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I'm currently an Endowment member of the NRA,
an association that promotes the Second Amendment. I strongly believe that
we have too many gun laws that our judicial system does not enforce
effectively, and that more laws 
prohibiting certain types of firearms are unwarranted. These laws
will do nothing except keep guns, to be owned for lawful purposes, out of
law-abiding citizens' hands. These firearms are not the problem.
Criminals ARE the problem. NRA supports tougher sentences (real
sentences, at least 85% served) for crimes. More violent criminals in
jail is a good thing, contrary to some people's beliefs. I'd rather see
them behind bars than out in society creating more mayhem, losses, and
death. Lawful citizens are NOT the problem. I support any
legislation that provides for tougher sentencing or truth-in-sentencing, and am
ardently opposed to any legislation that makes it tougher for law-abiding
citizens to obtain firearms. It seems to me, that if the government has
to attempt to disarm the citizenry in the name of whatever they want this week,
they have something to fear from the rational thinkers of the
Skeet Shooting
1998:
I currently shoot as much skeet as possible. I started with a
Mossberg 590 (!!) in April of 1997, and after about a month of that, moved up
to a Remigton 1100 Synthetic (12 Ga, of course). On
In December of 1997, my 
wonderful
brother, Phil (not that Paul and Tom aren't great......) bought me a Browning
Citori GTI Sporting Clays shotgun (actually it was more of a trade for my .44
Mag Desert Eagle and some more neat stuff with it), and I've been shooting that
gun ever since then (with the occasional round through the Mossberg or
Remington for kicks). The way I figure it, I can miss the targets just as
well with the Browning as I can with the Remington, but now, I LOOK like a
skeet shooter!!! Yeah, that's a joke. Just seems like most
"seasoned" skeet shooters have something that breaks open and hangs
over their shoulder or arm, and looks pretty cool. I guess it's just part
of the look. To tell you the truth, if you want to shoot, and have a
shotgun, then find a skeet range, and give it a try. It's humbling at
first, but if you try it once, and go back again, it may be too late; you might
be hooked. And the neat thing about it is that you don't have to have a
nice shotgun to do it. Anything that will take a shotgun shell will
work. Some work better than others, such as an Improved Cylinder choke,
or a little more open. For starters, though, a single shot will even
work. I didn't shoot doubles for a month or so, then worked into
that. Anyway, get out there and shoot!!! It's a blast (so to speak)!!!
NOTE: Finally, after almost 9 months, I hit my second 25 straight on
All it takes is time and lots of
practice. Since my first skeet shooting, in April of 1997, I've made a
lot of progress. I've shot three 100 straights in 12 and 20 gauge, and
three or four 99's with the 28 gauge. I'm sort of at a stand-still with
the .410, but that'll come around eventually.
Update: In October, 1999, I attended
the World Skeet Championships in San Antonio, TX, and wound up shooting a 546/550
in the High Over All, and 641/650 in the High All Around competitions.
This was good enough to win A Class HOA, and A-2 in HAA. The highlight
was my first 100 in the .410, and continued on to win Runner-Up in that
gun. Other high points were placing AA-7 in the 12 gauge main, and
military runner-up in the 12 gauge and HOA. All in all, I received 23 pin
awards, 3 medals, and 5 straight pins (100 straight in 410 and 20 (mini-world),
125 in the 12 gauge east, 125 in the 12 gauge west, and 250 in the 12 gauge
main). This was the most exciting week of shooting I've ever had, and
it's the best I've done so far. Hopefully this will continue into the
2000 skeet year, also. (I still haven't shot a 100 in the 28
gauge.... Still working on that one).
By 2001, I had shot 100 straights in all
gauges, including one in Doubles. In the
last several years, I’ve shot 100s in the 12, 20, and 28, but still
haven’t had any more in .410 or Doubles.
Recently (as of March of 2007), I haven’t shot more than about 400
or 500 targets a year, but I had my time in the sun. I’ve done well in the Armed Forces
Championships, winning three Beretta 390 shotguns over a year (two in 2000, and
one in 2001), doing well in a couple of World Championships in San Antonio, and
generally having a great time.
In June of 2001, I had let the pressure get
to me, and everything was about winning.
After a particularly bad time in
Some skeet pictures (click on the small picture to get the larger
picture):
That's me and my
Browning Citori GTI after a few rounds of skeet at the
If you look
really close, there's a blurred line just below the target...... I
believe that's the shot-string heading for the target, and I think that's going
to be a busted bird!!! Not a bad shot with a little one-time Kodak
camera, huh?
And this is how to
break 'em! Little target, big Poof! The little black cloud is
what's left of the target.
Here's a depiction of a skeet field. Simply put, there are eight shooting stations
and two houses, a high and a low. At station 1, the shooter fires at a
high target, a low target, then reloads and fires at simultaneous targets from
the high and low 
houses.
At station 2, the shooter receives the same sequence of targets as he got at
station 1. At stations 3, 4, and 5, the shooter shoots at a single high
target, then a single low. At station 6 and 7, the shooter shoots at a
high, low, then reloads and shoots at doubles again. At station 8, the
shooter fires at a single high target, then fires at a single low target.
At station 8, the target must be shot before it reaches the center of the field
(target crossing point). The skeet round consists of 25 targets, so the extra
target (called the "optional" shot) is shot after the shooter's first
miss. If he or she gets all the way around without missing, he shoots the
extra target (the "option") at station 8, at a low house bird.
Those are the basics. Obviously, there are a bunch more rules, but you
get the basic picture of the skeet game. Now, all you need to do is give
it a try!
Click for more info on Skeet Shooting, from
the National Skeet Shooting Association,
of which I am also a life member.
If you're in the
If you're in the
|
Total Clay Targets Shot, From |
|
|
Mossberg 590 |
45 Rounds (1125 targets) |
|
Remington 1100 |
297 Rounds (7425 targets) |
|
Remington 870 |
26 Rounds (650 targets) |
|
Reminton 11-87 |
4 Rounds (100 targets) |
|
Browning Citori GTI
Sporting Clays |
227 Rounds (5675 targets) |
|
Browning 325 |
170 Rounds (4250 targets) |
|
Beretta 682 Gold Super
Sporting |
|
|
12 Ga |
60 Rounds |
|
20 Ga |
287 Rounds |
|
28 Ga |
332 Rounds |
|
410 Bore |
506 Rounds |
|
Total through Beretta 682
Gold |
1185 Rounds (29625 targets) |
|
|
|
|
Total through all guns
(including those not listed): |
2220 Rounds (55500 targets) |
|
|
(Approximately 52 per day
for almost three years) |
I shoot trap every once in a while for
giggles, but I enjoy skeet quite a bit 
more. From
I am a supporter of concealed carry laws, and
I believe they work to reduce crime. One argument is that they create a
"level of terror" and everybody is scared. What a load.
The only people that really should be scared are the criminals. Anyone
who feels sorry that criminals are scared should take a close look at
himself. If ordinary, law-abiding citizens are afraid because other
law-abiding citizens have guns, then the "trust" that they want so
bad just isn't there. All of my guns, together, have done no one any
harm; I carry one concealed regularly, and have never had to use it.
Go back to Ben's
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