[kudu]

Finally got to the gun club to do some skeet shooting, been a couple of months since I shot. Got the old Rem 11-87 out of the safe, been about a year since I shot it. Did good, Broke the first fifty straight, then missed two on my third round, high three and low four :( Not too bad for chipping my way through the first round and it being about 92degrees out and 100% humidity.
Gonna have to get some of my other shotguns out and take 'em for a spin at the range. :D

[Dot_mdb]

See that. If you had shot every week you wouldn't have missed any at all. :D

Nice shooting. I am new to the game and new to shotguns. I try to shoot every week now but I have a long way to go to get to your level of skill.

Bill

[Black92LX]

sounds good. i really want to start shooting skeet and trap. so i am going to the gun shop wednesday to place my order for a nice new Benelli. hopefully it won't be long till i hit 1 out 0f 50.

[Dave McCracken]

Good shooting, Kudu.Why the break though? Shotgunning is so much fun, especially skeet with its sociability.

My progress at skeet is slow, and obviously I have to setup one of my 870s specifically for skeet.I also have to get used to the idea that a 20 yard shot needs 3 feet of lead. Getting better though....

[kudu]

Well Dave, back when I was single with few responsabilitys I used to shoot about 8-10 rounds of skeet a week just to stay in practice for registered skeet tournaments, thats 200-250 birds. On tournament weekends I shot 100 doubles , 100 12 ga, 100 20 ga, 100 28 ga, and 100 .410 plus any shootoffs to see who got to take the money home. Plus played around with trap and sporting clays. Usually I broke even with my winnings but alas, now I'm married with children.... Now when I get grumpy being around the house too long she says; Why don't you go shoo.... by that time I'm half way out the door with my guns and equipment.;)
Best I ever did in a long run was 199, missed my last bird, cost me $250 in my AA class and another $100 in option purses. Shot a 496 out of 500 at the state championship once though got a little plaque for high allaround gun
Oh well enough reminicing, No excuse for missing those two birds, sigh...

[HSMITH]

kudu, I don't shoot as much as I used to or as much as I would like to, who am I kidding I hardly shoot anymore. I would sure like to bust a 50 straight the next time out, last time out I shot a 48, 2X24 and I was a little hot but when you take a couple months off it is hard to shoot well. That was also with my, well the gun has very little to do with it so that excuse is not valid. At least the time before I shot a 49 twice and 98 for the day.......

Here in a couple weeks I am FINALLY going to take out an old flame, an 1100 that was my first shotgun, to shoot skeet with a choke tube barrel fitted with an IC tube. I have shot dozens of 24s with it but never cleaned them, but I don't feel all that bad about the record as it is a fixed full choke as it sits. I really like this shotgun and have shot great with it from the beginning, it will be nice to shoot it with a pattern suited to the game for once. The old girl may even make it out for a duck hunt this year if she is good on the skeet field........

[Dave McCracken]

Copy on that, Kudu. When we found out Son was on the way, I was 40 and hadn't expected another child. Recognizing the situation, I sold my pre 64 Model 70 in 30-06, john boat, canoe, bows, muzzleloaders and a couple handguns, Hunted close to home for 6 years and took care of the family. Son entered K-school the day before I bought a ML and bow.

H, having tried skeet with a Full Choke, YOU da man!...

[HSMITH]

LOL, no Dave I am not even "second assistant to the man" but I do know where he lives :D :D

You will find with skeet as you progress that you can "groove" it, and pound the targets with just about any gun you pick up. A 12 and a full choke is no more difficult than a 410 IMO.......

[Dave McCracken]

Agreed. Center of pattern hits, no matter what choke. I need to do that grooving in. Best thing for me would be to hit the range when it's deserted, and burn up a few boxes on 3, 4 and 5. 1 and 7 are no prob, and 8's getting there. Those middle posts are tough for me, but that's just because I haven't learned to hit them yet.

[HSMITH]

Agreed, shooting the hard ones for YOU is what makes scores come up quickly, otherwise you have to shoot round after round after round to get the same benefit........

Dang, now that I read what I type I am not sure what method to endorse, after all shooting round after round after round is pretty dang fun:D

Get out there in front of 'em and stay there Dave, sustained lead is the key in the middle of the field IMO. Low gun too, Move Mount Shoot until you get the targets ironed out. A mounted gun is harder to get moving and stay in front of the target. Station 4 requires 3 feet of lead to solidly whack. Cut that to 18-20 inches for the incomer and bump it to 3 and a half feet for outbound target at stations 3 and 5. Much like throwing a punch, hitting a baseball or a golf swing foot work is key to smooth quick movement, and keeping your belt buckle pointed at the center of the field when you step on station at 2 through 6 makes sure your range of motion will not be impeded. Skeet is a great game, and is the best place possible to practice the fundamentals of solid shotgunning IMO. Every other part of your shotgun game improves with skeet.

[Kingcreek]

I've had a great time shooting skeet the past 2 years. Only manage 2x/month tho.
My scores went up when I started shooting with unmounted gun and staying more on the balls of my feet- feels more "fluid" or flexible and allows me to shoot more instinctively (or atleast fool myself into thinking I do).
Been reading Jerry Meyers book on Clay Target Shooting and picking up some good tips.

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks, guys,I'll work on it. I have the Meyers' book and regard it highly.

Agreed on foot placement. Also agreed that skeet's a great way to get better over all. I'll have to skip this week's session with the guys on Thursday due to company coming, but I will get out there sometimes after work and get in some practice.

[sm]

.

[kudu]

Dave if you can get someone to stand behind you on the middle stations that can see where you are shooting it can be a tremendous help. They have to have good eyes and be able to see the shot pattern.
I can see shot patterns behind shooters, but there is only a handful of other shooters at my club that can see them also.

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks again. The guys include a couple that can see the shot and tell me just how much I missed it by. It's a work in progress, and I expect it'll improve within a few hundred rounds.

[mikey357]

...in my somewhat subjective opinion--how's THAT for a disclaimer???--the absolute BEST published material on how to shoot Skeet is the lil' paperback book by the old Remington Pro shooter, D. Lee Braun...I THINK it is now out of print, which is a shame, 'cause if you account for the fact that, being an "Old Timer", Braun shot all his Skeet targets from a "Low Gun" start, his foot positions, hold points and lead pictures look like what about 80-90% of the really good AA and AAA shooters of today use and do...look for it, it will NOT disappoint....mikey357

[mikey357]

ADDENDUM to previous post...much of D. Lee Braun's excellent instruction has been included on Remington's internet site...go to "Remington.com", or whatever it is, choose the "Site Map", and select "Shooting Sports" from the "Targets" section...when THAT page comes up, scroll down to the bottom and select "Skeet Shooting Fundamentals"...the "Skeet Station" helpful hints look like they came straight outa' Braun's book...TOO COOL!!!....mikey357

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks! That's what I love about this BB, lots of helpful and knowledgeable folks...

[sm]

Well I'm the relic or rebel ... probably-as usual both.

I learned swing through (pass thru) without a bead.
I can shoot other methods, just found that for me when the wind is howling, the rain is falling I can match the speed and path of bird get my lead and fell/break the bird.

Some rhythm methodical sustain boys get fits when the bird ain't where its supposed to be.

I swing so fast I really don't see a lead...maybe and inch of daylight. IF YOu stand behind me you will. Doesn't matter if premount or low gun I break before stake, 'cept incomers...they are on my side of the fence. I have to be careful to let the bird get out...I'll shoot before pattern can really be effective.

On sporting clays I do the same...maybe technically I use pull through on some shots...like when the first sight is between trees and you have to shot between the next little break of trees...I think some of have been doing this for awhile and finally a name attached.

Oh I was forced to learn with mod and full bores without beads for a bit.
I can usually see the shot, especially when barometric pressure is right.

Have shot with some fellows that travel around, all in all shooters a good bunch. Just being a relic I still like Brister and Misseldine...Fred gives description of each pad , each shot , foot, head, hold points and leads.

At 48 have nothing against the new ways, just set in mine and they work. Not broke -don't fix . A place exits for new software and new hardware, trouble is folks get confused trying everything coming down the pike. Then they look at the old timer and wonder when had time to go to night school. Shoot one gun and know it...applies to a lot of life stuff, software, hardware...etc. I also like 1911' s and K frame wheel guns with no bells and whistles...probably end up in museum some day...just toss ammo and $ okay :)

DISCLAIMER:
To Cheat, on your short shot bottle one "puff" of graphite, two"puffs" on the tall ones, bump it around to mix it up, sticks to the shot kinda sorta so shooter can better see his shot.

[ysr_racer]

Here are some good Skeet websites:

http://www.vaskeet.com/skeet101.htm

http://www.remington.com/whatsnew/skeet/skeet.htm


re1973, you made 2 mentions of not having beads. If you're looking at the beads, you're not looking at the target. When you drive your car, do you look at the hood or at the road in front of you?

Remember, it's a shotgun, not a rifle.

[kudu]

Got a couple hours free this afternoon, gonna take my .410 1100 out for a couple of rounds to see how much it will humble me.

[kudu]

Made it back. Shot first two rounds, broke 22 both times, station 5 was giving me fits. Rested a little bit and decided to shoot a line of trap. Got out the 11-87 and shot with two other people, missed the first bird, ran the next 24. Have not shot trap for six months, but it was only 16 yd line.
After that I decided to try another .410 round of skeet. Got my head on straight and smoked 25 straight.:D
Meanwhile a guy I new had a shotgun for sale, among other guns, an 870 wingmaster 20 ga with chokes, only about 5 years old. Had about 12 shells through it for rabbit hunting. $300:D It's now sitting in the safe.:D

[sm]

ysr_[
re1973, you made 2 mentions of not having beads....
Yep, I've mentioned that , may do so again. For clarification I was taught to shoot- shotgun, handgun, rifle-- without any sights or bead.
I still practice that way too...
Driving... he he he, you really don't want to know about cobalt blue and moonless nights and no headlights do ya...

[kudu]

Here's my new baby. :D

[Dave McCracken]

Kudu, nice toy. Pop in that skeet or IC tube and go bust some clays. With just 12 shells through it, it demands exercise(G)....