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There are three popular shotgun sports–clays, trap, and skeet. These sports test a shooter’s ability to hit moving targets. Though all three options simulate bird hunting, there are differences between each one.

Sporting clays are unique from the group as the sport most closely resembles real hunting with targets flying in a variety of angles and directions. If you’re interested in learning more about these sports, we’ll explain in more detail about sporting clays, the differences between the three shotgun sports, and why having adequate recoil pads are a necessary part of your game.

History of Sporting Clays

Sporting clays are a kind of clay bird shooting, which has its origins in England. During this time, British shooting schools replaced live pigeons with clay targets. The goal was to create a sport that accurately replicated the conditions of real-life hunting.

By the late 1980s, the US caught onto this type of sport and began to hold competitive events. Sporting clays continue to be a popular sport among shotgun enthusiasts, as it mimics real-life bird and upland hunting. Much of the following around clay shooting has come from the National Sporting Clays Association. 

The Difference Between Clays, Trap, and Skeet

There are a few differences between clays, trap, and skeet shooting. Though all three sports originated as simulated bird hunting, they have become distinctive from each other.

Trap shooting involves attempting to hit targets moving away from the shooter. The height of each target remains the same. However, the targets move through the air at various angles. Skeet shooting developed out of trap shooting, as shooters noticed that trap didn’t follow bird movement patterns. The purpose of skeet shooting is to hit two crossing targets that have been shot through separate machines.

Sporting clays is the most realistic to bird hunting out of the three sports. With clay shooting, there will be a variety of angles and speeds. While one target may fly towards the shooter, the next one may launch away from them.

All three sports can be performed with various types of shotguns. However, it’s important to have good recoil pads so you don’t deal with the effects of recoil, such as soreness and slippage. Also, for these sports, you’ll want recoil pads to help with improved accuracy, as the lack of slippage and extra comfort the pads provide are helpful when you’re firing multiple rounds.

Sporting Clay Courses

People often refer to sporting clays as “golf with a shotgun” due to the sport’s course. A typical course may have 12, 15, or 20 stations. At each station, the shooter will navigate a varied selection of targets from different machines to best simulate real hunting conditions.

To perform your best, you’re going to need the best equipment! Our high-quality recoil pads are made with safety and comfort in mind. Take a look at our shop and find the right recoil pad to help with your game.

Looking to enhance your performance in trap shooting? It’s crucial to understand that even seemingly minor errors can affect your results. To ensure you excel, familiarizing yourself with potential pitfalls is essential.

Whether you’re a novice in trap shooting or frequently struggle to hit targets, acquiring knowledge about the fundamentals and the reasons behind occasional mishaps is paramount. This blog will delve into prevalent errors, such as improper foot placement and inadequate follow-through. Additionally, we’ll provide practical techniques for rectifying and preventing these mistakes, empowering you to step onto the field with confidence and elevate your accuracy.

Foot Placement

In trap shooting, you’ll need your body’s full range of motion to hit the desired targets. Your foot placement affects your ability to rotate your body to see the target clearly and take the shot. If you don’t align and place your feet properly, you are more likely to miss the shot. Improper foot placement can also cause imbalance, which will affect the shot.

In order to avoid improper foot placement, you should place your feet about shoulder-width apart. You’ll want to make sure that you have room to rotate your body comfortably, so place your feet accordingly to ensure you have enough space for the follow-through.

Shooting too Late

A common mistake that people make is shooting too late. Instead of picking up the target close by, people wait until the target is far away to aim and shoot. This is especially common among new shooters, as the target appears more fast-moving when it’s close, so they wait until it’s farther away to aim. However, this is not a good idea and won’t lead to better accuracy.

To avoid making this mistake, shooters should try intensely focusing on the target right away. Shooters should focus hard on the target so it will be easier to shoot. Also, being aggressive may be a way to counteract this mistake, as you should not wait too long before firing the gun.

Flinching

An inevitable part of shooting is the recoil. This force pushes back onto the shooter and can cause a lot of problems, namely flinching. When a shooter flinches, the accuracy of the shot is likely to be poor.

If you want to avoid flinching, there are a few different things you can try to minimize and get rid of the flinch for good. One of the best ways to minimize flinching is to lessen the effects of recoil. Having the proper gear is a good starting point for this reduction. Shooting vests with built-in pads help to reduce any pain or discomfort you may feel from recoil. You should also consider purchasing the right recoil pads.

Some pads use springs or coils to minimize the effect recoil has on the body. However, these types of pads are not the most effective ones on the market. Our recoil pads are designed with the same technology found on aircraft landing gear, which significantly reduces the effects of recoil.

The recoil pads will help reduce flinching, as the recoil force will convert to heat that is spread throughout the shoulder area. You won’t have to worry about the pain or soreness that comes with recoil. However, you should also take care to address any mental blocks that may still cause flinching. Focusing on the target and the correct techniques, along with using the proper gear, is the best way to overcome flinching altogether.

Follow-Through

Another common mistake that trap shooters make is a lack of follow-through. If it seems like you’ve done everything else right when taking a shot, but you keep missing the target, it could be a problem with your follow-through.

Luckily, this mistake comes with a quick fix. The next time you go to shoot, try to overemphasize the follow-through by at least an extra second or until you see the target fall.

Safety Procedures

It’s crucial to follow all of the safety procedures in trap shooting. Not doing so may result in severe consequences. Proper safety starts with wearing protection for your ears and eyes. You should always wear earplugs or earmuffs to the range. There are various products on the market that cater to different needs. You could opt for simple and cheap ear plugs or you could go with amplified ear muffs to better hear those around you. You’ll also need to pick up lenses to protect your eyes from any dust, accidental ricochets, or target shards.

Distractions

If you’re just starting out in the sport, you may be unaware of the proper etiquette that is encouraged on the course. One of the most important etiquette rules on the trap shooting course is to refrain from distracting other shooters. It’s common courtesy to leave your phones turned off or left behind in the car. In the same way, you should also avoid making any noise when it’s not your turn so you don’t distract the other shooters.

Another way that people commonly cause distractions on the trap shooting course is by bending down to pick up shells. A simple way to avoid doing this is to carry a shell pouch or a shooting vest. That way, you’ll have your shells handy and have a place to store empties.

There are many small details that go into successful trap shooting. If you’re just starting out in the sport or you want to improve your skills, avoiding the most common mistakes is a good place to start. Poor technique and flinching are two of the most common reasons for poor accuracy. To reduce flinching, you can purchase the best recoil pads on the market to ensure you remain comfortable and relaxed throughout the entire shooting session. Check out our shop to find the right recoil pads before heading to the trap shooting course.

Are you looking to make your shooting experience more enjoyable? There are a few absolutely necessary items you need for clays, trap, and skeet shooting, like a gun, eye protection, and earplugs. However, there are also a lot of other essentials, like recoil pads and shell pouches to make your time at the range more productive and comfortable.

Whether you’re just starting out as a beginner or you have some experience with shooting clays, trap, and skeet, you’ll need to find the right gear to perform your best. The best gear and apparel will allow you to move freely, handle the gun easily, and protect yourself from the effects of recoil. We’ll go over some of the top essentials you should consider for your next day on the shooting course.

Eye Protection

One of the most important essentials you’ll need for target shooting is protective eyewear. During target shooting, there is a lot of different debris flying around your face, such as powder dust, target shards, and even ricochets. Glasses can also help to shield your eyes from the sun. However, you should take care to avoid dark-colored lenses, as they make it harder to spot the target.

Rose and orange-tinted glasses work well. You may also want to consider a hat for target shooting. Baseball caps work well to keep the sun out of your eyes and protect your face.

Hearing Protection

Besides eye protection, the other area of your body you’ll want to protect is your ears. Having some kind of hearing protection is essential, without it you’ll risk damaging your hearing. Foam earplugs will do an adequate job. You could also invest in ear muffs to wear in addition to ear plugs. The high-quality ones may feature an amplification system, where quieter noises are amplified while the loud ones are muffled.

Gloves

While you’re out shooting many rounds, your hands will start to experience discomfort from the friction of handling the forearm, comb, and grip of your gun. They can also protect your hands from dreary weather, such as cold temperatures or rain, so you can remain comfortable and perform your best.

Lightweight and Stretchy Clothing

It’s also important to choose clothing that won’t interfere with your shooting performance. Clothing that is too tight will restrict your movements and may affect the outcome of your shooting. On the flip side, if your shirt is too loose and baggy, you risk it catching while mounting your gun.

Vests

If you’re looking for a practical addition to your shooting wardrobe, a shooting vest is helpful for any type of target shooting sport. Shooting vests have helpful features, such as pockets designed to carry shells and glasses. Some shooting vests even come with pads on the shoulder to help soften the force of recoil.

Recoil Pads

Recoil pads are an essential part of your shooting gear. Without a high-quality recoil pad, your overall performance will suffer, as the effects of recoil include a decrease in accuracy. Recoil pads help to reduce the force of recoil, which causes flinching. With a reduction in flinching during your shooting, you’ll improve the accuracy of your shots.

Plus, it will help to reduce pain and soreness, which will allow you to spend more time on the course. For those shooters looking to spend long periods of time on the course, making things comfortable for yourself is crucial. Even if you don’t think the pain will bother you, consistent shooting practices may lead to long-term injury or soreness over time. Recoil pads can help spread the force of impact over a larger surface area, so you aren’t left with bruises or pain.

Shell Pouches

During trap and skeet shooting, you’ll need to carry shells with you from each station. Having a shell pouch makes this aspect of trap and skeet shooting simple and convenient. Most shell pouches will have dividers so you can organize your shells, extra cartridges, and spent shells separately.

Range Bags

Carrying your gear around the trap, skeet, or sporting clays course can be tiring—unless you have a golf cart. But if you end up walking—you’ll want something that can hold all of your gear while you walk to the fields and around the course. You’ll want to find a range bag that accommodates all of your gear, apparel, and items you may need or want while on the course.

Why Are Gear and Apparel Important for Target Shooting?

Target shooting is all about precision and accuracy. If you’re uncomfortable or don’t have the right gear, you likely won’t be at the top of your game. Without the right gear, not only will you have to deal with safety issues concerning your eyes and ears, but you’ll also have to deal with the effects of recoil. Luckily, there are a lot of great products out there that don’t cost a fortune and can significantly help protect you and improve your performance.

Having the best products for your target shooting is essential if you want to do your best out on the field. If you’re looking to improve your performance in target shooting sports, like trap, skeet, or sporting clays,  you should consider our recoil pads. Recoil is one of the most common reasons why shooters might be dealing with accuracy issues or stamina issues, as it may cause pain and flinching. Our hydraulic fluid energy-dampening system makes our pads stand out from the competition. You’ll enjoy more comfort and better control over your shots. Check out the products in our shop to find the recoil pad that’s right for you.

Many people throughout the US enjoy participating in shooting sports. In particular, trap shooting is a fun activity to show off your shooting skills at moving targets. Though experienced shooters may make the sport look simple and easy, there are a lot of small details that determine the outcome of shots.

If you’re new to trap shooting, you may not be aware of all the finer intricacies that play a role in shooting accuracy. Some of the dynamics you need to know about before heading to the course include stance, grip, and follow-through. We’ll explain these details more in-depth, so you can begin a successful target-shooting session. We’ll also go over some of the most helpful tips for improving your accuracy if you’re looking to take your skills to the next level.

The Techniques Used in Trap Shooting

When you think about shooting a gun, you probably think mainly about your upper body. However, when trap shooting, you’ll want to consider your posture and stance, as they both play a role in how effective you’ll be on the course. You’ll also need to consider your grip and follow through in order to have the best results.

Proper Stance

Having the proper stance is essential to accuracy. It can help you to see the target more clearly, mount your gun properly, and have a greater sense of stability. What is the right stance for trap shooting? If you’re right-handed, you’ll need to rotate your body slightly to the right.

By doing this move, your body will be able to swing to the right side more easily and you’re more likely to mount your gun correctly. In addition to these benefits, this rotated stance also gives the shooter a straightened perspective, which allows the shooter to see the target better.

You’ll also want to open your stance up and keep your feet at least shoulder-width apart. This footwork will give you greater stability compared to a closed-off stance.

Grip

Having a proper grip when shooting a gun is necessary, as it allows you to have greater control over it. You’ll want to make sure you grip the gun firmly so you still have enough control. Those just starting out in shooting may make the mistake of gripping too tightly. A too-tight grip will lead to rigid muscles and stiff arms, which makes it difficult to freely move.

Follow-Through (Use your animal)

The most important tool you have when you are trap shooting is your own instinct, which is your inner animal. Your animal is your natural instinct that lets you catch a ball at just the right moment, which way to turn when you are at a busy intersection, and when you are doing something that requires a lot of focus, but you’re not necessarily actively thinking about it. Your laser eyesight will help you follow through, and after you’ve practiced with trapshooting a little bit longer, you’ll nail your target with perfect consistency almost every time.

Tips for Improving Accuracy

Getting these techniques down for trap shooting takes time and practice. If you’re a beginner or just want to improve your existing skills, trying out a few simple tips may help improve your accuracy. You may not think about all of the little details that go into precise shooting. However, preparing yourself as much as possible is one of the most surefire ways to improve your accuracy.

Keep a Focused Mindset

Having the right attitude may seem like a small inconsequential part of shooting, but it makes a big difference. Shooters need to maintain focus and concentration in order to perfect their skills. A good way to practice concentration is to clear your mind of outside distractions. If you’re thinking about other things not related to the target, your mind will probably not be focused enough to have consistent accuracy.

Consider the Weather

Though having the perfect weather for a day of trap shooting is preferred, it’s not always realistic. When you’re out on the course, you’ll have to deal with wind and other weather conditions. You should try to remain as focused on the target as possible to ensure accuracy in not ideal weather conditions.

Using the Correct Choke

You’ll need to think about using the right choke for your course. If you’re shooting at the station closest to the targets, you might want to consider an improved cylinder choke. However, if you’re farther back from the target, you’ll want to consider switching to a modified choke.

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Use the Right Gear

The accuracy during your time on the course may be affected by the gear you choose to use. You’ll want to use gear that assists in your safety and comfort. When your gear isn’t effective, and you’re wearing restrictive clothing, following proper techniques is difficult. Some of the gear you should consider picking up before heading out for trap shooting include protective eyewear, glasses, recoil pads, and vests. Ultimately, the right accessories will depend on your personal preferences.

Part of selecting the right gear might include picking out recoil pads. The effects of recoil have the potential to negatively affect your trap shooting. Significant recoil may cause the shooter to flinch, which could affect accuracy. Additionally, many people experience pain and soreness from recoil, which means that they take fewer shots per session. Our recoil pads help mitigate the effects of recoil by converting the energy into heat, which is then spread out over the point of contact.

Trap shooting is a fun sport that requires a bit of knowledge and practice to get right. If you’re just starting out in this sport, you’ll want to learn the proper techniques so that shooting correctly becomes muscle memory. For shooters who are looking to level up their skills, it’s a good idea to take a look at the finer details of the shot, such as recoil. Having the best recoil pads on the market is an excellent way of improving your accuracy. Check out the recoil pads in our shop if you want to improve your trap shooting accuracy.