from the thinking to seeing. The better or more complete the switch the better the scores. If you have taken the time to watch exceptionally good trapshooters, note the pause they make before they call for the target. They mount the gun and point it at their favorite starting point, they stop all gun movement and pause. That pause is to switch to vision. Mind is in neutral, eyes engaged, this transformation is said to be "in the present" The target is called for and the eye(s) acquire clear vision/focus on the target. The rest is a trained subconscious response. If the gun is locked into your mount and you move from the body, it will follow your gaze naturally. Your skill level is the average of how often you perform this task well.

Every time you lose a target and say to your self,"I wasn’t ready for that one", you didn’t completely switch from thinking and engage your vision. The target caught you by some surprise because you had not completely committed to vision and remained somewhere in-between as the target was called for. The transition was on the fly, based on the emergency of the target in flight. Try to stay in the present both during the thinking part and the vision part. Drift off or in-between and loose targets. Part of the mental side of the game. A subject of another overview, that many books have been written about.

Its my theory that we address the different important aspects of your shooting as we make more commitment to the sport. Using vision is a basic fundamental. Seeing the target better is a purchase or equipment. Just like starting out in trapshooting using a field grade gun, promo ammo, and street glasses, there is a better approach, but it costs money and we prioritize our shooting budgets every time to the range. The cost can be significant for equipment, but safety and clear vision should be at the top of the list of potential options. We tend to dwell on the guns, chokes and loads as most important. Although, quality and proper vision can be regarded as the easily forgotten or obscure advantage.

--Maltzie

Dryfire Systems

I got to use one of these at the Grand Pacific last year. It was set in a small utility trailer with only enough room for one person to use and actually 'move' between all 5 stations. It took me a minute to get used to shooting at a tiny red dot but I really liked that it gave me a printout of exactly where I was shooting in relation to the target. I want to know more about how the system accounts for gun type, choke, pattern, barrel, yardage, etc. I recall having to enter all of that information into it for the initial setup. What I find questionable is I know a few people who have these and I don't see how it has improved their shooting but I also don't know how much they actually use it. Additionally, I haven't been around very long and maybe they have improved drastically and I just wasn't there to see it. I would like one so I could keep the visualization in my head on days when no clubs are open for practice. Plus I figure if I bought the system that projects doubles and just used it for a month instead of paying for doubles practice it would be the same cost (probably cheaper when I figure in gas and the obligatory coffee donations).

--Heather

Handicap Practice Part 2

So I went to a local club this afternoon/evening to practice. I got off to a late start and by the time I got there only a little daylight was left. I shot the first round from 27 yards and dropped 3 or 4. I still have a tendency to shoot under straight or nearly straight targets. I am sure the only remedy for this is practice, practice, practice. By the time I started the next round it was dark out and the club turned the lights on. That was not the first time I shot under lights but when I did before it was a round of singles. Long yardage in the dark with lights on is absolutely nothing like daylight. That was nearly a nightmare. I felt like I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I must have looked funny to anyone observing since I was out there shooting alone and muttering to myself. Instead of wasting more shells on something totally futile I went into the clubhouse and had dinner. It was a Philippine chicken recipe and I am impressed, unlike my night shooting the dinner was very good. I guess I will have to go practice on Thursday.

--Heather

Handicap Practice

Since I am still fairly new to this game, I often wonder how many people shoot handicap practice from an assigned yardage versus the number who practice from a greater distance (there is a poll at the bottom of the page). Personally, I like to practice from a longer yardage than what I am assigned for registered targets. A while ago someone, I can't remember who, told me I should always practice from one or two yards greater. For me this seemed to work but I have run into a slight problem lately. I joined a winter league and the league assigned me a handicap yardage of 26. My PITA yardage is 24. I have been practicing from 27 yards for the league and am OK with my performance. However, my scores from 24 yards are now no different than they are from 27. Not that my scores are bad, I currently average 86 from the 27, but I am just not happy unless I am breaking above 90. I am assuming there is not that much difference as far as shooting technique in those 3 yards but maybe I am wrong. I did change the load I was using (up to the time I moved to 24 yards I used the same load for handicap and singles) to a faster one and that has been the only thing that has made any difference. I am practicing tonight and I think I will shoot one round from 27 and the next from 24. This time I will take it slow and try to closely evaluate what I am doing.

--Heather

A Little History - November 2007 to Today

Even though the Toledo VFW Gun Club is home, our trapshooting story does not begin there. It truly begins when a friend invited us to go trapshooting at the Portland Gun Club in Portland, OR the weekend following Thanksgiving 2007. He explained the mechanics of what trapshooting was and we figured we had an old 20 gauge Mossberg pump that would suffice. All it had to do was shoot, right? The next weekend he and Tony drove up to Portland. Since we had none of the standard gear, they set 2 boxes of ammunition on the ground - putting five shells at a time in their pockets - and shot a round. The first time out Tony broke 21 out of 25 and figured there was nothing to this, he'd be breaking 'em all in no time. After the round of trap they moved over to the sporting clays. Before the end of the day they were hooked and both decided to go purchase brand new 12 gauge Mossbergs. (Of course we promptly found out those are not trap guns but they seemed like a good choice at the time). So the very next weekend both of us, our son, and our friend and his wife drove the 2-1/2 hour drive (one way) back to Portland. The following Monday our friend, a retired law enforcement officer, told us he discovered from some cronies there was a trap range a lot closer to home at the Toledo VFW and they were open for practice on Wednesday. We drove over to the VFW and have not missed a week since. We don't always shoot at the same club nowadays but a week has not gone by that we haven't practiced somewhere.

The gentlemen in the picture (plus many who are missing) formally introduced us to trapshooting as a serious sport and I have to say I feel that I owe much of what I have accomplished to them (and some Frank Little videotapes). On New Years Day 2008 we shot our first PITA registered targets with field guns at the Toledo Club - the aforementioned Mossberg and a CZ Redhead. We didn't really know what PITA was and our scores were terrible, bad enough to keep me in D class until I met the 1000 target requirement, but from that point on it has been quite a ride. We now have a small collection of pins, belt buckles, various trophies, and a few titles. This coming year looks promising...

-- Heather