Tips for skeet

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Drummer101

New member
I am having a hard time on the stations to the right of the field and getting the low house.

I have really bad right eye and basically no peripheral vision on that side.

I have not found a good place to look or keep my feet so I can be consistent. If I look more at the low house I have to turn really fast or I can look more at the high house but then I dont get much warning.


I will leave station 8 out of this for now lol.

And the Jones recoil pad word. Still has a little kick but it fits prefect now. I miss only because I jump or something silly.
Will have to grind down the profile somehow so the over sized part does not dig into my chest. But I still survived 75 rounds and the tighter I pulled it in the better. I think I will a little loose and that was beating me up a little.
 
Drummer, it's hard to give you any suggestions without actually seeing you shoot. Your generalizing with, "I have really bad right eye and basically no peripheral vision on that side," doesn't really help. If you'd said that your vision was restricted to so many degrees, then I'd have an idea. I'd take that measurement and put it over a Skeet field layout and learn if you really are unsighted using standard hold points.

Also, not knowing how much experience you have, it may be that you don't yet have a good handle on the basics. It could be that your vision is adequate, and you just need to work on your style. Here's a typical example: a newbie has watched the game and has reasoned that Low-5 is a mirror shot of High-3. He broke High-3 okay, so now he just has to reverse what he did at High-3 to get Low-5. He calls for the bird and just as he starts to make his move… it vanishes. What has happened? He held at the same elevation as he did at H-3 and the L-5 target got under his gun. If you don't hold below the path of the target you're easily into trouble. What you're attributing to vision problems might just be a bad hold point, or wrong foot position, or a poor gun mount, or…
 
I think one of the hardest things for a new shooter to understand is how important the hold point is to breaking the target. Too far out and the bird can get out of range quickly, too close and you have to rush the shot trying to catch up.
Have an experienced shooter watch you shoot a round or two and offer corrections. Like Zippy said, without knowing a bunch of details there isn't any way for us to help and even then, someone actually on the field with you would be better. Whatever you do, DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!
 
Try this:
Place your feet and adjust your point of aim to hit the target a little over half way across the field.
But start by holding and looking to your right as far as your sight allows you to see the low house.
In other words, twist from the waist and knees to your right to begin and then unwind to the left, to shoot the target.
Hope this explanation makes sense.
The powerfactorshow.com recently has had a series of videos on the shotgun sports, with good explanations of the games and techniques.
It's mostly for beginners, but there's lots of good info.
 
Bailey Boat, After way too long, I finally realized the difference the right hold point for me makes. I had always held just at the top of the house.
Someone suggested a much higher hold point and that made a big difference, but then I started experimenting and it seems that something in the middle is best for me. It seems that as I am more comfortable with my hold point, I break the bird in closer which is a very good thing for me. I have been one to shoot well beyond 40 yards and that is for 16 yard trap.
 
Klaw, when I shoot trap from 16 yds I have to force myself to wait until the target is at an optimal distance (usually around 35 to 40 yards) and the pattern has opened before I pull the trigger. Since I'm waiting anyway the hold point isn't that critical for me. I agree that it's sweet to puff ball them but I feel it's more important to have good, solid hits, some where between puff ball and chipping.
If I want to not wait and be able to shoot to my timing then I back up to the 22 yard line. Distance to break is the same but I don't need to hesitate like I do from 16 yards and my hold point becomes more important.

But back to the topic, I feel the hold point in skeet is more critical than in trap since skeet uses less choke and has less latitude in where you can break the bird. And like you found out, hold points are a personal thing, you just have to find what works best for your style of shooting.
 
Get a lesson from a certified istructor. It will shorten the learning curve.

Im an NSCA instructor and I teach a new sporting clays student to make their break point where they can see the bird the best. Go one third back to the machine for your hold point and keep the gun just below the birds line of flight. A right handed shooter would point his left toe at the beak point. Thats oversimplified but it gives them a place to start. We fine tune it from there.

You can do something similar with skeet. Use the center stake as your break point. Go 1/3 to 1/2 back to the house for your hold. If you feel rushed move your hold point out, if you feel like you waiting on the bird move it back towards the house. Point your toe at the breakpoint. Keep your gun slightly below the line of flight. Again thats oversimplified, but its a place to start.

Dont let other shooters tell you where your breakpoint should be. Only your vision and reaction can determine that.
 
You can do something similar with skeet... Go 1/3 to 1/2 back to the house for your hold.
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Yikes :eek:... Holding that far out, and you'll just be shooting holes in the sky.

The common starting hold points are typically 1/4 the way from the house to the center stake (or, straight out from stations 2 and 6). From these, the new shooter will adjust his hold points primarily based on his reaction time and secondarily on his shooting style (a sustained lead shooter can hold farther out that then a swing-through shooter).

A helpful Skeet aid is hold point markers (illegal in competition). Anything, an empty shell box or a mound of clay chips, will serve. Walk out from the house (to the center stake) and when you're even with the inside corner of stations 2 and 6, make you marks. As you work around the field, start with your gun over the marker and below the path of the target. Try to be at the end of the squad so you can learn the target elevation (above your marker) by watching the others shoot.

In an attempt to reduce frustration, I set up up a Skeet training field for newbies. In addition to hold point markers, there was a toe line at each station, lead gauges and break point indicators on the ground. For each station, the shooter was given the general idea of where to place his feet, start his gun, the lead to see and where to try to hit the target.
 
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I misspoke or misstyped, whichever you prefer. 1/2 to 1/3 FROM the house will give a newbie time to react and not get behind the bird. Their reaction time will dictate the needed adjustment.
I appreciate the fact you are the self appointed forum skeet expert, sorry if I intruded upon your territory.
The OP is having trouble picking up the target due to poor peripheral vision. Assuming he is on line, moving his hold point out, giving him more time time to visually aquire the target makes sense, does it not????
 
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I realized that you had it backwards; however, 1/3 to 1/2 away from the house (towards the center stake), IMHO, is too far for a new shooter. Newbies have a natural inclination to point the gun right at the window to insure a good view of the target. You mentioned, the hold point will "give a newbie time to react and not get behind the bird." It's been my experience, newbies (and many other Skeet shooters) start their swing already "behind the bird." It's the hold point that allows the shooter enough time to catch up, get ahead of the target and see the lead. Sorry if that makes me an ass.

With respect to the OP's reported problem, as I mentioned earlier, I don't have have sufficient information to make a call.

Edit:
The OP is having trouble picking up the target due to poor peripheral vision. Assuming he is on line, moving his hold point out, giving him more time time to visually acquire the target makes sense, does it not????
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If you assume all other things being equal (and the shooter is looking straight out over his rib) -- and, if it's a peripheral vision problem, holding further out will only cause a greater delay before he see his target. Think of the OP's problem as a curtain that extends out from in front of the low house window. If he moves his hold point out, the curtain extends. A style modification might help his problem.
 
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If they are behind, having them hold close to the house puts them even farther behind, right??? If they hold close, in the beginning all they are seeing is an orange comet going past their gun barrel. Once they are "seeing" the bird and no longer chasing it, they can adjust their hold and fine tune their feet for the individual station. Is that not correct?

Case in point. This afternoon, one of my shooters was preparing for the youth state skeet and trap champoinship next weekend. He is a solid shooter, having won several medals including HOA in sporting, skeet and trap. At station 2 high house. He was consistently behind the bird, having trouble picking it up. We moved his hold out slightly and he began breaking them consistenly. I had him break 10 in a row before he moved on. He cleaned the rest of the stations and shot 25 on his next round.
 
We moved his hold out slightly and he began breaking them consistenly.
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Been there, done that. The key word is "slightly" -- as I've previously said, Skeet is a game of inches. If you hold too far out, you'll not catch up with the target in time.
 
You guys, Zippy and LSnSC lost me, until I realized how lost I already was. I think I am the only one talking about trap hold points and just relzed that you , as was the OP in post 1, are taling about skeet. All I know so far about skeet hold points is I generally have them all wrong.


LS, I post this wearing my USC Gamecock's shirt.
 
TKM, my friend, you're trying too hard. This thread's title, "Tips for Skeet" might have been a clue. ;)
Keep the faith, brother.
 
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