If you’ve been shooting 20 years or more, what advice do you wish someone told you early on?

[Alan]

If you've been shooting for 20+ years, what tips would you give new shooters? Let’s hear the wisdom from the veterans of the range.

 

[wapakfred]

Wear hearing protection! I just had my hearing base lined and it's almost gone in my right ear. This was mostly due to shooting without hearing protection in my younger years...60 years ago.

 

[Alan]

Good point, hearing loss can sneak up on you and be permanent. Young shooters, protect your ears!

 

[sand sock]

we do a yearly trap shoot, people bring really little kids and i get asked to help them shoot 1-3 rounds. something i've learned along the way is to be patient and to leave the kids with a win. they arent going to be busting clays with the adults at 5to8 years old. its to much. but we take a carboard box and some clays out away from everyone else , set them up against some haybales. and i make sure they are going to hit the box and hopefully the clays. when they make the connection. i make a big hoopla about them being successful. i'm a pretty calm and contained guy, but when a little kid makes a win. i show them off like the lion king or rocky , heaping praise on them. in 2or 3 years of this. they are able to withstand a box of 20s and i put them on a under powered thrower. we focus on safety and swing and trigger press and actually seeing the details of the clay as it moves through the air.

 

[Alan]

we do a yearly trap shoot, people bring really little kids and i get asked to help them shoot 1-3 rounds. something i've learned along the way is to be patient and to leave the kids with a win. they arent going to be busting clays with the adults at 5to8 years old. its to much. but we take a carboard box and some clays out away from everyone else , set them up against some haybales. and i make sure they are going to hit the box and hopefully the clays. when they make the connection. i make a big hoopla about them being successful. i'm a pretty calm and contained guy, but when a little kid makes a win. i show them off like the lion king or rocky , heaping praise on them. in 2or 3 years of this. they are able to withstand a box of 20s and i put them on a under powered thrower. we focus on safety and swing and trigger press and actually seeing the details of the clay as it moves through the air.

I love that approach...patience, small wins and safety first.

 

[Tony]

Don't get hung up on brands and models that other people like. Listen to opinions, but make your own choices. Find what fits you best and try to stay out of the caliber/gauge wars. Those never go anywhere.