Breaking clays alone?

P

pequeajim

Inactive
I would like to get out to the range and practice alone. I have only been shooting a shotgun for two weeks, so my skill level is not such that I can throw the clays myself and then shoot.

What do you guys do?
 
I use a spring trap like a Trius, it is mounted to the small bench at the public range. I use a short cord to release the bird. C clamps hold it to the bench, the only problem is cocking the trap and holding the gun at the same time.

I want to get a Do-All electric trap, it has a foot switch.
 
My local club encourages novice shooters to shoot by themselves if it is not busy (generally on weekdays) but an employee does pull the traps. Those guys have seen it all, so don't worry about it. They might even be able to offer some suggestions to help you out.
 
Does your range have voice activated target release? Years ago, I recall Al Clark shooting alone by hitting the pickle with his foot/toe -- but, he was a world's Skeet champion. If you're new to shooting, shooting alone will have a very flat learning curve. You'll be best served to start out with a qualified instructor. With the trial-and-error self-taught method, you'll find yourself repeating many common errors.
 
I have been able to practice one particular shot by asking the puller to set the trap at one position. You might start just shooting straight away targets, for example, to gain confidence.

You might also pattern your gun to see if your Point of impact is the same as your point of aim. I always shoot patterns at a 3' x3' cardboard with a bulls eye in the middle from 16 yds. to check the gun. I personally prefer guns that put about 60% of the pattern above the point of aim.
 
The club I belong to is really a rifle and pistol gun club. Very few shotgun members, but growing. I love the club and it is only two miles from my house.

The area designated for shotguns is one of the pistol pits that is about 50 yards deep.

The only club thrower is a spring operated job that I use with my brother in law when we go shooting together. I would like to go myself as he can not get out to the club as much as I can.

If I find that I really start to like this and want to do significantly more, than I will join the trap shooting club local to me.
 
Does your range have voice activated target release? Years ago, I recall Al Clark shooting alone by hitting the pickle with his foot/toe -- but, he was a world's Skeet champion. If you're new to shooting, shooting alone will have a very flat learning curve. You'll be best served to start out with a qualified instructor. With the trial-and-error self-taught method, you'll find yourself repeating many common errors.
Click to expand...

Zippy is right on about the trial-and-error self-taught method. Unfortunately, some instructors aren't a great deal of help but if you find a decent one and they are out there, they are well worth the cost. After 2 years of mainly trial and error, with a one group lesson and two private ones, I am finding things are coming together when a couple of guys at a local public shotgun club took an interest in things. That and I saw a stock pro about having some work done. He didn't want to do any work and told me how to modify an incorrect mount.

If the nearby shotgun club is open to non-members, I suggest you try it. You might also give it a call and even if it only allows members to shoot, you may find that you can take lessons there with coaches that have a deal with the club.

Learn what to do now, before bad habits are ingrained. As I am finally shedding some of my bad habits I am learning how easy it can be to destroy targets.
 
Unfortunately, the local shotgun club is rarely open for shooting. Not like a regular club, they run a lot of matches, and I will check to see if they have any instructors. I am willing to pay someone for the instruction so that I have a solid foundation for my practice. I don't have to shoot to build the muscle memory to aim the same way every time. I just need to learn how to do it.

Thanks for the suggestion.
 
I prefer the social aspect as well as the fun of shooting with other folks, so try to get to that local club or travel a little to another one. Pasture clays is nothing like shooting clays from a regulation machine
 
There are also a lot of good DVD's out there ...on Skeet, Trap and Sporing Clays...each of them very different games / although the Benelli you have is versatile and will work pretty well for all 3 games.

There are a lot of clay target clubs that are only open a few days a month ....or clubs that have a sporting clays shoot once a month...you just have to see what's in your area...or maybe within 75 miles or so, that you can get to once in a while.

But have fun with the process..../ read up on the games and their rules ...and take the extra time to understand the etiquette at your local clays clubs and the safety rules for that club. They may be very different than what you're used to.
 
An electric thrower like a Champion or Do-All for the sub $300 allows you to move and have different target presentations.

While a foot control release manual trap is fun, they are very limited on presentations.

I would much rather load 40-60 clays and throw and shoot continuously than load, throw, shoot, load, throw, etc.
 
I only live a mile from a major Sporting Clays venue, but I bought an electric machine with a remote control. I tow it out to the pipeline right of way behind me with the yard tractor and blaze away from any angle I desire. Doesn't take long to pay for itself at today's rates.
 
Today I stopped by a local yard sale to look for a used roller for my driveway.

Lo and behold, what did my wandering eyes see? A champion Wheelybird still in the box.

The woman told me that her husband who passed away recently liked to shoot skeet, and had bought this, but never used it. The box had a price tag on it of $100. I felt bad for the woman loosing her husband, told her that was too little, and gladly gave her $140, then put the box in my car.

She was happy and it was the first time I ever felt guilty getting a great deal...
 
Ditto. You have no reason to feel guilty. Someone else would have talked her down by $40 and you voluntarily gave her an extra $40. Besides the extra money, you probably made that woman feel a bit better; that people cared about her.
 
I hit my range mid week and can almost always shoot by myself. All of our throwers are on voice command so its easy to shoot alone.
 
I use a voice actuated controller named "Clay Delay" - clips on your belt and has a clip on microphone. Two models available - a wired version and a two unit remote. You can buy skeet only, trap only, or combination models. Has to match the wiring on the machines you use. Bought mine a few years back for $125. http://www.claydelay.com/
 
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