My first Skeet

On Saturday 20th June 2009 I was at Bisley with my mate and after a few DTL rounds I suggested we try a round of skeet. My mate had been having some misfire issues with his gun but he said yeah why not so we joined some people at one of the English Skeet stands for a round. I have to admit I was nervous. Not just because it was my first round of skeet, but also because there were other people there. However they turned out to be a great bunch and welcomed us warmly. Within just a few shots I LOVED skeet!!!! It was fantastic… The targets were challenging without being impossible, and the far more social aspect of it was refreshing with most of us talking to each other between shots. This contrasted dramatically with DTL where everyone has to remain quiet until the whole round is finished because of the acoustic releases. Granted my first score was poor as can be expected, but on a couple of stands (mostly 1 and 7) I managed to get all 4 birds and killing the pair gave me such a buzz I felt like a kid again!!! I got so excited on stand 7 that after killing the last pair quite convincingly I walked off the stand without breaking my gun and one of the blokes had to politely remind me to do so…. Quite embarrassing…

For those with no knowledge of English Skeet, the layout is 7 stands arranged in a semi circle with 2 traps, one on the left in a high tower and one on the right in a low tower. Stand 1 is directly underneath the high tower, while stand 7 is directly under the low tower. Stand 4 is in the middle. The traps are set to throw the birds a set distance at a set height in such a way that the clay from the high tower would cross paths with the clay thrown from the low tower. All stands except 3 and 5 shoot 2 singles (one from each tower) followed by a pair. Stands 3 and 5 just shoot 2 singles. On all stands except 4 and 7 high tower must be shot first for the singles, but low tower should be shot first for the pairs on stands 5, 6 and 7 due to the target presentation (it’s easier basically….). At stand 4 however, you can nominate which clay to go for in the pair, and stand 7 you shoot low tower first for singles. As the total number of clays and stands only adds up to 24, your first missed shot must be taken again and this is counted towards the final score of 25. If you kill every bird on every stand, you can nominate your final 25th target on stand 7. The diagram below gives you an idea of what a typical skeet layout looks like:



As you can see skeet gives you a much more varied, but at the same time predictable target presentation to DTL and for me personally that adds a little bit more excitement. Don’t get me wrong here, DTL ain’t easy as my scores can prove, but I personally think I am going to enjoy skeet a lot more than DTL. Since my first skeet round I’ve done about another 3 rounds and my score has slowly improved. As I said I seem to be better on stands 1 and 7 but I think I am starting to see the “lead picture” I need for the targets on the other stands. It was quite amazing the last time I shot just exactly how much lead I did need to hit the clay, especially on stands 3, 4 and 5, and you don’t realise it until you actually smoke one…. I have also learnt that follow through is VITAL. If you just point and shoot you will miss most of the time.

Anyway, I am planning on trying out a few more grounds near me that have skeet layouts so I can try and improve my score. I am hoping that in a few months time I might be doing well enough to enter the competitions at the Fareham ground as it is the closest one to me and by joining the comps they run every time they are open means I can enjoy some good skeet shooting close to where I live and start working towards my first official 25 straight for which I’ll get a badge!!! How cool!!!??? No not really but still….. :o)