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How to start trap shooting

Never shot trap before? Here is how a round works, what to bring, the safety rules every trap line follows, and how to break your first target.

Updated October 27, 2026

Trap is one of the easiest shooting sports to pick up. You need a shotgun, a box of shells, eye and ear protection, and about half an hour. You do not need a membership, a lesson booked ahead, or any experience. This guide walks you through everything that happens on your first day, so nothing on the line is a surprise.

How a round works

A round of trap is 25 targets. Up to five shooters make a squad. The squad stands in a shallow arc of five posts (also called stations), three yards apart and 16 yards behind a low building called the trap house.

  • Everyone starts on a post. The shooter on post 1 calls "Pull", a clay target flies out of the trap house, and they take one shot.
  • Then the shooter on post 2 shoots, then post 3, and so on down the line, one target each.
  • After everyone has shot five targets, the whole squad rotates one post to the right. The shooter on post 5 walks back to post 1.
  • Five posts times five shots is 25 targets. That is a round.

Nobody moves to the next post until the last shooter in the squad has fired. Wait your turn, shoot when it comes, and the rhythm takes care of itself.

What the target does

The targets fly about 50 yards, away from you, at roughly 42 miles per hour. You never know exactly which way the next one will go: the trap swings side to side and throws targets anywhere inside an arc at least 34 degrees wide. Some go straight away from you, some angle hard left or right. That unpredictability is the whole game.

How scoring works

A target counts as broken ("dead") when you can see a piece come off it. A puff of dust with no visible piece does not count. A miss is called "lost". Your score is simply how many you broke out of 25. If the trap throws a target that is already broken, or throws nothing at all, you get another one.

What to bring

Item What you need to know
Shotgun A 12 or 20 gauge works. Trap rules allow 12 gauge or smaller.
Shells Target loads, No. 7½, 8 or 9 shot. Under ATA rules, nothing bigger than 7½ shot and no more than 1⅛ ounces of shot.
Eye protection Required on the line. Shooting glasses or safety glasses.
Ear protection Required on the line. Foam plugs, muffs, or both.
Something to carry shells A shooting vest or shell pouch, so you can load one shell at a time.

If your shotgun takes screw-in chokes, most trap shooters use Modified or tighter. If you are not sure what you have, bring the gun and ask at the clubhouse. Somebody will know.

Short on something? Ask. There is usually a spare set of ears around.

Safety on the line

Trap safety comes from the rulebook of the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA), the sport's governing body. It boils down to a few habits. Everyone on the line follows them, every time.

  1. Keep the action open and the gun empty whenever you are not standing on your post. Walking to the line, walking between posts, waiting your turn: action open, no shells.
  2. Load only on your post, facing the trap house, and only one shell at a time. Singles trap is one shot per target, so one shell is all you ever need in the gun.
  3. Unload before you move. Take the empty (or a live shell) out of the gun before you walk to the next post.
  4. Keep the muzzle pointed downrange or straight up. Never rest the muzzle on the ground or your foot with the action closed.
  5. Do not load or shoulder your gun while the shooter before you is shooting. Wait until they are done.
  6. If your gun does not fire, open it. Keep it pointed downrange, open the action, and let the folks around you know.
  7. Do not walk in front of the other shooters. Walk behind the line when you rotate.
  8. Eye and ear protection on, for shooters and for anyone standing near the line.

The ATA booklet for new shooters puts it simply: the only real safety is an open, unloaded gun.

Your first round, step by step

  1. Find out which eye is boss. Make a small triangle with your hands at arm's length and look at a distant object through it with both eyes open. Close one eye, then the other. The eye that still sees the object centered is your dominant eye. If it is on the other side from the shoulder you shoot from, mention it to someone at the clubhouse before your first round.
  2. Mount the gun before you call. Trap is shot with the gun already on your shoulder. Put the butt firmly in the pocket of your shoulder and your cheek on the stock, the same way every time.
  3. Pick a starting hold point. A good beginner hold is the top center of the trap house. As you get comfortable, regulars adjust it a little for each post.
  4. Keep both eyes open and look for the target, not the barrel. Your eyes find the target; the gun follows your eyes. The bead is not something to aim with. A shotgun is pointed, not aimed.
  5. Call "Pull", swing, and keep swinging. Move the gun with the target and keep it moving through the shot. Stopping the gun when you pull the trigger is a classic way to miss.
  6. Keep your head down on the stock. Lifting your head to see if you hit it pulls the gun off line and sends the shot over the top.
  7. Take your time. No one is rushing you. Settle in, then call.

You will miss some. Everybody does, including people who have shot here for years. Nobody keeps track of your score but you.

Bringing kids

Trap is a family sport. People shoot it at nine years old and at ninety. The ATA rulebook does not set a minimum age. It does have youth classes (Sub-Junior is under 15, Junior is 15 to 17), and parents are responsible for making sure young shooters follow the rules.

If your kids want to go further, the ATA's youth program is called AIM. It runs youth categories from 11 and under up to age 22, and joining costs $25 for an ATA member.

Bringing a young shooter to Sandy for the first time? Contact the club before your visit so we can help you plan.

Shooting at Sandy

The public is welcome, and you do not need a membership. Contact us for shoot days, directions and help planning your first visit. See costs on the home page. Pay the range fee when you arrive and buy rounds as you go.

When you get there, find whoever is at the clubhouse and say you are new. That is the hardest part. The rest is just calling "pull."

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