Skeet's Homepage
to my clay target shooters website!!
Updated 19 July 2006
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
This is the place to get tips on shooting skeet, trap, and other clay target games. You'll also find info about places to shoot, schedules of upcoming events and just "stuff" that I think might be of interest to fellow clay target shooters.
Just browse down the page; no fancy point & click graphics here!(Well, maybe there's a few of them!)
Shooting Organizations
Ammunition Advice
Leading The Target
Target Guns
Shooting Events
Great Places To Shoot
Skeet Shooting Tips
Trap Shooting Tips
My Page of Website Links
Here's the organizations that govern the various clay target games and they support our constitutional right to own shotguns to shoot clay targets.
Amateur Trapshooting Association
601 West National Road
Vandalia, OH 45377
Visit them at:www.shootata.com
National Skeet Shooting Association
5931 Roft Road
San Antonio, TX 78253-0007
Visit them at:www.nssa-nsca.com
The National Sporting Clays Association is co-located with the NSSA
National Rifle Association
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030-9400
Visit them at:
North American Hunting Club
P O Box 3401
Minnetonka, MN 55343
Visit them at:www.huntingclub.com
National Shooting Sports Foundation
Visit them at:www.nssf.org
Now here's a super link that will take you to a world of great firearm links:
Return to Table of Contents
Here's some homespun advice on ammo for skeet and trap: Reload shells to reduce the cost of shooting. Always follow the recipes listed in the manuals from gunpowder manufacturers; those recipes have been developed and tested by professionals and are known to be safe. I won't endorse any specific brand of reloading components, but I do have my favorites loads. In 12 gauge, I like a 7/8 oz. load. That's right, 7/8 oz. of #9 shot (#8, #8˝, or #7˝ also work well,just a few less pellets!) in a 12 gauge shell. The recipes listed in the manuals worked superbly; they smashed targets just as hard as 1-1/8 oz. loads and with a lot less recoil. Even with a chamber pressure listing of about 7000 psi, they operated the actions of semi-automatic guns smoothly and without malfunction. And, believe it or not, these same shells worked great at 16-18 yard trap. The muzzle velocity averaged 1255 fps which is legal for ATA trap. Also, the trap targets I missed were because I sometimes forget that I'm supposed to point the barrel of my gun in front of a clearly visible target; I'm still trying to prove that a blurry target in front of a clearly visible bead will result in a hit; thus far, it hasn't worked once, but I'll continue to try it now and then! When practicing skeet, I like to use 28 gauge shells that I've reloaded. With only 3/4 oz. of shot, they're very economical to practice with.
IMPORTANT RELOADING TIP:
FOLLOW THE RECIPES EXACTLY; DON'T DEVIATE!! As stated earlier, the recipes in the manuals from powder makers have been developed and tested by professionals. Components should not be interchanged; all primers, powders, wads, etc. are not alike. It is dangerous to experiment on your own.
Here's some websites you can visit to learn more about reloading shotshells:
National Reloading Manufacturers Association
Hodgdon Powder Company
Alliant Powders
IMR Powders
Lyman
Littleton Shotmaker
Duster Wads
To read more about factory shells, check out these links:
AA® Skeet & Trap Loads
STS/Premier® Target Loads
Gold Medal® Target Loads
Victory Shotshells
NOTE:"AA";"STS/Premier;"Gold Medal" are registered trademarks of Winchester, Remington, and Federal respectively. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
I'll add more links as I learn the URL for other manufacturers!
Return to Table of Contents
Whenever you're shooting any clay target game, you have to lead the target, that is, you must point your gun in front of the target. How far in front of the target you point your gun depends on which skeet station you're on or which trap post and the angle the target is going from you. (I won't get in to the lead for each station or post at this time; you can read about the different leads for trap by going to my Trap Tips page. My Skeet Tips file talks about skeet fundamentals.) The point I want to make here is that I don't believe you can lead a target too much. The basis of that statement is that many times in skeet and trap I've thought that I was leading a target too much and ended up hitting the front side of the target; however, any time I last saw my barrel trailing the target when I pulled the trigger, the result was a miss. Hitting the front of a target means you could have cut the lead a little and hitting the back means that you could have increased it a little; either way, you still hit it. One of the biggest problems I've encountered when instructing new students on skeet or trap is that they think they've lead the target too much when they miss. What I have to prove to them is that they moved the gun before the target appeared, thus seeing the barrel too far in front, then, they stop their swing and pull the trigger. As soon as they stopped the swing, they went from being too far in front to somewhere behind the target which results in a "0" on the score card. The other problem I've had with new shooters is what I call "measuring the lead"; they'll try to lead the target by precisely the distance I've told them and when they think they've attained it, they stop the swing and pull the trigger (once again resulting in a miss). Accordingly, now I place the emphasis on just shooting in front of the target and using the quality of the hit to analyze the preciseness of the lead.
Return to Table of Contents
What's the best gun for shooting skeet? Any good quality over/under shotgun is my answer. I won't endorse any certain brand, but I'll tell you this: you get what you pay for. There's a lot of bargain basement brands out there, but I can almost guarantee that'll you'll regret buying them. Stick with the companies that have been in business for a long time and make skeet and trap guns.
I like over/under shotguns with a 28" barrel, single selective trigger, smart ejectors, and changeable chokes. A 12 gauge with a tube set and changeable chokes becomes a multi-purpose gun; skeet, trap, sporting clays, or hunting. I personally use a Browning Citori 12 ga. O/U (28"bbl/Invector Chokes) with a Briley tube set for skeet. This gun has served me well on the skeet field and has never been responsible for a missed target (now I can't say the same for myself!). I have used it to shoot about 35,000 of my 43,300 lifetime registered skeet targets. I use a Browning BT-99 with a 32" Invector Plus Choked barrel for trap Singles and Handicap. About half of my 9100 registered 16-Yard targets and 6500 Handicap targets have been shot with this gun.
Semi-automatics and pump guns work great for skeet too. You just need a gun capable of shooting two shots (doubles).
REMEMBER: I don't and won't endorse any specific brand of gun, but here are some links where you can check out clay target guns:
For gunsmithing and customizing your favorite clay target gun, check out these two sites:
Timney Triggers
Hakes Barrel Works
I'll add more links as I learn the URL for other manufacturers!
Return to Table of Contents
To see what's happening with clay target shooting in Southwest Missouri (or if you just want to visit a great website),Click Here!
If you want to visit a great website and see what's happening with clay target shooting in New Zealand, CLICK HERE!
Go to another site in the Land Down Under! to see what's happening at the Azzuri Clay Target Club in Australia.
DURHAM COUNTY WILDLIFE CLUB is the place to shoot clay targets in North Carolina. NSSA Skeet shoots, ATA Trapshoots, and NSCA Sporting Clays are them!
Here's three more great websites I've recently learned about:
Georgia Sporting Clays Association Check out the latest in NSCA action in the Peach State!
Chattahoochee Clays, Inc. A super club located in Phenix City, Alabama
Old South Hunting Retriever Club This club operates throughout Georgia.
Tactical Intervention Specialists Here's a new site I've learned about concerning rifle marksmanship. Check it out!
The NSSA and AFSA have made their ruling on the Military Concurrent event. Reservists are not eligible for the Military Concurrent except as listed in the current rules. Reservists and National Guardsmen had requested to compete in the Military Concurrent at all times.
Return to Table of Contents
California:
(1)Miramar Trap & Skeet, Miramar NAS
(2) Vado Del Rio Skeet Range, Camp Pendleton
Illinois:
(1)World Shooting and Recreational Complex, Sparta
Nebraska:
(1)Grand Island Skeet & Sporting Clays, Grand Island
(2)Lincoln County Wildlife Gun/Skeet Club, North Platte
Maryland:
(1) Andrews Rod and Gun, Andrews AFB
North Carolina:
NC Trapshooting Assn.
NC Skeet Shooting Assn.
(1)Pender County Gun Club, Wilmington (Now Closed)
(2) Buccaneer Gun Club, Wilmington
(3)Durham County Wildlife Club, Morrisville
(4) Old Hickory Gun Club, Rocky Mount
(5)McIntyre Skeet & Trap Range, Camp Lejeune
(6)Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro
(7)Buckhorn Gun Club, Mebane
(8)Coharie Shooting League, Clinton
(9)Fort Bragg Clay Target Center, Fayetteville
(10)Charlie Brown Gun Club, Kittrell
(11)Sir Walter Gun Club, Creedmoor
(12)Watauga Gun Club, Boone
(13)NCTA Home Grounds, Bostic
Ohio
ATA Home Grounds, Vandalia
South Carolina
Myrtle Grove Gun Club
Tennessee
Tennessee Clay Target Complex, Nashville
Asia:
(1)Camp Courtney Skeet & Trap Range, Okinawa (Now Closed)
(2)Subic Bay Naval Base, Olongopo City Phillipines (Now Closed)
Ok, so you liked some of the animated graphics. Well, go to this place and check out what's available:
If you want to check out some other nifty graphics and/or icons, better visit::
Return to Table of Contents
skeet 's Home Page
This page hosted by 
Get your own Free Home Page