A Beginner's Guide to Skeet Shooting
Skeet shooting is a recreational shotgun activity in which clay targets are flung into the air and shooters attempt to hit them. Skeet shooting is one of the three major categories of clay pigeon shooting along with sporting clays and trap shooting. There are several types of skeet shooting and the sport is even featured in the Olympics.
The History of Skeet Shooting
Skeet shooting is an American sport that originated in Massachusetts in the 1920s. Skeet was invented by a man named Charles Davis who was an avid hunter of grouse. The sport was originally called clock shooting and the name skeet did not begin to be used until 1926. The name skeet originated after the game was introduced in the magazines Hunting and Fishing and National Sportsman. 1926 was also the year that the first National Skeet Championship took place, shortly after which the National Skeet Shooting Association was put together.
How Skeet is Played
Skeet shooting varies a bit from its origins in the 1920s. A round of skeet shooting consists of twenty five targets, seventeen of which are singles, and eight of which are doubles. There are eight different shooting stations and two trap houses and a specific sequence is followed during a round. Skeet is shot with squads of up to five people who move around from station to station in a half moon shape. The half moon consists of seven shooting stations arranged between the two trap houses. The eighth station is located directly in between the two trap houses. There is a high house and a low house. The high house throws targets from a trap that is located ten feet above the ground, and the target rises to fifteen feet by the time it reaches the center of the field. The low house throws targets from a trap that is located only three and a half feet from the ground however just as with the high house, the trap will reach fifteen feet by the time it reaches the center of the field.
Any type and gauge of shotgun can be used for skeet as long as it is able to fire at least two shots however the preferred shot size is number nine. Strength is not a factor in skeet shooting and as such, men, women, and right and left handed people can equally compete. Skeet is normally a competitive sport and there are tons of different leagues that anyone who is interested in skeet shooting can join.
Olympic Skeet Shooting
Olympic skeet is an ISSF shooting event. The sport has had Olympic status since 1968 and up until 1992, both men and women were allowed to compete. As of 1992, rules were changed so that all ISSF events are only open to one sex, meaning that women were no longer allowed to compete. This caused some controversy however women did have their own World Championships. In 2000, a female skeet shooting event was also added to the Olympic games.
There are several variants of skeet shooting. The American and UK versions are a bit different and American skeet is shot in a slower, and different order than in the Olympics. Skeet shooting can be a fun sport for anyone. To learn more, visit the pages listed below.