starting Skeet shooting

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danyboy

CGN Regular
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After reloading, bullet casting and target shooting, I decided to give skeet shoting a try. What a disapointment. Between 8 to 11 hits over 25 on average. Been reading that buttstock might be badly adjusted for me. I am using 7 1/2 shots in a Mossberg 395KA.
Any hint is welcome.
 
took me a half dozen rounds(25) to get the hand of it. My moss 500 was a little short on the stock and the padding wasnt very good. I made a nice padded buttplate and that gave me about 2-3 more inches. I also hold my head back farther than just a normal cheek weld. Also focus on following the trajectory of the clay out from where it started in a straight line, firing, and continuing on that line. And shoot it on the up, not the down. its tons of fun once you get the hang of it.
 
took me a half dozen rounds(25) to get the hand of it. My moss 500 was a little short on the stock and the padding wasnt very good. I made a nice padded buttplate and that gave me about 2-3 more inches. I also hold my head back farther than just a normal cheek weld. Also focus on following the trajectory of the clay out from where it started in a straight line, firing, and continuing on that line. And shoot it on the up, not the down. its tons of fun once you get the hang of it.
 
One mistake that beginners often make and I did too, was to have the shotgun shouldered first before the clay is launched. The best method is to have the gun pointed down or to the side and raise the shotgun when the clay is launched and follow it with the barrel.

I watched one guy who was brand new at shooting do this and after a few tries he was getting 5 in a row and then he managed 10 straight out of 10
 
Not sure why you would be disappointed... Taking up a new shooting sport is a challenge & lots of guys will give you hints on how to improve... Keep at it, lots of fun!

Cheers
Jay
 
Skeet is a challenge, its looking at the bird and fallowthrough and lead distance, just choke for smoke and the tighter it is the more accurate you will be
 
Tighter chokes will hinder your skeet scores. Skeet chokes, IC, IM will help as skeet targets are not that far away. Once you get the leads down for each station your score will improve. Some people just can't get their head around a 4 ft lead or more and keeping that up even after they fire the shot. Also try some #8 or #9 shot, the more pellets in the air, the better chance you have of hitting the target. It does not matter if you break a tiny chip off the bird or ink dot it, it still looks the same on the score sheet. Like a fellow skeet shooter said to be, "we are scoring them not grading them".

I remember someone asking what it took to be able to break 25 in a row in skeet. The answer was about $3000 worth of shells.
 
Danyboy, when you say "skeets" are you talking formal skeet with a high and low house or are you talking about clays shot from a thrower in a field somewhere? Irregardless, gun fit is a huge issue. When shooting a shotgun your eye is the rear sight. If your eye is not in the correct place the gun will not throw its pattern where you expect it. The other thing that will be hard to adjust to is that proper shotgunning has your dominant eye focused solely on the target and the barrel as an unfocused blur in the foreground. Switching focus from the bird to the barrel will cause you to slow your swing and shoot behind.

Search for "Chris Batha" on youtube. He has some excellent videos that may help you out.
 
After 25 years of casting & re-loading for target shooting with handguns, I too wanted to try skeets. I bought a Charles Daly Maruko O/U 12 gauge. Friend has a thrower & did this out in a field. Been out 3 times now, gets better every time. When shooting singles I hit more with 2nd shot than first. With doubles I hit more often on the 2nd skeet than 1st. One mistake I found myself making time & time again: Aiming at the base of (skeet) target, when it's going up. That comes from sheer habit after 25 years of shooting handgun targets. Started smacking lots of doubles when I concentrate on this. Anyway, have fun out there. I sure am.
 
One mistake that beginners often make and I did too, was to have the shotgun shouldered first before the clay is launched.
Click to expand...

I don't see the problem with that, most skeet shooters have the gun shouldered when the clay is launched. Only a small percentage of skeet shooters, shoot gun down.

And by the way, there are no "skeets". Skeet is the name of the game, just like hockey is the name of a game. The clay targets are not "skeets" , any more than the hard rubber discs are "hockies". If you aren't shooting on a skeet field, with a high and low house, you aren't shooting "skeet".
 
clay pigeon shooting

I guess I am using the wrong name of the game. I shouldn't say skeet but just clay pigeon shooting . We have 5 stations with one shooter each. Clay pigeon trap is ahead of us and are thrown forward either to the left of 12h00, around 12h00 or to the right of 12h00, all in an angle of about 35-40 degrees upward. We alternate shooters until we shot 5 times at our station then we move forward 1 station. Here is a layout of it:

http://s454.photobucket.com/user/da...hootinglayoutatourrange2013-10-14001.jpg.html

According to explanations from you guys here, I think my problem might be in stock adjustment and fine tuning. Broke my right collar bone years ago and it was set back, further than my left shoulder. I think I might have to lengthen my stock a little. And also, there is a rear sight on my gun and noticed most shotguns used by shooters don't have any. Only advice I got at the range was from a guy that shoots 24/25 on average and he said my Mossberg 395KA wasn't the best for it. Clay pigeon Season ends in two weeks but plan on buying a thrower and practicing in the winter. I want to learn and get better.
Thanks to all for your advice.
 
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The game you are shooting is known as "trap." Skeet is a different game with two houses, shot from 8 stations and you move in a semi-circle.
 
I guess I am using the wrong name of the game. I shouldn't say skeet but just clay pigeon shooting . We have 5 stations with one shooter each. Clay pigeon trap is ahead of us and are thrown forward either to the left of 12h00, around 12h00 or to the right of 12h00, all in an angle of about 35-40 degrees upward. We alternate shooters until we shot 5 times at our station then we move forward 1 station. Here is a layout of it:
Click to expand...

You are shooting trap, not skeet. Both involve shooting clay targets, but they are very different games.

According to explanations from you guys here, I think my problem might be in stock adjustment and fine tuning. Broke my right collar bone years ago and it was set back, further than my left shoulder. I think I might have to lengthen my stock a little. And also, there is a rear sight on my gun and noticed most shotguns used by shooters don't have any. Only advice I got at the range was from a guy that shoots 24/25 on average and he said my Mossberg 395KA wasn't the best for it.
Click to expand...

In order to shoot a shotgun well, it should fit you, and that includes drop at comb, cast, and length of pull. If you close your eyes, and shoulder the gun, when you open your eyes, you should be looking down the center of the barrel, and the barrel should appear relatively flat not angled up sharply, or down, so you can't see the front bead. As for the barrel itself, the best for wingshooting is generally a flat unobstructed rib/barrel, with no sights, other than perhaps a front and mid bead. As for improving your scores, focus on the target, and not on the bead, and keep the gun moving until after you pull the trigger. Many people either focus on the bead, or stop the gun instead of following through.
 
Corry said:
One mistake that beginners often make and I did too, was to have the shotgun shouldered first before the clay is launched. The best method is to have the gun pointed down or to the side and raise the shotgun when the clay is launched and follow it with the barrel.

I watched one guy who was brand new at shooting do this and after a few tries he was getting 5 in a row and then he managed 10 straight out of 10
Click to expand...

I have to say, except for a rare few people that shoot international trap, I've NEVER seen someone shoot trap, sheet, 5 stand or sporting clays with their gun down. ALWAYS with the gun shouldered. This includes sponsored pro and semi pro guys. A gun that fits properly for clay shooting will be slower to shoulder.

Starting out on trap, I would suggest using a mod. choke. Most guys use full. There's a trade off. With modified, you'll pick up a few extra birds if you shoot them FAST. The trick is to not let them get out too far. This will actually help you get faster, because even using full or extra full, you still want to shoot fast.

Proper setup is important as well. You'll want to have your gun raised, and aim HIGH, about a foot lower than the height that the birds will crest at when flying straight away. Imagine that there are 5 equidistant marks on the top of the trap house. You will want to line up with the mark that corresponds to the station that you're on. That way, you will always have one angle that is straight away regardless of what station you're on. You don't want to be moving up and down chasign after birds, you want to move left and right ONLY, with as little vertical movement as possible.
 
mwjones said:
I have to say, except for a rare few people that shoot international trap, I've NEVER seen someone shoot trap, sheet, 5 stand or sporting clays with their gun down. ALWAYS with the gun shouldered. This includes sponsored pro and semi pro guys. A gun that fits properly for clay shooting will be slower to shoulder.
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International Skeet and FITASC both require shooters start with the gun down. International trap does not.

Not sure who you've been watching but many shooters when shooting sporting clays do call for the bird and then mount the gun before taking the shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUukI5sU7bc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTvsyANXY1c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLT-LrT-0Fc
 
International Skeet and FITASC both require shooters start with the gun down. International trap does not.

Not sure who you've been watching but many shooters when shooting sporting clays do call for the bird and then mount the gun before taking the shot.
Click to expand...

Correct, but if the rules allow it, as they do in North American skeet, and in trap, it's certainly not a mistake to start with the gun shouldered.
 
mwjones said:
I have to say, except for a rare few people that shoot international trap, I've NEVER seen someone shoot trap, sheet, 5 stand or sporting clays with their gun down. ALWAYS with the gun shouldered. This includes sponsored pro and semi pro guys. A gun that fits properly for clay shooting will be slower to shoulder.
Click to expand...
That might be a regional thing. Where I shoot, trap is shot premounted but everything else is shot gun down. The odd guy shoots skeet with a gun up but usually only if they are disabled or a kid or something. Why would anyone shoot 5 stand or sporting clays with a premounted gun?
 
^^ American skeet and registered tournament shooting in American skeet is usually done with gun mounted.
International skeet is shot gun low.
They are 2 different games .
Before you say a mounted gun is easier, in competitive American skeet you will need to be in the 300-400 straight range to hang with the good shooters.

Both are fun, enjoy.
 
dilly said:
Why would anyone shoot 5 stand or sporting clays with a premounted gun?
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You might shoot sporting clays from a pre-mounted position depending on the presentation, eye hold, foot position and gun hold. And unless you are dismounting the gun between shots on doubles and pairs at least half of your shots will be with a pre-mounted gun.

With sporting clays there is no one answer that fits every situation. You may prefer move, mount, shoot but sustained lead, pull away, collapsing lead and swing through can have their place in the game.
 
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