…in which Our Hero from TGS Outdoor tried his hand at skeet shooting for the first time last year and fell in love with the sport.
So much so that he came back this year and tried again.
There’s two wonderful, relaxing hours of viewing in the above two links, so have at it.
I’ve watched each one twice.
In passing, what I really enjoy about watching Jonny Carter is that he’s a remarkable shot — that part is undeniable — but he’s also appallingly humble. Note in the first video his unselfconscious attitude towards admitting he’s a newbie at skeet shooting, his willingness to listen to advice from the pros, and his absolute refusal to blame his performance on his borrowed, unfamiliar gear.
He’s fallen in love not just with skeet shooting, but with the entire skeet shooting family; and I bet they love this gangling Brit with his quiet, self-effacing humor just as much.
Never tried it, but want to.
Skeet is a lot of fun and very much a social event. Go out to your local club that offers it and see what equipment people are using. At my club, people were very welcoming and encouraging. Quite a few people would let you try their gun so you could try a few before you bought one. SOme places have guns you can rent. Unfortunately the ChiCom flu put the kibosh on getting into skeet for me and I haven’t picked it up again. Maybe next year I’ll make that a goal then hunt birds in the Autumn of 2026.
What they are doing with Skeet now is not what we did 50 years ago. I did a line with my Stevens 311 DB 12 gauge last spring at the school range (private school). If I was to get into this I would drop back to a 16 gauge OU. A Turkish one runs $750 and what I would like is a 3 grand Italian – neither is going to happen.
Turn what are the differences between then and now? I haven’t seen 16ga shells for clays at all. usually I just find hunting loads.
I’ve never shot skeet but I’ve done more than a few rounds of trap. My dad was big into trap; he competed in the MI state shoot regularly and made a number of trips down to GA to compete in some big shoot there. I was never very good at it but loved spending time with dad as he practiced at the local clubs. I even earned some spending money working in the trap houses; I didn’t even lose any fingers although the machines sure tried to take them!