# Comentary on US shooters



## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

Was watch the World English sporting clays competion which has been dominated by the Brits since it started. The question was asked "why do the Brits dominate. Many indicated they felt the Brits practiced more and on more difficult targets. One American shooter gave a similar answer following up that club shooters in the US tend to like the easy targets and when clubs try to change that format and challenge the shooters they tend to leave that club or revese those changes. I believe that to be true in this and other sports and find it saddening that a lot of shooters don't push to challenge themselves. I've seen cases where the top shooters at a club oppose and changes that might knock them off that top spot. The local golf course gave me the same answer when I asked why they don't encorporate more features into the course that would challenge the golfer. I'ts one of the reasons I no longer care to shoot 3D rounds in archery (placards showing the vital areas and posted ranges are a challenge?). Not all shooters are like that but it's a sad comentary about the number that are.........................


----------



## Stobber (Aug 1, 2011)

Very well said, and I agree with you. Some of my favorite courses back home in WI seem to change their courses to more "pretty" shots. They seem to put emphasis on the shots that look cool, or seem hard, but really are not. Just because it crosses behind a tree does not make it hard. On these courses, I will skip over the easy stations and spend my shells at a station that is more challenging, those are the fun stations. I love the station where it is 6 shots, and your first hit is #5.....I will do that station until I hit at least 4 out of six. That is fun to me, not walking up, dusting two gimmie following pairs and walking away like I did good.


----------



## drjongy (Oct 13, 2003)

In Grand Forks as well they will not make the course any harder because all people do is complain. The course average this year was 29.6 out of 50, but I would still like to see more challenging shots.


----------



## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

The conception of sporting clays was a competition that would emulate hunting situations. When are hunting shots ever easy? But as with many sportseventually the scores become more important than the game and it makes people feel good when they break a lot of target so that is how they want the game set up.I think this hurts competitive shooters and hunters alike. While most competative shooters are probably able to adapt to a new challenge and work their way back to the top in a competition it may take them longer than a shooter who has been more challenged on a day to day basis.


----------



## alleyyooper (Jul 6, 2007)

We had one course at a sportsman club that was a bear. It got changed to much easier when the state said that the use of lead shot over the pond on the property and the creek that ran thru the property was no legal.
Then the old fart who sat up the course and changed it every other week retired. the club stopped useing the movable throwers with the school kids who worked them and sat up perment stations with very little in the way of adjustments to make things different.
Most of the guys I know who still shoot sporting clays here only do ternoments at a different place each week end and some times a different place both Saturday and Sunday.

 Al


----------



## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I know you guys are talking shotgun and archery, but the idea your talking about is why I shoot long range for deer hunting. Even though I have polyneuropathy in my feet and can not feel them (except for the constant false pain) I can still sneak up on a deer where a rifle is no longer a sport. So the only thing left to do was go long range. Not to the point one wounds deer, but to the point I must practice a lot and load my ammo very careful. My deer season begins with a micrometer checking neck concentricity. Some in my shape get a vehicle permit to drive off the road and shoot their deer out the window. It's great that they have that for some people, but not the ones who jump out of their pickup and run faster than many of us can.

It isn't just shooting, that mentality is everywhere. I noticed Obama proposed dropping testing because to many students are failing. Same wimpy mindset.


----------



## ShineRunner (Sep 11, 2002)

We usually start shooting clays in my field over a big draw before dove operner. We have a portable thrower and a hand held. We shoot at different angles, heights and directions. If we miss a target we will stay at that spot and throw until we start hitting from there, then move. We do not shoot from the same place's all the time which makes it a lot more fun.

I'm prepping for Dove opener that is just a few weeks away. Got dove setting around my field and hoping to have a shootable population by opener.

Gotta get to reloading. :beer: :beer:


----------



## DuckBuster (Mar 18, 2003)

This is something that our shooting team has discussed dozens of times. I agree about the difficulty of most courses targets. I would love to see them become more difficult. I will shoot roughly 5000-6000 targets this summer, some of them at competitions, and I am not very good at it. :-? It can be frustrating to go to a shoot at a different club and the targets are far tougher than what I've been training on. That said, our usual course had made some efforts to throw at least a few tougher targets per round this year. Typically, the first and last couple of rounds each year will be cupcake courses. Draw shooters in with good scores to start, and finish them with good scores so they come back the following year.

However, you need to understand WHY courses are throwing the targets they throw. Most clubs have a decent amount of land dedicated to throwing targets, some have mechanical/remote controlled throwers, they have payroll for trap kids to load those throwers, targets, etc.. Plenty of expenses. It's a business. They are concened about bringing people in and having them come back. And while I understand what you mean about wanting to improve your shooting, you and I are in the minority. MOST club shooters want to come out and be able to put up a decent score on the 1 or maybe 2 days a month that they shoot. My home club costs me about $40 for 2 rounds of 50 targets and shells. So if a guy comes out to the club and he is only going to shoot 1 or 2 times at $40 each, he is not going to want to put up a 25 bird average. He will just quit coming back. If that same guy puts a score up in the low to mid 30's or even slightly higher, he feels good about himself and will return. Our local club has seen a huge reduction in the amount of shooters in the past 3 years. That equals far less profits. At the end of the day, that is the important thing for them. The bottom line is that most clubs really don't care how "U.S. shooters" rank in the shooting world. They are simply trying to survive in a depressed economy.


----------



## alleyyooper (Jul 6, 2007)

Our club has also lost the number of shooters per week. Our best attended shoot is New Years day. So many shooters many times we have opened the pole barn and removed equipment to hold the over flow. We did a simple survey On New Years day last.

Is this your first time attending the clubs clay course, skeet, trap or five stand. circle at least one.
yes or no.

What other time do you shoot the clubs courses?
________________________________________

How many times a year do you shoot the clubs courses?
__________________________________________________

Do you shoot less now than in the past?

______________________________________
most say yest to that question.

Why do you shoot less now than in the past?
______________________________________

Do you shoot at other clubs courses?
______________________________

the answers range from, Fuel cost takes more money than in the past, top answer.
Laid off from work shooting today from Christmas gift cert.
Cost of living is taking much more of my money, If I hunt or fish I get to eat the results.

Our club charges $12.00 per round of 50. No trap persons any longer who man the throwers, they recieved tips from the shooter about $15.00 per round of 5 or 6 shooters, Never more than 6.

New Years day is closed for rifle, pistol and archery shooting. We still usally have clost to 200 persons show up and do the survey.
A cold cut lunch is served from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. We except donations at the door also.

 Al


----------



## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

I'm not a club shooter. I shot in an archery league for a few years but gave up on it because I just didn't find it challenging enough. I tried golf (i'm a terrible golfer) but again found no challenge in playing the same course/s over and over. Maybe I'm just ADD................................... :rollin:


----------



## alleyyooper (Jul 6, 2007)

I don't shoot at the club any more either.
Our best fun is having our golfing/shooting friends to come over (only about 6 left.) after the hay has been cut and bales taken off the field. I'll buy a couple of buckets of salvage golf balls for the event and friends bring more too. for rifle practiac the golf nut tees one up and does his whack job. then it is the rifle mans turn to judge ther distance and take the shot. If he miss's the next shooter (by lottery drawing) will shot. turns are taken till the golf ball is killed.
For the shot guns we found you can throw golf balls off a thrower like the red devil two of us own. Cleaning up shot up galf balls is way easier than clay targets.
We usally have a cook out lunch around 1:00PM the wifes fix up. To bad we only have this gathering once a year. could do it in the winter but Hate the idea of painting golf balls plus we are all either chaseing bunnies or youtes. And some even sit on the ice fishing.

 Al


----------



## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

alleyyooper your remind me of an article in one of my last magazines. It was called "the lost art of plinking". Today everything has turned into a competition. The most fun I have is two or three friends getting together to spin steel targets at 1000 yards. Walk closer, move back, mil the range with an 18 inch piece of 4 inch white PVC next to the target. Even with a bow my favorite time is walking through the trees or prairie and picking out targets like milkweed pods at unknown distances and letting rip with a small game head. I may have to skip my chores today if I keep talking.

Have a great day alley, and good shooting.


----------



## AdamFisk (Jan 30, 2005)

Judo points are great for bows. Killed plenty of downtime out west last year walking around and shooting various things with the bows. Obviously the deer weren't cooperating.


----------



## alleyyooper (Jul 6, 2007)

When my hunting partner was still alive we also used to do the walk and stalk in the woods with the bow. shooting old rotten stumps, fern clumps and other assorted targets. When doing it with others it is a compititon or gets that way in a hurry. Never had so much booing and cat calling except from that bunch.
Never liked the Judo points, were expencive to shoot and the life of them wasn't long either. I liked those big red blunt tips that sliped on with a bit of dish soap some steel blunt tips.

Around here you can shoot archery on just about any piece of public land with blunts or judo points.

 Al


----------

