Our skeet field is located close to a lagoon, so we often have gulls, ducks and geese flying over the field, as well as swallows and other birds, but it's rare for a bird to be accidentally shot. Two years ago a member was shooting on station six with a 410, and after the shot, which broke the target, a bird bounced onto the field dead. Neither the shooter, or most of the other squad members had even seen the bird until it hit the ground. Last night, I was on station eight, shooting the low target, with my 28 gauge, and the target disappeared into dust at the shot. One of the squad members said that he thought that he saw a bird fall beyond the low house at the shot, so after the last shooter was done, we walked over, and sure enough, a waxwing was laying dead on the ground. In all my years of shooting skeet, I have never had this happen before, and it seems so odd that in both cases that birds that were shot at our club, were shot with the sub gauge guns throwing the smallest amounts of shot. Have any of you other shooters had this happen while shooting skeet, trap or sporting clays?
Birds and Skeet
- Thread starter stubblejumper
- Start date
I regularly see birds flying in the vicinity of our trap, skeet and 5-stand fields and have only once seen once shot unintentionally, and that was with a 12 GA. A crow flew into the pattern of a shooter on station 4 and fell stone dead ! Most of the local bird population seem to be smart enough to stay out of range of those pellets being sent "to whom it may concern". If I see a bird flying when I'm shooting I just let the target go and call for another one (I'm not a hunter or serious competitor so a lost target doesn't bother me much). I've heard others comment that they wished a bird would come closer so they could blast it while target shooting, I've always thought they were a$$holes (and I've even told a few that, nothing against hunters who hunting, but why kill something just for the sake of killing it?)
I've seen more than a few dragonflies vaporized though, and at Stittsville some are the size of a Cessna !
The old sporting clays course used to have a boat in a pond that you stood in to shoot teal. One day the guy in the boat fired both barrels of his O/U into the water and proudly announced he had just shot a turtle. There wasn't a single person on the squad that would finish the round with him.
I've seen more than a few dragonflies vaporized though, and at Stittsville some are the size of a Cessna !
The old sporting clays course used to have a boat in a pond that you stood in to shoot teal. One day the guy in the boat fired both barrels of his O/U into the water and proudly announced he had just shot a turtle. There wasn't a single person on the squad that would finish the round with him.
beretta boy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Orillia, Ontario
I wouldn't go anywhere near a SC Station that was a "boat in a pond that you stood in to shoot..." !
I'd be reporting those arseholes to the club executive, getting their asses tossed and ensuring area clubs knew why they were kicked out.
Accidents do occasionally happen and I've seen them occur a couple of times but there is no excuse for doing it deliberately. I was shooting sporting clays a few years ago when a turkey vulture swooped over the trees and the guy in the stand took a bead on it. Before I could say anything another shooter in the squad said to the guy, "Don't even think about it" and the gun was lowered immediately.
Londonshooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
fixed it. Nothing against SKS's, just adults that didn't grow up. Eviction and loss of membership would result at our club. Not just for rabbit but potential of skipping bullets over the berm.
Nope, have not seen a bird shot at clays course. As in your case it would only happen by complete unhappy coincidence among people I respect. Have seen turkeys and deer on the range. Also have seen voluntary 5 bench cease fire due to squirrel walking the top of the 100 yd boards.
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
I've never seen such a thing happen during any skeet or trap shooting I have been privvy to or taken part in but I have often wondered how often times swallows dipping and darting about eating mosquitoes haven't come into contact with the odd golden bb or flown through someones pattern?
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That would result in their memberships being revoked at our range.
I've seen birds fly through the skeet field. If we can we hold off on calling for the target when we see it. I've seen some narrow misses on doubles where a bird decided to dart through the line of fire. Haven't seen a bird downed though.
We quite often have birds fly through our 5-stand or trap range. We had one really close call last season, a duck coming from behind us whistled through the 5-stand range just as a member fired at a clay. I think it was a Kamikaze duck! Last season we also had a moose come out of the bush about 150 yards away, while we were shooting. We stopped to watch it for a few minutes, then it slowly walked back into the bush.
Londonshooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
Cedar, or Bohemian? Seems like a non sequitur but relates to first post.
I only glanced long enough to confirm deceased waxwing.
Then you may have never shot the DU shoot at Rochester Brooks just south of Rochester as one station they had a 12 ft. aluminum sitting on large rubber inner tubes at the waters edge of a large dead wood pond. When you were up you handed the ref your gun and climbed into the boat and sat down and got settled, the boat was very rocky. The ref returned your gun and you shot two following pairs coming at you through the dead trees. The ref then came and took your gun while you climbed out. Although you were not standing to shoot, balance and shooting skills were both required at this station as a slightly V bottomed boat sitting on two large inline inner tubes does not make for a stable shooting platform.
That spring DU shoot was a good one. The side shoots after the main event were just as much fun and challenge.
Your wearing your underwear a tad tight young fella, ease up... ! "berretta boy" and I shot at the same club for years and did DU dinners together for several l as well.
Thankfully presentations like this are becoming less common. Other than the risks of shooting seated from an unstable position the delay of having the ref hand you the gun etc. would really clog up the shooting. Having set up a couple of courses for DU shoots the objective should be to get the shooters through efficiently, not have presentations that are too challenging and get the shooters back to the silent auction tables and side shoots where the real money is often made.
Our club has a rule against randomly shooting animals on our range, but we do remove gophers in order to prevent having to run our mower over the dirt mounds they leave. As for the birds, the birds were not seen by the people shooting, as they were concentrating on the clays.
