fun shoot today

[fiver]

took Littlegirl down to the trap range today for a fundraiser shoot at the trap club.
we have never done a shoot like this before but it sounded like it might be fun.
how it works is you buy a ticket and throw it in the bucket for the yardage or buddy shoot or whatever.
they pull them out and put your ticket [name] on a squad of shooters [5 shooters]
you go out with whoever they draw from the bucket and shoot 2 shots from each station [5 stations]
highest score wins.
naturally there are ties, so you go into a shoot-off.
the shoot-off is basically a game of horse until the last one that doesn't miss is left.
we shot 5 rounds of this and had a good time each time.

Dawn won the first round outright she got all 10.
the second round I got into a shoot-off with her, another guy I shoot with sometimes, and a little kid.
we backed up to about the 30 yd line [which is about 60 yds to the target when shot] and the kid hit the target, Dawn wouldn't take one of my shells and just pulled dust off the target so was out.
I broke mine and the other guy missed.
so it was me and the little kid his choice of shots, I could tell he was nervous as all heck.
he picked a 20 yard from the house shot and hit's it, I have just one regular shell left in my bag.
so I call for the target and miss by about 14 feet.
I hear Dawn start giggling and she tells the kid looks like you just won good job.
then looks at me and say's you let him win on that?
I was like [shrug] I'm out of shells.... she can clearly see the two in my holder on the side of my belt.

we go to number three and I miss in the shoot-out so she ends up in a shoot-off with one of the club guy's and they go on for a bit and he finally beats her by shooting from about 1/4 mile behind the house her modified choke just run out of pellet mass.

the fourth run I end up shooting off with the same guy and actually have some shells with me this time we go on for another 15 rounds until I beat him on a shot he called and missed and I broke mine.

on the fifth round things got interesting.
we had a 5 way shoot off.
6 shots in the first guy was out, Dawn missed number 7, we knocked a younger guy out on about 16-17.
so it was me and another guy shooting after we emptied the first box of shoot-off shells [25 more] it started getting interesting to say the least.
he would go back [one time was from under the porch awning] and I would go out to the side or up or make him shoot weak handed.
I had him shoot off the trap house to the right of ours he would make us stand behind the pullers chair and shoot around it.
I was trying to come up with another shot [I only had 2 more shells left from the second box]
Littlegirl was on the phone giving her husband a play by play of the events she just yells out.
UPSIDE DOWN!! I wanna go home.

okay,okay.
so we went up to the 16 yd line and I told him okay,, we shoot from here with the gun upside down.
he just said ''look if you hit it from here with your gun upside down you win''.
so I called for and broke the target, he just stood there for a couple of seconds looking at me like I hustled him for his paycheck then shook my hand and walked off, he didn't even try the shot.

I turned around and everyone in the club just clapped.
there must have been 80-90 people standing there watching us.
I'm glad I didn't know they were there watching us shoot or I would have probably got a bit nervous.

anyway some top sirloin steaks and a couple of pork tenderloins went into the freezer tonight.
I guess I'm gonna have to teach Dawn how to shoot from the back-line.

 

[gman]

I remember my first year shooting skeet. Got smoked in a shoot off by a 14 year old girl. She gave me a beat by a girl pin. Her and I became good friends from that. Like a kid sister.

 

[Intheshop]

Nice write-up......competition report.

 

[fiver]

I kind of got burned out on competition shooting 18-19 years back unless it's just something light and informal.
yesterday was the first time I had shot behind the 16 yard line in 20 years.

 

[Brad]

I doubt I have fired 1000 rounds at trap and zero skeet. I'm just not a shotgunner. Might be that I try to shoot shotgun like I shoot rifle and that just doesn't work well.

 

[Ian]

I'm about the same as you, Brad, maybe shot a little more but not much. Some skeet, mostly sporting clays and 5-stand. I have zero athletic skills or coordination, never played sports, can't catch a ball, don't track moving objects well, etc. because I spent my childhood building models, technical drawing, reading, playing piano, insect collecting, and studying astronomy instead of playing baseball and having water balloon fights with the neighbor kids like everyone else. Even with a little professional coaching and some dedicated practice I saw that it wasn't my game and quit trying. Last year I shot a 36/100 at a charity shoot with a shotgun that actually fit me.

 

[Brad]

Ok, I'm a little better than that. Years back I shot enough over a summer to hit 24/25 once. I just didn't enjoy it as much and realized right away that to be good it was gonna take lots of time and money. I also didn't wanting to beat my 870 express mag to death. I don't think the lower end Rem shotguns are designed to shoot 5K rounds per year or more. I do know my wallet didn't want to support a habit like that.

Other than birds I never needed a shotgun. Squirrels are rifle game to my dad so that is what we used. Ok, I used a handgun some too.

 

[KHornet]

Shot a fair amount of trap and skeet many years ago. Both are expensive games, and
reloading shotgun shells is just sort of ho hum, compared to reloading rifle & pistol.
It doesn't take long when in the process of becoming a decent trap or skeet shooter,
before it starts taking a couple hundred bucks a month out of the wallet. They are
fun games, but expensive, and I am cheap.

Paul

 

[fiver]

I dug out the old Littleton shot maker the other day [first time since like 95-96]
I got it partially set up one evening finished it the next and made up 150 lbs of shot that day.
it was some of the best shot I have ever made with the thing.

once I figured out that the catch fluid was temperature and viscosity dependent and that the shot size can be manipulated some by the head pressure on the nozzles things really fell into place.
I'm gonna work on pre-heating the catch fluid and a few other little things and I should be able to just feed it lead and remove the shot and keep it rolling.
I figured out a classifier that is easy and quick to use and catches all the junk so I just need to figure out how to get the soap off the shot now.
I think I'm gonna try bagging it up and taking it to the car wash and blast it through the bag.

making my own shot for practice and such keeps the price down to less than 100$ per thousand rounds.
and gives me something to do with that [hell I dunno alloy]
the price is a bit higher when I mix it with the 22$ a bag shot I get when I buy shooting tickets, but even there I make 25 lbs into 35-36 lbs for about nuthin.
but it does drive my per thousand cost up about 60$.
1,000 rounds is like 3 hours of my time on the reloading press so it isn't overly time consuming.

I never thought of shot gunning as hard or any type of discipline.
I just look at the target and shoot it and it breaks, no fancy foot work, no special gun fitting.
I was using the Winchester 101 yesterday.


today I shot 49/50 with 3 different guns. [I traded the wife halfway through round one and used the SIL's 1300 for the second]
the only one I missed was a bad shell, I expected more since I was cleaning out the 'junk bucket' today.
I switched to my Remington 3200 for the last round and had another bad shell but got a 'do-over' on that one and went 25 straight.
so I guess I actually went 74/75 with 4 different guns today.

 

[Ian]

I just look at the target and shoot it and it breaks, no fancy foot work, no special gun fitting.

That's just it. You get it or you don't get it, and if you don't, there isn't a trainer on earth who can teach you. I was working with Mike McAlpine out in San Angelo on the skeet range and he took my Wingmaster and showed me the lead from station 5, broke the high-house bird from his hip. He didn't even look at the bird after it left the house. Of course he'd made that shot tens of thousands of times, but I shot at it all day and never did get the hang of it. After that I went home and nursed my frustration with some relaxing benchrest work and decided that it was OK if I never was going to learn how to hit anything which a shotgun. The only time since then that my interest piqued again was a certain sporting clay target from the last shoot that skunked me...I went back after the match and paid the range for extra birds on that one station. It took me two boxes of shells but I finally figured out the lead...it was 7 feet and in the window where the target was shootable it was about 5 yards out and the only way to hit it was just swat at it and pull the trigger. Turns out I'd been shooting about five feet behind and three feet over it the whole time, but it had faked out a lot of other shooters too. I shook my head and once again conceded to this "not being my sport".

 

[Intheshop]

We have some pretty hi-end shotguns come through here,usually fixing finish issues.Mainly for hunting rigs,occasionally resto work.So,they're here,might as well take'm down in the woods where we sling clays....

I've cleared some world class SC ranges in the past....it's OK?It's mostly just being sociable.Being that I am way more concerned with how their facilities stack up against our,admitted...hillbilly efforts.Kinda like watching golf on TV,and I don't play?I watch because of critiquing their landscapes and clubhouses.Hey,this is what pays for my rifle habit.

What's interesting,as posted by Ian,some "got it"....some,never will.I've put high end clay busters in friends and family's hands and they just don't get it?

Now,our "stations" ain't like anything I've ever seen on a SC course....way more difficult.We saw 3D archery take the same path,somewhat....it started as an excersize to tune up for hunting.Then turned into gaming.Manicured shooting lanes,politeness,golf carts,etc.

 

[Rally Hess]

My experiences are about the same as Pauls. I enjoyed shooting Flury a lot, but it took a good partner and got real expensive. Both times I was stationed at Ft. Hood. Tx I did a lot of dove hunting. Mostly with a Rem. 1100 in 3" .410. Got to running with the LGS owner and he was without doubt the best shotgun shooter I'd ever seen. He shot a Winchester 42 and the birds tumbled horizontally when he shot. If he missed it was because he was shooting into the sun and he wore glasses.

 

[fiver]

there is little tricks to shooting with a gun at the hip or upside down or side way's.

my win 101 is an anomaly of sorts it is a pigeon grade but with a black diamond stock added on.
if I look at the beads on the ramp I can't shoot the thing.
I'm actually looking down on top of the entire ramp and I see the entire ramp between the beads.
if I just find the front sight and look away and focus on the target I break it.
sometimes I see the barrels up higher than the target sometimes I see the rib clearly sometimes I'm not even aware of their existence.
as long as my face is on the wood I get clean breaks and usually a smoke cloud.

 

[Intheshop]

Generally,it's an awful lot like "instinctive" traditional archery.You BURN a hole in the target....sights?...there ain't no sights!

Books have been written on instinctive shooting,some,by friends of mine.One trick to getting guy's,mind's,"right".....is,shoot at night.In traditional archery world,we call'm,coon shoots.

Trying to keep it PC,you go out after dark,might even have folks a tad bit,party'd up?But,the rules state that we're limited to a 2 cell flashlight.We put those glow in the dark,thumbtacks in the eyes of,usually coon.
...doh,targets.Then shoot your longbow/recurve at the target.And yes it's scored.The point being,you learn by muscle memory.

 

[Intheshop]

Now,on a "pro" level....only because I should be out cutting firewood....

On any given day when pros....paid for,sponsor'd,labeled shooters are "on",then good luck.It's a Zen thing.Everyone who's been in any sort of comp shooting environment has seen it...they win.

Here's the spoiler,it ain't about days you're "on".It's about cleaning up the days you aren't.So,when discussing"fitted" stocks,bows....heck,it might be some old "arn" in the shop...

The better it fits,isn't about the good days it's about not making the little mistakes on "off" days.Top competitors know this...subsequently seek out shops/craftsman that understand the process.

Stupid chainsaws....got FW to cut,got bows to set up.And it might snow tonight,I'd rather be shooting my 7....doh.

 

[gman]

It is most definitely a Zen thing. Having a gun that fits is a big plus. I've been in that zone before. My squad mates recognized it and never said a word to me between rounds. It all set in when I shot my last 2 targets on station 8 low house. Broke 100/100. Managed to carry it over to the gun championship shoot off. Placed 3rd out of 9. Behind Stewart McCoin and Todd Bender. Two world champs. Doing it over and over is another thing lol! Game just keeps getting more costly to shoot. Went back to casting and shooting. Yeah I'm saving money.

 

[fiver]

I think some of it come from shooting archery as a kid.
my Dad used to shoot leagues and such back then and got me a nice long bow made when I was about 4.

I remember going over the Golden Gate bridge in our old [flat gold/brown] IH pick-up [58 or a 59 I think it was] and going into town [San Francisco] then I remember walking down somewhere between fisherman's Warf and China Town and going into the store to get it. [you could always tell when you were close to the Warf by the smell of crabs and sea salt]
I won't say how you could tell you were near China Town.
what's funny is I can still see him lighting a Marlboro Red with a match [from a white book of matches] as we drove over the bridge and the smell of the match and the tobacco.
I don't know where we were before that or where my Mom and Sister were either.

my mom would drop me off at the indoor range for about an hour or so once or twice a week while she went shopping, and I usually had the whole place to myself.
AIRC it cost something like 20-25 cents an hour for the range time.

 

[RBHarter]

I have a BPS that I've shot a lot . One particularly trying season the butt stock started to work and got loose . I got out the marginally right tools and squared up the mating face . In doing so I took the cast on out of it, leaving basically a dead straight comb . I may have altered the drop just a fraction also . I went from a double on a 5 bird flush if 3 were suicidal to doubles as a regular thing . I even had a morning that I pulled off back to back trips . Zen ,fit , flow , Fung Shue .... I don't know what it's called but the it happened and it was awesome .

Funny fiver you mentioned the match and the Marberl red . It made me jump there for a second . In that instant I could almost smell my grandfather's Zippo and the first catch of his Lucky Strike ......... Maybe it was the Camel's ........

 

[fiver]

probably Lucky's back then. [I'd be smoking their filtered ones now if I could find them]
Jack Benny and Bug's Bunny shilled for them back in the day.

 

[Pistolero]

Hmm. That sort of shotgun skills just blows me away. I am about where Brad is.
Somewhat competent, but really not very good at shotgunning. I can hit at the skeet
field, never even tried trap. The most I ever did was at a rich friend's "family compound" (really)
down in Oklahoma, he has a couple of real skeet fields.... Blew my mind. He said
bring as much ammo as you want and shoot as much as you want. Wow! I had a
lot of fun, shot up about 8 boxes of shells, which is HUGE for me. Definitely got better, but
I do it so rarely that I get totally rusty between tries. I think I shot 23/25 on a fundraiser
sporting clays once and won a G2 flashlight. That would be my lifetime high point.

It would seem that some time with a coach might be profitable.....but I would have to care
to do that, and cannot seem to find it. Pretty good pistol shooter, a decent rifle shooter, know
the basics of a shotgun and won't hurt myself with a bow.