Post by linebaugh on Aug 7, 2016 7:39:03 GMT -5
This year I have got back into the clays game and as of now I think it's safe to say I am hooked. That said yesterday I took a group of six guys and we shot a full round (125 birds) at bunker trap. What an absolute rush and I have the utmost respect for the people who shoot this in the olympics because it is HARD.
For those that don't know bunker trap is the street name for what is olympic trap or also called international trap I believe. In brief the birds come out of a bunker at ground level and they are thrown at angles up to 45 degrees. Presentation varies in height and birds are thrown 2 left 1 straight and 2 right per station. There are 3 trap (throwers) per station so 15 traps in total for the 5 stations. The kicker is there is virtually no way to know what sequence they will be thrown as you rotate the five stations between every shot. Ohhh did I mention the birds fly up to 70+ MPH. Oh yes and I almost forgot... it is shot with 7/8 oz loads, not the 1 1/8 oz loads common to regular trap.
For reference on the above. The regular trap we all probably know has angles of up to 17.5 degrees, fixed height and 41-42mph and is most commonly shot with 1 1/8 oz loads. Again to compare bunker has up to 45 degrees, varied height and 65-70+ mph and is shot with a 7/8 oz load.
There are approximately 50 known bunker trap facilities in the US and I just happen to be lucky enough to live about an hour away from one... the only one in Iowa.
So I shot the high score of our group with a 79 (which I'm told is good for a first outing) and I learned some very valuable and somewhat humbling lessons.
1) I had already changed from the 1 1/8 oz loads in standard trap to 7/8 for my 16yrd, first double, skeet and sporting clays load. I already developed a respect for what that little load can do at a measly 1200 fps. At bunker I shot a 1340 fps load of 7.5 shot and my respect for that little 7/8 payload really went up. I had many breaks that had to be in the 50yard neighborhood with that load and they were solid breaks. Amazing.
2) If you ever in your life want to know if your shotgun fits you properly go shoot a round of bunker. There is absolutely no way to bead check in bunker unless you intend to shoot very low scores. There is just no time for it... you call for a bird and have to shoot so fast your gun simply has to fit you or you will not break a bird.
3) Those european trap machines are amazing. They run off of a leaf spring and throw a bird nearly flawlessly. If I were to ever buy my own trap that would be the machine.
4) I suck at bunker. I went in with the intentions of shooting around 100 bird score and never even broke 80. In my own defense I will say that after my first 2 rounds my scores did stay in the 18-20 range which in my opinion is very respectable.
If anybody reading this ever has the chance please go shoot a full round of bunker. In all the clays diciplins that I shoot bunker without question is the hardest that I have shot. If you can appreciate a challenge and don't mind the taste of humble pie you will absolutely have a blast. I went in thinking it would be a once in a lifetime deal but I can promise I will be going back.
If you made it this far thanks for reading.
For those that don't know bunker trap is the street name for what is olympic trap or also called international trap I believe. In brief the birds come out of a bunker at ground level and they are thrown at angles up to 45 degrees. Presentation varies in height and birds are thrown 2 left 1 straight and 2 right per station. There are 3 trap (throwers) per station so 15 traps in total for the 5 stations. The kicker is there is virtually no way to know what sequence they will be thrown as you rotate the five stations between every shot. Ohhh did I mention the birds fly up to 70+ MPH. Oh yes and I almost forgot... it is shot with 7/8 oz loads, not the 1 1/8 oz loads common to regular trap.
For reference on the above. The regular trap we all probably know has angles of up to 17.5 degrees, fixed height and 41-42mph and is most commonly shot with 1 1/8 oz loads. Again to compare bunker has up to 45 degrees, varied height and 65-70+ mph and is shot with a 7/8 oz load.
There are approximately 50 known bunker trap facilities in the US and I just happen to be lucky enough to live about an hour away from one... the only one in Iowa.
So I shot the high score of our group with a 79 (which I'm told is good for a first outing) and I learned some very valuable and somewhat humbling lessons.
1) I had already changed from the 1 1/8 oz loads in standard trap to 7/8 for my 16yrd, first double, skeet and sporting clays load. I already developed a respect for what that little load can do at a measly 1200 fps. At bunker I shot a 1340 fps load of 7.5 shot and my respect for that little 7/8 payload really went up. I had many breaks that had to be in the 50yard neighborhood with that load and they were solid breaks. Amazing.
2) If you ever in your life want to know if your shotgun fits you properly go shoot a round of bunker. There is absolutely no way to bead check in bunker unless you intend to shoot very low scores. There is just no time for it... you call for a bird and have to shoot so fast your gun simply has to fit you or you will not break a bird.
3) Those european trap machines are amazing. They run off of a leaf spring and throw a bird nearly flawlessly. If I were to ever buy my own trap that would be the machine.
4) I suck at bunker. I went in with the intentions of shooting around 100 bird score and never even broke 80. In my own defense I will say that after my first 2 rounds my scores did stay in the 18-20 range which in my opinion is very respectable.
If anybody reading this ever has the chance please go shoot a full round of bunker. In all the clays diciplins that I shoot bunker without question is the hardest that I have shot. If you can appreciate a challenge and don't mind the taste of humble pie you will absolutely have a blast. I went in thinking it would be a once in a lifetime deal but I can promise I will be going back.
If you made it this far thanks for reading.