A Beginner’s Guide for Getting Started with Clay Shooting

Whether you are new to shotguns and looking to practice or want something to hone your skill when it is not hunting season, clay shooting can be fun and practical. Clay shooting, typically divided into skeet, trap, and sporting clay categories, can help you become a better hunter, or a fun, competitive pastime. Grab your Beretta A300 and get ready for the beginner’s guide to clay shooting.

The Equipment You Will Need

Obviously, you will need a shotgun, but more on that in a moment. What you need are clay pigeons, which are 4-inch-wide clay discs, not unlike small frisbees. If you are at a trap club, you can buy these already in the traps, which are the machines that launch the clays. If you are out at an open range, you can bring a box of clays and a hand thrower, with a second person throwing for you as you shoot.

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Pump Action vs. Semi-Automatic vs. Over Under

The two most common shotgun types used for clay shooting are pump-action and semi-automatic. Generally, pump-action shotguns, like the Benelli SuperNova, with shorter barrels that are typically 26 or 28 inches long, are not ideal for trap shooting. However, they are easy to unload if there is a malfunction at the range. The action can accidentally trigger traps to launch a clay pigeon if they are microphone-activated, so have a gentle touch. Semi-automatics, like a Benelli M4, are easier to shoulder and you can make follow-up shots faster. The action can also trigger a microphone. An over under only has two shots but will not set the microphones off as there is no cycling action.

Trap Shooting

Trap shooting sees targets launched from a partially underground bunker 16 yards in front of the primary shooting line, launched at the same angle but random directions in a narrow arc. There are five posts on the shooting line, and five shooters can compete at once. They alternate shots and then all move to the next post, shooting 25 total targets.

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Skeet Shooting

Unlike trap shooting, skeet shooters need to be more on their toes. Clays launch from a variety of angles, going across, towards, and away from the shooting line. It has eight stations instead of five, and there are two machines: a high house and low house. Sometimes, two clays are launched at once.

Sporting Clays

Like actual hunting, every shot is different in sporting clays. There can be between 10 and 15 stations, winding through woods and fields. Traps shoot at unpredictable angles and can even roll on the ground to simulate rabbits.

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