If you’re a Skeet shooter contemplating stepping into Sporting Clays for the first time – or maybe again – here’s some great news for you.

The shooting circle begins somewhere around 1975. I am a young man of 16 and have been shooting shotguns for two years. This is when my Father bought me a brand new Super X Model 1 Winchester and my shooting really started to pick up. My background was hunting grouse, quail, doves, ducks and even town sparrows. If it flew I wanted to shoot it.

Totally new to me, I had never even seen a Skeet field. I arrived one Sunday afternoon and joined a group of older gentlemen, maybe doctors and lawyers? As the game was explained to me and I watched the targets, I asked “You mean to tell me you know where they are coming from AND I get to say when?” This I did know. These targets had no chance. None. Not with my loads of 7 1/2's at 1,300 fps and a Modified choke. This deal was already signed and sealed. 

Blue jean pockets stuffed with reloads, my shots rattled the fence between the Skeet fields. First-round ever, my 23/25 was high score on the squad. Skeet shooting, here I come! Over the next four years I shot almost every weekend, 250 shells on Saturday, 250 on Sunday, practically wearing out my Mec 600 Jr. My partner being the 20-gauge State champion, our competition was fierce and it wasn’t just about the score because 25’s were common. Young and having fun, it was how fast and how hard you could break every single target. It wasn’t long before my gun speed became faster. Much faster. Confidence through the roof, all 8 Stations, we were smashing targets right out of the house window. Like clockwork.

Much too soon, the gun club closed and adult life took over. Marriage and kids. When I got the itch to shoot again, I shot Skeet for a couple of years. But, for me at least, something had changed in 20 years. Skills were still good but something was missing. I felt I’d lost something. I chalked it up to my being 40.

And that’s when Sporting Clays came around. I loved it. Hooked, Skeet was set aside.  

For the most part, my Skeet skills protected my dignity. Manual traps, tight woods, close targets, no problem. My first tournament in Hunter class, I posted an 80, losing by 1 to a known AA shooter who registered in Hunter class. Where can I sign up again?

Time passed and when my stepson joined the Hunter Safety shooting team, I wanted to help. But I knew I was not an Instructor. To be of real help to the kids, some training was called for. Contrary to popular belief, just because you can shoot doesn't mean you're automatically granted Instructor skills. Not by a long shot. 

Skeet shooters…hang with me here. 

I learned of Dan Schindler’s Paragon School of Sporting. I was told (correctly) his Paragon Instructor certification classes were the toughest in the country. Here, Instructor competence would be taught and expected from the Candidate to gain a certification. This sounded like what I was looking for. I signed up.

Dan Schindler taught me how to set-up and swing correctly (gun management) – very specifically, step-by-step – how to do it effectively – how to teach it effectively. My Skeet skills and gun speed had to change. Gun “control” – slower, smooth and deliberate – became the new way. It was the greatest thing I had ever learned in shooting. For the very first time, I felt totally in control of a target, knowing mid-swing if the target was going to break, or not.  Before the trigger pull, I knew WHY it was going to break – or WHY it wouldn’t. Certified – I now had knowledge my students could count on. 

Automatic traps everywhere, Sporting Clays again had new target presentations. I was prepared and my students benefitted.

Today – good news for the Skeet shooter – the target presentations are changing again. While smooth, precise and deliberate gun control is still required, the faster Skeet swing is finding a home in Sporting. This we know and why Paragon's methodology has evolved and is completely up to date with today’s target presentations.

My personal evolution? I’ve come full circle. Gun control very much present, my long-unused Skeet skills have returned. What I thought I lost 20 years ago when I started shooting again, was not related to my age. It was the absence of total confidence that I had honed for years – no fear – hold nothing back. On many of today’s Sporting targets, it has returned and works as good today at age 60 as it did at 20. 

So, for all of you Skeet shooters who tried Sporting Clays and maybe your Skeet skills did not serve you well, try again. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. Maybe contact a Paragon instructor? There may very well be a good Sporting Clay shooter in there after all. Good luck and remember, what goes around, comes around. As Dan likes to say…there’s a Truth.

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About Dan Schindler

Dan Schindler is one of only 60 worldwide members of the Guild of Shooting Instructors (UK) and is one of the most highly respected Sporting Clays and Wingshooting Instructors in the US. Dan is an NSCA Level III Instructor (since 1995) and founded the Paragon School of Sporting with one goal in mind. Whether it be for the advanced competitor or providing the basics to the entry-level shooter, Paragon provides the simplest, most practical and most effective Instruction, Coaching and Mental Training for the Sporting Clays & Wingshooting enthusiast. Dan Schindler helps shooters alleviate a lot of their frustration by taking the mystery out of breaking targets, calling their own misses, and make their own corrections. Lessons are fun, enlightening and our clients learn to shoot better in minutes!  

Dan Schindler's Books

"Recommended for shooters of all skill levels, Coaches, Instructors

and parents of youth shooters."

Take Your Best Shot (Book I), 3rd Edition is THE Gold Standard Primer It's all about the fundamentals, a requirement for good shooting. This book is used by high school and college shooting teams, recreational and competitive shooters from around the world. Solid, valuable, concise information that has helped thousands of shooters shoot more consistently with higher scores.

To The Target (Book II) Builds on the steps outlined in Book I. Emphasises Gun Management skills when the trap fires, creating a consistent, reliable, trustworthy swing.

Beyond the Target (Book III) is for shooters of all levels, filled with valuable information, clay target truths. Entertaining and a culmination of 3 decades of Dan's life's work as a teacher, competitor, published writer, and much more.

Here's what Shooters, Coaches and Clay Shooting USA saying...

 Take Your Best Shot (Book I), 3rd Edition

To The Target (Book II)

Beyond The Target (Book III)