Me, my dad, a good friend and my neighbor to round out the foursome. I had not done it in a while and kinda forgot how much fun it is shooting a hundred rounds. Will do it again soon.

In Tucson on April 9th thru the 15th there will be approximately 1000 shooters at Coyote Springs for the US Open Sporting Clay Championship. It should be a hoot!!!!

Thanks to retirement, last summer I was able to "rediscover" some of the shotgun sports. Really got into Sporting Clays and even picked up a mint Browning Citori for a good price last August and now I'm just waiting for the weather to break. Usually shoot with a bunch of older, mostly retired guys and it's always a good time.

I pick up my new 725 pro sporting this week

Been shooting the local course a bit this winter. First 10 stations are relatively easy. I kind of prefer those for my skill set. The other 10-12 stations have a number of much farther shots, smaller targets, all black targets, etc. That one crushes my ego.

I switched over to skeet chokes last time out and actually did better. Need to get the recoil pad added to my current shotgun to pick up some lop. I think sporting clays is going to be great for my field shooting this fall.

For sporting clays I generally have skeet, or IC in the bottom barrel and light modified in the top

If targets are very close I'll change the bottom to a negative choke

For me it is LM/LM. Many disagree, but up close the pattern hasn't opened much anyway. Point well and they all will brake targets close and far.

It will most definitely help your field shooting. It will help it much more if you shoot everything gun down. Practice getting a solid consistent mount and ignore the miss me beads as much as possible.

LM/LM also. Ocasionally IM/IM on some targets with distance

Started up clays myself this winter. First time out I was umbarassed. Used to be able to hit’em but that was about 20 years ago 😀

Ive switched from a 26” IC barrel to a 28” modified that I used years ago and with some practice am getting better. The course I shoot has the birds too fast IMO, way faster than any grouse Ive hunted but its a challenge. Gives me an excuse when I miss a stocker pheasant...I was out in front, used to them clays 😉

I shot a small local tournament today. I've been shooting a Beretta SPI 28ga for the last couple of years and it's great fun. I break just as many with the 28 as I do with my 12ga and its cheap to shoot if you reload.

Sportings clays and 5 stand are where the fun is when it comes to clay targets.

Unless one has a very small shooting window which is the sign of a poor target setter, "fast" targets are mostly due to picking a point too close to the trap to pick up the bird. Look a little further out and the bird will "slow" tremendously. Adjust your insertion point correspondingly and "fast" birds will be easier to hit.

A poor target setter is also to blame if black targets are thrown against a dark background. If black are set against an open sky, then it is a poor target read by the shooter which causes most misses.

I tend to shoot Imp Mod in my barrel(s) no matter distance. The center of the pattern is the same size no matter the choke and I never wonder if I am under choked for any sporting clays presentation. I use Mod/Full or Full on occasion as my fixed choke guns are choked such. This year's league will be shot with either a 16 ga SxS choked Mod/Full.

Sporting clays and 5 Stand are fun but my passions are old style FITASC, Compac, and Helice/ZZ bird. FITASC is the French version and the targets typically are further out. Mod is the most open I'd use with IM/Full being used by far the most. The shooting order and course of fire is different too making the game more interesting. Compac is kind of a mix of 5 stand and FITASC though I kind of get confused as a local coure's version is a bit different still. Helice is similar to live pigeon shooting and is a real test of skill and some luck.

I seem to do better if I just shoot Mod and Mod for all the birds. Our course had one very close bird. I was going to shoot it with a skeet choke but the guy I was with told me just to remove the choke and shot "with the threads." I did and got it four times. The next time I shot it I got it with Mod.

Modified is what is in my wife's gun, I don't think she even knows she has other chokes. She has an occasional problem with distant, edge on targets but it would be less if she centered the target in the pattern more often. Otherwise, she still is a contender for the state women's title. I

I shoot Mueller #1's in both barrels, but keep a #2 and a #3 in my vest just in case. The #1's seem to handle most targets pretty well, though.

It is worth your time to read Mueller's website.

Be careful; Sporting Clays can easily become addictive.

Come on Battue you know you have to have every choke under the sun from spreader to Extra Full! Miss you buddy. By the way I shoot either LM/LM or IM/IM. Oh wait I only have one barrel! LM and IM the rest you can keep.

D


!!!! You back home or do you have a new home? Shot a Fitasc shoot yesterday and left in LM/LM for everything. Gun came used with chokes, if I had ordered it, it would have been fixed Mod/Mod.
It came with thin wall chokes which are evil. You can look at them hard and cause them to get a ding. Word of experience. Avoid thin wall chokes if at all possible.

If you are home we best plan on a shoot this summer. Dan just opened up his own course. Eagles Nest Sporting, in Mt Gillerad, Ohio. Shot there yesterday, nice place with shooters targets

I am back in the US, but back and forth from Oregon, Montana, and CT. Yes I will make time to come shoot with you this summer for sure.