[Closed] clay pigeon shooting, will i die?

Listen to what you are told, especially about the recoil.

It can either be very easy or incredibly frustrating depending on where the clay is coming from!
Keep the gun pulled well into your shoulder or it will hurt.
Keep both eyes open if you can.
On crossing clays people never ever miss in front, they always miss behind. Work out in your mind how much you will need to lead the clay by then double it and you should be in with a chance of hitting it.

Be careful where you point the gun when it's loaded. A punch in the face often offends...
Get set up for where you are going to hit the clay, not the point where you first see it.
Mount the gun (address the bird), follow through, (the amount of lead you give the bird will depend on the speed and distance to it) and squeeze the trigger.
Simples
Wear ear defenders.

got some fancy ear plugs that cut out varying frequencies depending on the filter, will take them with me and a baseball cap.

spent a lot of this morning watching videos on youtube but figured i'm putting pressure on myself so hoping to relax and just follow the advice i'm given this morning. figured there's no harm in asking on here though... for example, no youtube video stressed about ear defenders!

It's great fun.

You won't die unless you turn the gun on yourself, then it could get quite messy.

Take the dog.

Have fun.

the dogs off for a walk with the wife and her friends... he'd get bored at a clay shoot i think.

I used to do this a lot. If it's your first time, here's my advice

1 - have fun, and stay safe - listen to the instructors / shoot bosses and never ever piss about.
2- take low expectations, anything you hit is a bonus
3- recoil doesn't hurt if you have the gun pulled well in. Think of it like a punch vs a push
4- set up to fire the gun at the point where you intend to fire it. eg. if a clay is crossing in front of you set up to shoot it in front of you and then turn your body (not your feet) to watch it out of the trap. Then as it crosses you turn your body back following it to ultimately shoot it in a natural position.
5- give the clays plenty of 'lead' (the amount of space in front you estimate to shoot at so by the time the pellets get there, the clay has reached the same spot - shotgun pellets are subsonic, unlike bullets). Listen to advice about where you are missing them, and adjust, but try to ignore advice before you start about 18" or 3 feet, because everyone sees these estimate differently.
6- try not to get hooked. It can be an expensive hobby!!

Pray you don't get handed this gun!

Great fun, make sure the shotgun is tight in your shoulder and face...the kick can catch you so pulling the gun tight in to you can reduce the kick...

Listen to what you’re told.
Put your weight through your leading leg and lean into the gun. Move the gun smoothly in a straight line, don’t create and arc. Push or pull with the hand on the forend and let your whole body move with it. Keep your head down on the stock, just lifting a little and you will miss and you’ll end up with a bruised cheek.
For a first timer you should only get something easy, incomers/going away are a good place to start. Follow the line and pull through. As the bird disappears, fire. On a crosser, move with the line of the clay, pull past it before firing. Keep the gun moving as you and once you have fired.

this could get expensive if you like it!

Cant miss.

the gun can often be very cold either bring gloves or have big hands. actually found it quiet painful one time.

Im used to and happy doing out door sports but this was just outdoor standing around holding a large cold heatsink.

point the shotgun down range and finger off the trigger. Don't be a smart arse and listen to what you're being told. Wrap up warm but not constrictive, and if you keep the butt of the gun tight against the shoulder and lean into it you will minimise the effects of recoil.

Mostly though enjoy it

Just don't use the phrase "oh yeah, I know what I'm doing, I play a lot of call of duty"

Phil
As others have said,relax and try not overthink the aim/lead (it's all in the natural swing man )too much.
One of the few things I was really good at from the start( it must have been my boyhood air rifle training 🙂 ).
Went along to a local club ,as it was an easy way to get a gun licience back in the day.
It was also my first experience of people spending lots of money trying to fast track to a skill level.They couldn't get why a teenager (me),could out shoot them with a cheap (£90) side by side ,and would spend a fortune on guns and customising barrels 😀
Have fun.

If you're left handed, tell them. Wielding some types of shotgun wrong-handed can cause issues when the hot cartridge ejects sideways.

It's not so much left or right handed but which eye you can close. Right handed left shooting. Great fun ear defenders provided cleaned about 90% but the local pub used to do pissed air rifle nights :-):-)

Ear protection,
Eye protection.
Muzzle direction

clay pigeon shooting, will i die?

are you a clay pigeon ? 😯

Always keep the gun open when not shooting. Never cross the barrels over anyone,even if the gun is empty and open (good practice). Relax and enjoy!

Well I wouldn't be accepting any game from Stoner if that's the weapon of choice! A tad un-sporting. 😉

the gun can often be very cold either bring gloves or have big hands. actually found it quiet painful one time.

Or just remember to hold the gun by the wooden bits!

@ Stoner's video, the highlight for me was 'Don't try this at home, I am a professional Russian'.

It's not so much left or right handed but which eye you can close.

It's not a rifle, most people will shoot with both eyes open. You pick the targets up quicker and can judge speed and direction much better with 3d vision.

My advice would be to ignore any advice on a forum apart from the safety advice and listen to the instructor.
My second piece of advice would be to not talk when the instructor is talking.
My third piece of advice would be to listen to the instructor.

 

"Worst case senario; you can poke someone with it and f their s up"

Shoot from the hip...shout "say hello to my little friend" while firing.

Then walk off with a limp and one trouser leg pulled up.

well that was an experience.... 21 clays 😀

never played call of duty or any shooty type computer games so had no preconceived ideas on how good i might be. there was no instructor as i was a guest of a couple of people from the pheasant shoot we attend with the dog, both looked after me and the times i missed were the times i rushed a shot or felt pressured by the queues and didn't relax into it (everyone said they'd never seen it that busy, ever).

EDIT - i even managed to get 3 out of 5 bumblebee thingies that were those smaller, faster bastards!

unfortunately for certain forum members, i didn't die.

Bumblebee - do you mean Batou?

not sure, they were about half the size and twice as fast. the guys there were calling them bumblebees for some reason

bumblebees = minis

Standards = 110mm
Midi = 90mm
Mini (bumblebees) = 60mm

battues are 110mm but skinny.

thank the good lord binners, i thought i had heard wrong for a while there!

not in a rush to buy a gun just yet, twas enjoyable but i want to focus on training with the dog before the next season and helping the shoot out over the summer with maintainance, building new pens etc. will try the clays a few more times though 🙂

If you buy a gun, you will become a blood-lusting violent fantasist. This is a FACT. Apparently.

Glad you enjoyed it! Now, on to shooting stuff you can eat! 🙂

Pointer.
Pheasant Shoots.
Clay pigeon shooting.

You've changed Philly.

And not exactly for the better. 🙁

Darcy, before you know it, we'll have him wearing tweed. Perhaps even some red cords.

Pleasant Pheasants next...

And take your dog.

whats wrong darcy?

didn't chose the dog with an aim of being involved with pheasant shoots, but we got invited and the dog loves being surrounded by the well behaved dogs compared to the bouncy badly behaved ones in the parks.

i'm not exactly setting my little dog on children's faces

Are there any AA-12s on e-bay?