Got a new gun!

[jwpzx9r]

Hi

Well I went and looked at the Krieghoff and the Browning Ultra XTR Trap today. The krieghoff was an amazing gun for its years but it just did not sit well in my shoulder and the plam swell was non existant and having large hands it did not feel right. I tried to shoulder it so many times to get it to sit nice but nope would not fit. Picked up the Browning and it fitted like a glove first time, the lenghth of pull was 1.5 cm longer made all the difference, also it was a good  bit heavier. After a sandwich and a  bit of thinking I came away with the Browning. Its new and has a five year warranty plus being multi choked it does have flex that the Krieghoff did not, still a lovely gun though! Anyway the club meets on Friday so I will be having a pop with it, will be interesting to see how I shoot with it. I think it may be back to stage one then hopefully an improved score as I get the setup and get used to it.

 

[ips]

Well done the right choice i think.

Good luck but remember you might need a few months to settle with it.

 

[jwpzx9r]

Hi ips

Yes the Browning was the best option without a doubt fits me great! The Krieghoff was a lovely gun though.. if only. It was quite light though which surprised me the Browning must be at least a 5 or 6 hundred grams heavier.

You are right though I think it will take a while and I will have to cut myself a bit of slack and not expect to hit everything... because I was'nt before :hunter:  . I do think though that it was better for me to get a trap gun rather than persist with my Beretta game gun. What I need now is to set the gun up with the comb at the correct height and settle and try to break the clays. I also need to find another clay club nearby and shoot every week. I would like to be able to go to some competitions next year if I am ready for it, so there is an aim for this year. I don't want you to think that I expect to win them... ha ha! I just think it is good to be competative and meet other shooters and share a chin wag over a beer really.

 

[Hotshot100]

Hi ips

Yes the Browning was the best option without a doubt fits me great! The Krieghoff was a lovely gun though.. if only. It was quite light though which surprised me the Browning must be at least a 5 or 6 hundred grams heavier.

You are right though I think it will take a while and I will have to cut myself a bit of slack and not expect to hit everything... because I was'nt before :hunter:  . I do think though that it was better for me to get a trap gun rather than persist with my Beretta game gun. What I need now is to set the gun up with the comb at the correct height and settle and try to break the clays. I also need to find another clay club nearby and shoot every week. I would like to be able to go to some competitions next year if I am ready for it, so there is an aim for this year. I don't want you to think that I expect to win them... ha ha! I just think it is good to be competative and meet other shooters and share a chin wag over a beer really.

I have one of these that I bought a few weeks ago. I have so far used mine for DTL, OT and sporting all of which it handled well with half choke in both barrels. They are a lovely gun and as you say with the multichokes and adjustable comb are very versatile.

Good luck with it.

 

[ips]

Absolutely you need 6 months to get used to a new gun. Competition is the way to go to gain experience as you shoot differently in comp than you do in practice. If you can get to a pattern plate set it to 60 - 40 % high at point of aim thats a good starting point for trap.

 

[Andy S]

HI JWP,

A good choice if I do say so myself. I have the comb set at 6.5mm raised up, to shoot DTL, as I found it shoots very flat and I struggled to hit the rising DTL clays. I have shot sporting with mine with the comb down.

 

[ips]

If its a trap gun and has a centre bead which i suspect it is and does then when mounted the front bead should sit on the mid bead forming a figure of eight which will usually give 60 40 at poa but beware how we dry mount is not allways as we mount in anger so to speak so may still require tweaking

 

[jwpzx9r]

I will be doing a few gun mounts tomorrow for sure just to get my eye in. I thought though that the gun just fitted me perfectly for an of the shelf gun but I will be looking at the comb because I did notice I was not getting the figure of eight so might be raising the comb a bit, but I have not mounted it out in the garden yet with my shooting vest on and my shooting glasses which allow me to keep both eyes open.

 

[Les53]

When you get that comb set right, sling the key away and leave it alone! Well unless you need different comb heights for different trap disciplines that is. I tend to prefer to see more rib at DTL and ABT than I do for OT, but it's a personal thing I guess. Have fun. :biggrin:

 

[jwpzx9r]

When you get that comb set right, sling the key away and leave it alone!

That's exactly what the guy in the gun shop said! He is a trap shooter and that was his advice. Said ball trap was a mind game from start to finish the more things you can eliminate from your mind, regarding setup, the more you can concentrate on breaking the clays! I think he is more or less correct and I am totally new to the sport. The last time I went out shooting I scored badly even for me :biggrin:  . I thought my gun mount could have been the problem so asked one of the top shooters to check my eye down the rib etc and he corrected my mount very slightly ( I had my gun just slightly high in my shoulder) and then reassured me that my mount was then spot on at that. The next round I scored much better and although it could be just one of those things I thought it was due to knowing that my mount was now spot on hence better concentration and confidence of breaking the clay. Can't wait until Friday to try the gun out!

 

[Les53]

When you get that comb set right, sling the key away and leave it alone!

That's exactly what the guy in the gun shop said! He is a trap shooter and that was his advice. Said ball trap was a mind game from start to finish the more things you can eliminate from your mind, regarding setup, the more you can concentrate on breaking the clays! I think he is more or less correct and I am totally new to the sport. The last time I went out shooting I scored badly even for me :biggrin:  . I thought my gun mount could have been the problem so asked one of the top shooters to check my eye down the rib etc and he corrected my mount very slightly ( I had my gun just slightly high in my shoulder) and then reassured me that my mount was then spot on at that. The next round I scored much better and although it could be just one of those things I thought it was due to knowing that my mount was now spot on hence better concentration and confidence of breaking the clay. Can't wait until Friday to try the gun out!

Yes ABT, and all trap really, is a mind game. If your gun mount is not consistent/right, and/or you eye rib relationship is not right/consistent, well you will have a better chance of hitting things by using the butt of the gun! It may be an idea to get a coach to help you to set up the gun as this seems to be your first trap gun, eventually you will get to know what you need to see when you mount the gun and muscle memory will tell you when it's mounted correctly too. This all takes time and there really are NO short cuts. Until gun fit and gun mount are correct, you will struggle to make progress. Once these things are sorted, it really is a case of see it, shoot it. Do not look at any part of the gun once you have called for the bird, do not look at the trap house lid either! You must look out to where you can first see the target as a target, not just a blur! So just a sort of soft general focus in the area where you start to see the target is what is needed, then if you and your gun move as one unit, it is just a matter of the gun shooting where you are looking, your swing speed will take care of lead by itself. Focus on nothing but the target, no muzzle, no rib, no beads. This all takes time to come to terms with and it takes time to learn. The fast trap disciplines are shot on speed, instinct, reflexes and natural hand/eye co ordination. There really is no time to measure out lead in the normal way that you may use in skeet or sporting. The time for thinking is BEFORE you call for the bird, once the thing is on it's way it is too late, everything MUST be correct before you call for the bird. It will drive you mad, but you will get there!

 

[Andy S]

When you get that comb set right, sling the key away and leave it alone! Well unless you need different comb heights for different trap disciplines that is. I tend to prefer to see more rib at DTL and ABT than I do for OT, but it's a personal thing I guess. Have fun. :biggrin:

Or do what I do and make a set of spaces to fit over the pegs on the comb to the right height, A simple piece of pipe of the size to fit over th epeg will do nicely. So if you do feel the need to alter the comb, you might want to try it at sporting etc. you have base line to return it too.

 

[Les53]

Or do what I do and make a set of spaces to fit over the pegs on the comb to the right height, A simple piece of pipe of the size to fit over th epeg will do nicely. So if you do feel the need to alter the comb, you might want to try it at sporting etc. you have base line to return it too.

Sounds like a good idea that!

 

[jwpzx9r]

Hi Les

It is good for me to be able to talk with an experienced trap shooter in the  English language :biggrin:  ! Getting an English speaking coach down here will be difficult, however the really good shooters at the club are very helpful and I am learning a bit of French so I am also getting shooting help. Its funny you should mention looking over the top of the trap house and waiting to see the clay before moving the gun to the target and shooting it. I discovered this quite by accident the other week. Starting after have had a bad round before I just relaxed and looked into the middle distance before calling the clay and after spoting the clay, as you say, solid I swung the barrels up and squeezed off the shot just as I saw the bead just under the clay. Now here for me is the funny bit, I was not looking at the bead, I was looking at the clay but I distinctly remember seeing the bead just as I made the shot?? Now I must tell you the clays I hit that round were completely dust they just vapourised! I remember distinctly my round I hit nine of the first ten on the first barrel then missed the next five straight and then eight from the last ten again all first barrel and they were all dusted. I was then approached by the guy who was scoring who said what happend here pointing out the missed five and you know I don't know, but I think I was thinking about the miss and the because of that missed again! spoiled what could have been a really good round for me. I know of another problem which I have and I know I do it from time to time and that is lifting my head off the gun, but I am getting over it. This new Browning is such a better fit than my Beretta though when I mount it my eye is automatically straight down the rib so I know my gun is pointing where I am looking all I need now is the proof in broken clays I'll let you know Friday evening :crazy:  . Thanks for th tips its a great help for a newbie.

 

[ips]

Everything Les says,

I cant add more, some excellent advice there from an old hand (I meen experienced shooter )

Apart from saying re-your run of misses. This is very very common on trap disciplines to miss a few together.

What seperates exceptional shooters from us mere mortals is the ability to forget the last target and live in the moment. If you can master this and adopt all that Les says then my friend you are on your way to greatness. The mechanics of shooting can be taught and practiced the mental game well now this is something you must sort for yourself, but if you do master it will you tell me the secret

 

[Les53]

Everything Les says,

I cant add more, some excellent advice there from an old hand (I meen experienced shooter )

Apart from saying re-your run of misses. This is very very common on trap disciplines to miss a few together.

What seperates exceptional shooters from us mere mortals is the ability to forget the last target and live in the moment. If you can master this and adopt all that Les says then my friend you are on your way to greatness. The mechanics of shooting can be taught and practiced the mental game well now this is something you must sort for yourself, but if you do master it will you tell me the secret

Ian, my problem has always been putting the theory into practice on a regular basis. I've lost count of how many times I've called for the bird when I actually KNOW that the gun is NOT really in exactly in the correct place in my shoulder, but I still call for the bloody bird and miss!!!!! But at other times I will remove the gun from my shoulder and go thought it all again from scratch...and still miss! :laugh:

 

[ips]

I know the feeling Les

Nothing worse than starting all over again because of a minor distraction only to miss the darned thing anyway. Its all about living in the moment with a totally blank mind .............. I should be good at by rights :crazy:

 

[Les53]

I know the feeling Les

Nothing worse than starting all over again because of a minor distraction only to miss the darned thing anyway. Its all about living in the moment with a totally blank mind .............. I should be good at by rights :crazy:

Blank mind? err, wot? where am I?

 

[jwpzx9r]

Funny one at the club the other week guy calls up the bird, out it flies but its chipped and goes off at a weird angle, but shoots it first barrel. He is then asked to shoot again and misses with both tubes, two wasted carts!