What to bring for skeet shooting?

giggity · Aug 22, 2017

A friend of mine and I are going skeet shooting in the near future. Neither one of us have been before. How many shells and clays would you guys recommend per person for skeet shooting? Does it matter what # birdshot is used?

tallen702 · Aug 22, 2017

giggity said:
A friend of mine and I are going skeet shooting in the near future. Neither one of us have been before. How many shells and clays would you guys recommend per person for skeet shooting? Does it matter what # birdshot is used?

Are you going to an established skeet and trap center/field? Or just using a hand thrower or the like on your personal property?
If it's a center/established field, most places require #7-1/2 shot or smaller (7, 8, and 9). 7/8, 1oz, or 1-1/8oz loads are fine. You'd want to follow this for personal "backyard" throwing as well.

A standard game sees each shooter fire at 25 birds, so you need 25 shells per round. Same goes for trap.

It's beneficial to have a pouch and belt if going to a center or established field as well for holding your shells and spent hulls.

JMD2004 · Aug 22, 2017

having a range vest with pockets is ideal. You will have to at least carry one full box of shells with you out on the range. So at the least a bag or something that is easy to get into. And a lot of ranges ask you to pick up your casings too..so a 2nd pocket is a great idea. Even with small shot the recoil may be a bit tiring..so again..a vest that also has some padding in the shoulder is a great idea. Good safety glasses and a Hat too...you never know when a hot case will hit you in the noggin and burn you.

CSHS · Aug 22, 2017

Standard skeet load is 1 1/8 oz of 9 shot in a 12 gauge. 8 or 7.5 will work, most clubs have a restriction on the low end. Skeet choke or Improved cylinder is you don't have one. Watch a short Youtube video on the basics. You and your shooting partners will be glad you did.

From my experience, if you have half a clue people are more then willing to help you with tips and techniques.

Biggfoot44 · Aug 22, 2017

If you are going to an established Skeet Field , the clay targets are included in the price per round ( round = 25 ).

Unless you hate it from the get go , you will want to shoot more than one round . Four would be a bit much for first timers, so figure 2 or 3 rounds each .

Proper Skeet loads are 1 1/8oz of #9 . For casual use , #8's will serve fine ( # 7.5 will be a bit large, ie more gaps in pattern). Likewise 1oz ( or metric eqiv ) will be fine . Without opening too big a can of worms , top of the line competition shells like AA or RXP do use higher quality components , but 95% of casual/ rookie shooters use bulk pack, promotional loads of #8 for both Skeet and traditional Trap, with 95% feelings of satisfaction.

If you are instead going to do informal shooting with hand or foot thrower , a case of targets will be a nice session for two shooters .

Jmorrismetal · Aug 26, 2017

I have found it varies depending on what kind of thrower you have and how easy it is to use.

Redcobra · Aug 26, 2017

CSHS said:
Standard skeet load is 1 1/8 oz of 9 shot in a 12 gauge. 8 or 7.5 will work, most clubs have a restriction on the low end. Skeet choke or Improved cylinder is you don't have one. Watch a short Youtube video on the basics. You and your shooting partners will be glad you did.

From my experience, if you have half a clue people are more then willing to help you with tips and techniques.

1oz is plenty. I shoot 7/8oz. No need to beat yourself up with 1-1/8oz.
Take 4 boxes of #8 or #9. That's 4 rounds of skeet.

Blkhawk870 · Aug 26, 2017

I usually shoot 1oz #8 since they're usually easy to find compared to #9. I have a vest but I tend to use a pouch instead. They're fairly cheap on amazon.

What gun are you using for skeet? I like to use a skeet choke or an improved modified in my Benelli.

Shoobedoo · Aug 26, 2017

You can use a pump or semi, but an over under is the most common shotgun you'll see on a Skeet Field.

#7 1/2 or #8 shot for the most part, although some guys use #9. I prefer 1 1/8 oz. loads myself, but some guys do great with 1 oz loads, I just like having more BB's coming out of the pipe...

You'll want a cylinder bore choke or improved modified if you're using a pump or semi, if it's an over under ideally I would have a cylinder choke in one barrel for the close shots, and and a improved modified for the longer shots.

A full or regular modified choke isn't going to work too well for Skeet unless your pattern is dead on the birds or real close every shot.

One thing is for certain.... Skeet is a whole lot of damn fun....

linkstate · Aug 26, 2017

Shot size and load weight are only part of the equation. Look at velocity also. No need for anything faster than around 1200 fps.

Higher velocity shells will work assuming the place you shoot allows it but you will needlessly beat your shoulder up shooting a hundred or more shells.

Shoobedoo said:
You can use a pump or semi, but an over under is the most common shotgun you'll see on a Skeet Field.

#7 1/2 or #8 shot for the most part, although some guys use #9. I prefer 1 1/8 oz. loads myself, but some guys do great with 1 oz loads, I just like having more BB's coming out of the pipe...

You'll want a cylinder bore choke or improved modified if you're using a pump or semi, if it's an over under ideally I would have a cylinder choke in one barrel for the close shots, and and a improved modified for the longer shots.

A full or regular modified choke isn't going to work too well for Skeet unless your pattern is dead on the birds or real close every shot.

One thing is for certain.... Skeet is a whole lot of damn fun....

I think you meant cylinder or improved cylinder for skeet. IM is tighter than modified. Good for trap, not so much for skeet.

Shoobedoo · Aug 26, 2017

linkstate said:
I think you meant cylinder or improved cylinder for skeet. IM is tighter than modified. Good for trap, not so much for skeet.

Right, my mistake, I've been out of the game for some time now...

I was shooting a Browning O/U and she was a real beauty, the barrels were on the shorter side (can't recall the exact length, 28" or maybe even 26") and she swung fast and light.

When I did my part, the thing would just pulverize the clays....

I generally used the cheap Federal or Winchester 2 3/4" 1 1/8 oz. target loads, like the kind they sell by the pallet in Walmart stores, either in #7 1/2 or #8 shot. As I recall they ran around 1150 fps. and they never bothered my shoulder.

What to bring for skeet shooting?

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