Is Skeet Shooting good practice?

Alsatian · 12-12-2005, 08:58 AM

Is skeet shooting good practice for duck and goose hunting? Is there a preferred shotgun shooting activity -- trap, sporting clays, etc. -- that is better practice?

j. plate · 12-12-2005, 12:23 PM

Anytime you can get out and shoot the gun you're going to use in the field is great practice for when you're hunting.

Sporting clays is going to be your most closely matched shooting sport to the types of shots that you are going to see in the field. There's also a thing called '5 Stand' if you've heard of it....which is basically a lazy man's Sporting Clays and is equally as suited to getting you prepared for the types of shots you'll be taking in the field. It's almost a combination of SC and Skeet.

Skeet alone is a great time once you get into it, but probably isn't as centered around hunting as much as proper mechanics of shooting. Proper gun mount, learning proper swing, and practicing sustained lead are all things that can be enhanced by getting good at skeet.

IL Hunter · 12-12-2005, 04:53 PM

Even shooting clays casually hasnt ever hurt my shooting in the blind any

Rebel Dog · 12-13-2005, 11:01 AM

Yes

80 proof · 12-15-2005, 02:07 AM

It cant hurt. The more time you spend with gun in hand can only help you

xd9x19 · 12-20-2005, 10:18 AM

Like has been said above, any practice will help, but I would say sporting clays would be most like duck or goose hunting. In trap ALL the targets are moving away from you, in skeet they are relatively close, which is usually not the case in hunting waterfowl. Depending on the course, at least in sporting clays you're likely to get longer shots with different elevations. A lot of clays courses have shots that are in no way realistic in the hunting world, but it's definitely the most realistic of the bunch when it comes to waterfowl. 5-stand would be next because there are a variety of shots (compared to trap and skeet).

One other consideration: sporting clays is usually a bit more expensive than skeet or trap ($20/100 versus $12/100 at my club), due to the larger number of target-throwing machines required. If you're starting out, you might want to spend your money on skeet or trap until you are consistently busting targets before hitting the sporting course.