Forgive me Father, for I have sinned...

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TrapperReady

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As many of you may know, I don't shoot skeet often. I've probably shot a dozen or so "real" rounds of skeet in my life. However, I'm a decent enough shot... in sporting clays I'll shoot in the mid-80s on many tournament courses and well into the 90s on a lot of "regular" courses. At trap currently (after a long layoff), I'm shooting right at a 24.00 average. But, like I said, I don't shoot skeet.

I routinely run straights at trap.

I've run 50 straight at sporting clays on several occasions.

However, I've never "run 'em" at skeet. Not even close... I'm usually around 22 or 23.

Last week, I had the opportunity to shoot a couple rounds. The first one, I still had my FULL chokes in (the ones I use when practicing sporting clays), so I swapped them out for SKEET tubes on the second round.

I shot a 24. :)

My miss (and here's the hard part)... was Low-7. As a single. :cuss:

Mrs. Trapper was pulling the targets for me and keeping score. She went easy on me...

I could just barely discern her chuckles through my hearing protection and over the roar of the gunfire as I broke the doubles at 7 and both targets at 8.

Just as I'm sure I'll hear Steve's in a moment. ;) :D
 
27 /25

:D

My review shows Mrs. Trapper pulled the target incorrectly, she used the side of her thumb, instead of a using the whorls.

work with me here, let the wife figure this out

Upon further review you shot a 27/25. Not your fault she pulled wrong, and the target not where it was supposed to be...'Puller Penalty" of 1 bird, means...square root of model 12, carry the one... 27/25 :D

BozemanMT - You paying attention ?



Steve
 
:D

Steve - Thanks for the support! I was trying to come up with something about a shard of a target coming off the nicely shattered High-7 lodging in my eye... but I bravely soldiered on and still shot 96%.

But, if I can blame it on someone else... that's even better.

Maybe I need a gun just for skeet. Yeah, it's not ME that swung 3' too high and 1' right... it's the gun. If I had a different gun, I wouldn't have been looking at the high house and wondering what type of thrower was inside as I called "Pull!" Yeah, I'm sure a gun would fix that for me. Ya' think? :scrutiny: :rolleyes: :D
 
New gun?

Hang on...

Checks THR Archives

Yep new gun is what you do now-a-days.

I found the posting where one is supposed to buy skill and targets.

Personally I am just too old and set in my ways to change from the old school that says one has to earn shooting skills.

Whorls...trust me on this. :)
 
27/25? Must be that New Math the kids tell me about....

Congrats and Mazeltov.

If you don't mind, what was your score on the first round with Full Chokes?
 
Dave,

That ain't new arith-me-tick.

We just do stuff different in the South is all. :) :p

Some old boys get plumb dissapointed when they head out for "Trap"
Ain't no vittles in them traps, 'nuttin' for momma to cook up , nuttin' for catfish bait, I thought you said we gonna check out "traps".

Granted same good old boys just shoot the durn gun and baffle folks with scores with some old relic shotgun, muddy Red Wings and Tuff Nuts. :D
 
You missed low 7? I got that one and then missed low 8! More frustrating was missing high 1 and then running the rest. Probably because I got the pressure out of the way first thing. Still haven't shot the magic 25 at skeet and feel like I'm running out of time.
I always like the idea of a new/another shotgun regardless of the so-called reason for it.:D What I need is more excuses that my wife will go along with. Being retired and on a fixed income makes it harder to hide extra expenditures. Maybe a part-time job is in order at a sporting goods store so I get the employee discount.
 
Dave - I shot a 22 on the first round. I swung too far in front of the High-4 and missed both at 8. Frankly, the only reason I wanted the more open chokes was because of 8.
 
Score better at Skeet
Score Better At Trap - Fred Misseldine

Another set of books I recommend.

Misseldine not only shares how to hit the stations - also he shares why one misses the stations.

Though an older book such as Brister's , still chocked full of (again) questions most often asked of folks , including Gun forums.

Folks miss Station 7 because:

-Take station 7 for granted, especially if have run straight so far.
-They shoot too quick and the pattern is not opened up. If ...if one is "taking it for granted" (just poking the bbl out there) , and shoot too quick - easy to miss.
-NOT focused . Instead of "one bird at a time" they are "projecting" getting H8 and the pair on L8.

High 1 is often missed:

-Nervous and butterflies
-Foot position
-Safety left on [ includes the H1 pair on H1 with shotguns with auto safeties.They have hit H1 and H2, open gun, reload, safety resets, and miss]
-Hold Position
-Not ready for the bird.
-Bird gets below muzzle

~~ Never let the bird get below muzzle and you will NEVER miss by shooting over the bird.

-Instead of shooting when the bird is "=" above muzzle they either ride the bird too long and the bird is know falling below the muzzle , hold point too high to begin with , or the bird "beats" them and now they have find the bird.

~~ One cannot shoot what they cannot see.
 
For New Shooters

These old school books about shooting and sharing about clays DO apply to defensive shotgun use.

You may have to use your HD gun to put down a Rabid dog that is putting your child in immediate danger.

Trapper is an accomplished shooter, as are many and he missed Low 7.

Why is this important to you? Why should you care about a "clay game"?

We keep harping about Gun Fit and Correct Basic Fundamentals - Trapper's gun fits him, he has hundreds of thousands of shells fired in his lifetime.

A skeet station is 21 yards to the center stake, this is where all birds are regulated to fly over - at a certain height.

A load of 12 ga target loads have at least - for this post - Avg ~ 400 pellets.

Clay target is ~ 4"

Trapper missed at a distance of ~ 7 yds. I betcha he shot fast and slapped trigger at 7, no more than 10 yds.

Skeet chokes have very little choke, some skeet shooter do not use but 1 point of constriction.

That is about as close to Open Cyl as one can get.

Now these buckshot loads run anywhere from 9 pellets to more.

Yes you can "miss with all them pellets" - If Trapper missed with 400 pellets at 7 yards - what makes folks think they Cannot with 9 or more?


Apologies to Trapper - still the Lessons of all we harp about - even "them danged old clay shooting fuddy-duddy's" - Come into play with Serious Shotgun use.

Another reason to NOT look down on a Lady with a 1100 20 ga with a Fixed Skeet 26" bbl...and that is her and her husband's HD gun.

She may have a LOT more trigger time, better gun fit, and better instilled correct basic fundamentals than you do.


Steve
 
Ah the memories.....

A few years ago I was asked to shoot at an invitation-only mixed clays competition (skeet, doubles skeet, trap, doubles trap, two rounds of sporting clays and a high tower). The group takes over an entire club for three days and the competition while good natured but still pretty intense.

It was evident on the first day that I was out of my league and would have to bring my game up a notch or two to avoid being low gun. The second day of the shoot the weather turned cold, windy and rainy and I was scheduled to shoot skeet.

The conditions were brutal and the birds were dancing all over the place. But I like shooting in bad weather, bore down and ran the first 25 and made it past my personal nemisis (High 5) on the second round and felt I was home free. And then, you guessed it, missed Low 7.:eek: My response was to burst out laughing and then crushed the option bird. I finshed 49/50 which was good enough for second place at skeet. Overall, I shot well enough to end up in the middle of the pack.

I've seen enough shooters miss Low 7 to understand how it happens. Most often shooters call for the bird before their gun is still or they lift their head and shoot over the bird. They are taking it for granted and if there is one thing I've learned shooting clays is that the easier a target looks, the more determined it is to make a fool out of you.;)

Paul
 
low 7????????????
man, that sucks bad to miss low 7
esp as your only miss.

Me, i get about halfway thru and then choke about 4 or 5
too much pressure I suppose.
I have a couple 24's at both skeet and trap, no 25's
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I agree with steve, bad pull, take it again. :)
or maybe, cuz it's so easy just make it a mulligan and it's an automatic. :D
 
PJR

H 5 .

Yeah, I know about that one. I decided to start letting L5 drive me nuts thus allowing me to hit H5 :p

I don't recommend this approach, it does work though. :D

I too am one that "actually" prefers to shoot when the field is "disrupted" - such as rain, wind,...sleet, snow..

New shooters will miss Low 7 and nail Low 6. This baffles them - the reason most often is Low 6 does not give one the time to think, this is not an "easy" target so they "don't think" and just shoot the darn gun. They are swinging so fast , they don't stop the gun.

Low 7.

Now something we do on fun shoots is to use different color clays. Some are NO SHOOT, say for instance a white clay comes out. A green one might mean a prize. Different colors mean different prizes...spray paint works.

A lot of us DO NOT want to be "progammed shooters". WE have all seen these and not just in shotgun sports.

We change the trap machines to NOT throw regulation targets - replicates bird hunting - and say windy days when the clays fly "out of regulation".

These little tricks and tidbits do assist in making the Mental Game Stronger.

You know how frustrating to have a bunch of broken targets get thrown - even if you are not the shooter, and just part of a squad watching. Bad lot of clays , or machine goofing up...one's focus and mental game gets affected.


Fellow was getting back into the game after surgery, Low 7 he kept shooting too fast. So I tossed in White Clays - as NO Shoot during a practice. He was goofing up on H1 H3 as well.

He had to focus one bird at a time - because he never knew if the NO Shoot was coming out.

During a fun shoot he got me...good ribbing fun. I had driven him crazy - when I pulled Crazy Quail...paybacks are...

I am on Low 8, I am straight, I should have suspected the machine needing to be filled.
This was a fun event, for kids, all monies for kids and prizes for kids. Like the Purple Target was shotgun...and someone got that target pulled and hit it, and a kid won a shotgun.

He pulled Eight [8] mind you White NO shoot targets. :D

"Stop it, I want Steve to win for me so stop it" - My 9 year old little lady informs this puller buddy of mine...the one grinning like crazy.

I mean one hand on hip and pointing that finger at him with the other.

We are all cracking up.

Then my "little gal" cracked up too.

"What are you doing now Steve?" - My little gal, funny look on her face, on finger on her cheek.

I have moved toward station 4, gun unloaded, muzzle downrange, and sitting on the ground, I lit up a cigarette. :)

Lisa , my "little gal" comes over and "what are you doing?"

"Called a "Sit In" darling, when they get it all figured out, I will shoot.

Lisa goes and grabs her mom's hand, and gets a few other kids " come on, we are going to "sit iin".

I got a Lisa, her mom and 4 kids "sitting in" with me.

Puller buddy has cracked up so , he drops the pull cord, and almost trips over it.

The Two folks on my squad are totally losing it, the crowd is shouting "We want real targets..." and ...I guess you had to be there, still total hilarious Chaos.

"We are ready now".
'I'm not, not finished my cigarette and need a few more sips of this coke, not finished my date you see?"
Lisa brought over a Coke and put two straws in it we were sharing. :D

I get two blue targets on Low 8.

Lisa went nuts! Then asked "Okay what did I just win?" :p

Two bricks of .22 ammo.

As I have stated before , not real sure when the last time I shot a "normal" round of skeet or anything else.

One of the hardest fun shoots was shooting Low 7 only with a .410 single shot. All safety rules followed, still we had to shoot from beside and back a bit from Low house. Then shoot from a scaffold about 4' above ground just a wee bit left of station 7.

My kid that day was a 4 year old boy of a battered mom, and the kid had a broken arm, as a result of some battering that had occurred.

The Prize was a puppy, and this kid had gotten real attached to a certain puppy.
Talk about wanting, soulful eyes...not just the kid's the puppy's, the mom's...

Just 20 rounds, still some of the most challenging 20 rds I have fired at Low 7.

He got his puppy! I am pretty sure the next county knew he got that puppy! :D
 
Com-pla-cent: Contented to a fault; self-satisfied and unconcerned

That fits, although I find it a fine line between complacency and confidence. When I'm shooting well, the targets seem large and slow -- my swing smooth and precise. Mentally, I'm alert and have the knowledge that I can and will break the targets about to be thrown. However, once in a while I'll lapse a bit and then an "X" will turn into an "O".

Very often, it happens on dead-easy shots. Back when I was shooting a fair amount of trap, my nemesis was a straight-away from station #3. Earlier this year, I was shooting a sporting clays event and found myself crushing a long tricky chondelle on one station, but flubbing the simple trap-style shot on report.

What I think happens is that I take the easy shot for granted and don't have the same level of concentration I do on the tougher ones. My swing breaks down a bit and I pull the trigger when I'm not quite where I need to be. It doesn't happen often, but blowing the simple shots even once in a while won't help me get to Master.
 
armedandsafe,

Go for it! It really is a great game and applicable to bird hunting.

Not to mention Skeet Folks Can Do It 25 Times In A Row - In 8 Different Postions.
Old Bumper sticker/ T shirts and such we had

Trap folks can only do 5 postions. :neener:

I highly recommend a 28 ga for this new experience/ exposure to a new discipline. This will allow you to focus on correct fundamentals, break targets with authority, and not have to worry about recoil. :D


Yeah.I are good ain't I ?

Excuse me, I have to ship off some Ice Water I sold to some Esimos. :)

Steve


Would someone Pick Larry Ashcraft off the floor?
Oh my, better check on his wife Sandy...she is on the floor laughing herself silly too.

Oh great - now a PM from this Moderator Larry Ashcraft, I wonder what he wants...probably another 28 ga... :p
 
Thread Drift

There has GOT to be a way I can make money driving folks nuts...I mean suggesting 28 ga guns and some of the "Instructions" I share.

Have I mentioned I have put myself up for adoption ?

Please send photo of range, fishing, hunting, any dogs, and ...you get the idea.

Sandy would adopt me - only a few conditions:

1. Stay out of her kitchen
2. Stay away from her 28 ga guns
3. Don't bother Larry when he is reloading 28 ga shells for her.

Larry is not sure - if he could convince me to do the vacuuming...I got a chance here folks...

Larry also wants me to shovel the horse barn...Anybody know if they make Shop Vacs that poweful? :)
 
Earlier this year, I was shooting a sporting clays event and found myself crushing a long tricky chondelle on one station, but flubbing the simple trap-style shot on report.
Click to expand...

I've found this is a common problem, but not for the reason you think.
At the SC club we go to, the guy is known for setting a hard challenging course and setting optical illusion shots.
My bet is that it wasn't really a straight away, it just looked like it. So it looked easy, but it really wasn't.

Or, as you said you just weren't paying attention. :p
 
BozemanMT - Trust me. It wasn't an optical illusion. It was a very straightforward trap-like shot. Basically like standing around the 27 yard line and shooting the left quartering shot from station #2... but standing just a bit above it.

I was shooting the chondelle and then just pointing my gun "over there" near the flight path and moving the gun to the bird and through. I got lazy about picking a specific hold point and then didn't follow the flight path very precisely. I'm pretty sure that I was holding too low, letting the bird beat me and then coming up to it too fast and shooting over the top.
 
Stay away from her 28 ga guns
Click to expand...
No, she's generous. She'll let you shoot the 870 while she's shooting her SXS, as long as I'm keeping the ammo supply going. :D

Seriously, I haven't shot any skeet in years, and not much when I did it. Now you guys have me thinking about taking those little 28s out one weekend.
 
TR, by my lights a 22/25 at skeet with Full Chokes earns bragging rights. My guess, the most open the pattern will be striking the target may be around 10".

If you run them with Full, You Da Man!!

Skeet's fun, I confess my scores reek but that's partly due to not shooting it much. I imagine that will change over time.
 
My guess, the most open the pattern will be striking the target may be around 10".
Click to expand...

They do break nicely, though. :D

The targets were mostly smoked, although I was almost too far in front of High-3. I got a single big chip off the front, which is probably kind of tough to do with that kind of pattern density.

BTW, the shells were Fiocchi Multisports (1 oz of #7.5 at 1200 fps), which is my standard practice load.
 
BTW, the shells were Fiocchi Multisports (1 oz of #7.5 at 1200 fps), which is my standard practice load.
Click to expand...

7.5's? at skeet.:eek:
Shoot, try #9's
Much more fun, complete dust, even with the correct wide open choke.
 
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