R. Ann Parris on Trap, Skeet & Sporting Clays

 

Trap, Skeet & Sporting Clays by R. Ann Parris

The shotgun sports can be a great way to get used to a shotgun and practice wingshooting. There are some things to be aware of, though.

The first is that we’re training ourselves. See, muscle memory is both a blessing and a curse.

When we stand on a range, we’re mostly standing. Some sporting clays involves walking at basically a low or high ready, snapping the shotgun up, but it’s mostly just standing.

If all we ever do is that trap, skeet or sporting clays shotgunning, we’re training ourselves to stand upright and static to take shots. That will translate when we pick that shotgun up for other purposes. When it’s shooting ducks or squirrels, no big deal. When it’s a situation when we need to be moving tight and small, controlling the swing of a barrel as opposed to applying follow-through, that muscle memory becomes a problem.

We also want to be aware of differences in our beads if we’re using different shotguns.

Hunting or field guns typically have a bead we use to cover or lead the target while hunting. Many dedicated clay pigeon guns are designed to have clay targets sit atop the bead and in sight at all times. The difference in “aim” point can change where our shot lands in relation to that shot picture, as much or more so than just the differences in shot loads and between our chokes.

Some caution applies to wing shooting and running rodents as well.

Most sporting loads are slower than hunting loads, which affects how fast our shot reaches our target and the general shape of the pellets in air as they reach that target. That can mean a wounded animal we can’t track instead of a clean kill on our strap.

Even so, the three main shotgun sports are great trainers for hunting and a great way to get trigger time on a shotgun that’s used in cowboy action shooting, IPSC, 3-gun, or for home defense.

Skeet shooting can be great for learning to take a second shot and becoming comfortable with all possible standing shots.

Skeet clays fly in consistent patterns. You learn to ambush the first shot by station. The second shot on doubles stations is the only variable angle. It’s not flying different patterns, it’s just dependent on how fast you take the high house shot and turn to the low house bird.

Trap, on the other hand, does have shots that vary as you progress around the arc of five stations.

Not only does the angle itself change because of where you’re standing, the bird (or birds) leave the house at different angles instead of having a static launch point and speed. While you learn to change your stance a bit in regards to the house, you can’t actually ambush the clay birds before they even leave the house. Instead, you hold in the vicinity of the house and react to the bird flying in multiple directions and angles from your point of view, giving you a variety of shots from each station.

Sporting Clays is the closest thing to actual field shooting.

The number of shots taken from each station, the number of people per squad, and even the number of stations vary. Those stations can involve oscillating launchers without the angle or speed requirements of even trap, so you’re presented with a wide range of flights that can vary from barely skimming the ground or a berm to popping straight up in the air in front of you. Some ranges even manage to greatly vary their station throwing to maintain the variety even for regular shooters.

Ranges will have specific rules about gauge, shot size, velocity and specific gear, but for a general idea of the sports, check out…
Skeet – http://www.scskeet.com/Beginner_skeet/Beginner_Skeet.htm
Trap – https://www.fieldandstream.com/beginners-guide-to-trap-shooting#page-2
Trap – http://carneyro.dot5hosting.com/page9.html
Sporting Clays – https://nsca.nssa-nsca.org/what-is-sporting-clays-2/

While you’ll see multi-thousand-dollar shotguns, cutesy blinders, and expensive vest rigs on the shotgun fields, most ranges and shooters are also fast to welcome a newbie with a $150-$300 field gun and a shell bag made out of an old shirt sleeve or carpenter’s belt so long as they practice good safety.

There are some aspects to be aware of, like training ourselves into detrimental muscle memory habits for tactical shooting situations, but for hunting, the shotgun sports are absolutely a positive training aid. Call ahead, grab a box or two and three spare shells, and go get dirty.