skeet shooting from the hip? need advice

[gunsmith]

My friend doen't like shooting in the traditional way, she likes to shoot from the hip. She wants to go to the skeet range and shoot that way, I told her they probably wouldn't let her and I've never seen it done that way, but I've only shot clay and skeet a few times and never at a public range.

Do any of you shoot that way? is it ok at your range?
I told her why not just do it out in the woods with an automatic
skeet thrower (what are they called?) but she wants to go to the range...her local range is the lake merced rod and gun in san francisco and they allready told her no, but san francisco isn't known for letting people have fun with shotguns...thanks a bunch!

 

[PJR]

Do any of you shoot that way? is it ok at your range?

No and no.

 

[Khornet]

This month's Rifleman

No and no.

has an article about a champion shooter who does just that.

 

[kudu]

I do just about as well from the hip, or just above the hip as the case may be, on a regulation skeet field. There is no safety hazard doing it this way, it's just like starting out in a FITASC set up with gun lowered, or as a drop gun bird hunting stance, gun at the ready for a flying target.

The secret is knowing how to do it right from the shoulder first. After the first couple hundred thousand rounds of regular skeet I attempted to do it from the hip after watching another real good shooter do it. I found that I was decent at it and broke a 15 or 16 on my first attemp. I have never ran an entire standard round but have had dozens of 24's, with all gauges and guns.

I have found that the gun must be parrallel with the shooting arm and the supporting hand on the forestock has the index finger pointing at the flight path of the target. If you don't have good skeet form down before hand, it will not do you any good. You must pivot at your knees and hips for leading targets, just like standard skeet, and not move your upper body at all. This keeps the guns plane and angle in the same position at all times. On a good day I can see my shot pattern shadow in front, above and below targets if I am missing and can correct my angle just a bit. With no recoil back toward your head, it is possible to see shot shadows in a clear sky.

I will say this, if you have good hand eye coodination you should be able to do this, starting at station 7 low is the best place to get a feel for it.

 

[Oldnamvet]

We have one member of our club who suffered a severe shoulder injury. He can no longer shoulder a shotgun as he used to. He uses a special sling to hold it high under his arm and does fairly well. Not his first choice of techiques but the only other option he has is to quit shooting - not going to happen.

 

[ezypikns]

You are kidding......

right?

 

[Kwt]

I was shooting skeet one day at the local state park range. One of the workers, who was a range officer, asked if he could shoot a round with my shotgun. He shot the whole round from his hip. He did very well.

 

[Whole Hog]

I shoot sporting clays occasionally with a man who uses it as a break from serious skeet shooting. When he gets bored breaking targets he'll shoot from the hip, or from the shoulder with the gun upside down and he still breaks a lot of targets. I agree there's no safety hazard.

 

[belton-deer-hunter]

i ahve tried it before it is actullay pretty painful for me anyway i dont know y but the kick to the jip is worst than the shoulder