Consistency as it relates to Sporting Clays

Rob!

Rob!

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.... or maybe as it doesn't relate. I recently started a thread on the differences between commercial loads for sporting clays and got all kinds of insightful and helpful response. A few users suggested they would use one brand for practice and another - even totally different load for competition. Now that surprised me a bit. A bullseye shooter would not likely practice with hardball and switch to LSWC for competition. A sheep hunter would not likely practice for his hunt with surplus FMJ.

Shotgun sports seem to be all about switching it up - and not just ammunition brand. Different velocities. Different load weight. Different shot size. Different chokes. Sub-gauge and multi barrel sets. Different lenses in shooting glasses....

Somebody (might it have been Jeff Cooper?) said "Beware the man who owns just one gun. He probably shoots it very well."

If there is a question here, it would be whether the new shooter should learn and practice appropriate changes and adaptation, or keep it consistent while developing basic skills - and save switch ups as an advanced skill set?

Rob!
 
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I don't change chokes or loads during a round of sporting clays. Other than price, all that I look at when buying factory target loads is shot size and velocity. I shoot a 20 gauge, and choose loads advertised at around 1200fps. I prefer #8 for sporting clays, and for skeet, I prefer #9 in my 28 gauge and 410, which are what I usually shoot for skeet. I shoot a three barrel set for sporting clays and skeet, so the gun is consistent for all gauges.
 
I personally prefer consistency so I usually shoot the same stuff all the time. #9's for skeet and 8's for Sporting Clays/5-stand. Like Stubblejumper, I also don't change chokes on each station, I usually use I/C & M.
 
Consistency matters because if you are consistent in your shotshell selection you have one less thing to think about. If you are diddling around wondering what shell (or choke) to use then you are not focusing on what's important.

Perceived lead is more affected by target distance, speed, size and presentation. Shot velocity does make a difference in actual leads only at the extremes such as between Winchester Low Recoil Low Noise (26gms@980fps) and Winchester's AA Olympic load (24gms@1325fps.) The difference would be more on a distant crossing target, less on a quartering and close to zero on an outgoing target. Meanwhile, velocity differences of 50 or even 100 fps are insignificant.

My "on board computer" is set on 1,200fps which I shoot most often. I might shoot 1150 or 1250 as circumstances require but typically nothing faster or slower. The result is I don't think about lead and let the subconscious take control. Most of my shooting is done with 1 ounce #7.5 shot. There's a box of #7.5, 1-1/8 in the shooting bag for distant targets but I suspect that is more of a mental comfort than actual ballistic advantage.

Here's a good article on leads vs. speeds by Bruce Buck

https://shotgunreport.com/2012/06/14/leads-vs-speed/
 
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SCIENCE!

CONTROLLED EXPERIMENTS lead to learning causality and relationships between various factors affecting performance.

The first thing you need to eliminate, variable wise, is inconsistency with the shooter, first and foremost. For most of us this is a life long adventure.

Pick a gun and ammo combo that is good enough, and learn to shoot. Once you have a solid understanding of the basics, you can start to tweak your equipment set up.

What boggles my mind is people that will experiment by making multiple changes simultaneously, and then assign any changes in performance to only one of the variables they changed, usually to conform to a preconceived idea of what would work better.

Like people who spend more money on pricier ammo, AND then borrow their friends higher end shotgun with a better fit, and then decide it was the ammo that resulted in the higher score, and that they probably don't need a shot gun that fits them better.

Change one thing at a time, give yourself enough of a chance to overcome any learning curves associated with the change, and keep records. A single round of trap won't tell you much about the differences between ammo.

Otherwise performance is based more on your feelings about the change as opposed to verifiable data.

I don't shoot enough sporting clays or any trap/skeet to appreciate the difference between velocity, shot size, etc, so any changes i make would be random, and any increase in performance would likely be coincidental. I see a lot of people at the trap stands with far less experience than I have CLaiming with certainty that this brand of whatever is better than that. Really makes me wonder.
 
The only time that I ever had an issue with the load effecting my shooting significantly, was one time I was working at the range, and a friend showed up and asked me to shoot a round of skeet with him and his brother. I didn't have my own shotgun with me or ammunition, so he offered me his Citori and he lent me some high velocity target loads rated at 1400fps. The gun fit was fine, but I did drop a couple of targets on 3,4,5 that I believe were at least partly the result of the much higher velocity of his target loads. I also cut the front off of a couple of the other 3,4,5 targets, which supported my assumption that the velocity was a factor. I don't worry about 50fps or so, but 200fps is quite a difference.
 
I cannot comment on Sporting Clays as my experience with it is very limited. Probably 1000 targets at best but in relating consistency to trap I always shoot the same size/velocity loads. I just change to a premium shell for the important games. Maybe it's foolish but it definitely boosts my confidence and from behind the gun I swear the breaks look much better and that is a confidence booster as well. I used to shoot nothing but Gold Medals for all registered shooting at one time but when Top Guns came along at half the price I switched over. Is there a difference? Yes I think so but for practice and just acquiring targets for classification I'll stick to the more affordable. Mind you there isn't much seperation in price any more depending where you can source the shells?
Oh and for Sporting Clays? I still shot top guns and ran IC/IC in both barrels and never switched chokes.
 
I was keeping fairly detailed records, of my sporting clay shooting. I found that I shoot Top guns as good as any shell, I found that I shoot higher scores in the fall and spring, when temps are comfortable. I found that chokes, don't make as much difference as I thought they would. I found that some clubs I shoot better than others. I found that I shoot better when I shoot aggressively, and don't over think it. I think the most important thing I found was, Sporting clay is a great game just have fun enjoy it.
 
I've read a few comments about shooting shells that are the same speed reguardless of brand. I would challenge you to run these various brands over a chronograph. I think you will be surprised. I have found hunting loads that shoot 100 fps under their claimed speed.
 
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