Breaking Clays: A Beginner’s Guide to Sporting Clay Success

So, you’ve heard about sporting clays or seen clips of people shooting them, and it

seemed interesting. Now what? In this article, I will give some details on how to get

started, what to expect, and possible gear you will need.

Information Gathering

The first thing I can recommend you do to get started is to look on the internet for

shooting clubs or ranges that may be near you. In my opinion, one of the best things you

can do is go to a club or range and just watch how things operate. This is free most of the

time and gives you an in-person look at the sport.

After checking out the club or event, if you feel that this is something you would like to

do, I would begin a deeper dive on the internet. I’d check out websites like

www.scorechaser.com & https://nssa-nsca.org/. These two websites will give you more

info on the sport and provide you with easy access to tournaments in your local area.

Using these websites, I would work to plan your first event, try to bring a friend to make

it fun, but don’t worry there always seems to be someone willing to have people tag

along and shoot with them.

What Gear Do You Need

Let’s dig into the gear that you’ll need to shoot an event, I’ll also cover some items that

make the experience nicer.

Needed Gear for Sporting Clays

• Hearing protection: This is a must-have to shoot at any club. I prefer in-ear

hearing protection instead of over-the-ear protection. Over-the-ear protection

seems to make contact with the shotgun and makes shooting more difficult. Click

here to see some basic hearing protection - Link

• Shooting Glasses: These are also a must-have. I currently have prescription

glasses that are rated for shooting. However, you can pick up a pair of colored or clear safety glasses at any hardware store. Click here to see some basic shooting glasses.

• Shotgun: Yep, you’ll need a shotgun, but you don't necessarily have to own one;

many clubs rent shotguns for the day. This can allow you to shoot without the

upfront cost of a new shotgun. Depending on the type of shotgun you have, you

may end up shooting a different course or class. I will discuss this further down

below.

• Shotgun Shells: I would bring at least 25 extra shells over what you plan to shoot.

(Example: If you're shooting a 200 target tournament, bring 225 shotgun shells).

It is possible in a tournament you will have to shoot a pair over due to machine or

gun malfunction. Having extra shells is a must! Be sure that your shotgun shells

are no bigger than 7.5 shot and no heavier than 1 ⅛ oz. This is required to be

allowed to shoot.

• Scorecards, Pencil, & Clipboard: When shooting a tournament, you'll need a

clipboard and a pencil to log your score. Don't worry though, the club should

have these items available for you to borrow while shooting. Most clubs will issue

your scorecards when you sign in at the club house.

Quality of Life Gear for Sporting Clays

• Shooting Belt or Vest: A shooting belt or vest will make your experience a lot

better. A vest or a belt is great because it holds your extra ammo, as well as some

small tools or choke tubes you may need. This is one of those items that you don't

need to have to shoot, but it sure makes it nice when you have one! Check out

shooting vests & belts by clicking the link.

• Gun Cart or Machine: Many sporting clay courses are expansive and can cover a

large chunk of area. Having a rolling gun cart, a golf cart, or a UTV helps you

cover ground and have a place to put all your gear so you don't have to carry it

around the course. Walking from a ½ mile to a full mile carrying 200 shotgun

shells, a shotgun, and gear can be tiresome. You can check out the rolling gun

carts by clicking the link.

• Shooting Bag or Tote Bag: I prefer to carry most of my gear in a shooting bag. My

bag is big enough that I can put 150 - 200 shells, all my tools, choke tubes, and a

jacket. However, the bag is still small enough that it can fit in a rolling cart or the

back of a golf cart. You can check out shooting bags by clicking the link.

• Comfortable Footwear: You're going to be walking and moving around for several

hours during a tournament. Many of the courses will have gravel roads or even

paved roads, but I wouldn't skimp on footwear. I've seen several guys shoot in

flip-flops in the summer… But, that’s not for me; I like a nice quality hiking boot

or shoe.

Target Presentation

Sporting clays is unique in its presentation because each “station” can offer you

something different. You may see high-flying targets, rabbit targets, crossing targets,

and more, all in the same course. When you head out to shoot for your first few times,

just focus on having fun. There will be targets that just plain kick you butt, but in my

opinion that's all part of the fun. If you end up really liking the sport, you can start to

dive into different target presentations and the best techniques for hitting those birds.

New to targets? Here’s a quick look at two common ones and how I tackle them to get

you started.

1. The Long Crosser Target: You’ll most likely see this target on most courses. The

target will either start on your left or right and move toward the opposite

direction. It will most likely be thrown at mid-height (15 - 20 feet off the ground

at the peak). How I attack this target is I find where I would like to break it, and

then I find roughly where it's coming from. Then, I find my hold point, which will

be somewhere between the target's launch point and my desired break point.

Then I call pull for the target. Once the target is in the air, I “catch” it with my

barrels. I “touch” the front side edge of the target with the barrels, match its

speed, and start to pull in front of it. Once my lead is at what I believe it should

be, I pull the trigger. This technique has helped me improve my scores on this

target. But you may find something that works better for you.

2. The Low Quartering Target: There is a good chance you’ll run into this target on

most courses. Low targets can be tricky because they require focus and trust. I

usually line up my gun to be where the target is going to end up, I move the gun

slightly back from where I want to break the target. Once I call “Pull,” I watch the

target come into my field of view, and then just when the target “touches” my

gun, I move the gun just a bit in front of the target and pull the trigger. My lead

changes only due to the speed of the target; really fast targets will require a bigger

lead. The tricky aspect of this target is not to hold your gun too high, or you'll

tend to shoot over the target, resulting in a loss. Keep that gun low, and you'll see

more hits.

Shotgun Styles and Gauges

Here, I'll briefly discuss shotguns and the different classes you may end up in.

1. 12-Gauge Over/Under & Semi Auto: If you have either of these types of shotgun,

you will shoot the course as normal. These are the most common guns in the

sport, and the majority of shooters use them. It’s also where all the money is if

you ever get to that level. If you use a semi auto on most events, you'll still only be

shooting two shots consecutively with it; you rarely need to load more than two

shells.

a. 12 Pump: If you happen to shoot a pump shotgun, you will usually shoot a

different variation of targets than the over/under and auto shooters. That

is usually due to the slightly lower cycle and fire rate of a pump shotgun.

Typically, that means you'll see more report pairs rather than true pairs.

Report pairs are when one target is thrown, and the second target is

delayed until the report of the shotgun goes off. This gives pump shooters

slightly more time.

2. 20, 28, 410 Gauge: These are all considered “Sub-Gauge” guns. This means you

will usually shoot a slightly different course or target selection than the 12-gauge

shooters. This is due to the fact that small gauges have a smaller amount of shot

in the shells, making far targets a lot harder.

Overview

Overall, I hope you enjoyed reading this article, and hopefully, it gave you a good idea of

what you need to go sporting clays shooting. Now that you’ve got the basics, grab a

friend and hit the sporting clay course! If you are interested in learning more, give the recent Ehuntr podcast where Terron & I discuss sporting clays a listen. You can find it by clicking the link.