Trap shooting coaching tips?

[Holland&Holland]

Alright, this forum is usually good for a few opinions and I am looking for some perspective.

Backstory, my son is on the HS trap team this year and I got sucked into an assistant coaching role. The head coach seems to have a lot of pull on his time to keep the league mechanics in check (meeting requirements, entering scores correctly, all the nits and nats of HS trap) so that means the other 4 of us assistant coaches are the ones working with the kids while they are shooting.

Now, I am by no means an expert shotgunner, but I do feel I know enough to be some use. I do also put my hours in at Oakdale yearly in the range office role so of course step one is safety and that is the very first and foremost item I am watching for and correcting. Beyond that, what are folks thoughts on some of the things to look for in new shooters? Things to correct? Tips to give?

In my mind I am almost breaking it down into 3 categories, beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

For the beginner I am thinking focus on 3 things (three seems like a number one can remember easily).
1) Foot position
2) Posture
3) Gun mounting (and holding)
and of course really focusing on repetition and constancy in these 3 basics.

For the kid who seems to have the first items down, adding in:
Swing/sight picture/lead/Follow through (in my mind this is all part of one motion and needs to be thought of together).

Then for the advanced kids, maybe talk about,
1)the best place in the flight of the clay to break it
2)Gun fit and tweaking to your personal build
3)choke and patterning

Am I on the right track? Of course it is about having fun so I am trying to do this without being too overbearing.

What am I missing?

[mmcnx2]

While I agree gun fit is critical and close to the top of the list, I'm not sure most HS kids have much of a choice. Fitting can be a pretty expensive adventure.

I'd consider adding breaking item 1, best place to break a bird in to 2 items.

Flight patterns - get the kids to recognize the characteristic of a bird
Time/place to hit - once they understand the flight path, planning the hit is much easier. This will get them into lead, sight picture.

Just an option

[Holland&Holland]

While I agree gun fit is critical and close to the top of the list, I'm not sure most HS kids have much of a choice. Fitting can be a pretty expensive adventure.

I'd consider adding breaking item 1, best place to break a bird in to 2 items.

Flight patterns - get the kids to recognize the characteristic of a bird
Time/place to hit - once they understand the flight path, planning the hit is much easier. This will get them into lead, sight picture.

Just an option

You are very correct about gun fitting, that is why I am thinking that is more for the kids who are more advanced who's parents might spend a bit more because they are sticking with the sport or they might have their own means via a job to affect it.

Kids showed up with everything from grandpa's old A5 to new in the box rossi fleet farm specials (to be honest I think in some cases we were lucky they had the shotgun barrel on and not the .243). Many kids just making due with what they have so fit is really not an option, that is why I was thinking start with a good Foundation in getting their body in the correct position first.

Good point on breaking the bird. It really is 2 parts.

[mmcnx2]

On the learning flight pattern, make the kids watch the other shooters birds. Get them to really see the flight path before they ever try to shoot one. My dad made me sit behind the line and score each flight path as far right, right, straight away left, far left for a season. Also had to sight the misses(in front behind, over, under). After a year of watching birds fly you pretty good at predicting the path. Then I took a 20 year break and someone showed me sporting clays and all that knowledge seemed to disappear.

[grimbeaver]

After seeing a kid try and put a 20ga shell in a 12ga shotgun last weekend I highly recommend reviewing some basic safety info at the start of the season. Especially since I'm guessing those kids are out there with quite the mix of 12ga and 20ga guns.

#3 is a big one from what I've seen with new shooters. 9/10 people either won't shoulder right or won't get their head down on it right. And a lot of them even after you get them straightened out will take 5 more reminders before it finally sinks in.

[Holland&Holland]

After seeing a kid try and put a 20ga shell in a 12ga shotgun last weekend I highly recommend reviewing some basic safety info at the start of the season. Especially since I'm guessing those kids are out there with quite the mix of 12ga and 20ga guns.

#3 is a big one from what I've seen with new shooters. 9/10 people either won't shoulder right or won't get their head down on it right. And a lot of them even after you get them straightened out will take 5 more reminders before it finally sinks in.

Yes, I do not mean to make light of your first point, I only mean to say that that is a given to go over basic safety 1st and that is always the most important part of the shooting instruction.

Did not have anyone with the wrong shells but you are correct there is a mix of 12 and 20 thought surprisingly less 20 than you would think. Though we did have a gal who's shot all of a sudden got louder. The ejected shell had high brass, stopped her and inspected her ammo, mixed box of 7 1/2s and 5 high brass pheasant loads. Her dad brought her up a new box, problem was it was a new box of 5's. He mumbled something about the mixed box was some reloads (now if he reloads he should know the difference between a trap load and a hunting load and the box of 5's was clearly factory new 5's). We cleared out her pouch and one of the other coaches grabbed a box of trap loads out of his stash.

[crbutler]

Aside from what wa said so far:

Eye dominance and how you want to deal with it... More a decision of the kid and parent, shoot opposite sided, tape on the glasses, or close one eye...

Always keep the gun moving.

[hammAR]

For the advanced kids #3 - I would recommend not to choke too many of them.............

[Holland&Holland]

For the advanced kids #3 - I would recommend not to choke too many of them.............

I'll try, it is a high school league though so no promises.

[LePetomane]

Now, I am by no means an expert shotgunner, but I do feel I know enough to be some use.

Then why do you use the name of a very expensive gun as your handle? Just curious.

[goosed]

Opinions... yep, I got one of those

I feel like you have a pretty good list of the fundamentals, but to me the same fundamentals are taught at every level.
What changes is simply the depth of analysis and speed of execution increase as a shooter becomes more advanced.

A few examples of my thinking...
Sight picture:
beginner - keep both eyes open while shooting
intermediate - all of above while focusing on the target, not the barrel/rib/bead
advanced - all the above, plus watch your shot (if you missed was it: ahead, behind, above or below?)
super advanced - all the above with the addition of determining proper lead for current flight pattern mid swing, be able to vocalize complete thought process after each shot

Mounting:
Beginner - focus on bringing gun to your face first, then shoulder
intermediate - all of above while swinging to target in a single motion
advanced - all of above while making sure cheek weld is in exactly the same spot on your face and the stock each time
super advanced - With a mirror in front of shooter for self correction/evaluation, practice perfectly doing all of the above in a completely smooth/fluid motion

[Holland&Holland]

Now, I am by no means an expert shotgunner, but I do feel I know enough to be some use.

Then why do you use the name of a very expensive gun as your handle? Just curious.

The same reason you use flatulence as yours I suppose, we each have a dream.

[LePetomane]

Now, I am by no means an expert shotgunner, but I do feel I know enough to be some use.

Then why do you use the name of a very expensive gun as your handle? Just curious.

The same reason you use flatulence as yours I suppose, we each have a dream.

You got me good on that one .

[bpacman]

You definitely have the fundamentals listed. The skill that sets most trap shooters apart is concentration and ability to focus. The ability to track a random target, get in front of it and squeeze the trigger at the point were the tracking swing and lead are optimum requires that concentration. They have to almost develop a instant tunnel vision when the rock leaves the trap house. Practice and experience will give them the instinctive lead that they will want to develop. Being able to do this 25 times in a row in a form of endurance that will also need to be developed.

Bp