[Casual Shooter]

I used to spend my time shooting trap, wobble trap and 5-stand, but I decided that if I worked at it, I should be able to shoot better scores at skeet. My previous best was in the 14-15 range.This weekend I bought some shells in 9-shot instead of the 8's that I usually shoot. I choked my gun for skeet and had the luck of shooting with someone that decided to watch me and help me out. I was a little bit intimidated as I watched his previous round and I don't think he missed a single target.Anyway, with a little bit of encouragement and focus, I shot a 20 for my first round of the day!! I was hoping for something in the high teens so 20 was a plus. Then in my second round, I shot a 22 !!!Then my "coach" left and I shot two more rounds with scores of 19 and 17. A little bit disappointing but still an overall success for me. The coaching definitely helped as he saw me make errors that I might have been aware of but still needed to be told (keep your head on the gun, keep swinging the gun, and some help on my stance). I also think the #9 shot helped too.So, I plan to shoot more skeet this summer. I'm not planning to buy a new gun, but I wonder if my 30" barrel Beretta 391 is holding me back a bit. It seems like skeet shooters prefer shorter barrels. What do you say skeet shooters? Do you prefer 26-28" barrels or does it just come down to the shooter? Casual ShooterStill dreaming of the day when I am second best.

 

[collky2aolcom]

The is no problem shooting a 30 inch barrel for skeet. They use to want the short 26 inch barrels when everyone used the swing through method and wanted a whippy gun but now they are going to longer barrels since the majority use sustained lead. I shoot a remington in 12 and doubles with a 30 inch barrel and have no trouble at all with it.Steven

 

[MikeSp]

I am a newbie at skeet, but have noticed that the veterans tend to use shorter barrels and the younger shooters use 30 or 32 inch barrels. I suspect barrel length may go in cycles. Using #9 shot provides more pellets and some shooters even use the new .005 under (cylinder) chokes to spread out the pellets even more. Good luck.

 

[mtaylor]

Glad you found a new past time. I started shooting shotguns in January for the first time. I knew I was ignorant of everything from a skeet field to the definition of "lead the target" so, I asked the club for an instructor my first time out. Now, barely three months later I'm shooting competitively and winning in my class. Two out of three of the straight 25's I have shot have been in competition.Don't let go of the instructor that you have, and even consider a formal lesson or two until you get to the proficiency level that you desire.Remember, breaking clay's makes my day. (Where did I get that from?) :lol Oh yeah...I use 1 oz #9 loads when I practice and use 1-1/8 oz #9 when I shoot in competition. Skeet chokes, of course, in a Winchester Supreme Select Field with 26 in bbls. Edited by: MTaylor at: 3/24/03 7:21:33 pm