Thread: Tips for beginners in trap and skeet

Originally Posted by chindit

DLT Try this see if it works for you, advise I was given,
Your hold point is just above the trap house 5 different positions depending which station. Mount the gun on the hold point and focus way beyond the trap house and call for the bird. I was told if you are focusing into the distance your eyes are quicker to focus from far to near than they are going from near to far as if from trap house to flying clay. Seems to work for me but I could be talking complete shit. PULL BANG BANG miss.

Thanks, I saw this on one of the YT vids I watched last night, so keen to give it a try.

Originally Posted by sore head stoat

You maybe able to take note of what your target does after it has been hit, if it stops dead you have probably shot it in the front of it, if it takes off probably behind.. but get a coach.

What Ground Control says about where you are standing [feet position] is of massive importance esp in skeet shooting. Think where you are going to shoot the target, place your feet to that position, then coil your body back to the tower, your target will come out of, you will feel your self getting a bit "uncoiled" and that should enable you to either keep a lead on the target [sustained lead] or enable you to push thru the target. Imagine if you have stood comfortably looking at the trap house where the target is coming out of... the target comes out you will now be getting coiled up to where you are going to shoot the target... making it harder to get in front of the target..

Foot position for a right hand shooter is easy, walk on the station and point your belly button at the low house, this is for stations 2,3,4,5,6.
Stations 1,7,8 are self explanatory.
Hold point for those stations is 1/3 rd from the house to the crossing point,approx 7 yards.
Most new shooters take around 6 months of shooting most weekends to start shooting consistently in the 20's,
I've been shooting skeet for 50 yrs, have seen a lot come and go.

Originally Posted by Peteforskeet

Foot position for a right hand shooter is easy, walk on the station and point your belly button at the low house, this is for stations 2,3,4,5,6.
Stations 1,7,8 are self explanatory.
Hold point for those stations is 1/3 rd from the house to the crossing point,approx 7 yards.
Most new shooters take around 6 months of shooting most weekends to start shooting consistently in the 20's,
I've been shooting skeet for 50 yrs, have seen a lot come and go.

I take your point about needing 6 months of regular shooting. I've shot skeet once, and found it both exhilarating and a bit baffling. One guy on my squad got a second crack at one of his missed birds, but I didn't follow why. I'm sure the sequence of birds on each station will become familiar in time. I think I'll improve on my 17/25 with a bit more practice, which is why I'm planning to travel to several different clubs around the region to shoot most weekends,

Originally Posted by schwen

I take your point about needing 6 months of regular shooting. I've shot skeet once, and found it both exhilarating and a bit baffling. One guy on my squad got a second crack at one of his missed birds, but I didn't follow why. I'm sure the sequence of birds on each station will become familiar in time. I think I'll improve on my 17/25 with a bit more practice, which is why I'm planning to travel to several different clubs around the region to shoot most weekends,

I was so lucky that I was shown/coached by a ex national and Aussie champ around the skeet field a few times so all that was explained. Only downside was he made it look so easy I thought that everybody who shot skeet blasted at least 23 clays. It wasn't until I watched the lesser guys, still good shots that I realized that some do miss. I really appreciated the time that Tony Truss gave and still gives me. Peteforskeet must know Tony Truss been around about 40 years.

Originally Posted by schwen

I take your point about needing 6 months of regular shooting. I've shot skeet once, and found it both exhilarating and a bit baffling. One guy on my squad got a second crack at one of his missed birds, but I didn't follow why. I'm sure the sequence of birds on each station will become familiar in time. I think I'll improve on my 17/25 with a bit more practice, which is why I'm planning to travel to several different clubs around the region to shoot most weekends,

If you add up all the targets you shoot on all the stations it adds up to 24, the game of skeet was devised around a pkt of shells, ie 25.
Therefore you repeat as a single tgt your first miss,and that result is scored on the scoresheet as your 25 tgt,
If you get to station 8 without missing you will shoot a second low 8 tgt, and that makes up the 25 tgts needed.
Hope this makes sense

Originally Posted by Peteforskeet

If you add up all the targets you shoot on all the stations it adds up to 24, the game of skeet was devised around a pkt of shells, ie 25.
Therefore you repeat as a single tgt your first miss,and that result is scored on the scoresheet as your 25 tgt,
If you get to station 8 without missing you will shoot a second low 8 tgt, and that makes up the 25 tgts needed.
Hope this makes sense

That feeling of seeing that second low house station 8 target turn to dust when I did it for the first time will remain with me forever.

One of the best bits advice I ever got for DTL, shoot your first shoot as soon as you can, don't dwell.

give it arseholes...get mad at the bird and get stuck in,dont overthink it...and enjoy it.

Originally Posted by chindit

I was so lucky that I was shown/coached by a ex national and Aussie champ around the skeet field a few times so all that was explained. Only downside was he made it look so easy I thought that everybody who shot skeet blasted at least 23 clays. It wasn't until I watched the lesser guys, still good shots that I realized that some do miss. I really appreciated the time that Tony Truss gave and still gives me. Peteforskeet must know Tony Truss been around about 40 years.

Yes I know Tony, he's had a great career,
As for shooting dtl targets as quick as you can, that's OK within reason,missing quick dosnt get you any extra points.
As for skeet targets all out goers should all be brokern before the middle station.

Just my opinion the 2 biggest factors in shooting Clay's is gun fit and feet position. You can use one gun to do it all will just need to change chokes. Skeet run a cylinder and dtl mod/half or improved mod/3/4. If wanting to shoot better in the field try 5 stand or sporting Clay's. Most important is to have fun and don't forget 2 eyes open and breath and relax and swing through your target

Originally Posted by country cuts

Just my opinion the 2 biggest factors in shooting Clay's is gun fit and feet position. You can use one gun to do it all will just need to change chokes. Skeet run a cylinder and dtl mod/half or improved mod/3/4. If wanting to shoot better in the field try 5 stand or sporting Clay's. Most important is to have fun and don't forget 2 eyes open and breath and relax and swing through your target

The guns seem to fit really nicely, and being nice and light, I can swing them pretty quick, especially for the extreme right hander on stand 5. Feet position, I'm working on. I'm currently standing comfortably, but with no rhyme nor reason for position. I've looked at other shooters feet position, but haven't seen any pattern to follow.

Having fun is not a problem. I love it. I tried ball trap at the Dargaville club for the first time on the weekend, and tried tightening the choke from 1/2 to 3/4. Got 22/25 and 20/25.

I started on sporting clays and that's what got me hooked. Unfortunately, Kaeo is the only Northland club that offers them on a regular basis but it's a bit of a hike from Paparoa.

This coming weekend I'd love to get down to Waitemata and have a crack at their 100t skeet.

Originally Posted by schwen

The guns seem to fit really nicely, and being nice and light, I can swing them pretty quick, especially for the extreme right hander on stand 5. Feet position, I'm working on. I'm currently standing comfortably, but with no rhyme nor reason for position. I've looked at other shooters feet position, but haven't seen any pattern to follow.

Having fun is not a problem. I love it. I tried ball trap at the Dargaville club for the first time on the weekend, and tried tightening the choke from 1/2 to 3/4. Got 22/25 and 20/25.

I started on sporting clays and that's what got me hooked. Unfortunately, Kaeo is the only Northland club that offers them on a regular basis but it's a bit of a hike from Paparoa.

This coming weekend I'd love to get down to Waitemata and have a crack at their 100t skeet.

That's not a bad effort on ball trap. Main one with body position is feet shoulder width apart and a little bend and weight on the front leg this helps with recoil. Talk to some of the guys up there everyone has a different way of standing and starting point or hold on the trap find one you like and stick with it if you chop and change to much it can get frustrating

@schwen

Hey Grant
Try Marua Sporting Clays Club near Maungturoto.
They shoot steel only - like Kaeo.
Sell cartridges - $115/slab. Falcon or Gamebore IIRC.
Cheers Wal

Originally Posted by WallyR

@schwen

Hey Grant
Try Marua Sporting Clays Club near Maungturoto.
They shoot steel only - like Kaeo.
Sell cartridges - $115/slab. Falcon or Gamebore IIRC.
Cheers Wal

Hi @WallyR, I do shoot there from time to time. However, I think their next shoot clashes with Whangarei's skeet trophy shoot.

Pattern your gun against some targets, that will tell you how much rib you need to see.
I try to set mine up so 70% of the shot pattern is above the bead and 30% below. Just my preference.
Decent lessons are great if you a keen enough, theres a lot of BS that gets parroted about shotgunning that really isnt helpful for beginners.