How long for a 25

J

JeffDean

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I just started to shoot skeet. Have shot about 16 rounds in the past week and a half.
I am averaging between 17 and 22 per round. My worst being high 2 and low 6 and 3,4,5 are getting better.

How long did it take before you shot a 25? In rounds or weeks?

Thanks for any and all replies.

Jeff
 
Years ago I belonged to a trap club & shot a lot .

I got to the point after a year of being able to break 24 and always missing either the first or the last bird. ( My fault, I got nervous ).

My last day I shot 5 rounds of 24. I sold my shotgun & gave up the stupid sport.
 
Once you learn better control of your thought process, and are able to let no negative thoughts into your mind and in fact, be "one with the target' for all 25 birds...you will get perfect scores, my grasshopper...
 
How long? As long as it takes. There really isn't an average time. Some guys do it quickly, others take years.

If you think about shooting 25 then it will take longer. Don't think 25, think 1. Shoot one bird one at a time. Then think about the next one. Eventually you'll get there.

Here's something helped me. I put extra shells in my vest. Too often I got to Low 8, realized I had two shells instead of one and caved under the pressure. When I went straight the first time I didn't know until one of the squad mentioned I hadn't taken the option. I'd already smoked Low 8 and not having time to think about it I crushed the second target. :)
 
Take a break. I shot my first 25 after about 6 weeks off. Now I quite often take a break and come out with a 25 on my first round back. 50 is still out of reach as i always seem to get nervous after the first 25.
 
Zen & a straight... Thinking about the next station or how you missed the last bird once your up will blow your score out of the water every time. A steady swing through, without stopping & watching your lead or lack of, will come naturally over time... Keep your head in the game & try not to get distracted by anything but the birds coming out of the house. Figure out how your body should be positioned at a particular station & where you should start to pickup the bird. The stakes give you a rough idea, but wind will do weird a wonderful things... Proper muscle memory goes along way in this game.
 
I shot my first 25 after about 8 mths. Supposedly Wayne mayes shot a 25 in the first or second round he ever shot. No pressure now.

Learning to clear your head is the most essential step. Getting down the mechanics of shooting is important but it will be a battle between your conscious and unconscious mind that will cost you targets. I know people who have been shooting regularly for 7-10 years and still no 25. Why you ask mind over matter.

When I step on the pad my mind goes completely blank. I'm not thinking about anything. Not a lot of people can do that but you need to work towards that. When you get on the pad try clearing your mind don't worry about the next target. Try thinking about the color orange. Colors are strong mind clearing thoughts.

When I was new to competitive shooting I used to say to myself on the pad " the target is already dead out of the house. You're just here to make noise and look good." worked for me.

But as I say I don't think about anything anymore once the gun Is mounted on the hold point my mind us blank after I'm done on that station I can't even remember saying pull.

I see you are in Ottawa I'd assume you are shooting at Connaught. Ask Brad Mcrae or Steve loveday or rick Robinson for help they are good guys and execellent shooters. They can help with both the mental and physical game.

Best of luck. If you or anyone for that matter ever have skeet shooting questions relating to equipment or the technical aspects of the game feel free to send me a message with your question.
 
gwagen said:
I shot my first 25 after about 8 mths. Supposedly Wayne mayes shot a 25 in the first or second round he ever shot. No pressure now.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info gwagen. I am just curious how quickly most people pick up on it and shoot a clean round.

I just joined Connaught. Guys are pretty helpful there. I will track down the guys you mentioned and get there help.
 
JeffDean said:
I just started to shoot skeet. Have shot about 16 rounds in the past week and a half.
I am averaging between 17 and 22 per round. My worst being high 2 and low 6 and 3,4,5 are getting better.

How long did it take before you shot a 25? In rounds or weeks?

Thanks for any and all replies.

Jeff
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure I was well over a year to get the first 25 out of the way. I ended up getting it in a tournament in Kingston. It was a mostly mental issue to get past. A few times I got by Station 6, started thinking it was in the bag, and then would 'hoof' an easy one on 7 or 8.

Everyone struggles on High 2 and Low 6. They are timing targets. You need to shoot volume to get those figured out.

The first 100,000 targets are the hardest ones. The more quality rounds you shoot, the better you will get, and the more opportunities you'll have to shoot a 25.

Make sure they are quality rounds. Try and shoot with someone who actually tell you what you are doing wrong (and right). Every shooter thinks they can coach other shooters, but the truth is many give poor/wrong advice. Choose carefully.

Brad.
 
"but the truth is many give poor/wrong advice. Choose carefully."

One of the truest little tidbits you'll ever hear. :)

Try your damnedest to hook up with someone at a Club who has proven himself as a shooter....you feel you can trust...and is willing to help you out. Politely disregard virtually everyone else...no matter how well meaning their advice may be. Try to listen to too many different people and you'll get confusing and conflicting suggestions that will just screw with your head as you're trying to figure it all out.

Good luck.
 
Hasn't happened for me yet in skeet after two years. I've always had to use that alibi shot and I've shot enough 24's in practice that they can almost seem disappointing. There is some pressure, of course, but I don't believe that is what is screwing up in my case. Because I've learned quite well to relax myself, not think about the perfect round and to pay attention to basics like my swing, body position etc...lots of great advice here about these things by way. I seem to get careless, let down or have a mental lapse for one shot (could be all the same thing). In trap it seems the same, but I've shot quite a few straights there. Most often though it is a 23 or a 24 unless I'm having a bad day. Tournaments are a little more difficult, of course.
 
In informal shooting at a local Club, sometime in maybe the 5th or 6th month of shooting a a couple of rounds on a Sunday. When I started shooting 2 or 3 (or more rounds on a Wednesday and 4 (or more) on any given Sunday (weather permitting), the straights seem to come together more frequently. I didn't shoot any NSSA registered targets untill the late 80's. The first hundred in a registered shoot was about half a dozen tournaments in.

Claybuster is dead-on. One target at a time, and it's only the one you are about to shoot at that you need to focus on. HARD FOCUS on the target, the rest of the stuff about foot position, swing, follow through etc. will all eventually (subconsciously) look after itself.

Don't worry about a miss ... just keep working at it... and don't give up. I've managed to miss the first target out for a 24 and the last target out (the optional) for a 24 several
(too many ! ) times, and the same for the 1st target out for a 99. Damn ! ... but you do learn something ... how to concentrate ! Turn the concentration "on" just as you get ready to call for a target, have a plan on how to break that target, execute ... and theen turn it "off" between stations.
You'll just exhaust yourself to try and concentrate fully for a whole round. I don't watch other shooters, but do watch
(most) of the targets, especially on breezy days, to see if they're doing anything weird ... high, low, inside, outside, beyond or before the distance markers, etc.

Good gun fit, balance and solid mechanics will get you there,
that and lots of quality practice ! ;)

I should add ... I don't think Tiger Woods likely shot a par round any time in his first 16 or 20 rounds of golf either !
Just stick with it, you'll get there. A 22 is a pretty decent score for the first few tries. 3 fewer "mistakes" at 2H, 6L or
the 3 middle stations and you'll be right there !
 
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Forget about "25" and it will come... Its been 8 months still no 25 for me in Singles. I have many 24's under my belt. My best scores have always been when I cant remember if I missed any. In other words, counting will make the journey to 25 a long one. I think the most important thing is to have fun.

I have a freind; never shot a gun; took some lessons; two months later he's got more than one 25 straight to his credit. Most in competition. His average is over 90. Some people are just like that - anything they touch turns to gold. Btw, I have trained with the same coach.

To paraphrase my coach, "Breath, See, Smooth, Smoke ONE, NEXT."

I also know many shooters that have never registered 25 straight in their life time... my father is one of them.
 
Thank you for opening this form! Just after my last post... was at the range this past Saturday and I "Smoked'em all"... ok, I might have chipped a few... but 25 straight none the less!

Now I hope it doesn't take me another 8 months to get the next mile stone... 50 straight.
Woohoo
 
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