skeet shooting

peddler

What length of barrel and choke do most skeet shooters like? I have been shooting with a 410 with 26" barrel and skeet choke. Just starting to shoot and I know a 410 is hard to hit with but that's what I like to shoot. Can hit about 50% now which I thank is good for me just getting started. Thanks for any info.

charliemeyer007

Anything past about 18" the powder is burnt so no real benefit to a longer tube. Both of my favorite shotguns are cut to 20" and take screw in choke tubes. My favorite one is marked skeet #2.

I don't shoot trap, skeet or sporting clays professionally, however I do enjoy a round or two prior to actual bird season just for the practice.

50% is good shooting for a beginner with a 410 in my book.

peddler

I have not took the time to pattern my gun with different chokes. I just plan on shooting for the fun of it. I would like to do the best I can though. Lots of fun to break the clay bird. My barrel is 26" with a Remington 1100 410

charliemeyer007

+1 for patterning - the proof is in the pudding, the real advantage to being a reloader.

Second thing to consider is "shot string". A half ounce load in a 20 or 12 gauge will have a shorter shot string than the 410, even though they all have the same number of pellets.

peddler

Since I'm new tell me about "shot sting"

charliemeyer007

If you are shooting at a stationary target it makes no difference, however when the barrel is moving as in shooting at a moving target then there is a difference in the time that the front of the shot column leaves the barrel and the last of the shot in the column leaves the barrel.

In the 3 dimension space with time (the world we live in) a clay bird could pass threw the long shot string and not be hit, a shorter shot string reduces that possibility.

added a short column of shot suffers less distortion/deformation on firing than a long column - more shot cushioned by the wad so it retains velocity better - shorter shot string between good flyers and poor ones that are deformed.

20gabob

Peddler, don't overthink this thing with the 410. I agree with most people about patterning your shotguns, as long as it's not the 410 ga. 410 ga patterns will scare you to death and make you think that you will never be able to hit anything. If you are going to shoot the 410 just put up a pattern target and shoot it to make sure it shoots where you are pointing, and don't bother counting pellets, just make sure that the pattern is centered at point of aim and call it good. All it takes with the 410 ga is practice-practice- and more practice. I was an A class shooter when i quit shooting skeet and i never regretted leaving the game as it simply got too expensive to shoot registered skeet. Don't be afraid to learn the leads on skeet targets with a larger ga gun and then shoot the 410 just like you would the larger ga gun. Sorry to say but the 410 will cost you a target occasionally that the larger ga would have gotten but that's just part of the game. The 410 skeet gun was devised to make the game as hard as possible. Just enjoy and watch your scores improve.

asphalt cowboy

quote:Originally posted by peddler
Since I'm new tell me about "shot sting"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edLXEqnicqk

I couldn't find the one I wanted, but this vid best illustrates shot stringing.

zimmden

Most skeet shooters shoot your set up. With O/Us 28 inch tubes are common. This barrel length gives excellent balance and sighting plane for the swing required in skeet. Since the skeet target should be shot near the center stake ( 21 yards ), the skeet choke gives the optimum spread and density for 21 to 25 yd shots. Some good 410 shooters use a slightly tighter choke to insure more pellets on target. Skeet competition requires shooting 4 gauges including 410. The 410 scores are only a few percentage points lower than the 12 gauge. With the proper practice, technique and luck 100X100 is possible even with a 410.

peddler

Thanks to all that has gave me information, I'll let you all know how I am doing when I get more practice,

243winxb

Use #9 magnum shot if you reload. Harder shot gives tigher patterns. Make sure the charge bar is dropping a full 1/2 oz of magnum shot. Read Remington instructions here. https://support.remington.com/General_Information/Skeet_Shooting_Fundamentals_Handbook Remingtons Skeet Shooting Fundamentals Handbook

bambambam

A lot of good information shared on this thread.

I shoot trap primarily, but I partake in the skeet field as well. Most everyone I shoot with use 12ga o/u 26"-28" barrels. Some guys use 12ga 28" autoloaders.

I love to shoot my Stevens 94 .410 on the skeet field just for fun. However, I realize that I have always broke more targets with a larger payload and shot pattern.

The YouTube link above had Phil Bourjaily in it. He is a great wealth of shotgun related knowledge.

I'll include a link on shot patterns in relation to gauge size. If you have time to browse you can look into the shotgun tips on Field & Stream. I always see the tips on my FB feed and share them on my local gun clubs page so trap/skeet shooters can view the information.

If your breaking %50 of your targets with your .410 just think how many more you might break with a 28ga or 20ga?

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/the-gun-nuts/shotguns-understanding-pattern-size-and-gauge?src=SOC&dom=fb