Ok, so how did you do the first time you shot sporting clays?

[Lone_Gunman]

I had my first sporting clay shoot this weekend. I have shot informally at skeet, and done a little quail and dove hunting in the past, but this was the first time I had been exposed to sporting clays. It was kind of like golfing with a shotgun. It was not much like shooting skeet in an open field. Clays came from everywhere, every angle, and every speed. Trees and bushes posed obstructions at some of the stations. Overall it was very fun, and surprisingly, I managed not to finish last!

I ended up hitting 20 out of 50 targets. I am curious how other people did their first time out.

 

[Aka Zero]

First time I shot skeet, I got a little over half, first time shooting a shotgun too.

This sounds like a fun thing to do, might have to find a place that does it around here.

 

[RalphJ]

I really don't think how others do should matter to you at this time as long as you enjoyed the experience. I'm really new at this too but I don't think that finding out how others did their first time is any indication of how good you did. My first time I was about 38%, two months later I'm about 68%. However, some courses are set up for experts, some for beginners. Sometimes it's really windy. I can imagine that if I personally performed similarly under the most varied conditions that I have seen, I could now average as few as about a 50% average under adversed conditions up to about an 90% average on an easy course, under ideal conditions.

 

[Floppy_D]

About half, first time ever shooting at moving stuff. I had a blast. I don't shoot often enough to do m,uch better than 7-% or so even on my best days, but I really enjoy going.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Don't worry about the score, focus on having fun and hitting the targets you haven't.

Yet.

Do not think,"I can't hit that target".

Think, "I haven't learned to hit that presentation yet".

 

[BruceRDucer]

/

I never do well shooting clays. I guess I just don't have the knack for it. I do better shooting game though.

I shoot instinctively well generally, especially with rifle and handguns. but the clay stuff makes me wonder about lessons with a shotgun.

 

[smullen]

I've not shot clays much but 1st time I went I did like 95% I was pumped... 2nd and 3rd time I did like 50 %... Not so pumped... Have't had a chance since then...

My gun club has both skeet and trap ranges, but I gotta show up early on a satuarday and get a quick training to get a key to shoot anytime I want...

 

[throdgrain]

The point of sporting clays is that it's different every time, unlike skeet which personally I find pretty boring. Mostly I use a round of skeet as a warm up then go to the sporting

 

[RX-178]

The CLOSEST I've come, was out in the desert and someone tossing plastic bottles full of water downrange (among other such junk)

And I was using my home defense shotgun... pistol grip (AR-15 style stock, not pistol grip only!), red dot sight... not exactly a natural wield for shooting at things flying downrange.

.......Actually, that's my.. ONLY shotgun, at the moment.

....Well... I guess I have a reason to buy a new gun. Again

 

[Snarlingiron]

My first round was 5 stand. I think I hit 6 of 25. It was a humbling experience. That was last December, and I am now shooting in the 20's at skeet and in the 60's at sporting clays.

Having fun is the point. I went through a bad slump awhile back and was pretty frustrated. After shooting a round of skeet one of the guys said to me, "Don't forget to have fun." Exactly right.

Of Trap, Skeet and Sporting clays, I like Skeet and Sporting clays about equally, and trap the least. My buddy likes Trap best, and Skeet the least, so we shoot all of them pretty regularly.

 

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

Same case as Aka zero for me.


I hear roughly about 2/3 of what I was going for.

 

[ArmedBear]

What I find is that the shots I've practiced most, I hit most.

I have hardly ever shot skeet, and guess what? The fast crossing shots are the toughest for me.

Sporting Clays (or a quicker couple rounds at 5-stand) will help alert you to the presentations where you're proficient, and where you need work.

I'm going to spend a bit of time at the skeet range, when I go back up north and there's one down the street from me. Down here in San Diego, our local public skeet range has been shut down.

 

[ZeSpectre]

First time? I'll never forget it. I wasn't hitting anything and I figured it was just not my game, then my brother in law stopped laughing long enough to show me he'd loaded me up with some blanks.

Switched over to real loads and hit about 75%. Felt good until my sister joined in and deadeyed about 91%

 

[mikeyber]

I'm new to the sport by about three weeks.

My Dad, Uncle and I spent an hour in a clearing back in Michigan a few weeks ago to wind up a nice weekend hunting grouse.

I hit my first clay with a Stevens 12Ga. pump on the very first try. The next three I missed.

Then using my Great Grand Daddy's Stevens .22-.410 I hit 2 of 2. i learned quickly that gun choice is more "how it fits" than looks or type.

That got me hooked...

Mikey

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Switched over to real loads and hit about 75%.

That is some awesome shooting. There were some guys in other teams that shoot in a ton of tournaments and have won literally thousands of dollars... and they were shooting about 36 targets out of 50, which is only about 72%.

Have you ever shot professionally?

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Then using my Great Grand Daddy's Stevens .22-.410 I hit 2 of 2.

Isn't that a single shot?

If so, how did you shoot the second bird? ?We were shooting report doubles.

 

[OOOXOOO]

The first time was before I learned what the different choke tubes did. Needless to say the clays were pretty safe that day. Now, not so much.

 

[mgregg85]

My first time with sporting clays(actually the first time I ever shot clays) I got 23/50.

 

[mikeyber]

If so, how did you shoot the second bird? ?We were shooting report doubles.

Sorry for the confusion,

Each clay was a separate throw. I reloaded (smiling widely) between them.



Mikey

 

[Lone_Gunman]

None of the stations on this course had single throws. The first bird was thrown, and as soon as you shot, they threw the second. I think it would have been easier if they had been throwing singles.

 

[TAB]

Every single bird broke... just most of them were cuased by hiting something rather then being hit...

 

[Gordon]

First time out in 1988 or there abouts I went with a group of professional gentleman who had all gone before and I got a 21 with my Remington 3200 trap gun which I thought would be good to go. Because of that humiliation and subsequent not so good scores (my shooting partners were getting in the low 40s) I took a 4 day shotgun course under John Satterwaite (spelling) right before the 1989 California big one. When I sarted shooting again in 1990 I was able to hit the low 40s and actually got to 47 about 5 years back when I quit because the environmentalist closed our range!

 

[Two Cold Soakers]

I think it was 16 or 18 / 50. For years, I was stuck at 28/50. (Mind you this was a difficult course on the ASCA Circuit, home to a couple of state contenders).

I spent a lot of time (2 yrs) and money (250 rds /week) to improve, and within a few years (okay, maybe 5) ran an 85 /100 and a 48/50, but those were at easier courses. My personal favorite was busting 23/25 and 24/50 at five stand.

Then I had kids. I'd better go oil up the gun and check it for rust.