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The Gazette
Respecting Skeet • Wings of Feather or Clay

     It is often been said that when one first learns to shoot, it is “99% mechanical and 1% mental”. Moving from Intermediate through the more advanced levels, ultimately the act of shooting becomes “99% mental and 1% mechanical”.
      Well, nothing is going to hone mental strength more than learning to “Shoot Straight” at Skeet. It takes complete and total concentration on each and every target, learning to visually acquire and maintain hard focus on every target, every time. This total concentration is the ultimate in mental strength training… learning to shut out distractions, unwanted thoughts, doubts and negativity.
      Once mastered, this mental strength readily transfers to the other shooting disciplines. For example, look at the success of former Skeet Champions when they moved to Sporting Clays: Martin Elsworthy, Mark Vessey, Barry Simpson, Andrew Harvison and, to close my argument, possibly the best shot in the world, George Digweed.
     At certain times of the year, the Sporting Clays course can be a wet and inhospitably muddy place, whereas the Skeet field is usually paved and dry.

Position 1
By standing at the front of the stadium, you see the target three feet later.




     Why not take that damp month or two to shoot Skeet? The benefits will be reaped during the next competition season.
     As for people who tell me the game of Skeet is” boring”, “too easy” etc., I always ask “How many One Hundred Straights have you shot?”

Position 2
Like High house station one, moving to the back corner of High house station two will give you more time and a better view of the target.


Once again, I believe Skeet is the ultimate training ground for mastering the fundamentals, learning leads and techniques, as well as developing a Winner’s Mind Set.


Wings of Feather or Clay
pheasant     There is a great deal of discussion on the comparison of clay pigeon targets (inanimate) and the real thing, live quarry (animate).
      The clay target is thrown at speeds between 60 and 90 miles per hour, but not having any means of propulsion (wings) the clay is quickly slowing - all clay targets actually fly falling, in parabolic arcs.
      The following figures are taken from the Flight speed of Game birds in MPH as listed in the 1998 Edition of Black’s Wing and Clay, page 68. These calculations do not allow for tail or side winds, both of which can increase speed and leeward drift or curls. Plus, the incredible gift of flight allows the bird to change speed, course or direction during every nano-second of flight.

This ability to accelerate, decelerate, flair and jink is Nature’s built-in survival tool.

Canvasback...................... 85 mph
Pintail.............................. 78 mph
Pheasant......................... 75 mph
Mallard............................ 73 mph
Cackling Goose................. 70 mph
Cinnamon Teal.................. 69 mph
Valley Quail...................... 68 mph
Turkey............................. 66 mph
European Partridge........... 64 mph
Golden Eye....................... 63 mph
California Quail................. 62 mph
Snow Goose...................... 60 mph
Bob White........................ 56 mph
Canada Goose................... 56 mph
Brant............................... 54 mph
Mourning Dove.................. 52 mph
Redhead.......................... 51 mph
Gambel's Quail.................. 50 mph
Sharptail Grouse............... 42 mph
Black Duck....................... 34 mph
Ruffed Grouse.................. 30 mph

    Because of these differences in speed and flight, many question the benefits of practice shooting at the bird’s inanimate cousin, the clay target. However, the basics of shooting a moving target are the same. All targets require that the shoulders match the flight line and that the muzzles mirror the target speed. Diagram 4

If these skills are polished and grooved in practice on the “inanimate cousin” clay targets during the Summer months, that time spent practicing will reap rich rewards in the field in the Fall.

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