first time..wasn't pretty

So I went skeet shooting today for the first time, I've hunted deer, hogs, varmints, and other game for a few years now, and birds only a couple of times. Man I sucked at shooting skeet. Granted we were only out there for about an hour, but man I left a little frustrated, but with an urge to go back and do better. Any tips from any experts out here?

Were you shooting regular skeet on regulation field - or clays being thrown out in a pasture? Skeet has become a generic term. That urge to 'go back and do better' is the hook - you will face an addiction...

Regular skeet, there is a skeet range near my house.

Skeet is a game of mastering and being consistant in your hold points, pick-up points, break points, stance, etc...

I see most new shooter holding the gun way to close to the house when calling for the target. This will usually result in a shooter calling for the target, seeing a blur go past their barrels, then rushing to catch up. Then they have to rush to break the second target before it gets past the house. A good rule of thumb is to have your barrels pointed about 1/4 of the distance of the field out of the house. This will allow you to see the target better. What I do is call for the target, as soon as I see it come out of the house I begin movement of my barrels and let the target catch up to me. I used to shoot a lot, and had zero issues with targets beating me.

Another thing which makes it easy is having proper break points on the first target of doubles. The only way to learn this is to shoot a ton, but when you "get" it breaking doubles is effortless. You break the first target in the right spot and the second target is right there. Generally you want to break your first target right around the center of the field. Any later and you have to rush to catch up with the second target, any earlier and you sit there waiting with no barrel movement.

The only way to get better is to shoot more. If you ever watch a seasoned shooter you will notice they have very little barrel movement and they seem effortless in their shooting. They have mastered what I talked about above. But dont worry, I used to once swing my gun like crazy to break targets.

This guy is obviously a good shooter, although his break points are a tad bit later than mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To6aXUD0GDU

Then here is Vincent Hancock. he is shooting international skeet which means the targets are faster, you have to shoot light loads, and low gun. he has a very aggressive style which is the way I shoot(ok, he is a little faster). Watch how closely he can break the doubles, and watch the lack of barrel movement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7nxGvlPja8

http://www.10xshooters.com/BenderCheatSheet/BenderCheatSheet.pdf

There's a video by Ken Robertson (his son is a champion and owns Elm Fork Range in Dallas), it's the best all around instructional film on skeet shooting I've ever seen. Helped me tremendously. I don't shoot often but hit in the 21-24 range per round.

Thanks for the information. Been checking it out, can't wait to get out and practice some more.

Follow thru and don't stop the gun

http://www.vaskeet.com/vssa/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=17&page_id=10

Good Info, follow the lessons.

Thanks I will check out the videos.

Some basic advice that helped me tremendously.

Hopefully you have a general idea of where you hope to break the clay. Just point your belt buckle toward where you hope to break it, with your left foot slightly ahead of your right. (For a right-handed shooter) Then swivel at your waist to face where the target will be coming from, and FOLLOW THROUGH.

worst thing you can do is shoot with one eye closed. act as if the gun is a waterhose, meaning the water is slow and you must keep waterhose ahead of target and never stop. i dont know if that makes since to anyone but me, but my grandpa tought me like that, so thats how i been tought

Learn to feel the gun. I started skeet this around september of 2010. I have never bird hunted or anything like that before. My first round was a 15, then i started gettin higher. I dont shoot a lot, maybe once a month, but I consistently shoot 19-23. But I learned as I started shooting more, that the gun was a part of me. Once I got that feel down, it was pretty simple. I also draw from the hip, just feels natural. There is no time to think with it from the hip, you just lift the gun swinging, shoot, keep swinging. I'm no professional, but this is what works for me.

Also, dont rush yourself, but try to break the clay before the center stake. Was taught that the bird is always consistent to the center stake, but after that, it can be affected by wind. Practice is what made me better. Get into a small gun range competition, the pressure you put on yourself helps you perform.

Another thing, shoot with the locals there, who are really good. They'll offer tips, and it helps you do better. I dont know what it is, but when you shoot with someone thats good, you tend to do better yourself.

pattern your gun to make sure your hitting what your pointing at. your mount is a major part of hitting your target

Been a NSSA, and TSSA member for 20 years, my 11 year old averages 23, if one eye closed works for you, do that, the game is about being able to do the same thing over and over again. In NSSA we shot 100 tragets (4 rounds) in each gauge, except 16. You need someone who knows watching you and shooting with you. Also look around local clubs for fun shoots and charity skeet shoots. Shoot against people that do it a lot more than you and you will see the many differnt styles, stances, methods ect. Have fun, and keep telling yourself it just a game when you drop low 8 on the last round of 20 gauge for a 99 out of a 100....