DTL Hold point, for a one eyer??

[Robden]

Is there any advantage, for one eyed shooters, to hold (low) in the centre of the trap house, on every peg?  Shooting a ground for the first time, it seems reasonable to me, that that position is the only constant.

TIA.

 

[Jan Powell]

There is certainly an advantage to a low hold, in fact it’s really your only option. One eyed shooters and by that I mean someone that has to squint or cover an eye, can only mount on the trap house lid. Any higher and you’ll find your lead hand will inhibit your view of the target. 

There is a caveat to this though. You may find at some grounds where the trap sits high in the house you can afford to mount just a little higher. Experiment and see. You’ll know you’ve pushed it too high when you’re not picking the target up in your peripheral vision as quickly as you want to.

This video from Go Shooting may help:



There’s no logic to a centre hold for all pegs though. I wouldn’t even recommend it on peg 3. Find where your targets come into view for each peg and position your gun to suit. A central hold makes for unnecessary gun movement and as Russell correctly says in the video, the more movement you have to make the more you increase the chances of an error.

 

[Robden]

Thanks for your reply Jan.  My logic tells me that the target will exit the house somewhere near the middle every time, no matter how long the house is.

Holding (below) on the right hand corner of trap house 'A' may not work on trap house 'B' if it's a longer or shorter house.  Can't afford the luxury of experimenting during a comp at a strange ground.

Of course, I'm not saying you are wrong, in fact, I bow to you superior experience. I'm just trying to get it right in my head, which - as you know - doesn't help the shooting.

 

[Salopian]

Robden,

 If you get the opportunity whilst practicing get the front top edge of the trap house divided up into five seperate segments and place an orange clay on the points you have marked . Bead or front of rib is held on the top of the clay for each peg .

You may also find that if you are a cross dominant eyed shooter (hence the reason for squinting )you may well be missing high and left for a right handed shooter and high and right for a left handed shooter . Practice does make perfect , providing it is perfect practice.

 

[TRINITY]

Robden,

You may also find that if you are a cross dominant eyed shooter (hence the reason for squinting )you may well be missing high and left for a right handed shooter and high and right for a left handed shooter . 

Robson

That's a very interesting point you raise and as a relative novice I was not aware of that. I have dominant left eye but shoot right handed. Missing high is an issue I dont seem able to overcome. Interesting to know how cross dominance makes you shoot over the top.

 

[Robden]

Robden,

 If you get the opportunity whilst practicing get the front top edge of the trap house divided up into five seperate segments and place an orange clay on the points you have marked . Bead or front of rib is held on the top of the clay for each peg .

You may also find that if you are a cross dominant eyed shooter (hence the reason for squinting )you may well be missing high and left for a right handed shooter and high and right for a left handed shooter . Practice does make perfect , providing it is perfect practice.

Thanks for that, but that is my point.  I can do as you suggest, practise like hell until I get it right. Lets say that I do this on a trap house that's 8 foot wide.   I then get an opportunity to shoot a comp at a strange (to me) ground, and I'm in the first squad to shoot.  If that trap house is only 4-5 foot wide, surely my hold points will be off. The only thing that I can be reasonably sure of, is that the birds will exit from/close to the centre. 

Robson

That's a very interesting point you raise and as a relative novice I was not aware of that. I have dominant left eye but shoot right handed. Missing high is an issue I dont seem able to overcome. Interesting to know how cross dominance makes you shoot over the top.

I used to be over the top a lot of the time. I got over this by holding at a lower point. At some grounds my hold point is at the base of the house. It's not for everyone but it certainly works for me. In fact, I feel most confident when shooting this way as it seems to complement my gun speed.

 

[Freddypip]

DTL is not my discipline but I do wonder if you are overthinking about the trap house (width, height etc) and not thinking enough about the clay. Apart from any variation in the trap (which I would suggest is minimal) forget the house itself and visualise you hold points in relation to the diagrams in the above video. I found shooting from one ground to another difficult due to background changes until I realised DTL is a 2D process. I hope that makes sense.

 

[Robden]

DTL is not my discipline but I do wonder if you are overthinking about the trap house (width, height etc) and not thinking enough about the clay. Apart from any variation in the trap (which I would suggest is minimal) forget the house itself and visualise you hold points in relation to the diagrams in the above video. I found shooting from one ground to another difficult due to background changes until I realised DTL is a 2D process. I hope that makes sense.

You are probably right, I do tend to overthink things. My original post is only asking if there would be an advantage holding in the centre.  Going from ground to ground, or even, stand to stand, and considering different backdrops, the only thing that will be near enough the same, will be the position of the clay release. 

I think I will give it a try and see how I get on.

Thanks all, for any input.

 

[Sian]

You are probably right, I do tend to overthink things. My original post is only asking if there would be an advantage holding in the centre.  Going from ground to ground, or even, stand to stand, and considering different backdrops, the only thing that will be near enough the same, will be the position of the clay release. 

I think I will give it a try and see how I get on.

Thanks all, for any input.

I’m not a true trap shooter but I love DTL and am left eye dominant, right handed shooter.  I use the five points as described above and my hold point is just below the edge of the roof.  DTL unlike the sporting disciplines I normally shoot is the only one where I start with my eye shut and I find this works for me.  I sometimes like to shoot it gun down and for this I go from to two eyes to pick the clay up to one eye to shoot it and in this case my hold point is just on top of the roofline.

 

[balltrap]

I have in the past ended up shooting DTL with both eyes shut....I think this was down to me falling asleep through boredom ! 

 

[Robden]

I have in the past ended up shooting DTL with both eyes shut....I think this was down to me falling asleep through boredom ! 

I know what you mean. My 12 year old says that something is "too boring," when he can't do it.

 

[balltrap]

I know what you mean. My 12 year old says that something is "too boring," when he can't do it.

I was in AA at DTL !

 

[Robden]

I was in AA at DTL !

And your point is??

 

[balltrap]

" he can't do it. " was referring to me was it not !!!!!!!! because I find DTL boring

 

[Robden]

Not meant that way, but Hey, take it as you like. That's the trouble with the typed word, as opposed to the spoken word, one can't see the intended grin. 

 

[Les53]

" he can't do it. " was referring to me was it not !!!!!!!! because I find DTL boring

I started with Dtl decades ago, I guess a lot of us did. Ok the targets may be technically fairly easy to shoot BUT!!!! Trying to string out 100 first barrel kills just mangles the brain! One second tube could be enough to put you out of the running. It did my head in and it was a relief to move on to something faster.

 

[Will Hewland]

I started with Dtl decades ago, I guess a lot of us did. Ok the targets may be technically fairly easy to shoot BUT!!!! Trying to string out 100 first barrel kills just mangles the brain! One second tube could be enough to put you out of the running. It did my head in and it was a relief to move on to something faster.

I have heard DTL stands for Down The Locked-ward. 

1 hour ago, Les53 said:

 

[balltrap]

I started with Dtl decades ago, I guess a lot of us did. Ok the targets may be technically fairly easy to shoot BUT!!!! Trying to string out 100 first barrel kills just mangles the brain! One second tube could be enough to put you out of the running. It did my head in and it was a relief to move on to something faster.

Yep fast trap keeps you awake 

 

[Les53]

I have heard DTL stands for Down The Locked-ward. 

Some people down this way call it down the drain!