I recently shot my first real skeet shooting match. Like plenty of rural gun owners, I’ve blasted clays out of the air before, but I’ve never done it formally. I’ve spent plenty of time with one of those cheap throwers and some clay pigeons with friends. However, this was the first time I shot a proper match. It was for charity, and I figured if I was going to lose, it might as well be to help benefit a Children’s Hospital.
I loaded up my new CZ Drake and some Winchester AA, and I hit the range. We shot two rounds for fifty rounds fired in total, and I was terrible. Luckily, plenty of people there were terrible as well, but we all had fun. It was a completely different experience from the shooting I’m used to. Most of my shooting focuses on defensive shooting and so-called tactical shooting.
Just trying to knock a clay pigeon out of the air proved to be quite difficult but endlessly entertaining. I couldn’t wait to step up to the station and try my hand at it. While I missed a fair bit, I learned a lot in just fifty rounds. I didn’t know much about skeet shooting, so after trying it, I decided to dive deep into the sport and its history.
What is Skeet Shooting?
Skeet shooting is a shotgun sport that involves shooting flying targets. These targets are known as clay pigeons and are disced shaped and often painted orange. The general idea is to simulate bird hunting and turn more into a competitive sport with objective accuracy standards.
There are eight stations that form a half circle with a station in the middle. Stations 1 through 7 form the half circle. Shooters start at the first position and work their way from station to station. Stations 1,2, 6, and 7 challenge shooters to shoot two singles and one set of doubles. Stations 3, 4, and 5 are singles only. In station 8, the shooter shoots singles but has a limit on how far they can swing their gun.
Clays are fired from a high house and a low house. The high house launches targets from 10 feet above the ground. The low house launches targets three feet from the ground. At each station, you’ll shoot targets from the low and high houses. For doubles, both houses simultaneously launch clay pigeons.
Shooters have 24 targets in total. They have 25 shells. If you miss, you can use your ‘option’ to reshoot a missed clay. If you do not need the option, you shoot a second low house shot at the 8th station. A perfect score is 25 clays with 25 shells.
Skeet Shooting — The Early Origins
Skeet Shooting wasn’t invented until the 1920s, but the history of shooting clay pigeons goes back further than that. Shooting birds has always been a sporting event that’s challenging and difficult. Unpredictable flying targets aren’t exactly easy to hit. In the mid-1800s, they began experimenting with artificial targets.
Birds required some complicated logistics. They had to be bred, kept alive, fed, transported, etc. Artificial targets made of glass, clay, and asphalt were much simpler. The first of these sporting events was Trap. This gained its name from when they used live birds.
The birds would be released from a trap and shot by shooters. Trap is the oldest organized flying target shooting sport. The use of artificial flying targets was a real game-changer. It opened up the sport to everyone everywhere. You didn’t have to be an English gentleman on an estate with a staff of servants to raise birds.
In 1920 Charles Davis and William Harnden Foster created skeet shooting. Both men were avid hunters and outdoorsmen. They named their new, informal sport shooting competition Shooting Around the Clock. They originally shot from all directions, like a clock, and used a single launcher or Trap. That had to cease when a chicken farm moved next door.
They cut the course in half and added a second trap, which formed the modern high-house and low-house style of shooting we have now. In 1926 it became known as Skeet after a nationwide contest was held. Skeet was suggested by Gertrude Hurlbutt, and Skeet is a Norwegian word for shoot. By 1926 they held a National Championship and formed a National Skeet Shooting Association.
Since then, it’s become an International Sport with very specific differences among the countries that host it. It’s an Olympic Sport, and International Skeet is shot a bit differently than American Skeet. The sport is world-famous and can be found at nearly any self-respecting shooting club.
The World Wars and Clay Pigeons
As an interesting tidbit in the history of Clay Pigeons, Skeet, and Trap are their ties to both World Wars. In World War I, the United States famously brought their M1897 pump action shotguns to wartorn Europe and proceeded to kick German ass with them.
There was a rumor or legend I’ve never confirmed that claimed that GIs skilled at Trap were tasked with blasting enemy grenades out of the air. Myth Busters did an episode where they proved it was possible. DuPont also had a fairly popular ad about how the WWI GI learned how to handle a shotgun at his local gun club in the Trap leagues.
In World War II, the art of skeet shooting was used to teach gunnery students how to hit flying targets. Specifically, they were taught about the principles of lead and timing when shooting flying targets. That’s just an interesting tidbit and piece of American history I thought was fascinating.
Should you go skeet shooting?
Yes. My answer to anything regarding getting out and competing will be a yes. Sure, it might not make you John Wick, but it’s a ton of fun. It’s a serious challenge, and you’ll be surprised by how fast those pigeons move. It might seem intimidating at first, but all the folks I met were supportive, with tips and tricks to offer. Skeet shooting is a fun sport with a very jovial atmosphere.
It might seem a bit slow compared to 3-gun and USPSA, but Skeet shooting walked, so those sports can run.
