For most of us, the current year of competition is over. Almost everyone has checked off their final big shoot of the year, whether that is their state championship, or the Nationals. Sure, there is the odd local shoot, or ‘club championship’ left, but for the most part, the big stuff is done for the year. Many think of this a time to wind down, take it easy, and focus on family and hunting season (maybe not exactly in that order). Well, that certainly maybe a good idea, but if you plan on shooting strong next year, lets not totally put our sporting clay game out of the picture for the next few months.

First, we can use this time to take care of our equipment requirements. Now most of you are thinking that I’m going to bring up your gun(s). We’ll get to that in a minute, but first I want to talk about your eyes. That is the most important piece of equipment you have. This spring I was talking to our friend Dr Rich Colo, renown sports vision specialist. He said that he estimated the he could help approximately 65% of the competitors at that shoot see better. Think about that…..the guys and gals entered in the US Open are some of the most dedicated, prepared shooters in the sport, and over half of them could see BETTER, if they invested the time and dollars to see the bird better. So, now that your shooting schedule has slowed down a bit, get your eyes checked out. If corrective lenses can help you see better, at all, get corrective lenses. Do it now. This is waaaaay more important that your gun. You want to start this process now, and having lenses made sometimes can take a few weeks. We don’t want to be angsting over a UPS delivery the night before your first big shoot of 2020.

Next, your shotgun. If you have one you love, take care of it. Now is a good time to have a gunsmith go over it after the last season, and get it ‘tuned up’ for the next. Shotguns will work fine for years, but if you want it to last for generations, and probably more pertinent to this discussion, if you want it to remain trouble free, give it some preventative maintenance. Sometimes this takes awhile, so start now. If you are thinking about a new gun, NOW is the time to start shopping and trying stuff out. You don’t want to wait, as you want time to get used to it before next season. 

Now, this is something I recommend thinking about in advance, though most won’t. If you are a competitive shooter, you will use quite a few shells during a season. Generally somewhere between 20 and 100 cases of ammo a season. Sometimes many more. Its really not good for your performance to be constantly switching ammo, and worrying every weekend about going to the local big box store to hunt for ammo to use the next day in a shoot. Not to mention, but planning in advance, you can maybe save some $$$ buy purchasing in bulk in advance. FInd ammo that you, and more importantly that your gun, likes. Then, make a plan NOW to start laying in your ammo for the season. Sometimes that means a large bulk purchase for yourself, or splitting up and order with your shooting buddies. Others like to purchase ammo at large retailers…..well, get ahead of the curve and start now. There will be big sales coming up for the holidays, so take advantage of them. Buy ammo and stack it up. It won’t go bad. You’ll be happy when you need ammo during the season when you have a nice supply on hand.

And lastly, don’t completely stop shooting. Don’t lose all the advances you made this year by taking to much time off. Get down to the club occasionally, see your friends and at least shoot a little 5 Stand or a round or two on the course. Keep the rust knocked off...maybe introduce a new shooter or two to the game over the holidays. Just keep your hand in the game. You’ll be glad you did when its time to prepare for the first big shoot of 2020.

Folks, here’s the thing. You worked hard this season, so lets don’t let it go to waste. Stay current….get your blaster out and bust some practice clays. Get your gear together. Set goals and start planning NOW. The ‘next’ season will be here before you know it.

 Best,

Will
Fennell Shooting School

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Ammunition - this what we feel that is the best bang(for the buck!) for new/beginner/recreational sporting clay shooters. As you grow in the game, your experience will help you develop your own ‘favorite loads’, but this post is a simple primer on the subject to get you started.

We like ammo that doesn’t have much ‘kick’, or recoil. The recoil caused by a shell is determined by 2 factors- how much shot is in the shell (has nothing to do with the pellet size, which we will cover later) and the speed that the shot leaves the barrel. We like to shoot a smaller amount of shot, at slow speeds, so we have less kick!

The first thing we have to cover, is that sometimes we need different ammunition for a ‘break open gun’, like an over and under or side by side, than for a semi-auto. A break open gun doesn’t care how light a load we fire thru it, but sometimes a semi-auto needs a bit heavier load for the gun to function correctly. First, let’s talk about the break open guns…..

For a O/U or SxS, we can shoot very light recoiling ammo, without worrying about how the gun will ‘cycle’. Look for a ‘low velocity load’.... 1200 feet per second(FPS) or less. In the old days this was described by calling out a ‘dram equivalent’ to refer to how fast the pellets left the gun, but that system was tough to understand, so most companies now simply list the speed in FPS. For a 12 ga, we like 1 oz (in metric thats 28 grams) of shot, or if we can find them, 7/8th oz( 24 grams). In 20 ga, we like 7/8th oz.

For a semi-auto, sometimes the mechanism that loads the shell for you will need a bit of pressure, provided by the firing of the shell, to reliably cycle the action. Most 12 ga semi’s will reliably run on 1 oz/1200 fps ammo. For 20 ga, the baseline is generally ⅞ oz/1200 fps. You can experiment with lighter ammo, but this is a good place to start.

Regarding shot size, the smaller the number, the bigger the pellets (crazy, right?). Sporting clay ranges limit the shot size to 7 ½’s as the biggest pellets. Also common are number 8’s. There are a few more pellets in the #8’s, and while either will work, if you have a choice, we suggest 8’s. The size of the pellets have nothing to do with recoil, it’s the weight of the shot charge, combined with the speed. So for 12 ga, look for slow- 1200 fps or less- 1 oz or less. In 20 ga, look for ⅞ oz around 1200 fps, and you will be happy with your ammo!

One last thing….what ‘brand’ to look for? We that can be confusing. Some ammo cost more than others, and to add to the choices many brands have multiple ‘lines’ of shells. For a new or recreational shooter, the best grade of shell is simply not needed. Most of the ‘brand names’ will have a secondary line of ammo, at a substantially reduced price compared to their premium target shells. As an example, Fiocchi Ammunition, has a top line competition group of ammunition called the “Exacta Line”. They also have the second level of shell titled the “Shooting Dynamics”, at a considerable savings. The Shooting Dynamics line is targeted, pardon the pun, at the recreational shooting market, and offers exactly they types of shells we have talked about above.

This all is meant to just give the new sporting shooter a basic guideline to get started  with your ammunition purchasing. There are many other factors that can come into play as you gain experience, but this will get you started in the right direction!

Best,

Fennell Shooting School

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Recently, I was asked to participate in a podcast produced by my friends at BEHIND THE BREAK. Justin Barker and his crew do a fantastic job with the competitive sporting clays oriented podcast production. I highly recommend that after listening to my episode, you check out other editions with some of the greats of the game being interviewed! 

Today’s discussions and personal revelations have been particularly interesting for us and will be intensely studied and used as we come across eye issues and questions on a daily basis during our lessons.  ​

I personally have worked long and hard to find a solution and final resolution to my cross dominance.  Today, by combining my eye exam and watching me shoot Dr. Colo and I came to that solution. The answer for me was, as a predominately low gun shooter, to use tape to block the lense over my left eye and shoot with both eyes open.  It also became very apparent that finding my visual hold point was as important, if not more so, than my physical hold point when calling for the bird.

Will and I cannot say enough about  Dr. Colo generously spending his time (on his 51st wedding anniversary no less) with us and openly and happily sharing his wealth of knowledge with us.  
 
He has shared his time and his amazing and deep knowledge with many other instructors, top shooters, weekend clay warriors, and even bird hunters!  For Will and I it was wonderful for us to be able to fill in the blanks of things we have observed over the years with our students.
 
We thank him for his willingness to share his invaluable insights with us and other instructors.  If we understand the nuances of the eyes and how they work with the brain and thus our eye/hand coordination, it can do nothing but help shooters get better.  
 
We left feeling extremely grateful there are such fabulous folks in our sport!  Dr. Colo, thank you for all you do and share with so many of us in the shooting sports!  Your enthusiasm and joy as you shared your time and gifts with us today was wonderful to experience and especially for this old gal! I “saw” things today in a whole different perspective, in more ways than one!  Thank you for the best eye exam ever and insights to my way of seeing things and shooting things.....many puns intended!
 
For more about Dr. Colo click here

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First, using my fixed improved modified choked barrels, I tested a typical “Skeet Load” of dead soft #9 shot. While there were certainly more flyers in the pattern, I did not see a noticeable, dependable enlargement in the pattern compared to my standard load. I’m sure the #9 loads would be an advantage for close targets when using a more open cylinder or skeet choke, as the increased number of pellets would help fill up the larger pattern, but thru my tight chokes, there was not a noticeable advantage. At 20 yards, my Nickel Crusher #7.5’s gave a consistent pattern of 15”, and the #9 shot gave a 17” pattern. A little bigger, but not dramatically bigger.

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Next I tested the FIOCCHI Interceptor Spreader Load. This was a one ounce load of #8’s, also at 1300 fps, but loaded with a special wad to open the pattern much faster. It is designed to provide a large, evenly distributed pattern. At 20 yards, this shell, thru my same improved modified fixed choke, gave a 30”(!) pattern. Basically double the size of my standard load thru the same barrel/choke. I pattern tested this shell for 10 shots, and confirmed that it is a reliable performer. Large, even patterns, time and time again. I also shot a normal shell, my regular Crusher, thru a cylinder choked gun, and it gave a approximate 30” pattern.

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While we work with try guns* in some instances, we greatly prefer to work with the gun that the shooter wants fit to them. Imagine if you have a try gun built around a flat rib 28” field gun, and a shooter wants to be fit for a 32” Kreighoff Pro Sporter, there will be many differences in handling alone that will cause problems. Frequently, we can work with the original stock, modify it to fit, then measure the final dimensions to give to your stockmaker. The BEST answer is to work with your stock maker and shooting coach to make a ‘pattern stock’. This is a stock built to suit you, out of an oversized "plain jane" inexpensive piece of walnut.  Sometimes it will need to be modified with the automotive body compound, commonly known as Bondo, and filed down to shape. This gives the fitter the option of dramatically changing your stock shape to fit your body and style.  The result? A stock you can shoot for months, making sure you have the dimensions that YOU like and that you have confidence in and using it over a period of time and shooting conditions. Then, after you and the fitter are satisfied, the stock maker can use your pattern stock to duplicate a stock with a more suitable and attractive piece of wood. Add a nice checkering pattern, and beautiful finish and you are done!​