We just put in a new Skeet field at our gun range. If you don't know what Skeet is, you can read about it here: NSSA-NSCA – National Skeet Shooting Association | National Sporting Clays Association or here: Skeet shooting - Wikipedia

Tonight, at our regular monthly meeting, a member stood up and asked us to move the Skeet field. Apparently, he's older and having trouble seeing the target as it flies across the field. So, he wants us to rotate the ENTIRE field, it takes about 30 acres to have a Skeet field, 30° to the west.

To me this is equivalent to saying, "Hey Boston Red Sox, yeah, that wall in Fenway's left field is just a tad to high for me so, could you cut it in half for me? That would be nice." Or having your neighbor say, "You know that new garage you just built? I know I agreed to the position, but could you just pick it up and move it 5' to the left? Yeah, that would be great."

I mean, he caught me so off guard with this request, I couldn't talk for a few moments. The fact that this was even asked is mind boggling.

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Freedom isn't free.

You can't please everyone. Or.... there is always one!

Of course the best answer I have ever found is "Next time why don't you be part of the decision making/development/work group so that it suits you too"?

What he ^^^^^^^^^ said! There's always one in the crowd that want's to change what works for 99% of the people. Just grin and bare it!

Perhaps someone should suggest to dude he visit his local optometrist, it'd be way cheaper.

Good thing your club is not the Fed Gov't or they would force you to rotate the field so as not to discriminate against the "one" old fart that can't see well enough.

Don

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Laus Deo! <><

In his opinion, how was rotating the field going to help him track the clay?

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

I shot 4 gauge NSSA in the early 70s. Skeet shooters can be the biggest pain in the Gluteus Maximus of any of the shooting sports.

I was a member (36 years) of a big club that did trap, 3 skeet fields rifle, pistol and bow. I was on every committee at one time or another and an officer or member of the board of directors, a RO and instructor, I heard and saw everything.

Perhaps at that club the physical layout that was the only way they could make that field work. Course for many skeet shooters they live to complain!

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

Yes, they walk among us and they vote.

During a negotiating session on 401k investing, one of the people in attendance asked: "When the stock market fell and lost millions, where did all that money go?". There was stunned silence for several seconds, trying to decide whether he was serious or not. Unfortunately, I knew he was.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

It probably had something to do with the position of the sun. Ideally you want the sun at your back.

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Common sense isn't so common.

Hey, trap shooters are worse, believe me. Was a member of a club that was part of an eight club league that rotated among the venues. We normally threw orange domed targets. One year, for some reason, there was a problem getting orange domes so we threw yellow domed targets when it was our club's turn to host the league. There was a ton of belly aching from the "hot shots" who were afraid a different color target might hurt their average.

Ask him if he wants to write a check to cover it. He will sit back down.

From now on he will be called, "that guy."

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"Life is short, hunt hard"

I lived in Naperville, Il, which was a rapidly growing community, at one time which then had a trap range near the downtown area. You should have heard the complaints from the NEW residents about the noise on Wed. nites. To me they were akin to people who buy a place in the country next to a farm then complain about the smell. I don't know if the club is still in operation but I hope so.
Jim

Absolutely this. I know because I was dumb enough to join a range where the rifle runs face South. Now imagine winter Sun on a Mauser barleycorn front sight and the small divot they call a notch on the rear sight. If I had been inside the barn I would have missed it. That experience has left me with a healthy hatred of Mauser iron sights of that style. The Swedes got it right with the square front sight and chunky notch.

Some Mosin 91/30s are not that great either. The front post shows up just fine, but for certain production years the rear sight had a very shallow notch and it is a curse when looking up-Sun.

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Release the Kraken

Where was this Architect when it was being built? He may be right that it was not built in the exact correct position, BUT often you have to work with what you have & compromises need to be made. This kinda reminds me of the ONE home owners association meeting we went to.

Move the field.....oh sure get right on it. You can move the field but the clays are still the same distance away. Maybe he needs prescription sunglasses that remove the glare. I saw them on TV this week and only $19.95. You can get a second pair just pay another fee. What a deal two for the price of two.

If it's a combination skeet/trap range, you should have your answer already. According to ATA regulations, the trap range is to be set up facing due north with only a few degrees of variation allowed. Look it up.

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Dave Brown
SWCA #3279

I was going to PM Rastoff a demographic question that would have me banned if I asked it in the open, then I realized the post was about scattergunners. I retract the question.

Changing the angular direction of photons relative to the sun makes the orange color birds brighter due to the altered atmospheric color absorption you know!

Sorry, I just could not help myself!

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Stay safe people!

If it isn't practicle to reorient the field maybe you could build a big tall wide wall to block the sun. Be sure to paint it a contrasting color.

Actually it could partially support a roof. Not many indoor skeet ranges you know, would be unique!

Oh, oh, oh, A beluga building (air supported structure).

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Certified Curmudgeon

And a Skeet field should be facing Northeast, so on a overlaid field you have to split the difference and face North-Northeast to keep all parties happy.

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CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990

"After all is said and done, there's a lot more said than done"

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James Redfield
LM #497

He is complaining that the background, a large dirt hill with no vegetation on it, was making the clays hard to see. He believes that moving it this way will put more sky behind the clays. What he doesn't realize is that moving it this way will put half of the targets with the hill and half with the sky behind them. It will be worse because instead of a consistent background, it will be changing.

Yes, the range should face north. This has the sun at your back all the time and gives the longest amount of usable daylight.

He was complaining that we weren't building it fast enough, but when asked to help, he walked away.

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Freedom isn't free.

Where's the Chief Referee? I want to file a protest against this guy! ()

As to the OP, why something like this surprises you is beyond me. Haven't been around gun clubs much, eh?

I should ask my range to fire the skeet where I aim.

30 acres to build a skeet field?.......A regulation skeet field can be built on 2 acres.......Your other 28 must be for falling shot.....

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S&W Accumulator

Not going to happen on a skeet field, even if facing North, as station 1 and 7 face due East and West respectively.

Rastoff, as on SGW, try some green targets for your brown background. I bet everyone likes them.

Give the trapper a bigger tip and he will throw them where you shoot. Larry

7 1/2 shot fall is 209 yds. It's not nice to have shot falling on the neighbors land. Larry

Check the OP's state and you'll get it.

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Release the Kraken

I think this thread is heading south.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

OP's state has nothing to do with it. You need to contain lead shot fallout within the confines of your club or private property.

oneounceload is correct. It has nothing to do with the state. In fact, the actual buildings and pads will fit in an area much smaller than 2 acres. Shoot, 1/2 an acre is enough for the field, a shelter and plenty of parking. No, the acreage is for the shot fall zone. A regulation Skeet field has 300 yards of area just for the shot fall. A range of 250 yards is enough, but it's wise to have the extra 50 for the one or two idiots that just have to use illegal shells.

Yeah, I've been around gun clubs for the last three decades and you're right, there's plenty of stupid requests. However, I've never heard of anyone asking to move the entire field before.

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Freedom isn't free.

I'm 70 (oldster), and I hear ya. Those types of "old farts" make my butt tired

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John

Ok there is a business called " shooting sight " this guy makes optics that may help the old guy but most of us eventually if we live long enough have to just not be able to do what we use to could .Some of us come to that reality some of us have to be told .Try to do it in a polite way as with me my wife didn't do it politely at all .I just ask her to say yes yes you are still my big daddy but instead she just said hon even after all these years of practice I can't pretend that good .

The complainer needs to first, get eyes checked, second, try different lens colors, third, realize his eyes aren't as good as they once were.

Hmmm, the one club I belong to has ATA regulation shoots and the trap range faces South.

Correction, the rang faces East.

Probably the same guy we blackballed....................

didn't like the color of the houses !

The ATA rules do not dictate how the range is to be oriented. They suggest that it faces north.

In the northern hemisphere a north facing range is optimal. The sun is never actually tracking directly overhead. It's always biased a little to the south. Therefore, it is never directly to the east or west. By facing the range to the north, the sun is always a little to your back and never directly in front of you.

I've shot at ranges that were oriented to the west and east. The east facing range prevented shooting until at least 10AM. The west facing range had a mountain in the background, but there is a period of about 45 minutes to an hour just before the sun drops behind the mountain, where it's almost impossible to shoot. Kim Rhode, the first Olympian to win a medal on five different continents, the first Summer Olympian to win an individual medal at six consecutive summer games, the first woman to medal in six consecutive Olympics and the only woman to have two gold medals in Double Trap, uses this range specifically because of the difficult background.

So, when I laid out the new Skeet field, I specifically oriented it toward the north. This orientation gives a perfectly even background and is never adversely affected by the sun.

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Freedom isn't free.

This reminds me of an event my cousin related to me. He was a senior captain for a major airline, and occasionally he'd do check rides with new pilots. One day he was working with a hotshot former Navy carrier pilot who was struggling to land the plane in a crosswind. My cousin said, "Do you want me to call the airport and ask them to turn into the wind?"

Maybe the skeet range should be built on a turntable. For extra amusement, it could be turning while shooting.

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What, me worry?

There's a requirement for an area for drunks to fall down?

Local large military base has a runway for transports. Part of the development plan for the area surrounding the base has restrictions on what can be put in various areas due to noise, the possibility of falling aircraft etc. Various local builders keep trying to get variances/permits and there are meeting about why they can't.

One of the local politicians wonders why they just can't turn the runways in a different direction to allow development in the areas currently limited.

Hopefully, the officer responsible for showing up at those meetings has explained how airplanes fly to that guy.

Long time ago I belonged to a gun club that was primarily a skeet/trap club. There was an aged retired dentist who drove the hot shots nuts! He used an old JC Higgins 20 gauge pump gun. The front sight was a wrap of reflective orange tape around the barrel and over the bead. On a really bad day he'd drop 1 bird in 4 rounds. The other guys would carefully position their feet, swing the gun a couple times and with the gun mounted, call for the bird. Doc would shuffle up to the station, load his gun and call for the bird with the shotgun pointed any which way. And break it.