Sporting Clays

[ACORN]

Yesterday my daughter’s employer had a Sporting Clays event at at a nearby resort area.
Shoot a round.
Eat dinner.
Open bar.
All on the companies dime.
She really wanted me to go with her, despite the fact I haven’t hunted small game or even fired a shotgun in 30 years.
With my current employment situation I really didn’t want to go.
More than anything I didn’t want to embarrass myself or worse, embarrass her.
Luckily our squad consisted of 2 middle aged women, one woman’s beau, Daughter, and myself.
I wound up top shooter on our squad with my daughter coming in second. In spite of the fact it was her first time even holding a shotgun.
All in all I had a good time.
Got to spend time with “My little girl”, had fun, ate a good dinner, drank a couple cold ones.
A day well spent.
Now I have to start looking for a shotgun.
She enjoyed it and wants to try some more.
I’ve got a Trius Trap.

 

[JET4]

Fun day with your daughter, thanks for sharing

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Now I have to start looking for a shotgun.
She enjoyed it and wants to try some more.

The nice thing about Sporting Clays Shotguns is any hunting (field gun) is good!

My wife's gun is a 20 year old Berreta 391 (semi-auto) 20 gauge. It has a 28" barrel. Since hers is actually a Sporting Clays model it has an extra heavy barrel (all of 8 ounces!) to help it swing a little better. The entire Berretta line of semi automatics have adjustments built into the stock. Since my wife is left handed, I set it up for her, that is called CAST ON. Her arms are just a little shorter than mine, so it has the thinnest butt pad to adjust the LENGTH OF PULL. (distance from shoulder to the trigger) and there are wedges to adjust the PITCH (angle of gun to the front of shoulder).

It doesn't cost extra, unless you need really wild sizes of the adjustment spacers, and it doesn't hurt the value like sawing the stock to fit her might!

20 gauge is plenty of gun, but has less recoil than 12, so she won't get recoil fatigue as easily.

I on the other hand have 6 Sporting Clays shotguns (two 12's, a 20, a 28, & two 410's). I like guns that have changeable choke tubes (I normally use IC/Mod. but have used Skeet/Skeet at times (for close crossing targets) and Imp. Mod/Full (for far targets).

Most people like 12 gauge and 20 gauge second for these are the least expensive ammo. Now days I shoot 28 gauge and 410, for least recoil and least expensive reloading.

With my wife's 20 gauge, I entered a League back before Covid and ended up on the winning team, and 4th overall best shooter. Every single shooter but me used a 12 gauge. The first round was so easy I had a new personal best of 45/50. If I had used my 410, I would have done even better. The later rounds were increasingly difficult as the weeks went by.

For High School Graduation presents I bought all three of my sons 12-gauge semi autos (to keep it affordable for them). When they visit we sometimes get to go shoot together (mostly at Father's Day) and we all have a riot!

Ivan

 

[somorris]

Sounds like an enjoyable time, Acorn.

 

[ACORN]

The nice thing about Sporting Clays Shotguns is any hunting (field gun) is good!

My wife's gun is a 20 year old Berreta 391 (semi-auto) 20 gauge.

Ivan

All of the shotguns at the range were 20 ga Beretta semis or 12 ga O/U Berettas.
Guy I talked to said they must of had a million rounds through them. I don’t know about a million but I would suspect it was substantial.

 

[boykinlp]

I wound up top shooter on our squad with my daughter coming in second. In spite of the fact it was her first time even holding a shotgun.
All in all I had a good time.
Got to spend time with “My little girl”, had fun, ate a good dinner, drank a couple cold ones.
A day well spent.

Sounds like a fantastic event to me. I know I don’t even have to ask, you shot 25 and your daughter, a 24.
Larry

 

[Nevada Ed]

Now see, it wern't that bad after all and you got a great meal, to boot !!

Not'n wrong with old "Used" shotguns at the trap club for your use if it is in good condition.
I have a very old Browning A-5 that my father bought when he was very young, that
can still keep up with these new shotguns of today, with all the extras.

Scores are over rated, the time with the family and friends is what life, is all about.

I hope that both of you get out again, and there is nothing wrong with a little 20 Ga. in the trap games.

I hear that some people even use a little .410 to "Kill" clay birds !!

 

[ACORN]

Sounds like a fantastic event to me. I know I don’t even have to ask, you shot 25 and your daughter, a 24.
Larry

I shot 42/100. Daughter 22/100.
I was happy not to be the low man on the squad.
It’s fun.
Birds flying across, away, towards you, and bouncing rabbits, and combinations of them.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I shot 42/100. Daughter 22/100.
I was happy not to be the low man on the squad.
It’s fun. .

My wife's record high is 17/50! My best day ever was a couple of decades ago 128/150 and that was with a Browning 425 20 gauge.

I have a gang of guys that don't invite me to shoot with them anymore. It isn't because I beat them on score. It is because, on really hard presentations my 410 make them look bad!

Ivan

 

[ACORN]

My wife's record high is 17/50! My best day ever was a couple of decades ago 128/150 and that was with a Browning 425 20 gauge.

I have a gang of guys that don't invite me to shoot with them anymore. It isn't because I beat them on score. It is because, on really hard presentations my 410 make them look bad!

Ivan

Yeah that would.
High scorer for the day shot 89/100.
He just barely beat me!

 

[Hair Trigger]

The nice thing about Sporting Clays Shotguns is any hunting (field gun) is good!
Ivan

Agreed, but some of our serious clays shooters bring shotguns worth more than my entire firearms collection, and almost everyone is shooting an over/under of some sort.

I feel like Jed Clampett out there, I bring one of two 12 gauge SxS guns I have, and one has external hammers. I shoot for fun, not score, and usually hit about 65% of my shots. A full round on our sporting clays range is 75 shots. I generally stick to skeet or 5 stand, where I'm a little better and don't use as much ammo per round.

 

[Papa Lee]

Yesterday my daughter’s employer had a Sporting Clays event at at a nearby resort area.
Shoot a round.
Eat dinner.
Open bar.
All on the companies dime.
She really wanted me to go with her, despite the fact I haven’t hunted small game or even fired a shotgun in 30 years.
With my current employment situation I really didn’t want to go.
More than anything I didn’t want to embarrass myself or worse, embarrass her.
Luckily our squad consisted of 2 middle aged women, one woman’s beau, Daughter, and myself.
I wound up top shooter on our squad with my daughter coming in second. In spite of the fact it was her first time even holding a shotgun.
All in all I had a good time.
Got to spend time with “My little girl”, had fun, ate a good dinner, drank a couple cold ones.
A day well spent.
Now I have to start looking for a shotgun.
She enjoyed it and wants to try some more.
I’ve got a Trius Trap.

Do it a few more times and you will be hooked. I shoot sporting clays every week, usually at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Agreed, but some of our serious clays shooters bring shotguns worth more than my entire firearms collection, and almost everyone is shooting an over/under of some sort.

I feel like Jed Clampett out there, I bring one of two 12 gauge SxS guns I have, and one has external hammers. I shoot for fun, not score, and usually hit about 65% of my shots. A full round on our sporting clays range is 75 shots. I generally stick to skeet or 5 stand, where I'm a little better and don't use as much ammo per round.

Good guns of any specialty are a bunch of money!

Our club has one or two "Vintage" shoots a year. At our club that includes any SXS and Pump. I like to mess with their minds and shoot one of my 4 SxS's (2-20, 2-12) using all brass Black Powder loads. If the score keeper can see through the clouds I do almost as well as with a dedicated SC gun!

Ivan

 

[ACORN]

Good guns of any specialty are a bunch of money!

Our club has one or two "Vintage" shoots a year. At our club that includes any SXS and Pump. I like to mess with their minds and shoot one of my 4 SxS's (2-20, 2-12) using all brass Black Powder loads. If the score keeper can see through the clouds I do almost as well as with a dedicated SC gun!

Ivan

That would be a hoot to see!
I used to take my black powder revolver and shoot with the wonder-niners.
They didn’t like the smell (the gun, not me)or smoke.

 

[SS336]

Shotgun sports are a lot of fun. Sporting clays is the most fun just because of the variety of presentations. Some clubs are easy, some are very hard.
A DU event is pretty easy, a state or regional championship will be very hard.
Always a great day with friends and family. Here is my son and I having a little friendly competition a while back.

 

[TXBryan]

Hi Acorn!

I would never make light of getting canned but your sporting clays outing is the kind of thing regular work sometimes doesn't leave sufficient time for. Could be a way of demonstrating the kind of things we miss by reporting for work every day. At any rate it sounds like a wonderful day with family and friends.

I survived my share of corporate mergers, consolidations, and buyouts until the time I didn't. I was 46 and I'll never look back on that as a "good day," even though it turned out that way. I took some time off, and decided to work for myself to minimize the chance of that happening again. I'm 66 now and Denise and I are starting to use the "R" word more often and may well retire in a year or two. I've been blessed, we've worked hard, and self-employment has been the best decision we've made together other than adopting our son.

Good luck, Godspeed, and have some more fun!

Bryan

 

[Farmer17]

I've shot skeet and trap and tried sporting clays 30 years ago when it was first getting popular. My fiancee and I play a ton of pickle ball but she loves shooting so I think I might get her into sporting clays. I have a 20 ga Beretta Auto, 12 gauge Rem 1187, and a SXS 20 gauge.

 

[jbull380]

Super fun game. Worse thing you can do is take it too serious. I use an 1100 with a skeet choke. I don’t have a problem until we get the far away birds.

 

[ACORN]

My daughter and some fat guy wandering through the woods looking for a free sammich.

 

[Kenna]

Glad you got out and took your mind off of things.