To expand on my recommended 2018 New Years Resolutions, please consider the following. These are just a few of the basics, commonly overlooked or unintentionally compromised. First…there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using our natural, eye-hand coordination to break targets. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t start here, and it works. Literally, millions of targets have been broken this way. That’s a truth. Here, however, is the other side of that truth. Using your raw, unrefined instincts to break targets inevitably leads to inconsistencies in your swing and lost targets. To break targets on purpose takes a certain correctness built into each ...

2018 New Year's Sporting Clays, Skeet and Trap Resolutions 1. I will take pride in my equipment…but I will depend solely on my skills to break targets. 2. If I miss a target…I will learn why I missed so I can correct the error and break all the remaining targets on this Field. 3. If I hit a target (X)…I will learn why I broke the bird so I can repeat that successful shot, on purpose, again and again. 4. If my 2017 strategy to improve my shooting and scores is not working…I won’t repeat that unsuccessful strategy and, instead, devise a better plan for 2018. 5. I will learn the fundamentals and basics…which is what it will take ...

Ammunition, assuming 12 gauge… A few important numbers:1) 2 3/4 DRAM loads. Dram is the amount of powder in the shell. 3 DRAM and higher = more recoil and are contraindicated in too many ways to count. 2 3/4 DRAM loads hit the magic fps number…UNDER 1,200 fps.2) 1,200 fps or preferably a bit less will break every fair target presentation on this earth…consistently. 1,150 to 1,180 fps.3) First choice is either 7/8 oz or 1 oz loads. Both are 100% dependable. 2nd choice is 1 1/8 oz loads. Like powder, more shot = more recoil.  4) Shot size: 8’s put more pellets in the pattern…best for 80-90% of our targets inside 40 yards. 7 1/2’s (larger ...

 New shooters coming into our sport are often discouraged by their early scores on a Sporting Clays range. While out and about, I see and hear this many times. Our shooter is “only” breaking about 50% of his or her targets, maybe a few more, but always well below their expectations. This, of course, is completely understandable because they are comparing their scores to others who just shot in the 80’s or possibly a 90 something. What the heck is going on? Here’s the example of what’s going on. Hummelstown Field & Stream is a small gun club just minutes outside of downtown Hershey PA. I was there in the 1980’s when Sporting Clays was ...