Hello , I am from Portugal, and I shoot Olympic trap. I usually score 18-20/25, and sometimes 21-23/25. The problem is that I can’t break the clays to the right. It seems to me that I can’t have my face in the stock when moving to the right, at least the same way i do to the left or in front clays.

This is a problem for me, because and can break all the clays with centered shots except those to the right. When I get more than 2 or 3 clays to the right I don’t have a good result.

I think that what can be causing this maybe my position of the body in the stand , any way I don’t know how to solve this. Any advice will be appreciated.

Keep with the very good work.

Best regards,

Francisco
Portugal

Dear Francisco,

You are very fortunate to have an Olympic Trench nearby for your shooting. A trench is a real luxury in the US as most of our trap is ATA style.

Without actually seeing you shoot, it is a bit hard to offer advice. Of course, that has never stopped me from saying something, but you might want to talk to someone who really knows what he is talking about! I will start with the assumption that you are right handed.

Olympic Trap has approximately twice the lateral variation that American ATA trap has. You really have to be able to cover MUCH more ground, especially when you think about the vertical variation aspect.

Many American-style trap shooters bias their hold to the side a bit when they have trouble going to the right. I don’t suggest that you do that at trench because of the wider angles. I would hold on the yellow center stripe like always.

You might try turning your body position more to the right. I shoot the trench with my right foot parallel to the back edge of the box in which you stand. My left foot is almost parallel to my right, but perhaps a pointed a bit more forward. This stance puts my entire left side pretty much towards the trap and has me shoot across my body a good bit. I also start with a small amount of left knee flex. My feet are shoulder-width apart. Most European trench shooters that I have met use a more closed stance and face more towards the trap than I do, but I find my method works better on the right hand birds that give all right handed shooters trouble.

Another source of your problem might be that your stock is too long. If the stock is too long for a right handed shooter, it will “jam” on many people when swinging right if they are using too much of their arms and not enough of the body when they swing.

Shooting with the stance that I use (more across the body) will make your stock seem shorter than shooting more squared to the trap. This might help. If it doesn’t, you can always experiment with a shorter recoil pad and see if that helps.

Bottom line: Try turning your left side more to the trap and/or shortening up your stock a bit in order to get those right hand birds. That is the best long distance advice that I can offer.

Best regards,

Bruce Buck
Shotgun Report’s Technoid