Room needed for skeet/trap

[unclearthur]

Q. How much room do you need (e.g. how big of a field) to do a little informal skeet or trap shooting, using one of those CT devices for launching the clay pigeons and a 12 g. shotgun? Are there special loads you can use to minimize the distance the shot will travel? Assume no reliable backdrop.

Thanks

 

[looch]

It's 50 yards from where I shoot to the back of my property, but I can see well beyond that (farmer's field). I don't shoot more than 50 rounds at an outing - a courtesy to my relativley distant neighbors. I shoot 1oz of #8 no tighter than IC.

I would say that the risk of injuring someone beyond 150 yards with 7.5 shot (or smaller) would be remote, if not impossible. But it's just as much about being safe as it is not freaking anyone out (or pissing them off).

I guess it all depends on the surrounding area.

 

[Covey Ridge]

It's 50 yards from where I shoot to the back of my property, but I can see well beyond that (farmer's field). I don't shoot more than 50 rounds at an outing - a courtesy to my relativley distant neighbors. I shoot 1oz of #8 no tighter than IC.

I would say that the risk of injuring someone beyond 150 yards with 7.5 shot (or smaller) would be remote, if not impossible. But it's just as much about being safe as it is not freaking anyone out (or pissing them off).

I guess it all depends on the surrounding area.

looch:
Yours sounds like a responsible recipe for fun and good neighbor relations. Even though I do not have a chance in hell of injuring my distant neighbors I make a point to not shoot near their direction. I recall hunting ducks and have experience pellets raining around me. They were harmless, but not everyone knows that. Many landowners do not mind shooters but object to having broken clay left on their property. Be sure to set your choke to fine grind or pick up the big pieces. This is why gravel pits, fill areas and otherwise useless land are your best bet.

 

[ben hunchak]

For building a trap range the distance required is 300 yds., I remember this from years ago but don't know it's origins.

 

[beretta boy]

Some extensive empirical research undertaken in the U.S. showed that individual size 7-1/2 lead shot (and subsequently size 6 steel shot) could not travel any further than 789 feet at sea-level - with any conventional 12 gauge loading - given the most optimal barrel inclination. This distance increases above sea level, however, will not exceed 300 yards (900 feet) This distance (300 yards) was generally "adopted" by many authorities, including S.A.A.M.I. ( IIRC ) as that deemed "safe" for shotgun target shooting.

Shot fall onto neighbouring properties may potentially expose you to liability, however.