Trap or Skeet?

Airborne · 10-16-2003, 03:05 PM

Can someone please explain the difference, and is there a club in the metro area where I can start shooting or does anyone here shoot on their property and want to invite me over... :grin:

MN Guy · 10-16-2003, 03:19 PM

Trap targets are thrown straight out in front of you. Skeet targets are thrown from both the right and left sides. Right side high house, left side low house.

Gun Rod Bow · 10-16-2003, 03:28 PM

Both Portland Gun Club (out toward Gresham off Division) and Tri-County Gun Club in Sherwood, as well as Mitchells down in Brooks offer trap and skeet.

They all offer 5-stand or variables of Sporting Clays. If you have an afternoon and some shells to burn, I recommend going down to Mitchells. Call ahead and tell them that you are new to clays and would like some explanation when you get there.

Tri-County shoots Tuesday and Thursday evenings under the lights.

If you ask for help, you'll likely get all you can stand.

Trap involves shooting targets from 5 stations, about 5' apart, 16 yds (or further) away at targets that are launched randomly from an arch of about 45 degrees, but all "going away".

Skeet involves a high and low house that always launch on the same line. If you invision half of a clock face, you start at 9:00, where you are under the high house, and work through 7 stations, in a semi-circle to end up at station 7 along side the low house. Station 8 is in between the stations.

Skeet will probably be better than trap for wingshooting pratice, but Sporting Clays is better yet.

Be sure to take and use eye and ear protection.

Good Luck

Mello-Yello · 10-16-2003, 04:07 PM

Just curious, what's an afternoon of this cost a guy?

M-Y

Fishbone · 10-16-2003, 07:43 PM

Mello,

A round of Trap or Skeet (25 clays) at a public access club is usu. around $3-5. A box of commercially available shells...maybe $5? A round is often 20 minutes in duration with full squads. Four rounds later and I am usually satisfied.

So, to answer your question, a typical afternoon might run you 36 bucks.

Have fun!

http://www.nssa-nsca.com/

duck-boy · 10-16-2003, 07:46 PM

hey airborne,
there's one closer to you in hillsboro on wren rd they shoot wed. lots of other clubs too veerbort is on fridays no skeet and banks on thursdays no skeet there but lots of fun and cheap entertainment i'm a member at banks if u need some info e-mail me at moe315@earthlink.net
duck-boy

crabbait · 10-16-2003, 07:56 PM

Unless you just want to shoot your 'meat stick" the guns employed in trap and skeet are pretty different.

Skeet guns are open choked and light becuase you are shooting crossing shots and reversing directions (sustained leads).

Trap guns are full choked and long/heavy. You don't move them near as far swinging in front of birds yet you need to be able to smoothly continue to swing for shots back behind the 16yd line.

As a hunter, I get bored with both trap and Skeet pretty quickly. They are good for some basics, but that is about it.

Now Sporting Clays, on the other hand, attempts to simulate hunting conditions. Best shot with a good O/U or semi-auto with a semi-long barrel and some heft but still a gun you would be happy with upland hunting. I shoot a Ruger Red Label 12ga that I found used and worth the money and a Browning Gran Lightning 20ga that I fell in love with and did not care about the money.

I am no great shakes at Sporting Clays. I average around 35 for 50 while the good guys routinely break 40+. The cool thing about Sporting Clays is that the course changes every time you shoot it and can change on a moments notice at the discretion of the puller. TYhis game is more expensive than Skeet or Trap but is well worth it. A couple of rounds of Sporting Clays will have you shooting over 100rds, enough for most guys.

Give Mitchell's a try. They are just east of I-5, south of Woodburn. Dan is a former Olympic coach and can get into your head and improve your scores for both clay and feathered targets fast.

Mello-Yello · 10-16-2003, 08:01 PM

Jeez, like I have time for another hobby... [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]

Flatfish · 10-17-2003, 07:16 AM

Hillsboro Gun Club offers Trap, Skeet, and at times 5 stand.

I have not shot trap there. Skees is 4 bucks a round.

Have fun no matter what and where you shoot.

Mark and the station 4 dog.

Airborne · 10-17-2003, 07:23 AM

Thanks for all the info, it sounds like sporting clays is the thing for me but just knocking down any clay sounds like a lot of fun and great practice. I think I am going to get a O/U for upland game and also use it for clays, anyone got one for sale????

Gun Rod Bow · 10-17-2003, 07:44 AM

IMHO,

Having shot let's just say a lot, if you are of less than 6 figure yearly taxable income, I'd recomend a quality auto loader for "Upland and Clays".

A gun with 28"-30" barrel and screw chokes will tackle all 3 clays games and you can use the same gun on birds. While an O/U may look cool, (and the high end ones shoot really nice) if you want to hunt with one, 3 shots and a longer sight plain is hard to beat.

I'd recomend a Browning Gold, Winchester X-2, or Baretta A-390 or the like. My preference would be one of the first two. You can get into a high quality auto for around $900. Some of the top sporting clay shooters in the country shoot auto shuckers.

The problem with O/U's is, a $1,000 O/U is a low end gun. IMO, you won't get a quality shooter until you are about $2,500 in to it. The best handlers are more like $5-$9K and up.

Have fun. I wonder if I've seen Fishbone at Hamblin's in my previous life as a shooter? NSCA huh? Hmmm.

[ 10-17-2003, 08:51 AM: Message edited by: Gun Rod Bow ]

Airborne · 10-17-2003, 08:49 AM

Ouch on the price of "Quality" O/U man I had no idea they were that kind of $$$, I have an 870 but I have had it for years and thought it was about time to treat myself to something a little nicer but I don't want to take a 2nd out on the house just for the gun, maybe a new sled :grin: but not a gun

Gun Rod Bow · 10-17-2003, 09:14 AM

I see a lot of guys that are all fired up to have a double gun and spend $900 on something that doesn't fit and kicks like a government mule.

A "quality" auto loader is a nice treat, for about double what a decent pump gun costs and will do everything you want to do.

Good luck, don't forget eye and ear protection, especially with an auto.

live to fish · 10-17-2003, 09:45 AM

I have a wingmaster 870 it works fine for clays and hunting.I shot it one year in competition on a trap team and did quit well,we placed second out of 25 teams.

crabbait · 10-17-2003, 10:39 AM

GRB is right. The more you spend on an O/U the more you get, to a point. If you look at the competition guns you will see a bunch that go for over $10,000.

I bought my Red label used for under $800, then had it fitted to me (had to raise the cheekpiece, changed the butt pad and beads). I was lucky in that I am medium height/reach so the gun fit pretty well off the shelf.

I wanted an O/U that I would not be afraid to take into the field and was not overly concerned with competition. I have ben very happy with the gun and the results I get. GRB would cream me at Sporting Clays with a 10 shot handicap but I ended up with a gun that shoots pretty well for me and did not break the bank.

Gun Rod Bow · 10-17-2003, 10:57 AM

Notice: Previous examples are based on published list prices for new guns. Availability of used guns is a factor all their own.

I still stand by my 3 shot rule when hunting.

Second Notice: I was including all 3 clay games in the example. If all a guy wants to shoot is trap, you could wire a board to a piece of water pipe and hit the primer with a nail :grin:

[ 10-17-2003, 11:59 AM: Message edited by: Gun Rod Bow ]

snit · 10-17-2003, 01:59 PM

Lots of good advice. I'm not sure of the popularity of sporting clays in the Portland area (where you're talking about I think), but here in central Wa, while it's fun, it's not that popular. Alot of times we have to drive (and plan) a long distance to shoot sporting clays, plus it is alot more money for a 100 birds ($30-40 bucks per 100)

Trap and skeet shooting are generally avaialble at most shotgun ranges, and you'll have a better chance to shoot at more targets rather than watitng for the sporting clays range to open up, or for some guys to arrive that want to shoot the s.c. with you.

Now about guns. Like all hobies, the equipment depends on how serious you want to get into the sport. If you want to dabble in all 3 sports, and you want a new gun, go with an automatic. The Berettas are a great value. The 390-391 models are excellent guns. They're lightweight, moderately priced, excellent craftmanship, and very dependable. The choke tube option will allow you to shoot all 3 disciplines plus you'll have a great field gun.

I've been shooting trap competitively for 17 years now, and I've seen newbies that just wanted to practice for bird season get so involved in the sport that they quit hunting and all they do is shoot trap. I don't shoot near as much as I used to. I might only shoot 10-12K rounds a year. I used to shoot twice that much (counting practice 3-4 times a week), so I've seen all the mistakes people make in choosing a gun (and I've made a few too). Definately get a name brand gun. Also, if you're getting pressured to buy a gun from someone, then it's probably not a great deal.

Also, where (and how) I hunt, the 3rd shot really helps. There's always a "tail-end Charlie" chuckar or quail and that 3rd shot generally does him in. I can't begin to count the amount of triples I've had on everything from honkers to quail and everything in between. Some people love the o/u's, but to me they're heavier and more cumbersome than a nice italian automatic. If you're serious about trap shooting though, I've got some Perazzi o/u's I'm thinking about selling too!!

Good luck, and don't be intimidated about going to a gun club. I've met some of my closest friends at them. They're kinda like a golf course, all kinds of people, from all walks of life, coming together for one reason....to have fun.

Gun Rod Bow · 10-17-2003, 03:36 PM

I really think you can improve your wingshooting by practicing on clays, but, stay on track, think about what you are trying to accopmlish.

Skeet can really help with wingshooting, it is inexpensive, shows alot of angles, teaches forward allowance, and if shot with a low gun and pass through will definitely help in wingshooting.

On the other hand, the top skeet shooters (American Skeet that is) are very mechanical and robot like (remember, the targets are always in the same path) and I don't think that'll help your wingshooting much.

If you want to try out a few different autos ( I have a Baretta, Remington, and Browning you could try), and shoot some Tuesday or Thursday evening at Tri County, I'd be happy to offer what help I can. Other I-fishers would be welcome to join in and pop some caps.

Airborne · 10-17-2003, 07:48 PM

GRB,
That sounds like a plan for sure, It may help narrow down my choices, let me know when a good time for you would be or call me 503-329-5203(cell) anytime or at the house 503-690-4453.... and thanks

Airborne · 10-17-2003, 11:07 PM

all I really want to shoot clays for is to improve my wing shots in the field, I dont really care about beating the gun up in the brush. I have never shot clays and not to worried about how well I do on the course but I think that with some coaching it could really help in the field, is that right?