Trap Shooting Starts

For years I’ve dabbled with getting into trap shooting, and now I’m gearing up to make it a reality. I am really lucky to be a member of a gun club and can shoot whenever I want to get out. There are two ranges that I can use, and an electronic setup for the trap throwers makes it really easy to set up. It’s all done by voice so there’s no need to bring someone along to work a tosser, although there’s plenty of guys to shoot with at the club. I am finding that trap shooting is fun, but there is quite a challenge here that makes it interesting. Part of this is learning the techniques that make a trap shooter successful and the mentality that goes with it. There’s something I like to call the “bowling paradox.” When people go bowling they expect to be naturally good at it. They bowl under a 100 and they are frustrated and don’t know why. What is so difficult about rolling a ball down a lane? Turns out, quite a lot. If you only do it a once a year, why would you ever expect to bowl a perfect game? Yet, people do all the time. Trap is the same way. You go out and miss bird after bird and don’t know why. What’s so hard about pointing a gun at a flying orange disc? Turns out, quite a lot.

I have a really nice trap shotgun. The Browning BT-99 is the standard and I purchased it after asking a lot of the expert guys on what would be a good starter if I were to spend the money. It has a 34 inch barrel and it swings nicely. I really like to shoot it. However, I am lucky if I hit 50% of my targets. I can nail them from the three position, but once I get out on the wings it’s “miss city” for me. I am currently working on gun placement and swinging. I’m also shooting on smaller squads, so I need to work on timing as well.

To concentrate more on trap shooting, I’ve decided to ditch golf altogether. My golf clubs didn’t hold much value so it didn’t make sense selling them so I gave them away. I bought a combo set at Dick’s Sporting Goods ten years ago and they’re pretty beat up so I didn’t lose anything on that transaction. Ultimately, I figured I was half ass good at golf, and half ass good at trap, so maybe I could whole ass one of them if I concentrated on it. So, I chose trap. Maybe I’ll do golf again in the future if my boys want to play, but for now I’m off the course. I do not regret it. When I lucked into a beautiful day off from work, the last thing I thought about was going to the golf course. One time I was invited to a men’s multi-day golf trip by an acquaintance, and although I was flattered that they wanted to include me, I couldn’t understand how that much golf would be fun to do. Compare this to fly fishing, where I would go in the snow and rain and eat cold food out of a tin can for a chance to get onto fish. I also work remotely now, so golf outings with coworkers are not a thing anymore (not that people in tech golf that much anyway).

When I worked at the hospital in finance, I had to golf at least four times a year in different fund raising tournaments, so there was pressure on me to not make a fool of myself in front of my bosses, so I had to practice quite a bit. You have a lot to learn when the first time you’ve ever swung a golf club is in your thirties. I will admit though I got good when I picked up swimming, that upper body strength changed my game tremendously, however, I’m fine leaving that behind me now.

Hopefully I’ll get good enough to compete in some tournaments in the future.

Thanks for reading!