Sporting Clays

[Jim Cloninger]

How many shooters shoot sporting clays with "low gun" at the ready to more closely simulate hunting situations?
Jim

[OH Osthaus]

i do,

but then back in the day- i shot skeet that way too

[Sporrns]

Jim, I always do and well remember that when SC was first introduced in the US, the Brits were adamant about using the low-gun mount so as to simulate field shooting. Nowadays, practically all you see is the traditional "almost mounted" posture, or 'false pointing' where the shooter actually cheeks the gun, then lets it drop an inch or 2 or3 before calling for the target. Not much like field shooting IMHO! Kevin

[setterspell]

I do, because Im a hunter at heart I guess. Never been all that competitive anyway, I just shoot to improve my field skills so as to avoid the evil eye from my pup.

[jimmartin]

I shoot most clays gun down, except trap. When I started sporting clays way back it was all low gun ,the way I believe it should be, now after the skeet boys got to run it its all mounted or almost mounted. They changed the game from what it was meant to be into a highly competitive sport in which you have to shoot gun up to have a chance at winning if that is your goal.

[kgb]

Shame on the Sporting Clays rules makers for stepping aside and letting the skeet boys take over the organization(s). That's just poor leadership.

Only time I shot under stated rules was a low-gun event at a SxS shoot in Missouri. I believe they put tape on shooters' vests to indicate a point below which the buttstock was held at the call. Several shooters lost the hang of the technique but nobody seemed to much care either way. It was more fun than serious but had there been a large purse on the line I imagine judges would have attended.

A guy at the range where I shoot skeet goes at it gun down, but heaves the gun up simultaneous with his call. The international Skeet events require the bird to be launched prior to gun mount, and if SC required a bird to be in sight before gun mount I have seen some presentations that would be very difficult indeed.

[Stan Hillis]

...if SC required a bird to be in sight before gun mount I have seen some presentations that would be very difficult indeed.


True that, kgb. Sporting clays targets have become much more difficult over the years. What we shot when I first started shooting would be considered very soft today. I really enjoy challenging target presentations.

I shoot gun up, or pre-mounted, but it is because I compete and I try to shoot my very best score every time I shoot. I, and most people, can shoot more consistently from a pre-mounted gun position. I would gladly shoot low gun if everyone else did, too. I've never seen a pre-mount shooter complain because someone was shooting the course low-gun, but for some reason many low gun shooters sure complain about those who shoot pre-mounted. By the same token I very, very seldom complain about a presentation, or to put it another way, how the targets are set. As long as everyone has to shoot the same birds I don't much care how they're set, within reason. I also shoot an O/U when I am really serious about my score, because it is the easier gun for me to shoot well. I have many great handling S x S guns, but have never found one that I can shoot as high a score with as I can my Perazzi. But, I love strict S x S shooting events, and enjoy competing with them against others.

I do not think shooting premounted sporting clays for the last 16-18 years has hurt my wingshooting at all, which is, of course, low gun. On the contrary, I think I am a better wingshot than I was before I began shooting sporting clays (pre-mounted). Shooting low gun is fun. FITASC rules require that the shooter see the bird before mounting. Nothing wrong with it. Also nothing wrong with competing pre-mounted, if that's what a shooter enjoys. We don't all have to do everything the same way to enjoy each other's company and be friends. What's hard for me to understand is the jabs towards those who prefer to shoot pre-mounted by some who prefer low gun (and that comment is not directed at anyone posting here, by any means). Nothing is stopping anybody from shooting any sporting course low gun. There is no rule that says competitors, or fun shooters, have to pre-mount.

SRH

[fullchoke16]

Myself and my oldest son are usually the only ones I see shooting low gun. My purpose is to maintain a consistent gun mount for the field. My son does it just because the old man does it that way. It does work. Many times it has been mentioned by guys that occasionally hunt with us that we are on the birds much faster than they have seen before. If you want to see something amusing, watch a vintage skeet shoot (low gun, random 3 second delay). That levels the playing field for those of us who rarely shoot skeet. I'm still stumped as to the purpose of the shots on #8. Any hunter with common sense would turn and take those birds going away if they cared to have something left to eat. In any case, I don't think I'm a better shot because of shooting low gun, it just makes me more confident in the field. I'd rate myself "almost competent" only because I shoot a lot. I do shoot trap with a mounted gun I guess because that was the first shooting game we learned as kids and everybody did it that way.

[fn16ga]

I shoot all clay games low gun , I don't compete , I do it for hunting practice .

[TOOL MAN]

FITASC rules....all else is an 8' pile of BS!!

[Stan Hillis]

Wonder how come the very same guys who win the FITASC competitions (mandatory low gun) worldwide also win the World Sporting Clays shoots in which the same competitors all shoot pre-mounted?

Is it possible that they're not mutually exclusive of each other?

SRH

[TOOL MAN]

Stan,

Here's my theory. Take two golfers. One plays 3x a week at the Shady Acres town course, the other plays Augusta National. When they meet at a pitch/putt tournament, who are you betting on????

[Stan Hillis]

That's a toughie, Tool Man. I know of some guys who play golf for big money at Shady Acres. They never play the A. National, but I'd put my money on them against most. They are like pool hustlers.

As to premounting, the greatest benefit is to the man who does NOT "shoot with the pros". Gun mounts are perfected by thousands and thousands of repetitions. Someone who does not shoot a lot will benefit much more from a proper premount than the pros will. I have the greatest admiration for the top FITASC shooters, but again, they're the same ones who win all the big sporting clays tournaments.

How many winning live pigeon shooters have you ever seen shoot low gun? Wonder why?

SRH

[Mike of the Mountain]

Shooting clays, I will shoot with a high gun. Doesn't mean premounted. A high gun can be 1/2" off your face as opposed to mounted "wood on the wood". I see no reason for me to shoot clays with a "low gun" half way down my chest. I shoot plenty of clays and hunt plenty of birds and the only similarity to me is swinging the gun and building lead.

As for why the best FITASC shooters win many major clays events? Well, simply put, the guys who win those events are just plain good and it doesn't matter which discipline they are shooting. The cream always rises to the top. Has nothing to do with FITASC and everything to do with skills.

[jim garrett]

I shoot low gun at sporting clays; however, I am shooting a Perazzi that I have shot many times, it fits me well and when I miss it is because of a lack of focus. I will be shooting 16 different events at the Southern this year and in some of the events I will shoot almost a pre mount. Have ya'll ever tried to shoot low gun with a 4 lb 410 hammergun or a 5 lb 28 gauge hammergun. It is more that a casual challenge. As far as FITASC is concerned, that is the best shooting sport available and my favorit and it is definitely low gun.