Sporting Clays is Awesome!!!!

[bamf]

Well I just came back from my trip to Reno and it was a lot of fun. But truely the highlight came when I tried out Sporting Clays for the first time at the Sage Hill Clays. I had tons of fun, you guys are totally right, trap and skeet is one thing but sporting clays is in totally different league.

It was a beautiful course (the backdrop was the snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains), had some extremely challenging shots. I got a 49/100 and quite a few doubles. I think I did alright especially for my first time and having a pump gun.

The first station I saw what I was getting into and I said I'm not gonna hit a single target. But low behold, first time, I blew both targets away. One of the guys waiting for the station, said, damm you pump that gun good. One thing though, everyone except for a single person who had an auto and myself (pump) had an over/under and really nice ones at that. Is that the best type of gun for Sporting Clays?
There were some people with some seriously expensive gear, a husband and wife duo was shooting ahead of me and the wife had an o/u that had a custom teal stock that matched her outfit, it was actually kinda cool.

This is certainly expensive, I can't afford $35+ on weekly basis maybe once a month tops (poor student). So how is five stand in comparison, does it help at all or is it completely different?

Any Northern Californian try out the Sporting Clay course up in Birds Landing, if so what did you think of it.

 

[Dave McC]

Glad you liked it, and 49/100 for the first time is commendable.

IMO, SC loses a lot of potential participants by not setting up a beginner's course. Maybe 5 stand is supposed to do that.

5 stand is fun, an abbreviated version of SC with a variety of shots. Naturally, not all shots can be covered, but a good variety are.

SC is definitely an upscale sport, like Polo.Per hour, the cost is probably about that of a mid level hooker(G).

And SC attracts a different crowd than trap or skeet.I never heard a trapshooter or skeeter ask another if they looked OK. Color co-ordination is not high priority with the non SC crowd.Me, I tend to shoot SC wearing old jeans, black biker style T shirts, and a ball cap that says,"Md Dept of Corrections" on the front, kind of a counterpoint to teal painted stocks and golf togs(G)...

IMO,the best gun for SC is your hunting shotgun.
You may not take the high gun money at a competition event, but your average on live game will climb like a homesick angel.

For a pure gamer gun, the O/U have lots of advantages,including a choice of chokes. Buy one after graduation, become sudden death on targets with your pump gun meantime.

HTH....

 

[maze51]

Hi bamf,
I just found this board myself and I am interested in beginning clays. I am from the Sacramento also and I am going to check out the different ranges available in our area. I am so glad that boards like this exist, they are so helpful and the friendly response from the users really gets me excited about shooting.

 

[K80Geoff]

49/100 was the exact same score I shot in my first round of Sporting clays many years ago

Hitting half of the birds with a pump is excellent for the first time out.

O/U's are the top of the line but many shooters use Autos including several national champions. A good O/U is megabucks and you would be better served using the pump and buying ammo untill you are in a more comfortable financial position.

The average cost for a round of 100 is around $30.00 today and will probably go up. Sporting is definitely an upscale sport and most of the practicioners are retired folks with mucho disposable income.

5 stand is just as challenging but less expensive.

Check out other local shooting grounds , perhaps there is a place that is cheaper or allows membership with reduced prices per round. One local club allows members to work and get reduced prices. Perhaps you would like to work at a range on weekends?

Remember all the clays games will sharpen your shotgunning skills, don't turn up your nose at Trap and Skeet. Try shooting from a low gun position and ask the trapper to delay the birds on a random basis to sharpen your skills.

 

[bamf]

maze,

Good to see another N. Californian...there are some good ranges around our area. The place I primarily go to is the Yolo County Sportsman Association, they have a rifle/pistol range, 5 trap, 2 skeet and a five stand. Nice people some pretty decent skeet shooters out there. Down in Vacaville, there is an indoor range that you can rent guns called the Shooting Gallery, not so nice guys...but they're the only indoor range thats close. If you ever want to get together and head out to a range, email me at dan1997@wowmail.com

Geoff, well the local range (note only one) that has SC is $38...membership doesn't seem to help much either unless you go alot. I will continue with trap and skeet, although trap is getting a bit mundane...how do you guys who love trap keep it interesting?