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Hi All,

Over the last couple weeks, I noticed I'm missing lots of straightaway birds. This sounds bad, but sometimes I'll smoke a hard left or hard right bird and be surprised I hit it. But the reverse happens with straightaway birds. I'll think I have it centered, but it'll fly right past.

I'm trying to figure out why this is happening. I never used to have this problem. I have a couple theories:

1) On straightaways I don't have to move my eyes far off-axis of my barrel, so I end up looking at the beads.

or

2) On hard rights and lefts I have to move the barrel faster to get on the bird, so I get more momentum and end up following through better.

I'm guessing this will be pretty hard to diagnose over the internet, but let me know if any of you have heard of this happening. It's starting to bug me.

Thanks!

Keith

Keith,

You may be snap shooting and causing swing errors.

The "straightaways" may not actually be straightaways but rather, slight angles.

You may be raising your head and shooting over them.

Try to pay attention to where the larger pieces go on the straightaways you break. Generally speaking, larger pieces go in a direction opposite of where the center of the pattern impacts the target.

Keith,
Rollin is right, straight aways are actually small angles. Here's two things I do.

I'm right handed and hold a fairly high house, muzzle is about 8" to the right
of center. Bird comes out of house, see it with left eye, move ever so slightly
left to bird and pull trigger. Then it doesn't matter if it's a "slight angle" right or left,
I'm on it.

Secondly I have to force myself to keep ^%$*%^$ cheek on the stock and follow through.
I say this because human nature is such that if we see an easy bird (or we think it is) we
have a tendency to look up and see it explode. Won't work!!

Hope this helps.
Mike Cunningham
Groveland, CA
ATA Life Member---Vet
PS: I have Rollins book and it's great! Gotta read it more then once.

keith, funny you should bring this up this evening.I just spent 1 1/2 boxes of shells at position no.3 on straightaways....I was surprised to see how many I missed until the friend working with me told me I am stopping my gun and not following thru.I believe we have the idea we don't need to follow thru on straight targets.
More than likely you are shooting under when you miss.We all follow thru on angels, or hope to anyway, but forget straights are angels also...they angel up up up up!
Hope this helps, it did me tonight.
salesrep

Salesrep,

Your comment if valid. I forgot to add stopping the swing to the list.

Thank you, Norm.

Rollin

I had a similar problem. A kid watching me shoot pointed out the problem, and the solution. He explained that the clay is slightly canted nose up in flight so that I could see the orange on top. He said it gave the illusion the clay was climbing, when it really wasn't. Because of that I was shooting over them. I tried shooting at it instead of over it and it worked. This kid that helped? Well, he was the team captain of the U.S. Junior National champions 2008 and 2009. Sure cured my problem.

The straight-away target is the most missed target in trapshooting by every skill level.

Knowing the reasons why we miss this seemingly easy target presentation, can help with evaluating why you miss.

If the shot pattern tends to be delivered over the target. The shooter may be lifting their head / raising their eyes during the shot. Not taking their time to completely move the gun up into sight picture. Can also mean the guns POI is set too high. Only you can figure that out.

If the shot tends to be delivered under the target, again it could be a POI setting issue. Although most under shot straight targets are a result of jumping on the target too fast and out of normal gun control. The stopping gun movement, or short shot, is your subconscious realizing the trigger timing and visual target acquisition will deliver the shot too high and the stops your vertical movement. Nothing can be done about out of control movement at that point. Your control would have been needed from the start by taking the time to see the target properly before moving to it at your normal pace. Hope for chips.

Short shooting can also be a response related to not being visually ready to make the shot. The target surprises you and your subconscious, then you try to get make adjustments on the fly. Hope for chips. Most shooters will recognize this feeling and the next shot will be better timed because the shooter is aware. You see this all the time. A shooter loses a target and the next 3 or 4 are pefectly centered. Center until the shooter get complacent again and allows the mind to drift from the job at hand.

Heck.... if I never missed another straght-away, Id have a 99.8 average in singles. Don't feel bad about loosing these troublesome targets, your among an elite group....all of us.

Maltzie

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem. I think just thinking about how I'm missing the "easy" ones has been causing me to lose birds too.

Mike, you're definately right, there is a tendency to raise my head to get a better look at the clay breaking.

I do think I must be snap shooting, and not following through. I read your other post where you mentioned this Norm. Reading what Maltzie said, jumping on the target and losing control sounds exactly like what's happening to me. Except I almost think I'm shooting where I think the clay should be, which seems to be way above it. Like I jump to where I think the clay will be and shoot before it's even there.

Can't wait to get back to the range and try to concentrate and remind myself of all this advice. Too bad I have to work this weekend, that's something I think even you guys can't help with.

Thanks,

Keith

Keith, a great thing about this forum is we all learn from one another.A great bunch of gals and guys offering the best advice they know how to give.All we got to do is go out and practice and execute when the time comes.
Norm
aka-salesrep