Usefulness of #9 shot

[Stan Hillis]

I am friends with a former GA State Ladies Skeet Champion, several times over. First time she and her husband tried sporting she shot something in the neighborhood of a 37/100. Her husband shot even less. He stomped away muttering that there were targets out there that could not be possibly broken with a shotgun. My buddy had just shot a 96 on the same course. They were badly embarrassed.

I've shot two 100 straights in my life, at sporting, numerous 99s and 98s. A young man just shot a 100/100 at Super Sporting at the "Turkey Shoot", at The Meadows in Forsyth, GA last weekend. He also shot a 50/50 on the competition 5 stand. This wasn't a charity shoot, but real tournament quality targets.

There's a big difference in learning the lead on hundreds of presentations, and being able to put it there, and in memorizing it on a handful that are not over 21 yards. I've shot enough skeet and trap to appreciate the mental focus that is necessary to run long straights. It's not for me, it's boring, but at least I recognize them as legitimate clay target games.