by Don Swearingen

Created on: November 06, 2009

Gun Games: American Trapshooting

I carefully planted my feet where I hoped were the right places. I brought the shotgun to my shoulder, and nestled my cheek against the stock. I looked down the top of the barrel with a steely glare, and brought the muzzle to the center of the trap house. I took a breath.

"Pull!" I barked.

The bright orange and black disc flew from the trap house, and arced away, and I moved my whole body as I followed it with the shotgun. Just as I felt the disc getting away, I yanked on the trigger and the shotgun bellowed. In futility. The bright orange disc continued to fly, landing 50 yards away, as someone behind me said, "Quack, quack, quack," in a sarcastic voice.

I broke the shotgun open, removed the empty hull and tried to blot out the trash talk behind me. Reloading, I again raised the shotgun.....

Thunderstick Therapy

Trap shooting is fun. There are experts who "smoke" twenty-five out of twenty-five, but most of us average a lot less, and the challenge, just like golf, can be consuming.

But it doesn't have to be. To be out on the trap range with a group of your friends, enjoying the day, swapping lies and jokes is as much fun as any foursome of golf, or bowling team, and achieving a target hit as satisfying as make a spare or hitting the green just where you want to.

Trivia

Trapshooting has been around since at least 1831, when the trap was a box that released a pigeon. Which might or might not fly.

Trapshooting enthusiasts began experimenting with substitutes for live pigeons around the time of the Civil War. Clay discs were introduced around 1870, and standardized trap machines followed swiftly.

A number of famous people were or are trapshooting enthusiasts. Did you know John Phillip Souza, The March King was also a recognized authority on trap shooting?. The actor Robert Stack, who played Eliot Ness in the original "Untouchables" is a champion trap shooter. Tony Stewart, the 4 time world champion Formula One driver is a better trap shooter than you.

Description

Getting the boring details out of the way, American Trap is basically a shotgun target game. It is one of the big three shotgun target sports, Skeet and Sporting Clays being the other two.

In front of the near firing line, 16 yards out, is a small building about 3 feet tall and about 8 feet square. It is actually just the top half, the rest of it being below ground level.

This is the trap house, and has a machine in it, that throws clay discs at about 41 miles

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