I had a fun day at the range with family using a spring fired clay thrower. Question came up. Is this valid practice when going to the trap range isn’t possible? It was fun but we could only throw so fast before we were breaking birds at the machine.

Depends. Were you standing at least 16 yards behind the thrower? Were you varying the angles the thrower threw? Were those angles per ATA specs? Was it set for standard ATA speed/distance/target height?

If you were using ATA settings/distances, then the practice could be very helpful. If you weren't, then you were just playing.

That's a good question for Randy Wakeman. He's shoots a lot off his foot trap and is pretty good at it. I've never seen him miss in his videos. I wonder what his actual Trap scores are like. Randy, is it good practice for trap? What are your trap scores like?

You would be becoming more familiar with your firearm. The handling, trigger, sight pic, etc.
It's just not trap on an approved trap field and believe me..... If your hitting targets playing on your own trap, going to a trap field at a gun club will be challenging. Plan on being frustrated if your expectations are related to playing pasture trap.

Maltz

no. its that simple.

Sure!
Increase the distance and angles. If you are shooting with a few bud's make an Annie Oakley line at at least the 27 AND put a few $ up.
Everyone will try to hit the targets just a bit harder! Good fun with friends and good for the mental game too.

That would be akin to playing a video game with shooting and then attempting the same thing in REAL life.... So the answer is no....

Practice 16 yard trap is BS, after the initial fundamentals are understood.
I watch guys shoot over and over practice rounds without achieving any greater skills or better scores!
Competition is the ONLY way to switch on the success button.

Yep , it's when you throw down your cash that's when you start over-thinking
how hard these clay target are ! And as you walk down Vendors row you'll see all
kinds of ways to improve your shooting by , not only looking nice but , having
all the neat things the Big dogs have with pretty Ladies hanging on their arms !

Guess what ? You're Dreaming as practice makes perfect , maybe ?

Competitive shooters...... Practice with purpose. Work on perfection or fixing bad habits. Both trap and skeet are games of perfection where 100 straight singles get you into a shoot-off. Both are one target games where you win or lose by one target in class, category or championship.

Shooting 16's is the training ground for perfection. Training both physical and mental discipline. There are many shooters that shoot singles just for fun and that would be no different than shooting off a hand set trap in the back 40.

Maltz

My serious answer to your question is: maybe - a little. Most shooting done off a foot trap in a pasture the shooter will be closer to the machine/target, meaning different chokes and leads (assuming you are shooting some angles and not all straight-away shots) than on a trap field. I shoot both skeet, trap (for over 50 years) and some SC (the last 5 years or so). When an experienced shotgunner in one game shows up to shoot another one of the shotgunning games, I can tell. For the most part, they hold the shotgun properly, swing smoothly, keep their head on the stock etc. Some of those basics you can certainly learn/develop throwing your own clays. Such shooters are typically better than the rifle/pistol shooters or those truly new to shooting who show up to a skeet or trap field for the first time.

However, one shouldn't initially expect to do well on a regular trap field if all you've done is throw your own. It's very different to stand 16 yards (or more on handicap) back and shoot at a target from an oscillating trap throwing at regulation speed. I know of no serious or regular trap shooter who practices off a foot trap in a field somewhere. I've done it a few times with friends just for fun, but it wasn't practice for trap.

I have a 4 ft target thrower ( the store plastic kind ) and when fellas think Clay targets are
easy I will challenge their ability but , if they become successful on flat ground , I'll find some
elevation to stand on.....OH how I can make those targets Wicked !

Is throwing your own targets valid practice for trap?

You might ask, "is trap valid practice for throwing your own targets?"

Most people shoot trap for fun, Most throw their own targets for
fun. Which is most fun? Make up your own mind.

Is trap valid practice for shooting in the field? Well that is why
trap started up. People wanted to practice so they could hit
targets in the real world, out in the field. Was it valid practice
for that? Maybe, maybe not. depends on who you ask.
I think most shooters would agree that skeet is better preparation
for the real world , but even there they get the gun ready and lined
up before the target shows up. Preparation for the real world?
I don't think so.

But in the end most people do all of it for fun. So if you enjoy
it, you really are accomplishing the basic goal.

It's valid practice for gun handling, target acquisition and shooting to break the target.

As for practice in general, I had the opportunity to spend some time around PGA tournament players and they all practiced. A lot.

My dad was a college basketball. baseball and football coach. The team basketball practiced free throws every day. The baseball team practiced hitting and fielding every day. The football practiced fundamentals every day.

The AAA shooters I know also practice.

If you don't think you need to practice to get better, you never will.

Joe says....most shooters shoot trap for fun. To me, that would need to be on a certified trap field at a gun club. The gun club I help run. If the traps are open to general public it would be for organized events more often than for just for practice. We open for practice trap and skeet one evening a week for small crowds. Open 2 or 3 other day a week for registered trap and league trap. If we run a league skeet (organized) it will be the same day as practice day. We get much bigger participation on days we offer organized or competitive shooting. Our rifle range is reverse. Practice is available 7 days a week and organized events once a month. The difference is labor and needing to open a trap or skeet fields and keeping targets available to shooters.

We also have occasional shooters that bring their hand set trap and pick up our unbroken targets in front of the traps to shoot. Its best to be a member for this shooting.

Maltz

practice does not make perfect.

perfect practice makes perfect.

Of course it is!!

All sports run drills that aren't the same as actually playing. My daughter plays elite soccer and she spends hours juggling, doing cone work, shooting at mini nets. Is it the same as playing on a 120x80 yard field with 21 other players, large nets, etc.? No. Does it help with elements of her game? Yes!

While a nifty catch phrase, practice is about refining fundamentals and exploring and implementing new techniques that can increase performance. If you go out and just try to break every target at every practice you may never try new things that can make you more consistent.

Any type of shooting equates to practice in some shape or form. I've operated trap throwers by myself many times over the years and it certainly hasn't made me worse at the sport. Then again I'm just a casual trap shooter so obviously my practice is gonna differ from the elites in the competition world.

I can't tell you how many times I've had somebody tell me how good they (or their kid) is at "skeet" (upon investigation pasture trap), then they get to the real thing, and a never miss shooter is all of a sudden shaking his head wondering what's wrong with his gun.

I also believe that there is no such thing as a bad target, with perspective.

So self thrown are good but only up to a point. Fundamental body position, eye/hand coordination, target visualization, etc can be done, but usually aren't.