What's your favorite shotgun game?

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Just shot some sporting this morning at a monthly shoot. Some stations kicked my butt, others I kicked its butt. The fun is in having something new and different at every station requiring me to determine the flight line, break point, hold point and insertion point, and then figuring out which method I need to implement MMS, swing through, pull away, sustained lead, etc........
 
I like all 3, but my favorite is skeet. I've shot it the longest and did shoot registered back in the 80's.

There's something about smoking that low house option on 8 for 25 straight that is still a thrill for me.
 
Between the need to know where the gun hits with birdshot and slugs, learning the ability to quickly execute a weakhand reload, and the generallly wonky thinking needed to run the darn thing, I'd say it's very much a love/hate relationship with the shotgun portion of 3gun competition.

Dove hunting, on the other hand, is always a relaxing affair spent in good company.
 
International Trap

I like them all but for me the most challenging is International Trap, sometimes called Bunker. 5 shooting stations, three ground level traps at each station (15 traps instead of one at regular trap) and you're allowed a second shot but that's usually a waste. Targets at 62 mph instead of 45. Took me a long time before I learned that you just shoot at the blurr. Best I ever shot was 21/25 and usually average about 15/25. Only bunker field I know of is at PG County in Maryland. There's also one at Quantico in Virginia.
I watched our Olympic team shoot at Colorado Springs once and they are incredible, usually shooting 98/100 and all using Perazzi trap guns.

International skeet is equally challenging. Faster targets, low gun, up to 3 second delay when you call for the bird. It's a lot different than "benchrest skeet" where you have the gun premounted and always know where the target is going.
 
If you'd asked me a couple weeks ago, I would have said Sporting Clays. I got out this weekend and shot some trap for the first time in years (don't ask me how many because it makes me feel old), and I had a hell of a time. So now favorite shotgun sport? Any one that has the gun thumping against the shoulder.
 
Tom Held it may just be me but international skeet seems to be much easier than int trap. to be honest ive shot it much more (becuase you can shoot it on a regular skeet field depending on the machines); but most sporting shooters or anyone that is remotely coordinated can get the gun mount down pretty easy. once that part of the game is down the actual targets are not much tougher than american skeet targets. int trap is a different story!
 
agreed

Conhunt, I agree with you on international skeet. You only have two traps to worry about instead of the 15 on international trap. The birds are slightly faster than basic skeet and the delayed pull will throw some guys off. The low gun can be more challenging on the #8 station. Tom
 
It is always funny to watch a regular skeeter get upset buy the delay in Int'l skeet or FITASC - they always want to start their move before the bird emerges or they see it.....
 
they always want to start their move before the bird emerges or they see it.....
Click to expand...

...which, BTW, is one of the things that one is coached NOT to do in American Skeet, either. It really doesn't matter if there's supposed to be a delay, or the puller is checking out some member of the opposite sex walking across the parking lot instead of paying attention, or the machine just takes a second to come around.

I'd say that, if the delay is screwing you up, you just found out something to work on. It's like loading a pistol magazine with some dummy rounds to see if you're flinching or anticipating recoil.:)
 
BTW in International Skeet, is there a rule that you MUST mount the gun before taking the shot?
 
Basically?

The toe has to be below a specific type of marker tape on your vest at the position of your elbow, or you are called for gun position.

I can't find anywhere in the rules that says you have to mount, though. I wonder if station 8 would be easier to hip-shoot, if you practice enough.
 
Trap is what I shoot the most, mainly due to geography. I probably understand it the best too. I shot skeet and 5-stand yesterday and always find those to both be a lot of fun. I'm not sure if it's just the novelty of those games, since I don't shoot them often, or if I really like them better. I'd probably say that with equal access, I'd shoot more 5-stand than anything else. I like the different presentations. Shooting sporting Clays has always been a good time for me, but long drives and a tight budget keeps that from happening more than two or three times a year. I think it's always fun to mix things up; the "fun shoot" competitions at out local club might be the most fun. When it comes right down to it they're all enjoyable, and since I have yet to perfect any one of them, I'll keep mixing them up... lots of room for improvement here.:D
 
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