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Shooting Clays

OldMan

OldMan

.410
A friend of mine has purchased one of them el-cheapo spring loaded clay target thrower's from Wal-Mart.

We plan on trying it out one day this week. I've never shot clays nor has he.

Which would be the easiest direction for the clays to fly for a beginner?
Trap or skeet?

Our DNR shooting range doesn't have a Trap, Skeet or Sporting Clay setup. It's just an area to shoot shotguns only. The target thrower can be placed near the shooter to simulate trap shooting or to the far left or right of the field to simulate skeet.

No one is allowed on the field itself of course.
 
definitely trap. If you keep it shooting straight away to 15% or so degrees from you, you don't have to "lead" it if you're using a modified choke. You have to track it, you know, keep the barrel on it as it flies, but you don't have to lead it. The way to hit moving targets is to think of a three step process:

1. catch it. Bring your bead onto the target

2. match it. For a brief moment stay on the target

3. pull away. on shots where you need to lead, speed up and pull ahead of the target and pull that trigger when you have the lead you think you need. Don't get your lead and maintain the lead for a moment and shoot. When you've pulled ahead to where you think you need to be, pull that trigger NOW!

And follow through is important. Keep the barrel moving well past the point you pulled your trigger. Same thing with a living bird. catch it, match it, pull away, and boom.
 
I shoot at clays (Trap, Skeet, Sporting, Wobble Trap) at least a few times a week for the last few years.....I am addicted :D

I have always said,
Trap is easier to learn and harder to master.
Skeet is harder to learn and easier to master.

Throw the Trap targets if you are both learning the game of bustin' clays.
And may I say WELCOME to the ADDICTION!! :cool:
 
blue,
I was thinking Trap would be easier to start off with.
Figuring out which choke to use is going to be my first problem.

I figured I would start out with the Mod choke but won't know unless I hit the clay if it's working. Lol!
I do have the standard accu choke set of Full, Mod and IC which came with my 500.

Very good explanation! Thank you very much!




LTB45,
I have watched about every video I could find on this site and YouTube relating to clay shooting. It looks like it's a lot of fun to do and something I've always wanted to try.
Thanks!
 
Shooting Trap style targets flying away from you, a MOD choke is absolutely the best choice.
If you do get to shoot Skeet that IC choke will work fine!

Have a great time and let us know how it went.
 
I have been wanting to shoot some clays with my auto loader but the barrel on my Remington 1100 is 30" fixed full choke. I guess I need to buy a new barrel for it that has screw in chokes. But I can use my 500A, it has a 28" ported barrel and the accu choke system. To me it would feel wierd to use the 500A since it is has a mossy oak shadow grass camo on it.
 
Awastatyme said:
I have been wanting to shoot some clays with my auto loader but the barrel on my Remington 1100 is 30" fixed full choke. I guess I need to buy a new barrel for it that has screw in chokes. But I can use my 500A, it has a 28" ported barrel and the accu choke system. To me it would feel wierd to use the 500A since it is has a mossy oak shadow grass camo on it.
Click to expand...

My Remington 1100 "Fixed Full Choke" is my Trap gun. I shoot ATA all summer with it.
I have also seen people shoot skeet with their Full choked barrels. It makes it a little tougher to do, but it is possible.

Also my goto hunting, Skeet & Sporting Clays gun is my 500A and it has a camo paint job that I put on it.
Shoot your gun and enjoy it, no matter what the color scheme is! :)
 
Good trap shooters use full chokes and tighter. I use modified because I'm out there for fun, and I'll pick up a bird or two that I quite literally will hit with one pellet that would have been a full miss with a tight choke! Starting with modified is the best bet.

If you're just learning to shoot moving targets, don't just have the gun up. Have the gun up and use one eye to line up the bead and receiver. Then open both eyes, and learn what that looks like. Hold that and "see" that way a couple seconds, and then call for your target. You'll develop the both eyes open skills pretty quickly if you do that a couple hundred times.
 
Looks like everyone pretty much covered it for direction so I'll address a different issue.

I've always had trouble with those light throwers in that they will bounce around a lot esp if you have a sandy base and the spikes don't grab much to hold it secure. We started mounting ours to a spare tire from the truck. The weight of the wheel keeps it secure and stable when throwing. Sorry, I'd post a pic but the thrower is currently up at my cabin.
 
LTB45,
My 500 came with the MOD choke installed. I will use that first.
Thanks!



blue,
Great tip on learning to keep both eyes open! I don't know the real reason for keeping both eyes open though. I watched a video of Trap champion Nora Ross this morning and was surprised to note that she closes her left eye. I'm not sure if she keeps it closed during the shot though.


Here's a video of Nora Ross shooting trap. Notice her left eye is closed at 1:30.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2mW6wE_R78[/youtube]


MikeD,
Yea, it's the same one. We'll give it a try and see how it works out.
WinchesterTargetThrower.jpg


I've already been looking at a replacement online. Lol!
I like the Do All 3/4 cock thrower. It looks much easier to operate.
DoAllTargetThrower.jpg



Thanks for all the info and tips!
Keep them coming!
 
Nora Ross is a one eyed shooter, as am I.
Left eye dominance that was not found out till many years after learning to shoot rifles right handed.

With both eyes open you can acquire that bird faster and you have depth perception that is lost on the one eyed shooter. It really helps to use both eyes when shooting games that require lead on the bird. Not really needed in Trap.

I call for the birds with both eyes open to see the bird well and only close my left eye before I pull the trigger.
 
Oh, Wow! I didn't know that! I respectfully bow my head and admire the dedication you both have put forth to enjoy the shooting sports to its fullest.

Thanks for a very good explanation on the reason to keep both eyes open. I don't know about anyone else but when I look down the barrel of my gun with both eyes open I see two barrels. Lol!

However I do understand that the dual image I see is one from each eye respectively.
One thing I have going against me is that I'm more comfortable shooting long guns left handed but I'm right eye dominant.

I did a test today by holding the gun left handed and picking out a target in the house. Then I would close my left eye to see if I was sighting with my left eye or not. Most of the time I was but other times I wasn't.

I repeated this test by switching over to my right hand and picking a target as above. The closing my right eye I found I was right on every time.

I'm going to try shooting right handed for a while to see if I can get more comfortable with it.
I don't really know why but I started out shooting a shot gun left handed back when I was 14 years old.
 
OldMan said:
Oh, Wow! I didn't know that! I respectfully bow my head and admire the dedication you both have put forth to enjoy the shooting sports to its fullest.

Thanks for a very good explanation on the reason to keep both eyes open. I don't know about anyone else but when I look down the barrel of my gun with both eyes open I see two barrels. Lol!
Click to expand...

It sounds crazy, but the more you do it, the less you'll see of the "ghost" barrel. It will still be there, you just won't notice it. That's what I meant by learning to "see that way" when using both eyes. Your conscious mind will learn to ignore the visual info you don't need with time. I know I don't technically only see one barrel, but if you asked me "do you see two barrels?" the honest answer would be "I guess so..." Because I'm sure I do, but I don't ;)
 
taking a couple of skeet classes, I found that I pretty much have to have my right eye open (I'm left handed), and I'm most comfortable if the relative motion of the bird to my barrel is right-to-left... so I come from behind on one side, and sustained lead from the other.

My wife is cross-eye dominant, and closes one eye.

My coach is blind in his strong-side eye, and shoots with only his "weak side" eye open... and could still run 25 in a row I'm sure.

The brain is a strange beast, that's for sure.
 
blue,
"Ghost barrel" I haven't thought of it that way. Good analogy!
Hmmm, I wonder if I see three or four barrels when holding a SxS. :lol:


BigFatGuy,
Are you sighting down the barrel with your right eye while shooting left handed?
 
Oldman: I'm not. it's purely a peripheral vision thing. I just noticed that I shot left-moving targets much more easily, decided to try come-from-behind on the high house, and immediately felt more comfortable.
 
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