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Clay fliers


Abilene, SASS # 27489

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On another thread someone mentioned there being no clay fliers at EOT.  Got me to thinking.  When I started in '99, a few clubs had bird throwers and there was often a single flier during a match.  Not every month, but not uncommon.  I had never shot a shotgun before CAS and I always missed.  Then my job sent me to a weekend at a 3M lodge in Minnesota that was basically being schmoozed for a sales pitch but we got to take advantage of all their activities and I shot about 25 boxes of shotshells through a Browning single barrel at their trap range.  After that, at a CAS match I almost always hit the bird!  But the practice has waned (I guess it's one of those "good ol' days" things) and I can count on one hand the number of birds I've shot at in the last 5 years.  Now, this is central Texas clubs as I don't get out too much.  I'm curious if many other clubs still routinely shoot a flier at monthlies?

 

Charcoal briquette (or aluminum can) tossers are another matter.  Hasn't been one of them around here in years since the only club with side berms closed down.  I don't miss that at all because I almost NEVER hit the dang thing.  Never had a chance to just practice and get the hang of it.

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Out here in Central Oregon we shoot flyers at least once a month and they could be clay birds or potatoes.  

 

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I've encountered them at two clubs close to me. I love fliers and would like more. Shotguns are made to shoot flying things! But then again I Iove running a shotgun and would enjoy more than 4 shotgun targets per stage. And I know most do NOT share that opinion. :D

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Personally, I always loved the action type targets with the "Knockdown/Throw-up" targets, Texas Star, Clay bird fliers, cable runners, and things to break, etc.  However, I think that they have fallen out of favor in CAS, due to the fact that they take more time to shoot through and too many people complained about them, at least at the bigger matches.  Seems that folks prefer big targets, fast scenarios, and primarily 10 X 10 X 4 stages.  Geese, you even move a rifle target out to anything past 15 yards and the backlash is incredible and Lord help the Match Director that writes in a bonus target, especially if it takes some effort to hit! 

 

Frankly, I understand the need to keep the revolver targets big and close, but have always thought the rifle sequences should be more than just how fast I can cycle the thing.  Rifles are made to be accurate out to way past the distances we use in CAS and can still be shot quickly with a bit more challenge than 16" plates at 15 yards.  Don't get me wrong, I understand how important it is, especially at a big match with lots of shooters, to not have a stage bog down and hold up the posses, but I also liked the variety and the challenge that these action type and somewhat more challenging targets brought to the game. 

 

In any case, I haven't shot in a while now, due to medical issues, but during the last couple years that I shot regularly, the action type targets were pretty much gone and if you did see one, it was at a small local match rather than a big one.  I seriously doubt that this has changed much in the last couple years, but I'd say bring' em back if I was asked about it.  Good luck and good shooting to all.

 

 

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We shoot flying birds for bonus points at our monthly match on a regular basis.  They are a lot of fun and since they are bonus shots you do have the option of shooting them or not.

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At our monthly shoot we have about 2-3 reactive targets with clays, knockdown/throw up type. As far as shotgun targets, sometimes we'll give a warning, "NEXT MONTH BRING PLENTY OF SHOTGUN SHELLS"

Isom

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At Zen Shootists, Nevada Iowa we have 2 flyers on same stage. Hit knock down release bird hit second knock down release bird. Birds are usually a bonus. It's my favorite to shoot. Love it when the posse cheers when shooter gets both of them. Makes it fun!

 

I wrote a 2 person team side match this last year that was well received. Shooter 1 hit the knock downs and shooter 2 the birds. Team with both birds and best time won. It was a close contest. As I recall it was Doc Horseshoe and Half-Fast Len that won.

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Personally I am glad they are not happening much where I am since they are something I do not get to practice and thus stink at.  Awhile back I would put one not a club match and it whould be a bonus.  However that was only once a year.  To me it is fun to try at once in a blue moon but other than that I feel it is not appropriate for most as they do not have a chance to develop the skill.

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Two or three stages a year will have a few clay pigeons/soda cans tossers.  The annual match, what Isom Dart said "...BRING PLENTY OF SHOTGUN SHELLS". 

 

Six of our bays have side concrete berms.  

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19 minutes ago, Dream Chaser, SASS #79316 said:

Personally I am glad they are not happening much where I am since they are something I do not get to practice and thus stink at.  ... I feel it is not appropriate for most as they do not have a chance to develop the skill.

 

Well if'n more would be used then wouldn't that give a cowpoke the chance to develop the skill?  :D

 

Since I don't take the time expending thousands of rounds every month practicing, then we all should stop using ammunition at matches to accommodate my lack of skill?  ;)

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11 hours ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

 Then my job sent me to a weekend at a 3M lodge in Minnesota that was basically being schmoozed for a sales pitch but we got to take advantage of all their activities

Been to "Wonewok" there in MN a number of times with 3M.  Unbelievable corporations still have places like that.  

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The Montrose Marshals have two stages with fliers at pretty much every monthly match. Hit a KD, throw a bird. One throws fairly high, the other not so much. Lot of fun to (try to) hit both KD’s so both birds are in the air at the same time, reload, and shoot both before they hit the ground. Used to be able to do that about 50% now usually just get one. :( While you can shoot KD, flier, KD, flier it is a bonus to encourage shooters (not a miss) so why not give it a whirl? IJAFG after all. 
Silver Rings usually has something up his sleeve to make it fun. :D

Regards

:FlagAm:  :FlagAm:  :FlagAm:

Gateway Kid

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3 hours ago, Dantankerous said:

I've encountered them at two clubs close to me. I love fliers and would like more. Shotguns are made to shoot flying things! But then again I Iove running a shotgun and would enjoy more than 4 shotgun targets per stage. And I know most do NOT share that opinion. :D

Hey! You been sneaking a peak at the scenarios I wrote for tomorrow’s shoot?

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I love clays.  The few times I hit one and entirely dusted it with no pieces of clay falling out of a black powder cloud was quite gratifying.  There were many clays at Utah State last year.  In preparation for EOT our match directors are putting clays in every match.  Some new shooters are getting the knack of hitting popups and are more confident going to EOT.

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4 hours ago, Toranado, SASS # 58447 said:

Been to "Wonewok" there in MN a number of times with 3M.  Unbelievable corporations still have places like that.  

Yes, it was Wonewok.  I had forgotten the name.  Neat thing is, we were already using their products (anti-static mats mostly), but since I was in charge of the ESD program, I got to go.  :)   Another notable memory from that trip was walking across the Mississipi at it's source at Lake Itasca.  At the trap range, there were pallets of steel shot AA's.  They said shoot all you want, so I did!

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Howdy

 

One club around here usually has a Shotgun Run stage. Shotgun only, some of us take off our pistol belts and just run the stage with our shot guns.

 

It has been a couple of years, but as I recall we would start with a couple of knockdowns, then move to a knockdown and a popper, then move to a couple more knockdowns, then move to another knockdown and popper. Maybe end up with another pair of knockdowns, I don't recall exactly because it has been a couple of years.

 

I love shotgun poppers. They really are not that hard. You follow the bird up, staying just below it. When it reaches its apex (stops moving up) you fire just below it and it falls into your pattern.

 

The hard part is when they fly up directly into the sun. Then they can get lost in the sun and can be hard to hit.

 

Particularly if you are shooting Black Powder and everything is hidden by the smoke.

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I'm gonna have to start shooting a little trap just so I can be ready for when I go to a meet that uses poppers.

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6 minutes ago, DeaconKC said:

I'm gonna have to start shooting a little trap just so I can be ready for when I go to a meet that uses poppers.

Careful you might like Trap so much you will want to shoot it again and that leads to buying more guns. Then the need for more ammo and the need to reload your own shotgun ammo and that leads to scavenging for hulls and searching the net for more components and on and on. Good luck, I shoot a lot of Trap and love it.

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I shoot Trap every week.

 

Shooting poppers in CAS is way different than shooting Trap.

 

In Trap, the target is always going away from you, starting from at least 16 yards away.

 

The target is usually moving close to 40mph.

 

You never know where the target is going to go, if you guess you will be wrong and miss trying to catch up.

 

The poppers that I am used to pop the target straight up.

 

We stand much closer to the popper than 16 yards. 

 

It isn't moving very fast.

 

Nothing wrong with shooting some Trap to get used to moving targets, but like I said, with a popper, if it is going straight up, track it holding just under it. When it stops moving and starts to fall down, fire. It will fall right into the pattern.

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7 hours ago, Isom Dart, SASS#8096 said:

At our monthly shoot we have about 2-3 reactive targets with clays, knockdown/throw up type. As far as shotgun targets, sometimes we'll give a warning, "NEXT MONTH BRING PLENTY OF SHOTGUN SHELLS"

Isom

2nd Sunday right?  The family and I need to set aside a Sunday and come down to shoot with you.  I enjoyed the last match down there several years ago.

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I don't think the EOT stages are published.  They may be but I don't know anyone that's talking about it.

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had to find these  our cowboy club was shut down from the bat flu so I went trap shooting 

I had not shot this good since I was in my 30  not half blind and did not shake 

100 sraigh.jpg

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At our annual event (insert shameless plug - Fall Roundup, Sept 23 - 25, Milan IL) we are forced to use a shotgun only stage. Bay 8 is situated to limit the use of hard rounds.  Anyway, we have had in the past an assortment of knock downs, flyers, snakes on a post, and a much hated Medusa.  To prepare the shooters, we have several shotgun side matches available.  A shotgun star and two team events using knockdown activated flyers.   

 

Depending on who the match director is, there may be knockdown - flyers in our monthly shoots.

 

Chancy

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Come on out to the Sun River Rangers near Simms, Montana!  We have clay fliers, charcoal poppers on a number of our stages.  Then for real fun we shoot the Texas Star with a shotgun and Cowboy Bob is positioned directly in front.  You put a pellet on Bob and you earn a 5 second penalty!

 

Yes, we like to have fun!

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The only experience I’ve had with a clay popper was at our club’s annual shoot. We had a single stage side match that was called “blast from the past” in which, as part of the course of fire we had to ring a bell, rope a goat, toss dynamite, shoot a candy cane, dig for shotgun shells in a bowl of dry beans AND shoot a popper. It has to have been one of the most fun and exciting stages to both shoot and watch! I don’t know if it was the novelty of all the chores to be done along the way  or the great attitudes or festive setting but boy was it fun! 

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Our club, Black Hills Shootist, shoots a clay popper almost every match.No penalty for the miss, but a bonus if you hit it. I had made some static clay pigeon holders to use as make up shots if you missed a rifle or pistol target on another stage, but it got too time consuming to keep replacing them. 

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I shot a match yesterday where one stage had two shotgun poppers that launched clay. It had been a while. Reminded me why them is fun and I was having a hard time seeing through the BP smoke to see 'em! :D

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9 hours ago, El Catorce said:

The only experience I’ve had with a clay popper was at our club’s annual shoot. We had a single stage side match that was called “blast from the past” in which, as part of the course of fire we had to ring a bell, rope a goat, toss dynamite, shoot a candy cane, dig for shotgun shells in a bowl of dry beans AND shoot a popper. It has to have been one of the most fun and exciting stages to both shoot and watch! I don’t know if it was the novelty of all the chores to be done along the way  or the great attitudes or festive setting but boy was it fun! 

This is what cowboy action use to be and many newer shooters will never have a chance to experience it. Maybe not all of the above on one stage but at least one on every stage.

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