What is a reasonable range of scores for somebody in their sixties shooting Sporting Clays.

Not a great shooter but the typical duffer who picks up and shoots a shotgun once a month and hunts rabbits regularly.

I know it is an impossible question but is 25%-to-50% hits on their fourth session a reasonable range.

All the usual caveats, the gun fits the shooter, appropriate ammo and so-forth.

I think the course is also a factor, as much as anything else. Some are fairly easy and some are very difficult.
I shot a course they had just set up for a regional shoot a few years ago and thought I might be going blind. 😂 The targets were hard and fast. Many trick stations.
Have also shot at a Ducks Unlimited shoot that I thought was too easy.
I wouldn’t worry about your score, just shoot. It is supposed to be fun isn’t it. Just my opinion.

The problem with sporting Clays is similar to all other forms of shooting and competition. Sporting clays originated to reproduce targets that would simulate bird shooting in the field. The idea was to make you a better bird shooter and has since morphed into a gaming and competitive sport. Few people shoot sporting clays with a field gun and targets have changed to stuff you would never see a real bird do.

It is still fun, but what % of targets you would hit is hard to evaluate without looking at the course layout and positions of the targets in reference to you and where you are shooting.

This is what real shooting should look like...

I've shot one sporting clays range. i was always more of a rifle shooter but first time i broke 23/50 last time a few years ago i broke 38//50 Winchester 101 skeet model was the gun used

Joe, not a bad start depending on the course difficulty. One thing to check is eye dominance. I never had a problem until last hunting season and now have come to realize sometimes my left eye is taking over. Have to smudge the left lens to make up for it. A new leaning curve, but it is getting better. Good idea to find out ahead

As far as Sporting Clays in America. The Brits started the game long before it came here. The two driving forces in America where Bob Brister and Gerald Quinn who was a Remington employee. And yes, in the beginning it was more directed to normal hunting shots and the clubs didn't know different. Then our shooters began competing on the world stage and found out the rest of the European countries played a different game. A more challenging game; if we were going to compete, we had to play the game at a higher level. Today on the whole, U.S. shooters are the best or the equal.

The innovation of automatic electric traps from the old manual, changed the game more than anything else.

There are courses all over that will throw targets that more simulate hunting....and more than a few have multiple stations that allow the shooter to make it easy or difficult . Depending on what game they want to play. The game is there to be played at what every level one desires. And even in the more competitive tournaments, most likely you will find at least 50% of the targets will be inside of 30 yards and mimic many of the shots one would find on a skeet field.

Addition: As far as the game of SC not simulating hunting, I know a few top level shooters you would not want to bet against in the field. If they can consistently break the hard stuff on a course....A Pheasant, Duck or Quail out in the open is pretty much a gimme.

I’m not much of a “wingshooter”. I’m cross eye dominant” (left eye dominant but shoot right-handed).

Because of this, I have a REALLY hard time picking up targets (seeing where they’re coming from). I kind of “cheat”. I usually make an effort to go last or near-last in a group, when I’m shooting. I don’t shoot sporting clays, much.

A few friends and myself did a “charity shoot”, a few years back. None of us shoot much sporting clays, but one of the guys and his son are really good in the field, and one of the guys is a serious skeet shooter (not a champ, but shoots a lot, and goes down to the world shoot in San Antonio every year).

Amazingly enough, myself and the father/son all shot low/mid 70’s, and the skeet shooter was in mid 60’s. (Out of 100). NONE of us had ever shot the course, before.

I think the skeet guy was so used to shooting the same thing, over and over, on the skeet field (and he doesn’t hunt), that the variety of directions/speed confused him.

I know I would have done MUCH worse if I had gone 1st or 2nd, each time, with my eye issues. Familiarity with the course, knowing where the bird is coming from, obviously makes a huge difference. I’m in my forties, but eyesight is def getting worse.

I would think somewhere around 50 would be completely respectable, if you don’t have the luxury of knowing what’s coming up at each station. Lord knows I’ve dove hunted plenty of times and hit WAY less than 50% of my shots..

Every course is different and how they set up those individual courses can change.

One of my favorites does a NSCA shoot once a month and the throwers and positions are a lot more difficult on those days, then a non competitive day.

IMO - 30% for what you described would be ok.

There are guys I know of back in the day that would easily shoot upper 80s to low 90s - on their home course. Anywhere else was 35, MAYBE.

For me, shoot as many courses as you can to arrive at real average for you and your skill.

I never looked at SC as either training nor substitute for game shooting BUT when duck hunting with friends, i seem to shoot 1/3 as much for the same meat on the ground.

As others have said, a lot depends on the course you shoot. One place I shoot at has two courses, a recreational course and a tournament course. Most courses have at least a couple of presentations that are very, very difficult.

As far as what you "should" be hitting... I have a friend who goes with me occasionally, probably half a dozen times a year. He'll generally hit around 35%. I usually shoot about 85% on the average recreational course. I've been doing it for years, last few years only average probably once a month.

I don't get too technical. If you ask me what choke tube(s) I have in my gun I wouldn't be able to tell you (unless I'm using my bird gun with fixed chokes in which case it's 1/2 and VZ. I also don't get real worked up about what ammo I'm using. I just take all the shots presented with whatever choke and ammo I'm using.

When I started shooting this stuff back in the '90's, everybody started with their trigger-finger hand below their belt. Now I see a lot of people shooting with a mounted gun, like trap or skeet. I don't do that (unless I'm shooting trap or skeet.)

One thing for sure, shoot sporting clays regularly and it will make you a better shot on birds for sure.

no way to know for sure.. What I tell new shooters is " if I gave you a box of shells, and you brought back 12 doves, you would be really happy". That is approximately 50%.

As mentioned, course difficulty is a significant factor as is the shooter's understanding of their true skill level. A typical duffer will probably range in the 40 percentile on a charity event type course on down to the 20 percentile on a more challenging registered course. At least that is what I've seen over the years.

What is more important than score is using the opportunity to analyze your performance as to your strengths and weaknesses then improve on them. This will improve your shooting in the field and on the course. The quickest and cheapest way (in the long run) is to take a couple lessons with a good instructor. The price may seem high but you will learn far more than what you learn from a similar amount spent on shells and targets.

As also mentioned, like every other shooting "game", sporting clays has morphed away from its original goals. When I started shooting sporting clays, quail walks were encountered and the duck tower was commonly shot sitting in a boat mounted on springs among other things. Needless to say, those presentations went away for safety reasons which was not a bad thing for the sport. But, the skills learned on the clays course carries over into the game fields and one will not be worse off learning to shoot better.

I saw a HOF Sporting shooter, one who has won it all, post a 71 or 73 in a tournament. Bud was crying about his score, and I not knowing the other was behind me said, "Forget it, XXXX had a 71. He tapped me on the shoulder and laughed while he said, "And I'm proud of it." Also saw him, drop an easy 3 bird in a Make a Break that cost him 10K.

You will learn more from your misses than your hits.....If you are paying attention.

When shooting practice, the way I look at it and try and shoot it is, if I can break a target with ease, I don't shoot it anymore. When I miss a target, I want to shoot it again and try and figure it out. I have been know to stand at one station and shoot a whole box just a one "A" or "B" target. That is how you get better. The easy birds may make your score care look good but you have not learned how to break the harder birds.
The more different birds you can look at and figure out the better you will be.

I only shoot "Fun" courses, no competition stuff. We have a shoot every Tuesday afternoon from April through October. Plus, we play around on the five stand, trap and skeet ranges on Sunday mornings. I shoot with a bunch of guys who do shoot in competitions and they shoot about 85% on the courses that I shoot. When I first started about 6 years ago, I was shooting about 30%. By the end of that first year, I was shooting 50%. I was stuck on 50% for about another year or so then I worked my way up to 60%, and now I'm at a consistent 70%. If I get on an easier course or I'm having a good day, I'll get up over 80% or 85%, but that's rare.

Thank you for that statement, it is so true.

What difference does it make, if no club says one can't shoot SC with their field shotgun. Seems to be a personal choice.

That is only an observation. Of course you can shoot anything you want, it just isn't what it originally started out to be as a shooting discipline. If you shoot most any clays range today, you will have guys screwing chokes in and out, long ported barrels and adjustable stocks. Those guns were designed to meet changing conditions on the current clays range.

I still shoot SC on a regular basis and am one of a few that shoot field guns. Most are shooting Sporting Clays guns.

Here I see a variety of shooters and their commitment to SC. The competition crew yes. The purely shoot for fun crew, often not. Then again, many of them go the Beretta SA route and they can be used just as easily for both.

One of the most deadly shooters I know, when it comes to filling a game bag….uses SC to keep in tune. He posts here on occasion.

The continual choke changes are a hoot!

Anyway, welcome back. You always had some interesting firearms for consideration.

I like the older guns and continue to hunt with them. 36 grouse last year with 2 inch shells and 19th century guns. No sporting clays course prepares you for the grouse I shoot. I will shoot them on the ground and no SC course stacks any targets on the ground for me to practice...

The real question is "Did you have fun ?" If it's yes---Who cares what the number is.

Been shooting SC for about 20 years. I use my upland guns. I break 35-40 per 50, but sometimes get into the mid 40s. As others have said, it depends on the course and how it’s set up.
Shooting SC has greatly improved my live bird shooting.

I have considered trying my Burgess sometime. I've never actually shot it. It's a little different than yours, being a take down model (or maybe more properly, a fold up model.)

Like this…

Yes, like that. Yours is in a lot nicer condition than mine.

This +++. If I break the first two pairs I move on, and save my shells for the tower doves, high and fast. Takes a full choke and about 8 feet of lead for me to connect, and then small misjudgments can cause misses even when you think you've got them figured. I go about 20-25% on those birds, and feel like I've learned something. I do hate the rabbit with a passion, though, and usually skip it.

As long as you are practicing, you may want to stay on your first bird and shoot twice if you miss it at first. It can become a bad habit to shoot, miss and then look for the next target. After all this is supposed to make you a better bird shooter…

as far as a rabbit goes, I have 2 rules.
1) put the same lead on it that you a bird in the air, don't let the fact it is on the ground screw you up.
2) if it jumps, that is when I try and shoot it. That is when the target is as stable as it is going to get

Our club has three courses now. A easy course, intermediate, and a sho'nuff competition course. I usually shoot in the 70s on the easy course and may hit 50 on the hard course. I only shoot a few times a year.


I dont take it too serious, I think anymore that can walk away with 60 out of 100 on an average course can have one heck of a duck or dove season. And I like the comradery out there with the guys. That's half the fun.

Wow, that is the first Burgess shotgun I have ever seen. Thanks for posting that

If they have a rabbit station don't expect to ever hit those little bastards.

Sounds like you're talking about Trap guns.

If a shotgun fits, it fits. With Sporting guns, most are fitted to pattern 50/50 or just slightly higher like any field gun, and precisely why this is the fact is because of the presentations mimicking game. Rising, Dropping, Crossing, Quartering

Some guys around here win National and World events with "field guns" right off the rack

The fact some have limited experience, doesn’t mean they can’t write what they don’t know….😁

And for those who don’t know….Rick knows

And most field guns today come with multiple chokes. Why? Well, same reason as SC. And many serious field shooters ensure their field gun shoots where they look. Something that was rare before SC came on the scene.

When did you get that?

Rick
I was sitting in the bleacher at Nationals 15 plus years ago when I took 2nd place in AA. If I remember correctly that same year, you placed in Master class.

My dad hasn’t shot a clay or bird in twenty years and he shot a high 30 something out of 100 when he visited a few weeks ago.

I don’t know his exact age but I’d say he’s old as schit by most standards.

He used my son’s SX3 in 20 gauge. He’d never even held it before.

Don't think of them as rabbits. Picture them as something you don't like. I think of them as the feral cats my neighbor used have. He had over a hundred and they put the hurt on local birds. I did well on rabbits after that.

Probably.

The 2005 Nationals I’m probably most proud of winning the Kreighoff Cup, the FITASC Event, and did well enough in the Main and 5-Stand to finish as the Browning High Overall for the whole thing

Broke more targets in the combined events than anyone.

It would take some work to return to that level