Shootin' clay....

stovepipe · Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 9:26 am Post subject: Shootin' clay....

Did some trap yesterday, and man, was it FUN! Very Happy

It also exposed some flaws in my technique. Publicly. And that was a little humbling for my first time on a propper clays range.
First round I got a 10, second round I got a 14 from 16y. Embarassed

Yeesh. I was too pooped and sore for a third round.

I went with a mate and was loaned a Beretta OU sporting gun w/ M/IC chokes. That's the second expensive Beretta double shooter I've been loaned in two weeks from two different people!
My new 20ga pumper is still in 'state quarantine' till Friday so..... bloddy commies. Mad

I noticed I was behind and under on most of my misses. Pretty common from what I hear. My swing was choppy too, speed up, slow down aaand- miss. I did get some applause from a runner that was waaay out there I nailed and a super quick low/right scooter from #4 position. Man it felt gooooood when my swing was crisp and I slapped the trigger on the fly and would nail one. What a rush!

These 12ga euro-guns are pretty brutal with their hard pads and I'm done taking a beating from them. I'm looking forward to getting my 20ga pump out there w/ a nice pad and learning more about this with a lot less pain (my shoulder has been trashed too many times from moto and getting run over).

I was wondering how I managed to get my limit w/ one box two weeks ago and my mate told me this is a whole different ball of wax. He was killing it, got a 24 (missed his last one and it went quiet for a second... Shocked

), and he nails these things 10' outta the house.
I like the one-shot aspect though as that will sharpen my skills for same in the feild.

The range is 15 mins/ from me, the only one around here and it's been there for a loooong time. But I just noticed it for the first time last week when drving by and heard the shots. Where the heck have I been?
It's a great place with lots of old-school shooters and I plan on hanging out there as much as possible. What a treat and, an island of normalcy in a sea of liberidoits. Everyone was was very kind and helpful. The scorer would even call my misses and help me dial it in. Very disciplined but, not stuffy. No idiots. It was also a great place to check out some very nice custom firearms.

Needless to say I'm hooked and will be going back for more every chance I get. What a challenging and wonderful shooting sport and I can't wait to find out more about this. I've shot clays in the field from a flinger tuning up before a shoot and what not, but this is something else.
It was a little competetive yet social and supportive and, I enjoyed it very much.

Shoot safe, have fun and don't forget to tip your scorer!

-k.

stovepipe · Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:29 pm Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

I'm also wide open fer some tips.... sight pic, stance etc....
Did some scrounging online for tips but... pickin's is a little slim.
I've got the rules and etiquette down at least.

So far I've gathered ... propper mount, swing the body not the arms, lead some on the crossing, follow through.

Anyone else find this activity a little addicting? If ya got some tips for a new Trap shooter, GIVE! Very Happy

I'm really lookin' forward to my next outing with my new wingshooter. Razz

A 200$ Pardner 20ga pump...with a nice squishy butt-pad. I'm a pork-n-beans shooter in an exotic O/U world with pretty mushy shoulder. Embarassed

shrpshtrjoe · Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:50 pm Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

I use to shoot a little at a local club. It's alot of fun. I use my Rem 1100 Very Happy

. I'll tell ya though the more thought I put into it as far as stance, sight pic etc.. the worse I shoot Laughing

. If I just clear my head swing and shoot I do much better.

Joe

chambered221 · Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 6:49 pm Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

I use to shoot a lot of skeet!!! Shot sporting clays off and on and tried the trap thing but could never seem to find a gun that worked for me!!!
I shot a lot of 98’s and 99’s in skeet but never did manage a hundred straight. Mad

Shooting trap with a field gun will more than likely cause your misses to be low and behind, a swing through method might work better. Remember in trap the bird should be rising.........that’s why trap guns typically shoot high in their set up.

Most guys that have a choppy swing, stop and start, and vary the speed of their swing are usually looking back at the rib and bead!!! Don’t do that.............you’ll miss!!! Shocked

Best advice I can give you, learn to get a hard focus on the bird and forget about the rib/beads. Shotguns are point shooters not aimers.
When mounting the gun I’ll check my alignment with the rib and beads, go to my hold point, then my eyes shift to the pickup point never looking back, only out where the bird is going to be.

stovepipe · Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 7:23 am Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

Last night I was reall thinking hard about what I was doing and I think I was varying the speed of the swing due to playing catch-up then passing it up and slamming on the brakes.
Good advice on the mount and hold. I think I have some work to do. There's a little light bulb starting to come on now.

I aint looking to get get competetive and can't afford a 'real gun' so I'll have to make do with this one, plus it'll be the one I'll use for birds so, more I shoot it the better.
Maybe I'll improve my shooting and learn something new as I'm always interested in learning new things related to shooting but, it's really hard here in SoCal as it is not a gun freindly place. Someting tells me there's quite a few technique's and lots of mechanics to try or get ingrained. That makes it fun for me to try and figure it out once I get some basic technique & tips. Practice Practice Pactice and stick with what works.

I'm pretty excited about going back, it's a really neat little venue and a wonderful little place to shoot plus, it's really close by! I have a feeling this will keep me sane between feild outings. Very Happy

Thanks guys.

-k.

chambered221 · Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:52 pm Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

Anytime you find yourself behind and playing catch-up it’s best to revert to the swing though method instead of trying to get in front of it and adjust your lead!!!
(you’ll have a better chance at breaking it)
The majority of the time the clay games are shot with a sustained lead. But you also need to understand swing through and pull away!!!

Trap guns add another dimension because they are usually set up to shoot high and you actually track the straight away birds instead of being in front of them. On the corners mainly hard left and rights, you still need to be out in front of them while tracking the rise of the bird.

You may find it a bit overwhelming using a standard field gun on the trap field. Don’t get discouraged!!!
More than likely you’ll need to black the bird out with the barrel in order to break it. By doing this you’ll be unable to see any sudden or unexpected changes in the flight path.

Once again, hard focus on the bird.............everything else should be a blur in the peripheral vision!!!

stovepipe · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:44 am Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

Good advice 221, thanks bud.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend with a new gun and new mindset. The whole deal is really neat and it'll keep the rust off me w/ and field gun.

But, as luck has it, I'll prolly get really hooked and getta singles trap gun someday...grrrreat, another gun. Meh, they're sexy and I'm a quick learner so... look out savings here I come!

chambered221 · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:57 am Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

Here.....do a little window shopping!!! Very Happy

www.krieghoff.com/

stovepipe · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:20 am Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

My wallet just had a cardiac arrest.

Mad

I was thinking more along the lines of a NEF Topper due to my limited budget. Embarassed

God those K's are gorgeous.

chambered221 · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:39 am Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

Yes they are!!!

Seriously though, before you buy a dedicated trap gun look around for a used Browning BT99 made in the early 70's!!!
Sometimes they pop up in near new condition.

stovepipe · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:41 am Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

Yipper, thanks.

One can't have too many guns, can one?

Vince · Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:21 pm Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

Ah Stoves....you have discovered the pleasure of blasting Clays....and how addictive it becomes.

Well done and said Chambered...excellent advice and commentary.

I used to shoot Clays (Down The Line, Skeet, Sporting Clays) with my field grade Fausti Stephano 12g O/U. I believe that it has helped me no end in the field, and it is also very satisfying to watch a clay explode into a cloud of dust.

A mate got me into shooting Clays and got me into shooting "chips" with the second barrel if I didn't "dust" the Clay with the first...again, it has helped me tremendously in the field. Shooting the "chips" with the second barrel is a damn lot of fun, but very difficult cause you never know where the blazes they are gonna go. Great training for birds in the field.

I'll never be an Olympic Clay shooter, but who cares...I have a massive amount of fun and have shot up to 600 28gram #71/2 shot rounds in one day from my 12g shottie.

The Beretta is a beautiful shotgun, but you don't need to go that expensive when you start out. Have a look at a Miroku:

Miroku Shotguns

And, if things get a bit tough on the old shoulder get some 20g inserts for the 12g barrels. Cheaper to shoot, easier on the shoulder, but most importantly you will be using the same gun you will be using in the field so the "mount" and "point" will be the same for both.

Good luck mate.

Cheers, Vince

chambered221 · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 4:52 am Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

Down the line ??? Never heard of that one!!!

Shooting chips is looked down upon most places I’ve shot clays. No No!

I’ve looked at it as getting your monies worth but they don’t seem to buy that argument!!!

stovepipe · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 5:46 am Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

Vince wrote:

Ah Stoves....you have discovered the pleasure of blasting Clays....and how addictive it becomes.

A mate got me into shooting Clays and got me into shooting "chips" with the second barrel if I didn't "dust" the Clay with the first...again, it has helped me tremendously in the field. Shooting the "chips" with the second barrel is a damn lot of fun, but very difficult cause you never know where the blazes they are gonna go. Great training for birds in the field.

Bingo.

I was doing that this weekend as well, a mate just showed me that trick, we had the ranger to ourselves and the RSO said ok...my doubles were kinda low as I was using my pump (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it Laughing

).

Good to have you back, mate. Cool

-k

Vince · Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 12:38 am Post subject: Re: Shootin' clay....

chambered221 wrote:

Down the line ??? Never heard of that one!!!

Shooting chips is looked down upon most places I’ve shot clays. No No!

I’ve looked at it as getting your monies worth but they don’t seem to buy that argument!!!

I no longer shoot Clays seriously, ie competition...I shoot for the simple enjoyment. Where I shoot, taking the chips is not a problem.

Below is a description of Down The Line:

Double Barrel

This is the most common basic form of DTL shooting. A squad of 5 shooters stand 15 metres behind the trap house with unloaded guns. The referee will announce the event is ready to start. No. 1 shooter will load two cartridges into his gun, place his gun to his shoulder and call "Pull". The referee will release a target from the trap, the competitor will fire at the target. If he breaks it with his first shot, the referee will call "one", if he misses with the first shot he may fire a second shot at the target. If he breaks it with his second shot the referee will call "one". Regardless of which shot breaks the target, the score is the same, if the target is missed the referee will call "lost" and the score of zero is recorded. Immediately the competitor has shot, he unloads his gun then No. 2 shooter will repeat the procedure and so on. After No. 2 shooter has shot, No. 1 shooter moves across to No. 2 position i.e. each competitor moves one position right after each shot. The club nominates the number of targets to be shot for each event.

Cheers, Vince