Tips for shooting trap with over/under

SigP229 said:
Honestly every time I go out and try to shoot with 2 eyes open I can't hit shit...I will stick with one eye open even tho EVERYONE says to shoot with 2 eyes. Best trap shooter out there Nora Ross shoots with one eye open so I'm sticking to MY technique, and once again thanks for all the advice, much appreciated.

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i wonder if she is left eye dom ?
 
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I tell new shooters that I can teach them 80% of what they need to know - the other 20% they have to figure out for themselves.

My son, who shoots better than I do, does things ( especially with his stance) that I "should " correct. But his system works for him and he has the average, and awards to back it up. One of the other top shooters at my Club has the weirdest stance and setup that I've seen. He also broke over 400 birds without a miss this past year.

It's truly a "YMMV" thing, when it gets to details.
 
MisterHappy said:
I tell new shooters that I can teach them 80% of what they need to know - the other 20% they have to figure out for themselves. My son, who shoots better than I do, does things ( especially with his stance) that I "should " correct. But his system works for him and he has the average, and awards to back it up. One of the other top shooters at my Club has the weirdest stance and setup that I've seen. He also broke over 400 birds without a miss this past year. It's truly a "YMMV" thing, when it gets to details.
Click to expand...

Yep, I've tried to shoot how I'm "supposed to" only to see my scores drop. My form is technically bad, but the consistency of my 25's and 50's has been steadily rising so I'm going to stick with it for the time being.
 
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Shooting the bottom barrel on singles has been done for years for a few reasons. One is the fact that early fixed choke trap guns had the lower barrel set to "modified or imp. modified" and the top barrel full. Shoot the bottom barrel first on doubles for close birds (Mod.-Imp. Mod) and the top barrel for the further away birds (full). The second reason is for recoil which even though it's just an inch different from top to bottom, is lower in the receiver and straighter through the stock. The purpose for this keeps the second shot on target better when shooting doubles. Third, more singles are shot than doubles and the action is inherently stronger at the bottom and will stay tighter, longer when using the bottom barrel. I worked with a gunsmith years ago when I was apprenticing with him and he told me that about O/U's.

I had a friend with a Charles Daly, a pretty decent Japanese made O/U and if you shot a couple rounds of trap using the bottom barrel there was no issue. If you shot a couple rounds using the top barrel it would get extremely difficult to open. Then once open, it would just drop to full open. It was a fixed choke shorter barreled field gun so we tried using both barrels to see which choke worked better. It definitely didn't like shot after shot through the top barrel though. Not saying all guns are this way but that is what I personally experienced. If you think about it, the lower chamber is even with the pivot lugs, the top chamber is above it. Physics would say leverage on the pivot would be greater when shooting the top barrel. Perhaps this is the reason for making Un-single barrels for O/U receivers.

I personally like the O/U for a few reasons. I like that when I open my gun I can easily catch the shell as it ejects into my hand by covering the rear of the receiver rather than have it flying onto the ground or needing a special catch clip, then which I have to take the shell out of. I also like the lack of movement in the action over an auto loader and the quietness of the action when closing my gun over the metallic sounds of an auto or pump gun. To me, it's a easier gun to load than a pump or auto too. I also like the fact when I see a fellow shooter on the line and his gun is broke open it cannot shoot. A auto or pump could have a shell in it and you don't know it just by looking at it, even if the bolt is open. Now saying this, I don't really care what anyone else shoots though I don't like ejected shells flying at me when on the line. If someone shoots a pump, auto, SxS, O/U, or single I don't care, so don't bitch if I shoot the O/U and call me a fudd or typecast me.

My wife only shoots occasionally and a few years back I picked her up a nice Weatherby Orion O/U trap gun with 32" barrels. It is not anywhere near as heavy as a Browning or Beretta and she has probably shot 20 rounds(of trap) with it over the years. This past fall, while in FL, I took my sister in law and wife to a trap range in Dunnellon. We didn't have our own guns and used their guns. They gave me a Browning (I will admit, I like O/U's but I don't like any Browning I've shot) and gave both girls Rem. 1100's because of the lower recoil. My wife hated the the 1100 saying it was heavy (it was heavier than her Weatherby) and said it hurt her finger when trying to close the bolt by pushing the button on the feed plate. She by no means is a fudd or a stuck in her ways trap shooter. Again, it was her opinion.

My own gun is a Ducks Unlimited Pendersoli O/U Sporting clay gun. A SC gun is different in that it is designed to shoot flatter than a trap gun which is designed with a higher POI. I use a special Mod/full choke in the bottom (my singles barrel) and a extra full in the top. I don't wait to shoot and hit my birds pretty quickly but this gun needs tighter chokes than others I've owned. This can be contributed to the fact that the Italian chokes were misplaced and I had to use another brand that fit the thread. There could possibly be a looser fit causing the chokes to expand a little to the barrel as the shot passes. I don't know, just a theory. I have shot many 100+ straight rounds and consistently shoot high ninety's with this set up having learned this guns characteristics. Again, no different than any gun you decide to use. Consistency with your shooting is what matters.

Having shot the auto loader and now the O/U form your own opinion. If you shoot both the same target wise then go for the convenience and I would imagine you will find the O/U better suited. Why do people choose to label others when a lot of them have not shot round after round with both types of guns to honestly see why others like the O/U for its virtues.
 
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Chistech said:
Shooting the bottom barrel on singles has been done for years for a few reasons. One is the fact that early fixed choke trap guns had the lower barrel set to "modified or imp. modified" and the top barrel full. Shoot the bottom barrel first on doubles for close birds (Mod.-Imp. Mod) and the top barrel for the further away birds (full). The second reason is for recoil which even though it's just an inch different from top to bottom, is lower in the receiver and straighter through the stock. The purpose for this keeps the second shot on target better when shooting doubles. Third, more singles are shot than doubles and the action is inherently stronger at the bottom and will stay tighter, longer when using the bottom barrel. I worked with a gunsmith years ago when I was apprenticing with him and he told me that about O/U's.

I had a friend with a Charles Daly, a pretty decent Japanese made O/U and if you shot a couple rounds of trap using the bottom barrel there was no issue. If you shot a couple rounds using the top barrel it would get extremely difficult to open. Then once open, it would just drop to full open. It was a fixed choke shorter barreled field gun so we tried using both barrels to see which choke worked better. It definitely didn't like shot after shot through the top barrel though. Not saying all guns are this way but that is what I personally experienced. If you think about it, the lower chamber is even with the pivot lugs, the top chamber is above it. Physics would say leverage on the pivot would be greater when shooting the top barrel. Perhaps this is the reason for making Un-single barrels for O/U receivers.

I personally like the O/U for a few reasons. I like that when I open my gun I can easily catch the shell as it ejects into my hand by covering the rear of the receiver rather than have it flying onto the ground or needing a special catch clip, then which I have to take the shell out of. I also like the lack of movement in the action over an auto loader and the quietness of the action when closing my gun over the metallic sounds of an auto or pump gun. To me, it's a easier gun to load than a pump or auto too. I also like the fact when I see a fellow shooter on the line and his gun is broke open it cannot shoot. A auto or pump could have a shell in it and you don't know it just by looking at it, even if the bolt is open. Now saying this, I don't really care what anyone else shoots though I don't like ejected shells flying at me when on the line. If someone shoots a pump, auto, SxS, O/U, or single I don't care, so don't bitch if I shoot the O/U and call me a fudd or typecast me.

My wife only shoots occasionally and a few years back I picked her up a nice Weatherby Orion O/U trap gun with 32" barrels. It is not anywhere near as heavy as a Browning or Beretta and she has probably shot 20 rounds(of trap) with it over the years. This past fall, while in FL, I took my sister in law and wife to a trap range in Dunnellon. We didn't have our own guns and used their guns. They gave me a Browning (I will admit, I like O/U's but I don't like any Browning I've shot) and gave both girls Rem. 1100's because of the lower recoil. My wife hated the the 1100 saying it was heavy (it was heavier than her Weatherby) and said it hurt her finger when trying to close the bolt by pushing the button on the feed plate. She by no means is a fudd or a stuck in her ways trap shooter. Again, it was her opinion.

My own gun is a Ducks Unlimited Pendersoli O/U Sporting clay gun. A SC gun is different in that it is designed to shoot flatter than a trap gun which is designed with a higher POI. I use a special Mod/full choke in the bottom (my singles barrel) and a extra full in the top. I don't wait to shoot and hit my birds pretty quickly but this gun needs tighter chokes than others I've owned. This can be contributed to the fact that the Italian chokes were misplaced and I had to use another brand that fit the thread. There could possibly be a looser fit causing the chokes to expand a little to the barrel as the shot passes. I don't know, just a theory. I have shot many 100+ straight rounds and consistently shoot high ninety's with this set up having learned this guns characteristics. Again, no different than any gun you decide to use. Consistency with your shooting is what matters.

Having shot the auto loader and now the O/U form your own opinion. If you shoot both the same target wise then go for the convenience and I would imagine you will find the O/U better suited. Why do people choose to label others when a lot of them have not shot round after round with both types of guns to honestly see why others like the O/U for its virtues.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input, very informative! [thumbsup] CANNOT WAIT for this weather to warm up so I can BREAK SOME CLAYS! [mg]
 
GreyEyes said:
Yep, I've tried to shoot how I'm "supposed to" only to see my scores drop. My form is technically bad, but the consistency of my 25's and 50's has been steadily rising so I'm going to stick with it for the time being.
Click to expand...

Sometimes you need to go backwards to go forwards. Don't abandon what you're taught, even if it temporarily sets back your scores. If you don't see a temporary drop in your scores then you're doing something wrong.
 

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