Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game On which do you score best , clay birds or live birds?

I don't see where leading a clay by the length of a bus would have made me a better field shooter. On upland birds, they rarely got out to 70 yards before both my shots were fired. If they flushed out of range - I watched them fly away. Once I got a clue as to what I was doing, I stopped sky busting of waterfowl. If I couldn't get them to come within a reliably lethal range, I wouldn't shoot. That's why one puts out decoys and spends time learning to work a call. Frankly, I don't see where shooting clays at 70 yds would make one better at shooting them at normal ranges. It makes more sense to me to practice shooting at ranges a, humane, ethical hunter will limit themselves to, based on ballistics. A mallard, goose or pheasant are not as fragile as a clay target. I get the whole "we are doing this as a game" thing of SC, but that wasn't where I was coming from. I came to see the old games of trap and skeet as being better games as practice for most field shooting, or at least just as good. I also liked some 5 stand when I was at clubs that were set up for it. My club is old-school and full of old-timers and so its just trap & skeet. That training was always enough for me to bring home game, when I was hunting. All the games require one to keep, your head on the stock, develop a smooth swing with a good follow-thru and keep your focus on the target. It's the mastery of those shooting fundamentals along with good hunting skills and judgement that will put more game in the pot.