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Jimmy Heller
American
Trapshooting Association
Hall of Fame
9 Time All-
12 Grand American Trophies
45 California State Trophies
California
State Singles Champion
California State Handicap Champion
California State Doubles
Champion
California State High All-
California State High Overall Champion
Western
Zone Handicap Champion
Western Zone Doubles Champion
Western Zone High Overall Champion
Golden
West Grand Handicap Champion
Golden West Grand Doubles Champion
Autumn Grand Handicap
Champion
Spring Grand High All-
24 200 x 200 in Singles
24 100 x 100
in Handicap from the 27
108 100 x 100 in Doubles
148,650 Singles
314,950 Handicap
129,300
Doubles
(ATA Hall of Fame Induction Program Book)
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“Drive, determination and goals make a competitive spirit. You shouldn’t let other distractions get in your way…talking, dog’s barking, golf carts…be aware of them…relax and don’t become intense during the whole 100 targets. Don’t defeat yourself.”
Hall of Fame Jimmy Heller
An iTrapshooter.com interview
Copyright 2012
All Rights Reserved.
Page 3
Jimmy: Too much gun movement leads to losing
site of the target. I have long arms, so I needed
to lengthen my stock. Depending on your height,
it might help to try lengthening your stock and
balancing the gun. Is the barrel heavier than the
stock or visa versa? Heavy barrels are
non-
overly responsive. You can take out or add
weight to balance the gun.
Rod from Big Bear Lake: Does it take an expensive gun to be a top trap competitor?
Jimmy: Not really. I started off with an 870
and a Charles Dailey and felt I was fairly
competitive with them. But, then from there,
I went to a Perazzi Comp I and a Remington
3200. I broke both my 200 Singles and 200
Doubles in one day with both guns. I set them
up to shoot where I looked, learned how they
shot, and shot one target at a time.
Joe Kuhn: What suggestions have you got for
avoiding cross firing?
Jimmy: Joe, I have the same problem which I’ve
been fighting over the last three years or so. I tried the barrel blinder, I tried taping my left eye, and recently I’ve been playing with prism in one or both eyes. I’m still experimenting. I have a stronger astigmatism in my right eye and a small one in my left. My left is the sharpest and the clearest and without glasses, I go off my left eye constantly. Your situation might be different than mine. I don’t have any power in either eye for distance or closeness, just for the astigmatism problem. I shoot with a plain lens in my left eye and a reduced astigmatism power in my right eye. That seems to have helped the best.
Another thing that helped was setting my eyes first, continuously looking for the target, mounting the gun and calling for the target fairly quickly. If you’re a hunter in the field, you see the bird and react and shoot. You’re not looking at the gun or the beads, you’re just seeing the target and reacting to it. You might have heard the old saying “while driving down the road, your eyes should be out on the road, not on the hood ornament”.
Matt: What method or methods do you use to prepare yourself mentally for an upcoming shoot or event? How do you manage to keep your mental concentration through the whole event? Thank you.
Jimmy: I have the motivation to go shooting. I also find something to motivate me to shoot. Drive, determination and goals make a competitive spirit. I shoot out of pure determination, desire and enjoyment. You shouldn’t let other distractions get in your way.
Just be aware of them and don’t let them put a negative into your game. This is
really a one-
It's been a pleasure answering your questions. If you see me at a shoot, please
say 'hi' and we can talk some more.
____
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will receive all replies to this interview. Thank you.