skeet in the woods

probably been covered before  most  things shooting have but ,    has esp got harder ?  generally speaking I think so   I can remember mates shooting a skeet gun at 100 birders and getting good scores  most targets  at reasonable distances  it all seemed easier    lots of local straw bailers about .    I know all equipment has improved  for the shooter and the target setter   but  is esp getting too hard ,   ?      :baby:

Well scores have risen as proven by the cut off points for CPSA shoots. However, I see a much greater level of ability than I did when I started just 12 years ago. At the very top, there are a LOT of super skilled shots (made up of all the ones that used to be there and joined by plenty of newer faces) and at the medium level there are people rocketing up through the ranks like I've never seen before. 

So, in my opinion I would say targets have been made more interesting, more varied and often more distant to keep up with the audience. So yes maybe shoots are a bit tougher, but generally shooters are more than matching it. 

You can't keep a good man down but you can demoralise a good many men. 

I should be in advertising.  :lol:

I have not shot at any Comps for some time now, BUT the last one I did shoot was at West Mids Shooting Ground, Hodnet, 2 years ago. I shot my Beretta 303 auto with 1/4 choke and apart from 2 stands, which I used a World Cup on 1 of the pair, (a verging on rangey teal and a longish coming in low) I shot my usual Superfasts. I did not feel that there was a single clay shown, where I was 'undergunned'.  Yes, the High Gun was in the mid 90's, but it was not long range targets that caused that. I was more than happy with my 76, and there was not one target that I missed ALL of,  but I was returning after a forced 2 year lay off.  I shot one of my first Comps at West Mids in the late 70's and I do not believe the targets were much different back then, just the scores, a high 80 ish would probably have won it. Yes, people did shoot it with a skeet gun, but most also lugged a Trap gun around as a back up ! (or another barrel or 2 ).

I started shooting reg sporting about 15 years ago and I think the shoots are very similar in difficulty, but the standard of shooting has gone through the roof. I've been in A class for 13 years and a mid eighty's score would either win or put me in the money but now its well down the list in A.

Apparently I should be in 'Vets Class', but as I have said before, I can't  even worm the dog  !

Distance alone is not a measure of difficulty, as a rule I miss just as many closer birds as rangy ones. 

Hamster said:

Distance alone is not a measure of difficulty, as a rule I miss just as many closer birds as rangy ones. 

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Me too, but relative beginners suffer with longer stuff usually. 

Targets are definitely more technical than they used to be (80's 90's), but then people adjust there technique to suit. Esp has developed in its own right over the years - well it has if its a good course setter  :smile:

Hamster said:

Distance alone is not a measure of difficulty, as a rule I miss just as many closer birds as rangy ones. 

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Two close ones, two rangey ones...

Battue said:

Targets are definitely more technical than they used to be (80's 90's), but then people adjust there technique to suit. Esp has developed in its own right over the years - well it has if its a good course setter  :smile:

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Can you explain what you mean by the term "technical " please, I keep seeing and hearing this being used but no idea what it means. In my view you have to read the bird to understand how to kill it and that applies to every target. So what makes a technical target and how is it different to a non technical one?

that confirms my worst fears        yes I am sh!!e  shot    :blink:

jonz said:

Can you explain what you mean by the term "technical " please, I keep seeing and hearing this being used but no idea what it means. In my view you have to read the bird to understand how to kill it and that applies to every target. So what makes a technical target and how is it different to a non technical one?

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It's a subjective thing of course, and you could say it's not real, but non tech to me is a straight driven, straight crosser, conventional looper, crossing rabbit etc. I would describe examples of technical as:

Quartering below your feet, appears fast rushing past close foliage, actually not fast, with deceiving deceleration.

Anything that appears straight and then it's curling just as you pick it up. 

Anything that is going into trees and therefore hurries the shooter. 

Edge on crossers that meet rising ground, creating the illusion to some that they are slow and stopping, but actually just hit an obstruction to stop.

Loads of others, you may say it's a nonsense term. It's not something I dwell on much. Choose the kill point, decide what it's doing there, forget the rest and shoot it.

Will Hewland said:

It's a subjective thing of course, and you could say it's not real, but non tech to me is a straight driven, straight crosser, conventional looper, crossing rabbit etc. I would describe examples of technical as:

Quartering below your feet, appears fast rushing past close foliage, actually not fast, with deceiving deceleration.

Anything that appears straight and then it's curling just as you pick it up. 

Anything that is going into trees and therefore hurries the shooter. 

Edge on crossers that meet rising ground, creating the illusion to some that they are slow and stopping, but actually just hit an obstruction to stop.

Loads of others, you may say it's a nonsense term. It's not something I dwell on much. Choose the kill point, decide what it's doing there, forget the rest and shoot it.

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And anything else you cannot hit.

Will Hewland said:

Me too, but relative beginners suffer with longer stuff usually. 

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Possibly because there is more time to look back at the gun  ??

chippy said:

And anything else you cannot hit.

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WELL, that pretty much covers it then  !

westley said:

Possibly because there is more time to look back at the gun  ??

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Maybe, but that is particular to some shooters. It's more sheer belief in shooting way ahead and also the line becomes more critical with distance, so target reading experience is needed. The usual pattern for beginners on long targets is they start way behind. Then eventually they get comfy with lead, but line can be a problem. Then after about a year, many start to shoot in front as their conscious lead gets added to the subconscious (kind of).  

The available range of targets in sporting have increased since the 70's & 80's because of portable electronic traps. No longer do you have to concider the safety of the trappers, modern traps can be placed at any angle and any direction within reason. I noticed this after returning to clay shooting after a 20+ year lay off, the variety and speed of targets makes for a better more challenging sport, and people are rising to the challenge.

Will Hewland said:

 Then after about a year, many start to shoot in front as their conscious lead gets added to the subconscious (kind of).  

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AND it never goes away  !  I probably miss more to overlead rather than underlead.

westley said:

AND it never goes away  !  I probably miss more to overlead rather than underlead.

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Me too. Rarely behind. I've tried hard in recent years to match gun speed to clay speed to try and curtail this. Works well, but sometimes I see myself push the gun on and think "why"?