Deflate The Ego

Dwayne Cyr

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
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Anybody have a conceited shooting buddy that doesn't miss often and lets you know it? He needs to be taken down a notch? Here's how. Get a chainsaw, find a birch tree the same diameter as a clay target. Cut it into discs the same thickness as a clay target. If using black Lawry targets, spray paint them flat black. If using orange targets, spray them orange on top and flat black bottom. Hide a couple stacks of bullet proof birch targets in the box. This works great when the thrower is beside the shooter. When he's on a streak on his way to 25 straight, start feeding him the birch. They fly just like a clay target but don't register a hit.

Buddy says "I know I hit that!" And we laughed our asses off.
 
Give credit where it's due.
With a deflated ego, your inferiority complex won't be so debilitating. You may even improve YOUR game!
"You don't make your light shine any brighter by extinguishing some else's." -my ex wife's great aunt.
 
Well this finally explains my scores. SOMEONE is putting those birch targets in when I’m shooting. I know I’m hitting 25/25 but rarely get scores over 18.
 
I've never shot any type of organized clay shooting, but have had some great times shooting "at" clay pigeons with friends. We are not at all sophisticated. For a long time, I used my Dad's old Tobin double, both barrels full choke, kicked like a mule. Somehow, I would always get some faulty ammo, with blanks mixed in, as I didn't set any records for breaking clays. By the end of the "shoot", things had deteriorated to the point where we all shot at a bird at the same time. Probably missed that one ,too!
 
The buddy I spoke of was a guide on a corporate boat on Lake of the Woods. The clients or guests would shoot targets from a thrower bolted to the deck until they got bored. Then the guides could finish off the shells and targets. It was good practice and he got good at turning them into black smoke balls, until I started throwing hardwood. They don't wobble and no indication they were hit. When we picked them up some had pellets imbedded in the rim.
 
Shooting clay targets from a launcher placed beside you or at your feet isn't exactly a hard proposition. Being consistently good at actual clay shooting disciplines is another thing entirely. Being consistently inconsistent is more the norm for me nowadays. ...:redface:
In 1999 I was sitting in the bleachers one evening in front of the shoot-off traps at the 100th Grand American watching Tom Knapp putting on a shooting demonstration. After he blew up several grapefruits, cans of shave cream and other assorted vegetables and household items he made several attempts to break Herb Parsons record of shooting 7 handheld clay targets with a pump gun(Model 12) and finally did it by shooting 8 with his Benelli Nova when someone from the bleachers yelled out "that's great but what's your average from 27 yards?!" The crowd broke out in a roar of laughter and Ole Tom looked pretty deflated and never answered...Laugh2
 
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I remember 30 some years ago when one of the regulars brought there teenage son

withing 3 weeks he did 25 straight

by the end of the summer he had 75 straight

I struggled to get 21/25

Natural talent and a good instructor... some things I never did have

I did have fun one day got 18/25 with short IC Barrel and rifle sights.... had to get them fast before they flew out of range
 
I remember 30 some years ago when one of the regulars brought there teenage son

withing 3 weeks he did 25 straight

by the end of the summer he had 75 straight

I struggled to get 21/25

Natural talent and a good instructor... some things I never did have

I did have fun one day got 18/25 with short IC Barrel and rifle sights.... had to get them fast before they flew out of range

Natural talent, and actually shooting regularly, make a huge difference. I have a friend that shot 20/25 the first day that he shot skeet, but he never shot regularly, and he has never shot 25. Another club member had far less natural ability, but he watched videos, read articles, and shot a lot, and it took him a year, but he has shot 25 straight,k but never 50. And then switching disciplines can make a huge difference as well, when I stared shooting sporting clays, my scores were disappointing, but after several years, they steadily rose. Friends that shot trap only, had even more issues adapting to sporting clays, but they are improving every year. But myself and the friends that I shoot with are all 60+, and we are all suffering from eyesight and reactions that are well past our best before date, so our scores are not expected to improve anymore, in fact,they are headed the other way.
 
Natural talent, and actually shooting regularly, make a huge difference. I have a friend that shot 20/25 the first day that he shot skeet, but he never shot regularly, and he has never shot 25. Another club member had far less natural ability, but he watched videos, read articles, and shot a lot, and it took him a year, but he has shot 25 straight,k but never 50. And then switching disciplines can make a huge difference as well, when I stared shooting sporting clays, my scores were disappointing, but after several years, they steadily rose. Friends that shot trap only, had even more issues adapting to sporting clays, but they are improving every year. But myself and the friends that I shoot with are all 60+, and we are all suffering from eyesight and reactions that are well past our best before date, so our scores are not expected to improve anymore, in fact,they are headed the other way.

One of the biggest factors that effects having consistent good scores as we age is the ability to remain focused.
 
i brought a guy that i worked with to the trap club one night in '83.
the kid had a double bbl external hammer gun, first time shooting trap shot a 25.
no recoil pad, #7 1/2 pheasant shot. ya, some guys got it.
 
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Instead of trying some dumb stunt to screw over a good shooter I'd be watching him and asking him how he got better so I could do the same.

That would make his head swell so big, he'd need a dog leg stock to get the butt pad to touch his shoulder. We all acknowledged that at the time he was a good shot. But he's not humble about it. After continually rubbing our nose in it and crowing about how good he was, we couldn't stand it anymore. The in your face conceit is unsportsmanlike and worthy of a little humor.
 
That would make his head swell so big, he'd need a dog leg stock to get the butt pad to touch his shoulder. We all acknowledged that at the time he was a good shot. But he's not humble about it. After continually rubbing our nose in it and crowing about how good he was, we couldn't stand it anymore. The in your face conceit is unsportsmanlike and worthy of a little humor.

My solution to someone who shoots better than me is for me to shoot better. I get them eventually.
 
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