Why Do People Quit Shooting Sporting Clays?

Do you remember the people you met when you started participating in sporting clays? I recently wrote a blog entry concerning the top ten reasons why we shoot sporting clays. Rereading this article caused me to stop and think about what I had written. If sporting clays is so much "fun", then why do so many participants quit? Some of the reasons seem self-evident, while others may point out weaknesses in the structure and presentation of the sport by site owners. Here is the list I jotted down to think about.     1. Cost - The price of ammunition, guns, transportation, and clothing has increased drastically. Many participants may have lost their jobs due to the recent economy.       2. Pressures of Competition - I read an article that stated many people drop out of a "fun" sport when it becomes too competitive. What started out as fun, learning new techniques and improving skills, became a chore when they felt the pressure of competition.       3. Time - Younger shooters have more family and job responsibilities than older shooters. It is difficult for some participants to feel the freedom to devote so much time to one activity.       4.  Aging and Health - Eek! This event will happen to all of us eventually.       5.  Availability of Shooting Sites - Some close by sites may close due to some sort of circumstances and require the shooter to travel longer distances and spend a lot more time and money.       6.  Plateaus or Lower Scores - If you reach a level of scoring where you never seem to be able to improve your shooting prowess or your scores drop drastically for a period of time, frustration sets in leading to loss of participation.       7.  Lack of Confidence: Fear of Failure - Have you heard this? " I don't really care about my score. I will never be a good clay shooters anyway." We all rationalize our fear of failing and because of this losing attitude we are set up to fail.       8.  Too Difficult a Course - Many sporting clay site owners bend to the wishes of the fewer in number "tournament" shooters to provide a myriad of rising, falling, and curving distant targets so they can show off. Bitter as I seem, an old friend says: " I come to break birds, not be challenged to the point of utter frustration!" Why would first time or novice shooters ever want to come back to their site? A tournament is not an every week event.       9. Friendliness and Acceptance - Some site owners feel that you are there for them, not vice-versa. A warm, dry clubhouse equipped with food and beverages and comrades will bring back shooters regularly. Some shooters will not shoot with you and feel they "own" the course or are above you. Part of the fun is joking, teasing, and talking about guns, dogs, and hunting. No one likes to deal with attitudes!       10.   Interest - Let's face it; we are a fickle race, and our interests change daily.       This is the list I came up with.  What do you think?  Am I all wrong or is sporting clays not that important? (Or any other sport.)  Thanks for reading this blog and remember:  "Words that soak into your ears are wispered, not yelled."        "Show me someone who doesn't want you to have guns, and I'll show you that someone has an armed bodyguard!"

A Sporting Clays Enthusiast's Christmas Wish List

     When I was a small boy, one of my favorite tasks as Christmas neared was to make a wish list.  I realize I am too old to expect Santa to bring me such a special gift, but my wife or other members of my family need to know what I "need" for a Christmas gift.  After all, the proper present will probably make me a better shooter as well as make me look better while shooting.  

    Seriously, while we are dreaming, this list comes to mind.  Some of the items are realistic, while others are ...as we all say, "if I had the money I would have a..."

• A complete set of those color coded titanium chokes for my Browning O/U.
• Full length choke tubes so I can shoot different gauges in one gun.
• A red, lifted, enclosed, heated, gasoline powered golf cart with those big nobby tires. I guess I could buy the trailer myself.
• Prescription shooting glasses with interchangeable colored lenses.
• A Kreighoff.  Enough said.
• A $3000 automatic reloader.
• Ten flats of AA Super Sporting Clays ammunition. ( The buyer can choose 71/2 or 8 sized shot)
• A $1000 gift certificate to Cabelas or any other sporting supplies store.
• A complete set of shooting attire.  It would be nice if the buyers co-ordinated the outfits according to the seasons.  My sizes are available by email.
• A shooting bag that will hold at least 5 boxes of shells, all my choke tubes, wrenches, oil, drinks, and snacks.
• 20 bags of shot.  I want to choose my own primers, wads, and powder.
• A 10 lesson gift certificate to be used with a certified shooting instructor.

    That's enough.  I wouldn't want to be seen as extravagant.  Ha!  So what's really on my Christmas wish list?

• Health good enough that I can shoot each week and enjoy my friends and the outdoors.
• A loving wife and family.
• A good place to worship and study my religion.
• A pheasant hunt or two with my Brittany.
• An opportunity to pay back the people who have helped me through the years.

    Thanks for reading this blog and may I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a better New Year.


"The problem is not the availability of guns, it is the availability of morons."
- Antonio Meloni

Why Not a 16 Gauge?

    I participated this past weekend in a small gauge sporting clays competition at our local site.  I understand that a small gauge is any gauge less than a 12 gauge.  So, I shot the first round (50 birds) with a 20 gauge O/U and shot okay, but not as well as usual.  The course was not a "20 gauge course" as some might think.  (easier?) The last 2 stations would be considered difficult even with a 12 gauge and tight chokes.  I know the course must have a station or two to separate the "men from the boys".  Would 1 ounce 20 gauge loads have helped?  I doubt it.  (I did use mod and full chokes)
    I decided to shoot my "el-cheapo" Stoeger 16 gauge O/U (fixed mod and full choked barrels) the second round.  The ammunition I used was 1 ounce 7 1/2 shot self-loaded Fiocchi shells.  I couldn't believe the difference! (9 more broken targets)  I realize that shooting the course a second time should help, but distant targets I missed the first round were broken with ease.  I think I was the only person to shoot a 16 gauge the whole day.
    Whenever someone asks me what gauge my gun is and finds out it is a 16 gauge, they admit one of their first shooting experiences was with a 16 gauge or they have an old one in the gun cabinet at home, but rarely use it.  This observation led me to research different Internet sites on the present use of 16 gauge shotguns for sporting clays.  Here are some of the items I found.

• Shooters didn't like 16 gauge barrels on the 12 gauge frames as on some of the newer guns.  They felt the gun was still too heavy to swing as easily as a 20 gauge.
• Shooters said a 20 gauge 1 ounce load was as effective as a 1 ounce 16 gauge load and their 20 gauge or 28 gauge gun was lighter and swung more easily. Also, 3 inch chambers are not available.
• Readers complained they couldn't find reloading supplies (especially wads) to reload their hard to find 16 gauge shells.
• Non-reloaders complained about the price of a box of 16 gauge 7 1/2 to 8 sized shot. ($10-$12 per box)
• Some contributors said their 16 gauge gun had fixed chokes and didn't allow them to mix and match different sporting clays presentations.
• Some shooters hinted at "brand-lusting".  They intimated that unless you shoot a Browning, Krieghoff, or some other "better made" gun that you would not be successful shooting sporting clays.
• Another group said the newer 16 gauges were just too expensive.
• Finally, some said few good auto loading 16 gauges are available.

    Here are a few of my thoughts about using the 16 gauge shotgun for sporting clays. (Or even hunting)

• My Stoeger weighs 7 pounds with 28 inch barrels. While not much lighter than a 12 gauge, it is more streamlined and compact than many auto loaders.  The main objection I had to a little 28 gauge that I used was that the 28 gauge, being lighter, hit my shoulder harder, so it seemed.
• Some experts call the 16 a "sweet 16" because the shot column height and width has square  dimensions creating an evenly distributed shot pattern.  Only an expert could prove this phenomenon makes it better than a 20 gauge shot column.  I do know that I hit a lot more targets with the 16 gauge than a 20, 28, or .410 gauge shotgun.
• Reloading components are now becoming more available.  Claybuster CB0100-16, 1 ounce wads are available at Sportsman's Den in Shelby, Ohio, as well as Ballistics Products, Inc. (www.ballisticproducts.com ).  For empty hulls, I shoot local Walmart purchased ones and save the spent hulls for reloading, and have had about 1000 hulls given to me by old timers (ha) who used to shoot the 16 regularly.  Ballistics also has 16 gauge hulls for sale (expensive!) to get started with.  I also was lucky enough to be given a 16 gauge Mec Jr. reloader by a friend who seems to be able to find just about any shooting supply in Ohio.  I spend less than four dollars a box to reload the 16 gauge.
• Reloading recipes are available on the Internet if you search hard enough.  I use 19.5 grains of Unique powder, 1 ounce of shot, Win 209 primers, CB0100-16 wads listed at 1220 ft/sec. I do not like sites that want you to pay for their recipes! Ballistics has a book called "Sixteen Gauge Manual - 6th Edition" for sale also.
• Nostalgia is important to me, because older guns and gauges really interest me.  There is something to be said about taking the path less followed.  I love to hunt pheasants with my 16 gauge.  I wish my dad had handed me down one of those bottom ejecting 16 gauge pump guns.
• So far, my 16 gauge Stoeger "farmer's gun" ($250 after rebate) has worked flawlessly.  I've shot about 2000 rounds through it in one year.  So, I say pooey to those people who say a 16 gauge is too expensive to try out and a gun like the Stoeger is a waste of money.
• Humm... Fixed chokes?  I have a challenge for you.  Shoot several rounds of sporting clays or skeet with mod/full or full/full in your trusty O/U shotgun.  Truthfully, I shoot better with more closed chokes.  Some people spend more time changing choke tubes at each station instead of concentrating on where or how to break the target!  Learn to have confidence in your technique, not your tools!
• I don't like auto loaders for sporting clays anyway.  All that clinking and clanging and extra cleaning are bothersome.  (I did start shooting with a Remington 1187 auto loader.)

    If you are interested in reading more about the 16 gauge shotgun, follow the path listed below.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/16_gauge_wakeman.htm
http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/guns/2002/06/16-gauge-revival

    Get off your duff, do something different for a change.  Dust off and clean that old 16 gauge in your closet, or borrow one and accept my challenge to you at your favorite sporting clays site.  I think you will have fun as well as success with these forgotten guns!  I would, myself, be interested in a local sporting clays competition open to just 16 gauge shooters.  How about you?

"Know guns, no crime. No guns, know crime."- Ralph Lauretano

The Adventures of Buying a Golf Cart

    I thought buying a golf cart for shooting sporting clays courses would be a simple process.  However, the opposite was true.  Everywhere I turned seemed to have an obstacle as big as Goliath.  Here is how my adventure unfolded.
    First, I owned two 4-wheelers and I enlisted the help of Craigslist to sell them so I could afford a good used golf cart.  Wow, I sold both of them in less than a week and received the asking price for each.  Cash in hand, I searched the local Craiglist for carts and found at several I was interested in.  Some friends said a battery powered cart was the better choice while others said replacing old batteries was very expensive and a gas powered cart was the way to go.
    The first cart I considered was a gas powered Yamaha.  It had fancy wheels and a rough faded exterior and when I looked at the motor, it was dirt covered at least an inch thick.  Wouldn't you think a guy would clean it up to sell it?  The price was non-negotiable and I thought I could do much better.  Have you ever noticed that a seller has an inflated idea of what their item is worth?  I walked away from that one quickly.

    Next, I considered a nicely kept ten year old battery powered cart.  The owner said the batteries were as good as new (yea, right) and he hadn't bothered to charge them all summer, so they were dead.  Buying six batteries at $140 to $160 each is not a good situation.  He wanted a ridiculous price and the cart even had a flat tire! Thanks, but no thanks.
    I made reservations to see other advertised carts and found out that most of them were being sold because they were pretty well used up.  Some owners had a new cart hidden in their back yard or garages and were eager to get rid of their old filthy ones at an unreasonable price.  I even visited certified dealers of golf carts.  What an experience!  The salesmen were not interested in helping me (unless I wanted to buy an $8000 new cart) and were arrogant.  They must have thought my IQ was really low when I mentioned I wanted a cart for sporting clays.  I finally asked one of the managers if he was interested in selling any golf carts and I didn't appreciate the way I was being treated.  He told me the market was very good at this time and I had better get used to it.  OK,  I took a roll of cash out of my pocket, waved it in his face, and left.  He did sputter a lot!  Ha!

    My final adventure occurred when I responded to a beautiful gas powered, red colored, lifted, chrome wheeled cart being sold on Craigslist from a nearby city by a "newly divorced mother" for only $1600.  I knew the page looked too professional, but I responded with an email.  I received a prompt reply that a purchase must be handled through Ebay's buyer protection program.  Hum... Ebay on Craigslist?  No way.  As I feared, it was a complete scam.  Did they think I would pay for an item I had not even seen?  There are scammers everywhere!
    At this point, I gave up buying a golf cart for at least this year.  I found it a lot cheaper to ride in a friend's cart.  If money is no object, plenty of shiny new carts are available to the buyer.  Good luck for the rest of us!

    I hope you have a better experience purchasing things than I did.  Now, I can get back to writing about sporting clays.

Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.           - William Arthur Ward
Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.
          - Yogi Berra
   
  

Do I Need a Golf Cart to Shoot Sporting Clays?

    I grew up on a farm, played football, coached football, and mow my own yard.  One of the excuses I use to shoot regularily is the need for a hobby that provides some exercise for my 60 plus year old body.  I do admit, however, that I ride a golf cart with friends to travel from station to station as we shoot.  I have been searching my mind for reasons (excuses) to purchase my own golf cart. 
    I will discuss the cons first.    

• I need the exercise of walking between stations.
• Cost: Initially purchasing the cart and insurance.  Replacing tires, buying gasoline or batteries, gun racks, paying for repairs, and a purchasing a trailer to haul the cart.
• A storage place at home to keep the cart.  Most neighborhoods don't want to see a cart parked in the yard.
• Safety: hauling the cart or wrecking it due to poor driving.
• My wife. This a very important reason.  Ha!

    Now, the pros for purchasing a golf cart.

• Health.  Many of the people I shoot with are reaching an advanced age and can't walk from station to station.  If not for the golf carts, they would not be able to keep shooting sporting clays.
• Competitiveness.  Riding in the cart slows fatigue from walking and carrying, allowing for better concentration.
• Utility:  The cart can carry all the equipment needed to shoot 50 to 100 shot shells per round on the course, plus a heavy shotgun and shooting bag.  If someone has forgotten something or they need a prune juice break, the cart becomes very valuable.  The cart can carry rain gear, water, insect repellent, hand warmers, first aid kits, extra guns in case of malfunction, choke tubes, sun screen lotion, and of course, your hunting dog.
• Speed.  Unless your shooting pals discuss every shot or get sidetracked talking about hunting adventures, the course can be completed faster saving valuable time for yard mowing, sports viewing, or completing the wife's "honey do" list.

    As you can see, I have probably talked myself into purchasing a golf cart.  So, now begins research into getting a good cart at a reasonable price.  My next blog will deal with the results of this adventure.
    Do you have any hints for me?  Should I keep depending on my friends for a ride?

The West was not won with a registered gun."
- unknown
 

Has Sporting Clays Become Too Commercialized?

    As I was reading a book about how churches, clubs, and other groups have resorted to gimmicks and other advertising ploys to attract people, I realized Sporting Clays shooting has followed a similar path.  Does this sport exist for the shooters? Or does it exist for the gun and ammunition manufacturers, or shooting clubs, or sports clothing companies?  I would think that the shooter would be attracted to Sporting Clays for exercise, fellowship, competition, and mental relaxation.  So, what has happened?
    Magazines, computer chat groups and forum sites, and television programs are littered with people telling the shooter that he must shoot a certain gun, use a certain load, stand a certain way, wear certain clothes, and shoot at only certain sites.  What started out as a service to shooters has become a means for the above groups to make money without regard for the shooter.  Is it right to charge a fee to read some one's personal opinions about how to shoot "properly"?  Just as the church should exist for the people, sporting clays should exist for the shooters, not the other way around.

    So, how does a church, a club, or even a shooting sport continue to exist without creatively attracting new members?  Education is the answer.  In the case of Sporting Clays, the shooter must be provided with opportunities to learn how to mature in their shooting abilities and become a more effective shooter.  Let's face it, we might say that just shooting the gun is fun, (especially when we have a bad day) but, in reality, breaking the targets is the real goal we have in mind when we shoot. 

    A club could provide free shooting instructions, sporting guns demonstrations, reloading demonstrations, and shooting stations designed to be attractive to all shooters, not just the "master" shooters. These activities are not gimmicks because they are designed primarily to help the shooter, not some business.  Word of mouth expressed by satisfied, motivated shooters would increase the participants of the sport at local facilities.  Did you ever wonder why so many shooters participate for a short period of time and then quit?  They become frustrated because they feel they can't learn how to compete on their own.

    As a retired teacher and coach, I found one of the most difficult aspects of the learning process was to motivate the students to learn on their own time, not merely taking notes, going home, and then repeating the process daily.  Education increases success; success increases motivation; and motivation increases participation.   

    I hope you understand the meaning of my ramblings.  Do you agree that the basics of sporting clays as a true "sport" are being ignored and harmed by commercialization?

"My goal is to translate response into results. Some teachers teach for others to learn. That's not me. Some teachers teach for others to accomplish. That is me."
- Anonymous

Sporting Clays Can Be a Humbling Experience

    Have you ever been shooting Sporting Clays especially well only to fall flat on your face the next time out?  I missed 10-15 more birds than usual.  I wish I could pinpoint the reason(s) for my sudden fall.  I had developed a proven (or I though was proven) plan to follow each time I shot two rounds of Sporting Clays, regardless of the course.  I though I had finally reached a point of proper experience and knowledge to make me more consistent and therefore more "successful" in breaking those dastardly clay birds.  Being a retied science teacher, I felt a scientific approach was my best plan.

   Here was my plan:

• Shoot a 20 gauge the first round and a 16 gauge the second round. I reluctantly put my trusty 12 gauge Browning aside thinking I was reacting too much to the pre-conceived recoil of the larger bore gun.
• Use only improved cylinder chokes in the 20 gauge and mod and full chokes in the 16 gauge.  (The 16 gauge has fixed chokes) I felt I was depending too much on the choke restriction to hit the targets.
• Reload a slightly lower amount of powder (Unique powder) in each of the shells for the previously mentioned guns.  Again, I was worried about recovering in time for a second shot after the recoil of the first shot. (I'm a cheap person too!)
• Use 7 1/2 sized shot always.  I questioned if I was thinking too much about having different sized shot available for closer or more distant targets.
• Concentrate fully on pointing my lead foot to where I wanted to break the target and swung the gun half way back to the thrower.
•  Lift my head slightly to see the target first and placed the stock to my cheek only when I could see the moving target.  I thougt I was seeing the target too slowly and  was consistently shooting behind it.
• Shot at the leading edge of the target unless the target was a fast crosser.  Then I lead it no more than my perceived picture of a 12 inch ruler. (I like Math too)
• Lean into the shot before the target was thrown to minimize recoil effects and "poke and hope" shooting.

    My plan was to simplify my shooting, but I realize as I write this article that the plan was not really that easy.  The technique was easy for me to duplicate since some of it was pre-planned in the preparation of the guns and ammunition.  The plan worked very well until last weeks mis-adventure.  Now my confidence is at a low ebb and I am tempted to throw it all out and begin experimenting anew.

    I have thought long and hard about what caused my bad day.  Here are some reasons (or are they excuses?) I concluded.

• New contact lenses after a bout of pink eye.
• Less clothing on my shoulder.  It was a warmer day.
• Slightly different courses than I am accustomed to.
• Over-confidence.
• Lack of concentration!  I seemed to have a real problem with visualization and comfort that day.  I noticed I missed targets when I didn't plan where to shoot them properly.  I didn't watch the show birds well enough.  Brain block?
• When I stared missing, I had a tendency to ride the target and aim too much.  I did too much second guessing.

    Humm.....  I seem to have answered my own question.  The guns, ammunition, and chokes where the same as usual, not me!  I guess I should write the day off, relax, and look forward to shooting again next weekend.  (good luck doing that!) 

    What do you do when you have a bad shooting experience?  Any advice would be appreciated.  Load 'em up, shoot a lot, and have fun with Sporting Clays.

    From your humbled fellow shooter- Mark.

          Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote! - Benjamin Franklin