Shooting Sports Guidance – Whit's Wilderness

May 25, 2017May 22, 2017

4 Creative Ways to Reuse Spent Ammunition

This article originally appeared in Texas Wildlife magazine. Click here to subscribe to this publication and learn more about how Texas Wildlife Association is conserving wildlife!

For those of you who love to hunt and shoot, you may have wondered what to do with used cartridges of ammunition. Some people reload them but here are some options that are a little more out-of-the-box. These are easy to do and can commemorate a memorable hunt or a successful day at the gun range.

1. Bullet Wreath

What You Need

Straw wreath base (found at most craft stores)
Gold spray paint
Hot glue gun
Spent rifle and pistol cartridges

Spray the wreath base gold and allow to dry. Using a hot glue gun, adhere the spent cartridges to the wreath in a random pattern, starting with the largest ammunition and working down to the smallest.

For more detailed instructions, click here.

2. Shotgun Shell Magnets

What You Need

Small circular magnets (<1/2” in diameter)
Spent shotgun shells
Gas stove or lighter
Hand held pruning shears or heavy duty scissors
Hot glue gun

Remove the plastic from the shotgun shell using shears. Using tongs, carefully hold the end of the spent shotgun shell over a gas stove or lighter to melt the remaining plastic from inside the base. Adhere the magnet to the shotgun shell with hot glue. Optional: add a rhinestone at the center of the shotgun shell.

3. Bullet Votives

What You Need

3 small glass candle votives
Hot glue gun and super glue such as E6000
Spent rifle and pistol cartridges

Using hot glue and E6000, adhere the spent bullet cartridges to the glass in a random pattern, starting with the largest cartridges and working down to the smallest. Leave some space in between for the candle light to shine through.

5. Bullet Letter

What You Need

Wooden Letter
1 can spray paint (glitter spray paint pictured)
Hot glue

Spray the wooden letter with the color of your choice and allow to dry. Hot glue the ammunition on the letter in your desired pattern. Then spray the surface of the ammunition with spray paint and allow to dry.

Armed with spray paint and a hot glue gun, the world is your oyster! Happy shooting (and decorating)!

January 22, 2017January 24, 2017

How to Make a Bullet Monogram

I used to feel slightly guilty each time I threw away spent ammunition, it seemed so wasteful. I wasn’t interested in reloading it–that’s a huge undertaking. But since I’m always looking for something to spray with glitter paint, I thought “Hey…wait a minute.” And tried these letters.

These letters are fun to put on bedroom doors, bookshelves, or use as decoration in a hunting lodge. Super easy too.

What You’ll Need

Wooden cut out letter
A handful of spent ammunition (can be acquired at a local shooting range; just tell them you’re doing an arts and crafts project)
Hot glue
Spray paint

Instructions

Spray the wooden letter with your desired spray paint. Do a few layers until the coat looks even.

Allow to dry.

Using hot glue, adhere the spent ammunition to the letters.

I recommend going from largest to smallest ammunition. You can do this orderly or random, it is your letter!

Next, spray the surface of the ammunition.

Make sure you get in all the cracks and crevasses.

Allow to dry for 24 hours.

I love the look of the finished product. So fun!

January 14, 2017May 21, 2017

How to Make a Bullet Wreath

This is a fun way to put your spent ammunition to use and commemorate a good hunt or day at the shooting range!

And it’s really easy.

What You’ll Need

Straw Wreath
Gold spray paint, 18 karat recommended
A few handfuls of spent ammunition
Optional: rubber gloves

You can acquire spent ammunition at a local shooting range, just say you’ll be using it for an arts and crafts project.

Instructions

This should be done outdoors, and I recommend putting newspaper down.

Estimated time: 30 minutes

Remove the plastic wrapping from the straw wreath and spray paint the wreath gold.

Fact of life: everything is better painted gold.

Let it air dry.

Using hot glue, adhere the empty cartridges to the golden wreath.

There are two secrets to making it look good:

Go in a COMPLETELY random pattern with the bullets
Start with the largest bullets and once all of those are adhered randomly, move down to the smaller bullets

Optional: spray paint surface gold (I opted not to here.) Voila!

A heart shaped wreath is a fun to do as well.

It’s pretty heavy at this point so make sure you have a good nail to hang it on! Mine’s hanging in the house but it looks great on the front door too.

August 17, 2016October 18, 2016

Where to Go Skeet Shooting in Texas & Across the US

In keeping with the skeet shooting theme this week on the blog, today I’m sharing popular gun clubs in Texas and around the US. I’ve based this off of the areas where most of my readers live. Enjoy!

A more comprehensive list of gun clubs can be found at the National Shotgun Sports Foundation website: www.wheretoshoot.org

Before you go, a few tips

Gun ranges are hot! Bring water, sunscreen, etc
Call ahead or check the website to ensure there isn’t a tournament or event
Allow about 2 hours for this activity

San Antonio

San Antonio Gun Club – www.sagunclub.com (where I learned to shoot!)

National Shooting Sports Complex – www.nationalshootingcomplex.com (very nice and impressive)

Austin

Capitol City Trap & Skeet Club – www.capitolclays.com

Dallas

Elm Fork Shotgun Sports (5-star rating by National Shooting Sports Foundation) – www.elmfork.com

Fort Worth

Alpine Range – www.alpinerange.com

Houston

Greater Houston Gun Club – www.greaterhoustongunclub.com

College Station

Gunsmoke Shooting Range – www.gunsmokeshootingrange.com

New York

Thunder Mountain Trap & Skeet – www.thundermt.com

Mid Hudson Sporting Clays – www.midhudsonsportingclays.com

Chicago

Frankfort Sportsman Club – www.frankfortsportsmanclub.com

Maywood Sportsman’s Club – www.maywoodsc.org

San Francisco

Richmond Rod & Gun Club – www.richmondrodandgun.com

Los Angeles

Triple B Clays – www.triplebclays.com

Boston

Scituate Rod & Gun Club – www.scituaterg.com

Minute Man Sportsman’s Club – www.minutemansportsmen.com

Denver

Golden Gun Club – www.goldengunclubtrapandskeet.com

Colorado Clays Shooting Park – www.coloradoclays.com

Happy shooting ladies!

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August 16, 2016August 4, 2016

Three Types of Shotgun Sports You Should Know

If there is one thing I have observed over the years, it is that many women secretly want to learn to shoot a shotgun — and when they do finally get the chance, they love it. If you’ve never shot but are curious about it, tune in this week, because I’m giving all of the details on this fun sport.

Yesterday I shared 5 Reasons You’ll Love Skeet Shooting, so today I want to talk about skeet shooting’s siblings–trap and sporting clays. You will need to know the difference if you are ever invited to shoot. Trap and sporting clays fall under the same umbrella as skeet, but are a little different.

A Few Basic Concepts about Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays

All use the same target: a circular domed orange and black disc about the size of a teacup saucer. It is made of clay (hence sometimes called a “clay”) and is biodegradable.

A shotgun is the type of gun you use for these sports, because the shots have a much broader spread compared to a pistol or rifle
All of these sports can be done at a trap & skeet club or can be done with a simple handheld thrower in the middle of the country
The term “club” when used in “trap and skeet club” is not synonymous with “country club”. You do not have to be a member to shoot at most clubs and most clubs are not as fancy as a country club!
When the shooter is ready, she shouts “Pull!” and the person accompanying her punches a button to let the target fly out of the machine
Skeet and trap are Olympic sports!

Skeet Shooting

In skeet shooting, two small houses flank either end of a skeet field. The house on the left side of the field is called the “High House” because it shoots targets out from a greater height than the house on the right side, which is called the “Low House”. The skeet field is shaped like a fan, with seven stations radiating out from a center station. If the field were a bottom half of a clock, the high house would be at 9 o’clock, the low house at 3 o’clock, and the stations at every hour in between, with the 8th station in the center of the dial.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

shooting skeet, skeet shooting, austin gun club, capitol clays, mcbrides skeet range, where to shoot skeet in austin, where to shoot shotguns in austin, what to wear skeet shooting — High house pictured above

One round = 25 targets
One shooter at a time at the station, and once every shooter has a turn you move on to the next station
Shoot one house at a time
On stations 1, 2, 6, and 7 doubles are shot. “Doubles” is when both targets come out of the house at the same time and you shoot them one at a time without stopping in between.
Typically no more than five people participate per round

Trap

In trap, the orange discs fly directly out in front of you from the center of the field, as opposed to flying from side to side in skeet shooting. In this sport, there are only five stations from which you shoot (as opposed to skeet, which has eight.)

One round = 25 targets
5 shots per shooter
5 stations, numbered from left to right
After your 5 shots are taken at station 1, move down to station 2, and so on

This YouTube video is a good example of trap shooting:

Sporting Clays

This is a lot of fun and perhaps my favorite of the shooting sports! Sporting clays courses are usually spread out through the countryside, and there is a path connecting the different stations. Like in skeet and trap, one person pushes the button to signal the machines to send the clays out into the air, and the other person shoots.

At each station, load your gun and be ready to shoot, but don’t hold your gun up to your cheek until you see the clay
Typically you will go through 50-100 shotgun shells per person
Take your shotgun shells and some water with you

The idea of sporting clays is to simulate bird or small game hunting, so if you’re not a hunter but want to experience that challenge in an animal-free way this may be a fun sport for you. Some of the clays go straight up in the air, some straight out in front of you, some bounce along the ground, and every station is different. Most gun clubs switch up the angles of their machines every now and then, so even that changes!

Granted, this sport is a tad more difficult but I like to think that because it’s more difficult, there’s less pressure to perform. Just have fun with it!

I hope you enjoy giving these sports a try! If you don’t own a gun, I recommend calling the gun club and asking for private instruction, and it’s possible the instructors will have guns to lend.

Next I will be sharing local gun clubs in your area. Until then, enjoy the following posts from the archives:

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August 15, 2016August 4, 2016

Top 5 Reasons to Love Skeet Shooting

As some of you may recall, last March I hosted a ladies’ day at the gun range with my skeet instructor and about twenty women. Everyone learned to shoot and we had so much fun! (You can see the pics and story here.) But one of the most memorable parts of the day was when my friend Jill picked up a gun for the very first time.

Knowing how much Jill disliked guns, I hadn’t expected her to even consider joining us, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw her walking towards me. Every time a shot rang out, she jumped. It was as if every cell in her body wanted to turn around and head home. Minutes earlier, she had just posted to Facebook, “Exiting my comfort zone — at Capital City Trap & Skeet Club”.

When my skeet instructor asked who wanted to go first, surprisingly it was Jill who volunteered. She hit her first two shots, and by the next time I checked on her, she was grinning ear to ear, radiant with a sense of accomplishment. As were all of the ladies who had shot that day. They were hooked on the thrill of skeet shooting!

What thrill? you may be asking. What could possibly be entertaining about shooting a gun at a clay disk?

So, to inspire you to hopefully try this sport one day, here are my top reasons why you should try skeet shooting.

1. It’s a social activity.

Whether you’re with your mother, brother, or significant other, everyone can join in. Yes, I have celebrated Mother’s day at the gun range…that’s how we roll in Texas.

Just a few occasions I deem skeet shooting to be perfect for:

Date or double date
Bachelorette party
Group hang
Christmas holiday entertainment
4th of July entertainment
Political fundraiser
Nonprofit fundraiser
Mother’s Day
Father’s Day
Client appreciation

It’s kind of like golf–just the right amount of physical exercise, entertainment, and out-of-the-office fun.

Mothers Day at Gun Club — Mothers Day 2013

2. It’s thrilling.

It’s completely thrilling to be able to blow a clay disk to smithereens. The thrill comes in part from it being a completely out of the box activity that you don’t do every day, part from the loud “Pop!” of the gun, and part from the satisfaction of hitting the moving target.

And it is possible to actually hit one! As the ladies proved at our shooting day.

3. It’s affordable.

One round usually costs $10-15, plus $8 for a box of shells…and that will last you at least 30 minutes. Conceivably, you could get out of the gun club for under $50 and have had a fun day!

4. It can be done inside the city limits.

So many outdoor activities are at least an hour’s drive away, but skeet ranges are often within city limits. In San Antonio, I can see Whole Foods from the skeet range!

5. Only takes an hour or two!

You completely set the pace. Life is so fast-paced these days, it’s nice to have an activity that fits in to the pandemonium.

I hope I have piqued your curiosity about this sport and tempted you to try it! If you’re like the many other women I have shared it with, such as Jill, you will likely find you love it too.

More info on this sport to come. For now, enjoy these previous posts on Whit’s Wilderness:

A point about safety

While Jill may have overcome some of her fear of guns that day, she still has quite a reverence for them. And that is what I encourage each of you to have…a healthy respect for the need to handle them safely. We like to say, “treat every gun as if it’s loaded.” Be sure your gun is unloaded when you’re not on a station and never point your gun in the direction of people or buildings.

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April 11, 2016October 18, 2016

Where to Learn About Guns: A Texas Girl’s Gun Shop!

Today I am featuring woman-owned and operated gun shop, A Texas Girl’s Guns near Austin and hosting a giveaway for those of you subscribed to my e-newsletter! Sign up by midnight tonight (4/11) for daily and weekly updates to qualify! http://eepurl.com/bRkkkj

I love target shooting, and while I know several women who are into the sport, it’s still an activity dominated by men. There are a number of reasons we lady folk don’t readily try shooting, from the intimidating feeling of walking into a gun shop to lack of someone to teach us properly. Even though I’ve been shooting for the majority of my life, I’ve been asked at gun stores, “Is this your husband’s gun, sweetheart?” if not completely ignored. It takes self control to keep from saying, “Well, why don’t we go out to the gun range, and you will find out exactly who’s gun it is mister!” (Actually, I think I may have said that once…)

So, you can imagine I was thrilled when I discovered A Texas Girl’s Guns in Liberty Hill, just north of my hood in Austin. A Texas Girl’s Guns is owned and operated by Texan and self-taught gun expert, Judith Baker. I had a positive experience there and would recommend that any woman looking to learn about or purchase guns to see Judith. I’m a “long gun” shooter, meaning I shoot rifles and shotguns, but after visiting her store I felt more knowledgeable about the process for becoming a pistol shooter and where to turn if I ever needed help with my guns.

And she never once smirked at my questions.

All of the guns I own have been selected for me by someone else. My grandfather picked out my hunting rifle, my skeet coach picked out my shotgun, and so on. And they have all been great guns. But the next time I get a gun, it will be my first time ever to pick it out, and I want to feel like I’m making an educated decision. Thanks to my experience with Judith, I feel far more ready to do that.

Although when I saw the gun below I was ready to base my purchase entirely on appearance. 🙂 Oops.

“I started my shop to teach people. We are teachers first; a gun shop second,” Judith told me during my visit. In fact, when she started her business, the majority of her store was a classroom. Judith teaches classes about pistol marksmanship, hunter education, how to clean firearms, as well as a Concealed Handgun License class. She will even take you out to the range so you can try out different guns.

I liked learning that Judith didn’t grow up shooting. “I didn’t learn to shoot until I was in my adult age, which is proof anyone can become a shooter!” she shared. See, ladies, it can happen to anyone.

The first class she recommends taking is her Pistol Marksmanship course. She wrote the curriculum and likes to keep things humorous and fun. “Plenty of people in my class have never shot a pistol before,” she said. They come to learn about calibers, what to look for when purchasing a gun, how to carry a gun on your person for home defense and self defense, and of course, the fun part–to do some shooting.

What’s her one golden nugget of advice? “Firearms aren’t cheap. Get proper training before you purchase one.” The idea that you could pick out a handgun that is comfortable to you, fits your hand, and that you like more than others was a new concept for me. I didn’t know there was that much of a difference among pistols. “It’s like shoes…what works for you may not work for me,” Judith explained. Ah! Now it is all clear.

She said the concealed handgun license course offered at other stores only teaches you what you need to know to get a license. Hence the need for her Pistol Marksmanship class if you really want to know how to operate a gun.

In classic female fashion, Judith has an eye for good quality. She’s less a shop keeper, more like a curator of guns and gun-things. All of her items are hand picked and she can speak to each one–what it’s for, how to use it, if you need it–so you make an educated decision.

Even when it comes to your lace thigh high holster.

I don’t know, do I really need this?

She has some fun accessories you wouldn’t find at a normal gun shop. How about these beautiful deerskin gloves? I can see myself on a gun range with these, holding an antique pistol…or horseback at Paws Up in Montana. I love the tan ones too.

Or this cuff?

While I was there, a new customer ogled at her selection of ammo and promised to return with his wife. Another customer told me, “I don’t shop anywhere else. Judith has the best stuff.”

By the way, I asked one of these gentlemen to take our picture. “Um, sir? You don’t mind doing a little photo shoot of Judith and I at the gun counter, do you?” That is something he probably has never been asked at a gun shop, if I had to bet.

The highlight of her high end products, other than the guns, was the line of concealed carry purses with zippered pockets designed to conceal firearms.

“Every woman who carries a purse should have a concealed carry purse,” Judith said. Once I spotted this orange faux croc-skin bag, I was easily convinced. How pretty is this!

Imagine a scarf tied around the handle. I don’t even have a handgun, but I NEED this purse.

Any guess as to where the guns go?

Thanks to Judith, I think I may have a budding handgun interest, but it’s too early to tell. I have to take her Pistol Marksmanship class first. Who wants to take it with me? I hope I see you there and that you feel empowered to try your hand at shooting.

Ps. Judith’s 40th wedding anniversary is TODAY! Happy Anniversary Judith!

Plan Your Visit

Website: www.ATexasGirlsGuns.com
Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 12-6; Saturday and Sunday 10-6. Judith is in Tuesday to Thursday and teaches on Saturdays.
Classes: on the website here.
Location: 13740 West Hwy 29, Suite 6, Liberty Hill, TX 76842
Phone: 512-778-6677

January 11, 2016January 11, 2016

Dusting off an Old Gun

A few months ago, Brandon was given a fun family heirloom–a very old rifle owned by his great-grandfather. It isn’t fancy, just a simple 30-30 bolt action rifle, but I love its story. Brandon’s great-grandfather worked for the Postal Service for most of his life, and upon his retirement they gifted him this rifle. That was a time when the zip code was yet to be invented and the government gave firearms as retirement gifts. Talk about a bygone era.

Brandon has been itching to shoot it, so yesterday we cleaned it and took it to Red’s Indoor Range in Austin.

Red’s isn’t much to look at, just a long metal and concrete building with nothing to absorb the sound. We could hear the pop pop pop pop of the guns the moment we got out of the car.

I had never been to Red’s, and I have to confess, I felt a little intimidated. Dozens of people were milling about toting huge guns. Considering my gun fantasies don’t go much farther than vintage shotguns and a neat pistol every now and then, I don’t really relate to the fetish for huge weaponry.

Eventually the ice melted and I found the staff relatively friendly and willing to answer our questions.

After putting our name on a list and waiting about 20 minutes, we were assigned to Lane 10.

Brandon and I started with the old gun, emptying our rounds into paper targets that swung back and forth on a remote controlled pulley system.

It was exhilarating, easy, and fun!

After all these years, the old gun worked like a charm.

Then took turns on my Remington .270 (called a “two seventy”). It packs a lot more punch than Brandon’s 30-30 since it is a bigger caliber. We could feel the difference in the kick-back.

Sunday funday at the gun range!

The couple that shoots together, stays together, right? (Probably because after years of shooting at indoor ranges, you can’t hear each other anymore.)

I was glad to see that after all these years the vintage rifle works like a charm. Brandon’s going to enjoy using it.

If you ever want to try shooting a gun, or want a fun date with your man crush, you should check out Red’s. You don’t even have to own a gun! They have them for rent. I’ll leave you with this inspiration from Annie Oakley…

Photo cred: National Women’s History Museum

Go pull some tricks.

Plan Your Trip

Time Required: 1 hour
Cost: About $30. ($11.75/shooter/hour + ammunition ~$20)
Gun Rental Available!
Earplugs and eyewear provided
Locations: on HWY 290 by the Y, or on Pecan St in Pflugerville
How it works: walk in, go to the register. Tell them you want to shoot. They will ask if you brought a gun or if you want to rent one. If you brought one, you will sign a liability waiver and give it to the staff person to get on the list. If you rent, they will walk you through that process. Purchase the ammunition you need (brand really doesn’t matter when you are starting out.) When it is your turn, your name will be called and you will be assigned your own lane. You will have to put on eye and ear protection before entering the range. Go to your assigned lane, set your gun down, and grab a paper target. Clip it on the holder and use the lever to send it down about 25+ yards. Set out your ammunition. Make sure your gun is only ever pointed down range and then fire away!
Women’s class on Wednesday night
NOTE: It is LOUD in Red’s, so be prepared. (Ear plugs available there for 75 cents.)
Safety Note: The staff will go over safety procedures with you and there is a staff member present in the range at all times.
I prefer outdoor ranges, and found this indoor one rather loud and crowded. We still had fun but I recommend avoiding peak time on Sunday afternoons.
Red’s Indoor Range Website: www.redsguns.com

PS. As a hunter, it is wise to practice on a range to stay familiar with your gun and improve your aim. This will help to ensure your safety and keep the hunt as humane as possible.

April 30, 2015October 18, 2016

Sunday Funday…Gunday at the Austin Gun Club

…or should it just be Sunday Gunday for short?

File that under “Things To Ponder.”

I was on the verge of not writing this post, as the last 24 hours has been a technological black hole. WordPress deleted a lengthy post (ugh) which made me want to scream, my internet went out and I spent an hour on the phone with tech support, and my computer started sending electrical shocks up through its keyboard, making typing physically painful and leaving my fingertips singed. It’s as if some evil gremlin is trying to punish me for being a blogger!

Suffice it to say, it has been an irksome day. So irksome that I could just shoot something! (Don’t worry, inanimate objects far from humanity are all I have in mind.)

Ah, what a convenient segue into this post. Where would one go to “shoot something” in Austin? I have an answer: the Capitol City Trap and Skeet club. (You do not have to be a member.)

Far from humanity, you can shoot skeet, trap, and sporting clays. For those of you who don’t know the difference yet: basically these are all variations on shooting orange clay disks out of the sky.

Brandon and I tried this gun club out on our anniversary a few weeks ago. I love shooting, and that’s a fact he’s come to learn about me. It is thrilling and empowering to blow a moving target out of the air. Whoever said yoga was the best thing for stress relief clearly has never been shooting.

I like shooting best when certain conditions are met:

Safety is a priority and there isn’t a chance of people getting down-range.
There must be a certain level of difficulty to strike my fancy. Challenge is what makes shooting fun. A cactus at a far distance or a moving clay disk or a can teetering on a fencepost are way more exciting than a bullseye 25 yards away.
I must hit the target. I’m stubborn this way. I will NOT give up!
Is the gun shiny and beautiful? This gives me extra joy. The wood grain, the glossy finish, the wildlife scenes etched into the metal, the swirls of “Beretta” carved into the barrel. If the gun has a story, even better. A friend once lent me a gun which had previously been owned by Marilyn Monroe. I have never felt so glamorous.
Is there shade or an air conditioned building with comfortable furniture? Basically, I want to cool off. It gets HOT on a gun range!

Who, me? Demanding? Nooooo.

Safety wasn’t an issue at the gun club–the gun ranges all pointed out at an open meadow and there were fences separating each range. The club additionally has rules about how to properly handle a gun on the premises.

Perhaps the best part of the Austin gun club was its sporting clays course, which majorly satisfied my craving for a challenge.

Unlike skeet and trap shooting, where machines send clays into the air in the same direction each time, sporting clays are sent out randomly at unpredictable directions. Basically, it’s like hunting on the Oregon Trail. Do you remember that? Good times in the 90’s, eh?

There are three sporting clays courses at the gun club, one of which winds down through the grounds. The path is very scenic and it made for a delightful and private afternoon of shooting.

Private being a very good thing, because no one could see us miss. Perfect!

When you get to a station, all you do is put the key they gave you at the clubhouse in the box, grab the remote, and go!

The remote has three different buttons which tell the various machines to send clays flying into the air. There is an official order to it all but we just pressed them at random.

There were literally dozens of stations and we could have spent all day out there, but I was getting hot and needed a clubhouse to cool off in.

Yeah, about that…take every glamorous image the word “clubhouse” conjures up and throw it out the window. Then add linoleum and a dirty coffee pot and you will have the Austin Trap and Skeet Club’s “clubhouse.” It is a far cry from comfort, I can tell you that much.

They could really use some interior redecoration. But I guess none of the male clientele has ever complained.

I recommend packing up and heading to the nearest Whole Foods for some A/C.

While Austin Trap and Skeet couldn’t check all my boxes listed above, it was a perfectly good place to shoot.

So, if you’re ever having a bad day, if your internet ever goes out and you have to sit on tech support, instead of throwing your computer out the window, take it to the gun club, and shoot it. Or just shoot the clay targets they have there.

{dreamy voice}

Just let it all out. Let the negative energies flow through your shotgun chakra.

Namaste.

Gosh, I feel better already after just writing about shooting.

Shooting: it’s cheaper than therapy!

Sayonara. G2G dunk my fingertips in ice water. They are singed from typing.

January 4, 2015October 18, 2016

My 3 Secrets to Skeet Shooting Success

On afternoons in high school, I would head straight to the gun club in my school uniform for skeet shooting lessons. My instructor, Terry, was a trap and skeet Olympian who wore the same uniform every day too–a cowboy hat and shorts. Predisposed to dirty jokes and occasional foul language, Terry got along well with the high schoolers he coached.

At competitions, Terry would stand on the sidelines like a football coach grunting and barking at us till he was blue in the face.

He always barked the same mantra, with a Gosh dammit thrown in each time — and this is what I’m going to share with you. This mantra is my secret to success on the skeet field. But before I tell you what it is, promise me you will take it to heart! My mother paid good money for this advice.

See it. Head down. Follow through.

Memorize these and I guarantee you will see results. Repetition creates muscle memory, and that applies to your mental muscle as well as your physical muscles. Iif there is one thing I learned in my years of shooting, it’s that shooting well is a mind game. You can’t be distracted by who’s watching or what they’re wearing or the cute guy you’re competing against or what happened at school.

See it.

The instant the bird comes out of the house, you are focused on it and looking at nothing else, especially not the end of your gun. Your job is to follow the bird with your eyes even past the point when you shoot.

Head down.

Really get your cheek down on the stock of the gun. Get cozy with it, as if you’re trying to rest all of your cheek fat on the top of the gun stock. You know when you want to make a funny face, and so you push your cheeks together and your lips get all smushed? This is the look you want to go for. It feels awkward at first but no one can see it because they would have to be standing in front of you while you’re shooting.

Doing this is important because,

A) The tighter you hold your gun to your body, the less kick back you will feel when the gun fires. Your body will move with it instead of against it.

B) I know this sounds obvious, but you want to shoot what you’re looking at. If you were to hold the gun away from your face and body, and point it at the moving target, the end of the barrel would likely not be pointing at the right spot. Whereas, if you keep your head down and the gun tucked into your body, your entire body and the gun will move with the bird and your aim will be much more accurate.

Follow through.

Like in golf or tennis, once you’ve hit the ball, you must continue your swing until it is complete. Tiger Woods does this. Serena Williams does this. The same applies to skeet shooting. Once you pull the trigger, continue the motion until the bird is no longer in sight (or the pieces have hit the ground.) It is so tempting to fire, see you missed or hit it, and stop immediately. NO! Thou shalt not. It results in you moving your gun away from the target too quickly, even as the gun is firing. Seriously, I have proven the success of follow through many times in skeet competitions–so trust me on this one. You will hit more targets if you stay with the bird and really complete your “swing.”

That’s all folks. There you have it. My secret to shooting success. I have the mantra “See it, head down, follow through” memorized, and it is the last thing I think before pulling the trigger. (Gosh dammit!)

So now that you know how to shoot, you can move on to the important question at hand: What do I wear?