WhiteKnight
Member
I went shooting today with a couple of friends and got to try out my new (thanks Art G. !) 870 Wingmaster with a 28" vent rib barrel. We headed out to Sanford, NC for a round of sporting clays at Deep River.
We absolutely had a blast!
While I can't say any of us are particularly good shooters now, we're working on it!
BA/UU/R, right?
I lead my group of three with a total of 13 clays out of 50 total shots (12 different stations in which we shot four shells each, and one station where we shot only two shells each).
My buddy carried his Benelli Nova in 12 gauge, and his younger brother brought his Benelli m1 field in 12 gauge. Interestingly enough, the shooter (though the youngest) whose gun cost more than the other two guns combined, shot a score less than half of the other two shooters.
The temperature reached the upper 80s today, and for the majority of our shooting excursion we each dripped with bodily sweat.
The 870 performed flawlessly. I have a one-track mind (much to the ladies' chagrin ) and wasn't really able to pay any attention to the 870 itself while shooting. I was too busy focusing on breaking the clays! Just the same, I didn't short-shuck it a single time, and fell madly in love with the lanky 28" barrel.
I used a Modified choke in the gun, although I originally meant to use an Improved Cylinder. Would I be correct in saying that an IC choke is the best (a good) choice for the majority of shots taken while shooting sporting clays?
Our ammo consisted of a mottled lot of STS Low Recoil #8 loads and Federal bulk pack #8s (both 2 3/4, 3 dram equiv.)
My favorite targets were probably the ultra-quick "rabbits" (I believe they are called). IMHO, there is nothing more pleasant than turning one of those puppies into mere dust at a distance of 25 or so feet.
I've been practicing mounting the gun to my shoulder and then quickly "painting" a target out of the sky at home these past couple days, and I think it really paid off. The last time I went (I've only been twice) I had a terrible rifleman's habit of simply snapping the gun quickly up to the target and aiming quickly, then firing. I'm now trying to keep the gun moving, and I broke more this time than last.
I recently found out that I am left eye dominant, but have been shooting right-handedly all of my natural life. Am I in big trouble?
I heard one can overcome natural eye dominance by simply retraining the weak eye to be the dominant one, and I feel this would be best for me instead of having to relearn all of my gun handling skills/purchase lefty equipment. Any comments?
Afterwards we checked out the Pro Shop located on the grounds, and I saw, among other expensive guns, one shotgun with a price tag of $31,500.
We regretfully didn't have the entire afternoon to spend shooting, so we ended up heading back home after only one round (50 shots) of the addictive game of SC.
My bud and I are already planning an extended range session (at least 200 12 gauge each) in the upcoming week to hopefully hone, or rather I should say "put a dull edge" on our shooting ability (inability). I've purchased one of the red plastic hand thrower traps and plan to hit Wally World during the next few days for a clay/bulk ammo raid.
I unfortunately neglected to bring my digital camera today or else this would be a full picture thread. In the future keep your eyes open for some pics!
We absolutely had a blast!
While I can't say any of us are particularly good shooters now, we're working on it!
BA/UU/R, right? I lead my group of three with a total of 13 clays out of 50 total shots (12 different stations in which we shot four shells each, and one station where we shot only two shells each).
My buddy carried his Benelli Nova in 12 gauge, and his younger brother brought his Benelli m1 field in 12 gauge. Interestingly enough, the shooter (though the youngest) whose gun cost more than the other two guns combined, shot a score less than half of the other two shooters.
The temperature reached the upper 80s today, and for the majority of our shooting excursion we each dripped with bodily sweat.
The 870 performed flawlessly. I have a one-track mind (much to the ladies' chagrin
) and wasn't really able to pay any attention to the 870 itself while shooting. I was too busy focusing on breaking the clays! Just the same, I didn't short-shuck it a single time, and fell madly in love with the lanky 28" barrel.I used a Modified choke in the gun, although I originally meant to use an Improved Cylinder. Would I be correct in saying that an IC choke is the best (a good) choice for the majority of shots taken while shooting sporting clays?
Our ammo consisted of a mottled lot of STS Low Recoil #8 loads and Federal bulk pack #8s (both 2 3/4, 3 dram equiv.)
My favorite targets were probably the ultra-quick "rabbits" (I believe they are called). IMHO, there is nothing more pleasant than turning one of those puppies into mere dust at a distance of 25 or so feet.
I've been practicing mounting the gun to my shoulder and then quickly "painting" a target out of the sky at home these past couple days, and I think it really paid off. The last time I went (I've only been twice) I had a terrible rifleman's habit of simply snapping the gun quickly up to the target and aiming quickly, then firing. I'm now trying to keep the gun moving, and I broke more this time than last.
I recently found out that I am left eye dominant, but have been shooting right-handedly all of my natural life. Am I in big trouble?
I heard one can overcome natural eye dominance by simply retraining the weak eye to be the dominant one, and I feel this would be best for me instead of having to relearn all of my gun handling skills/purchase lefty equipment. Any comments?
Afterwards we checked out the Pro Shop located on the grounds, and I saw, among other expensive guns, one shotgun with a price tag of $31,500.
We regretfully didn't have the entire afternoon to spend shooting, so we ended up heading back home after only one round (50 shots) of the addictive game of SC.
My bud and I are already planning an extended range session (at least 200 12 gauge each) in the upcoming week to hopefully hone, or rather I should say "put a dull edge" on our shooting ability (inability). I've purchased one of the red plastic hand thrower traps and plan to hit Wally World during the next few days for a clay/bulk ammo raid.
I unfortunately neglected to bring my digital camera today or else this would be a full picture thread. In the future keep your eyes open for some pics!
