Trap Shooting - Gun Mount

Honest question from a 'hedge monkey'...

I've been watching some trap shooting live recently, and a couple of videos - and I've noticed a common way to mount the gun for Trap Shooters seems to be to put the gun in the shoulder with the muzzle pointing 'high', and then 'lowering' the muzzle down whilst getting the stock into the cheek.

What are the reasons/benefits of doing this?

If that isn't clear- watching Frasca from Italy - is an example of what I mean - at 5 mins on this video:

Firstly, let me say how interesting that looks. Yessirree I wish I was doing that right now. Oh yes.. Cough..

Apart from speculating that the trap shooter wishes he had a nice driven target to shoot; it may just be a quirk to point the gun skyward for a moment, that we should not read much into.

Having said that (and here comes the first sensible comment in this post..) I have seen instructors make a client mount the gun skyward, then place their face on the stock, then bring the whole arrangement downwards. This is to ensure proper mount / face contact. Maybe this is why?

CSC3

Yep - I'd rather this wasn't a trap vs sporting vs skeet debate - but just some input to my (genuine) question.

I'm interested in whether there are the any other benefits to that methodology.

It is to help ensure consistent gun to face contact, not only to ensure the head is on the gun but also to ensure it's in the same place every time as the stock is placed in the shoulder. Lifting the gun upwards whilst mounting can sometimes cause the face to slide forwards or backwards a fraction potentially altering the sight picture.

That said, gun mount is a very individual thing and a variety of techniques are used with equal success.

So - could also be used by Sporting shooters to benefit consistent mount?

I see the man with the krieghoff won :wink:

Only in a full gun up mount -which I never do - but yes.

Potentially yes although the variety of targets would may mean it's not always suitable. It also requires a premounted gun which I don't think is something many sporting shooters do.

I emphasise the 'don't think' as I don't shoot sporting and don't really know that much about it

I just think it suits that particular guy so he can get his chin in the correct position. If you look at him at 07.42 his stock is well inside, past his vest's pad

I've seen it with a number of shooters - in fact much more pronounced on some of them - I picked that guy as an example that I was watching this morning.

Yes, I've seen it here on a few shooters. One lad was very much like that at NCSC the other week. Maybe 40UP or Nic can comment

It's a method used by George Digweed and Peter Croft - you mount the gun at the expected break point and wind back to the target pick up point so that at the time of firing the body is at its most relaxed position. George has the gun out of his shoulder to deal with a crossing target using the least body rotation. Check out his videos.

Back from Hodnet - you'll enjoy it, off to Nuthampstead now so can't reply to any more abuse for Trapshooters. See you soon.

The reason has been explained in the previous posts. But this particular item does not need to degenerate into a Sporting-Trap-Skeet slagging match.

Each of the disciplines need a methodology through each and every shot. Which no matter whether you shoot gun up or gun down, each shot needs to be visualised from beginning to end and every successful shot will begin with a good gunmount. It is surprising how many missed targets have their root cause being incorrect/misaligned gunmount.

OK - thanks people, makes sense to me now. Was an honest question and not a sporting vs trap moment - am trying to learn as much about shooting as possible.

I do this. For me just feels natural esp on low fast crossers. Put the gun up way above the kill point, lower to the line then wind back to the hold point in a kind of L shape for a r-l. Just seems to suit me????

Winding back from your kill point is fine in sporting or skeet as you no the flight line of the target , you can't do this with trap as you do not no which direction the target is going to go , what he is doing is pre-shot routine (centering)

i mount my gun using that method and just because that was how i was taught when i started shooting a shotgun