With low gun trap it is no longer a given that the clay is still rising when you shoot. It will depend a lot on how aggressive you are and how quickly you get on the clay. It is very possible to shoot over the clays when shooting low gun trap. It might be something like the second shot on trap doubles.
I believe this post came the closest to explaining the OP's difficulty with low gun trap.
The "trap type" presentation is one of the most difficult for many FITASC shooters for the same reason. The computer between the ears is gauging the speed, angle and changing elevation of a "surprise" target and the hands must start from a low position and travel a considerable distance to complete the mount with upward momentum which has to be so tightly controlled that the gun can be fired the instant the muzzle touches the target. To score high requires a pretty flawless mount matched with a good understanding how/why you connect or miss.
You're likely to never be "competitive" at trap with a low gun, since competitive means breaking 98+% no matter what class you're in. That requires 101 perfect mounts as a minimum and then there are still several other ways/reasons to miss 5 targets out of 100. But if you're serious about breaking 80% or more at low gun trap, I suggest you lock the trap at a hard angle you like and practice that target without the element of surprise. When your mount is smooth as silk and your timing is such that you're scoring 90+% kills on that target, change the target to the opposite angle and your results will likely plummet. When your success rate rebounds it's time to free the trap and introduce the element of surprise. You won't be so smooth anymore.
It's removing the variability of the mount that makes pre-mounting so necessary to shooting perfect trap. International skeet is shot low gun, but even
international trap is shot with a pre-mounted gun.
ANY clay target shooting is beneficial to wingshooting. And ANY clay shooter who is truly accomplished in any of the diciplines will outshoot, after a short learning curve, any gameshot who does not shoot clays.
Stick with low gun clays if keeps you interested. I can testify that 50 straights in American trap and 20/25 at bunker trap is doable with a 32" SxS from the low gun start.
