Thursday, February 19, 2009

My Love/Hate relationship with Skeet


The words love and hate evoke thoughts of powerful emotions, admittedly much more powerful than necessary for our discussion here, but they will have to suffice...

The game of Skeet... developed by grouse hunters for grouse hunters. Originated in Andover, Massachusetts as off season practice by William H. Foster and C. E. Davies, the game was shot somewhat differently than the "speed up" game we shoot today.
First, a little history...
I started out shooting Trap, regular 16 yard.. Shot it for years and enjoyed it immensely.. Started shooting Skeet, and shot it pretty exclusively for years. I went through a period of about 5 years when I shot four rounds of Skeet every day of my life... If there was something to do that couldn't be missed, I'd shoot very early or late. It was a rare day that we didn't pop a hundred caps.. Suffered a severe bout of "Skeet burnout" and moved to Sporting Clays, then a relatively new game, and I thought I'd found shotgunning nirvana... After many years, it became just another tedious game that I started shooting just out of habit more than anything else..
Today, I can once again shoot limited amounts of Skeet and enjoy myself. Trap and Sporting I still love, but it's just for fun and to keep my average skills from getting too rusty...
Today, I shoot everything with a birdgun... Low gun as God intended, and it's all pretty social. I don't take the games, or myself for that matter, all that seriously anymore.

So, a walk through my world of Skeet is in order, and follow along to see if your "problem targets" coincide with mine..

High one... When I started shooting Skeet, it was never a problem. while I don't consider it a major problem today... I can take "fits" where this bird gives me fits.. Sometimes I just can't stay under it enough and shoot over the top... What else is new? Doubles just exacerbates the problem..
High Two... Ahhhh, my old nemesis. Always the problem child, and I never really "had it in my pocket! Always a bit of trepidation stepping into the box and calling for this target.. and therein lies the problem! This bird has my number, and it knows it!
Doubles?? See station one..
Three, Four and Five.. I hafta say, I eat these for breakfast. Without a doubt, my favorite place on the field.. When you're "in the Zone" and having one of those days, the targets look like big saucers flying in slow motion. Take your broom and sweep them outta' the air...
Low six.. The opposite of High two, but less of a problem. Doubles? see station one.
Seven... The old saying goes that if you cannot break all the targets on this stand, you couldn't buy sex in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50's... Quite true, but I still haven't broken every single target thrown from seven through my checkered career!
Eight... Again, when I started out, these targets gave me no trouble. We'd often move in on them to close the distance and make inkblots in the sky, easy to do from eight, even for myself because you're sooooo close... From a low gun position, the situation changes drastically! My reflexes, never catlike, are slower now and I don't see the bird as clearly, so no target here is in the bag.. and it's been so long that I've had to face 2 targets at low eight that it just doesn't matter anymore! I'm often knocking on the door of a staight, but it has eluded me recently.. The days of putting them together, I fear are long gone..

So, you've just wasted fifteen minutes of productive time reading of my problems with the game of Skeet.. If anyone cares to post, I'd love to hear about how your thoughts correlate with mine...

Enjoy your day!

2 comments:

  1. Bill, I've got a skeet club right across the street, but I only shoot there now and then. Mostly then. Here's how it works for me. When I shoot skeet, if I miss the clay, I'm disappointed. If I go hunting and miss the bird, I still have had a healthful walk in beautiful country with my canine buddy. Add in that I miss a lot, and you can see where my vote goes.

    Funny thing about the skeeters at my club. Most of them don't know that there is a woodcock honeyhole about 400 yards beyond the last house. Truth be told, I bet most of the skeeters wouldn't know a woodcock if it landed on them ;-)

    All that said, when we get our RBLs, I'll bring mine up and we'll shoot a round or two if you promise to teach me High One.

    Good post, Bill!

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  2. That sounds great, Michael.. We'll shoot a couple of rounds, and struggle through high One (and two) together..
    And, I'm hoping to get that Sixteen soon enough to get comfortable with it come 'Tober..

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