Skeet, gotta know when to DUCK

OkieCruffler · July 26, 2011, 07:52 PM

A few weeks back I learned the hard way. Shooting the low 8 and wasn't really paying any attention since I never hit the danged thing anyway. Well, like my grandpappy always said, even a blind nut sometimes finds a squirrel, (Never really understood that) and I managed to hit it just enough to break it in 2. Now one of those pieces just sailed out into the feild as pretty as you please, but that other peice, it had revenge on its mind. Flying straight and fast like some dove outta hell it zeroed in on my mellon. Smacked me dead center in the forehead and took about a 2 inch bite out of the hide. I guess it was a good thing, I've never heard those fellas laugh that hard. I'll tell you this much, I'm gonna start working on that low 8 to make sure I never hit it again.

71Eagle · July 26, 2011, 08:10 PM

Better your noggin than your gun, your head will heal. I had a pretty big chip hit my stock one time and made a nice divit, and I wasn't even the one shooting!

zippy13 · July 26, 2011, 08:16 PM

Yep, you don't wanna blink at eight. That's a good reason to learn how to ink ball the targets there. And, it's not uncommon to be bloodied by target shards from adjacent fields.

ALWAYS WEAR EYE PROTECTION WHEN SHOOTING SKEET, OR NEAR AN ACTIVE FIELD.

oneounceload · July 26, 2011, 08:16 PM

Why you wear a hat.........

I hold so far off the house so I can make it turn into little smoke pieces

.300 Weatherby Mag · July 26, 2011, 08:32 PM

Thats why you want to smoke it... But seriously I have been hit on low 8 numerous times...

OkieCruffler · July 26, 2011, 08:59 PM

I've been hit a few times but never in the noggin or even been hurt. We do have a shard that is enbedded in one of the wooden deviding fences, that one would have hurt. And I hate wearing a hat, makes me look old.

chasep255 · July 26, 2011, 09:17 PM

Never been hit by a clay but I have been by a pellet.

TheKlawMan · July 27, 2011, 01:00 AM

I have been hit in the hand once by a teensy piece of a clay. If it was my eye that would have been serious. Do as Zippy says and always wear eye protection.

PJR · July 27, 2011, 04:53 AM

Quote:

ALWAYS WEAR EYE PROTECTION WHEN SHOOTING SKEET, OR NEAR AN ACTIVE FIELD.

Same with sporting clays. A large piece of a very high chandelle that I'd poorly hit got caught by the wind came down directly onto my Decots as my attention was focused on the second target. Cuts to the face and I had a lovely shiner the next day but were it not for my glasses I would quite likely be blind in my left eye.

No one, and I mean NO ONE, shoots with me or is around me while I'm shooting without wearing eye protection.

OkieCruffler · July 27, 2011, 09:05 AM

I couldn't shoot without eye protection if I wanted to. Can't see past the end of the muzzle without my scripts.

Technosavant · July 27, 2011, 09:12 AM

Teach that thing who's boss.

Catch it in a net then shoot it execution style.

zippy13 · July 27, 2011, 09:45 AM

Often, old time trap shooters, who're accustomed to away targets, aren't aware of the hazards from shards and stray pellets and they get a rude awakening when trying crossing shots. Too many shooters assume safety glasses are just in case a gun blows up.

BigJimP · July 27, 2011, 11:28 AM

I shoot about 350 rounds of skeet a year - and t doesn't happen that often ....I get hit 4 or 5 times a year - and it rarely breaks the skin --- but I got hit yesterday with a small chunk of clay from station 8 - in the left cheek. ( .. it was for a 24 ...so no revenge could be taken )....it was just the skeet gods getting their licks in !

No big deal - scratch on my cheek is only about an inch long ...and it bled a little ...so its clean.../ nothing to dig out ...( and I'm happy it hit me in the face and not one of my squadmates ...and it didn't scratch my gun ..) ...but I always wear a hat and glasses...just in case.

We've been shooting these bio-degradeable targets at my club for a few months --- and we seem to be getting more big pieces off of these targets - even if we hit them pretty hard ( but I could have hit that one a little harder ...and its just part of the game ).

.300 Weatherby Mag · July 27, 2011, 11:50 AM

Quote:

We've been shooting these bio-degradeable targets at my club for a few months --- and we seem to be getting more big pieces off of these targets - even if we hit them pretty hard ( but I could have hit that one a little harder ...and its just part of the game ).

My range used those for several months and my experience was the same... Lots of big pieces... In the last month they have switched back to the traditional Whiteflyer targets... Out of curiosity... Did the biodegradable targets your club used have a white core or emit a white puff when shot??

BigJimP · July 27, 2011, 12:01 PM

Yes, they seem to emit a lot of extra white puffy dust when we hit them hard ...

They're a little harder to break ...and when it rains / the litter on the ground gets greasy ...and since we seem to have more litter - it's like a bunch of snail trails all over .../ and they're harder to sweep up off the concrete walkways or station pads after they get wet.

They don't fly very consistently either - especially if you get any breeze at all / but they're cheaper - so that's why a lot of clubs have gone to them - in my opinion. I know technically they're bio-degradeable ...but I think they'll still take many, many years - to really break down ...so I think its more "marketing speak" than anything else...

Dave McC · July 27, 2011, 08:03 PM

Glad you're OK, John.

As said before, wear eye and ear protection every time...

Rugerismisticness · July 27, 2011, 08:49 PM

I agree, those Bio targets are hard. I girl I was shooting with was using #9 shot at 20 yard crossers and just seemed to dust all of them. I handed her a mix of 7.5s and 8s, then she started racking points. IMHO, clay smoke should be black.

OkieCruffler · July 27, 2011, 09:39 PM

I have a pair of shooting glasses with an inch long deep gouge on the left lens from a shattered target that I keep in my range box to show people. If I hadn't been wearing them that day my depth perception would be shot today.

zippy13 · July 27, 2011, 10:21 PM

If I hadn't been wearing them that day my depth perception would be shot today.

My friend, as well we know, it's a lot easier to get new glasses than new eyes.

There was a shooting demo on YouTube a while back. I made the comment that the shooter should have been wearing eye protection. I couldn't believe the grief I got: some folks thought shooting glasses were totally unnecessary and others called me a sissy for wearing them. Different strokes for different folks.

OkieCruffler · July 27, 2011, 10:36 PM

I have a more unfortunate reminder than just those glasses. My brother lost his left eye when he was 6. He was shooting a friend's red ryder at the pond. BB gun, what could happen. He shot a half full bottle of coke that had been sitting in the sun and it exploded. A piece of glass just wrecked his eye. I can still vividly remember seeing the fluid running down his face. Hard to get me to do anything without glasses since then. Only wish I would have protected my ears as well.

olddrum1 · July 27, 2011, 11:13 PM

Several years ago we had a trapper that went to load the bird machine on a rabbit/bird setup. The only problem was instead of releasing the empty bird machine he tripped the loaded rabbit machine. Took a rabbit point blank across the bridge of his nose and eye traveling across his brow. Safety glasses saved the young mans eye.

mete · July 28, 2011, 06:44 AM

It also depends on how a range is set up.At one sporting clays range we were suddenly showered with pellets ! The owner raised hell with the shooters at another position - they had been using heavy target instead of light target loads .

PJR · July 28, 2011, 07:24 AM

Quote:

There was a shooting demo on YouTube a while back. I made the comment that the shooter should have been wearing eye protection. I couldn't believe the grief I got: some folks thought shooting glasses were totally unnecessary and others called me a sissy for wearing them.

I believe it. Our club has a mandatory eye protection rule for shooters and spectators and it is enforced rigorously. We've heard every excuse and have a supply of low-cost eye protection in the club house for people who "forgot." One warning per customer and if that doesn't work you are told to leave. No exceptions.

hogdogs · July 28, 2011, 07:39 AM

BJP, I inquired as to why they claim 2+ years to go away and that they could slightly affect the PH of the soil as being "bio-degradable"...

The thing is that they are a "No Coal Tar Pitch" version... What you ol' timers have shot for ever contain "petroleum based" material. I understand that this was once used as a way to kill clay sports thus removing one more reason to be able to own guns.

And frankly, any time I can avoid returning petroleum products thru the topsoil I sure will.

Brent

BigJimP · July 28, 2011, 12:28 PM

What you're saying is probably true on petrolium based targets - and it is good to get them out of the soil and not endanger the water ...but I'm not convinced at this point that the bio-degradeable ones are completely inert either.

I also don't buy the 2 yrs to break down ....I think it maybe 10+ or more ....

But a lot of clubs are actively cleaning up target litter and wads that are downrange ...as well as "mining" the lead shot at the fall zones. I'm not convinced the old style targets were really an issue in terms of ground water.

July 26, 2011, 07:52 PM	#1
OkieCruffler Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2001 Location: Denison Texas on the banks of Texhoma Posts: 1,556	Skeet, gotta know when to DUCK A few weeks back I learned the hard way. Shooting the low 8 and wasn't really paying any attention since I never hit the danged thing anyway. Well, like my grandpappy always said, even a blind nut sometimes finds a squirrel, (Never really understood that) and I managed to hit it just enough to break it in 2. Now one of those pieces just sailed out into the feild as pretty as you please, but that other peice, it had revenge on its mind. Flying straight and fast like some dove outta hell it zeroed in on my mellon. Smacked me dead center in the forehead and took about a 2 inch bite out of the hide. I guess it was a good thing, I've never heard those fellas laugh that hard. I'll tell you this much, I'm gonna start working on that low 8 to make sure I never hit it again. __________________ John A. Monroe, Never Forgive, Never Forget, Blood Pays Blood

July 26, 2011, 08:10 PM	#2
71Eagle Member Join Date: June 20, 2011 Location: Central Texas Posts: 37	Revenge Better your noggin than your gun, your head will heal. I had a pretty big chip hit my stock one time and made a nice divit, and I wasn't even the one shooting!

July 26, 2011, 08:59 PM	#6
OkieCruffler Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2001 Location: Denison Texas on the banks of Texhoma Posts: 1,556	I've been hit a few times but never in the noggin or even been hurt. We do have a shard that is enbedded in one of the wooden deviding fences, that one would have hurt. And I hate wearing a hat, makes me look old. __________________ John A. Monroe, Never Forgive, Never Forget, Blood Pays Blood

July 27, 2011, 09:05 AM	#10
OkieCruffler Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2001 Location: Denison Texas on the banks of Texhoma Posts: 1,556	I couldn't shoot without eye protection if I wanted to. Can't see past the end of the muzzle without my scripts. __________________ John A. Monroe, Never Forgive, Never Forget, Blood Pays Blood

July 27, 2011, 09:39 PM	#18
OkieCruffler Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2001 Location: Denison Texas on the banks of Texhoma Posts: 1,556	I have a pair of shooting glasses with an inch long deep gouge on the left lens from a shattered target that I keep in my range box to show people. If I hadn't been wearing them that day my depth perception would be shot today. __________________ John A. Monroe, Never Forgive, Never Forget, Blood Pays Blood

July 26, 2011, 08:16 PM	#3
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	Yep, you don't wanna blink at eight. That's a good reason to learn how to ink ball the targets there. And, it's not uncommon to be bloodied by target shards from adjacent fields. ALWAYS WEAR EYE PROTECTION WHEN SHOOTING SKEET, OR NEAR AN ACTIVE FIELD.

July 26, 2011, 08:16 PM	#4
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	Why you wear a hat......... I hold so far off the house so I can make it turn into little smoke pieces

July 26, 2011, 08:32 PM	#5
.300 Weatherby Mag Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2008 Posts: 1,777	Thats why you want to smoke it... But seriously I have been hit on low 8 numerous times...

July 26, 2011, 09:17 PM	#7
chasep255 Senior Member Join Date: December 21, 2009 Location: NJ Posts: 727	Never been hit by a clay but I have been by a pellet.

July 27, 2011, 01:00 AM	#8
TheKlawMan Junior member Join Date: June 23, 2009 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 2,149	I have been hit in the hand once by a teensy piece of a clay. If it was my eye that would have been serious. Do as Zippy says and always wear eye protection.

July 27, 2011, 09:12 AM	#11
Technosavant Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2007 Location: St. Louis, MO area Posts: 4,040	Teach that thing who's boss. Catch it in a net then shoot it execution style.

July 27, 2011, 09:45 AM	#12
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	Often, old time trap shooters, who're accustomed to away targets, aren't aware of the hazards from shards and stray pellets and they get a rude awakening when trying crossing shots. Too many shooters assume safety glasses are just in case a gun blows up.

July 27, 2011, 11:28 AM	#13
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	I shoot about 350 rounds of skeet a year - and t doesn't happen that often ....I get hit 4 or 5 times a year - and it rarely breaks the skin --- but I got hit yesterday with a small chunk of clay from station 8 - in the left cheek. ( .. it was for a 24 ...so no revenge could be taken )....it was just the skeet gods getting their licks in ! No big deal - scratch on my cheek is only about an inch long ...and it bled a little ...so its clean.../ nothing to dig out ...( and I'm happy it hit me in the face and not one of my squadmates ...and it didn't scratch my gun ..) ...but I always wear a hat and glasses...just in case. We've been shooting these bio-degradeable targets at my club for a few months --- and we seem to be getting more big pieces off of these targets - even if we hit them pretty hard ( but I could have hit that one a little harder ...and its just part of the game ).

July 27, 2011, 12:01 PM	#15
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	Yes, they seem to emit a lot of extra white puffy dust when we hit them hard ... They're a little harder to break ...and when it rains / the litter on the ground gets greasy ...and since we seem to have more litter - it's like a bunch of snail trails all over .../ and they're harder to sweep up off the concrete walkways or station pads after they get wet. They don't fly very consistently either - especially if you get any breeze at all / but they're cheaper - so that's why a lot of clubs have gone to them - in my opinion. I know technically they're bio-degradeable ...but I think they'll still take many, many years - to really break down ...so I think its more "marketing speak" than anything else...

July 27, 2011, 08:03 PM	#16
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Glad you're OK, John. As said before, wear eye and ear protection every time...

July 27, 2011, 08:49 PM	#17
Rugerismisticness Senior Member Join Date: December 22, 2010 Posts: 909	I agree, those Bio targets are hard. I girl I was shooting with was using #9 shot at 20 yard crossers and just seemed to dust all of them. I handed her a mix of 7.5s and 8s, then she started racking points. IMHO, clay smoke should be black.

July 27, 2011, 10:21 PM	#19
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	If I hadn't been wearing them that day my depth perception would be shot today. My friend, as well we know, it's a lot easier to get new glasses than new eyes. There was a shooting demo on YouTube a while back. I made the comment that the shooter should have been wearing eye protection. I couldn't believe the grief I got: some folks thought shooting glasses were totally unnecessary and others called me a sissy for wearing them. Different strokes for different folks. Last edited by zippy13; July 27, 2011 at 10:41 PM. Reason: typo

July 27, 2011, 10:36 PM	#20
OkieCruffler Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2001 Location: Denison Texas on the banks of Texhoma Posts: 1,556	I have a more unfortunate reminder than just those glasses. My brother lost his left eye when he was 6. He was shooting a friend's red ryder at the pond. BB gun, what could happen. He shot a half full bottle of coke that had been sitting in the sun and it exploded. A piece of glass just wrecked his eye. I can still vividly remember seeing the fluid running down his face. Hard to get me to do anything without glasses since then. Only wish I would have protected my ears as well. __________________ John A. Monroe, Never Forgive, Never Forget, Blood Pays Blood

July 27, 2011, 11:13 PM	#21
olddrum1 Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2008 Location: Mid Missouri Posts: 807	Several years ago we had a trapper that went to load the bird machine on a rabbit/bird setup. The only problem was instead of releasing the empty bird machine he tripped the loaded rabbit machine. Took a rabbit point blank across the bridge of his nose and eye traveling across his brow. Safety glasses saved the young mans eye.

July 28, 2011, 06:44 AM	#22
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	It also depends on how a range is set up.At one sporting clays range we were suddenly showered with pellets ! The owner raised hell with the shooters at another position - they had been using heavy target instead of light target loads . __________________ And Watson , bring your revolver !

July 28, 2011, 07:39 AM	#24
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	BJP, I inquired as to why they claim 2+ years to go away and that they could slightly affect the PH of the soil as being "bio-degradable"... The thing is that they are a "No Coal Tar Pitch" version... What you ol' timers have shot for ever contain "petroleum based" material. I understand that this was once used as a way to kill clay sports thus removing one more reason to be able to own guns. And frankly, any time I can avoid returning petroleum products thru the topsoil I sure will. Brent

July 28, 2011, 12:28 PM	#25
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	What you're saying is probably true on petrolium based targets - and it is good to get them out of the soil and not endanger the water ...but I'm not convinced at this point that the bio-degradeable ones are completely inert either. I also don't buy the 2 yrs to break down ....I think it maybe 10+ or more .... But a lot of clubs are actively cleaning up target litter and wads that are downrange ...as well as "mining" the lead shot at the fall zones. I'm not convinced the old style targets were really an issue in terms of ground water.

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