I'm a sucker for fine firearms or any gun that will help me shoot more birds (clays).

I'm so hooked by this new Zoli Z Sport I can't stand it!! As strong as a Krieghoff and less than half the price at only $5000 dollars. What a steal! Can't wait.

Sporting Clays is a form of clay pigeon shooting. Often described as golf with a shotgun, the sport differs from trap and skeet shooting in that:
1. It is considered by many to be more difficult than trap or skeet.
2. It involves shooting clay targets at multiple locations (called stations).
3. Unlike trap and skeet, which are games of repeatable target presentations, sporting clays targets are thrown in a great variety of trajectories, angles, speeds, elevations and distances.
The original idea behind sporting clays was to create an experience that more closely reflects actual hunting conditions. Whereas top-tier trap and skeet professionals may have hit ratings nearing 100%, the best sporting clay shooters hit their targets only about 93% to 95% of the time.
Although the sport is challenging, it is quite popular with novice shooters and ordinary hunters. While many shooters opt for expensive double-barreled shotguns, the game is equally enjoyable with an inexpensive pump-action shotgun or autoloading (semiautomatic) shotgun.
Naturally, safety is paramount. Proper ear and eye protection and firearms safety procedures are required while on a course.
[edit]Course layout and play

A typical course will consist of 10-18 stations. Varying numbers of clay pairs are shot at each station, with the total shots for an outing adding up to 50 or 100 (two or four boxes of shells, respectively). Advanced shooters have the clays thrown as simultaneous pairs (called simo pairs on the east coast of America, true pairs on the west, and sim pairs in the UK), while novice or intermediate shooters can opt for the clays to be thrown on report (the second clay launched on the report of the shooter's gun, hence the name report pair). Targets are thrown at different angles and speeds; sometimes across the shooter's view (crossers), towards the shooter (in-comers), or away from the shooter (out-goers). The shots are intended to simulate hunting for quail, grouse, pheasant, pigeon, or other game. Many courses have traps which throw targets from tall towers simulating high-flying ducks or geese. Some courses have targets that roll and bounce along the ground to simulate rabbits. There are also targets that loop in the air - this does not simulate any particular animal, but it is usually a challenging target.

Gun Mount

Would you rather have students in a clinic that were new shooters or someone who had been shooting for awhile with bad habits? George Fournoy, Houston, Texas

Most people would think that getting a new student with no bad habits would be the easier way to teach, but give us someone with a good gun mount and we can get them farther along in a shorter time. We can always refine a gun mount that may not be the best, but if you have no gun mount at all, a lot of time must be spent on making that right move.

Our suggestion to everyone is to practice your gun mount before you have a lesson. Make it become subconscious so that you don't have to think about it again. A beginner must not only think of all the good information he/she has received, but also must think about making a good mount, so as not to hurt themselves. If any conscious thought is on making a good gun mount, then you have taken part of your thoughts off of killing the target and put it on something else. 100% of your conscious thought must be on breaking the target.

How to practice your gun mount to make it perfect and subconscious? The easiest way is to get a small flashlight, like a mag light, wrap it with tape so it wont scratch the barrel. Insert it into the barrel (top barrel of an over/under). Put the light to its smallest circle. Focus on something small in the room, a light switch or corner of a picture. Put the light on what you focused on and bring the gun up smoothly and be sure the light is still shinning on what you are looking at, at all times through the mount. If not, do it again becoming very aware that the front hand is pointing the gun to where you are looking. The front and back hands should work together, keeping the light where you are looking, as you mount the gun to your face.

The second thing you can do is to focus the flashlight on the seam between the wall and ceiling of a room. Follow the light with your eyes while making the gun go from one corner to the other and mounting the gun at the 4 corners. You will notice that as the gun is mounted to your face that the light will probably go over or under the seam--not staying straight on the seam. The mount to the face must be smooth for the gun to go where you are looking and therefore your point to be perfect. Do this 7 days in a row, 50 times each night and gun mount wont be a problem.

If you will do this before your shooting class, you will get more out of the class and less worry about your mount, because you will know it is perfect.

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Practicing Your Game

A good way to practice your game is to go and shoot singles at 5 different stands at your course or from 4 different places on a skeet field. Find the spot where it is Sweet to break the target and break it there 10 times, then move the break point to a different spot and break it there 10 times, then move it again. This will give you 3 different ways to break a target from one trap. Your practice should be to make the proper move, and learn how to hit targets in different places and also to stay focused for the 10 targets. You have to do this in a tournament so why not start practicing it? You will also find yourself becoming more confident in hitting any target any place. Then when you have to hit a target in that place you know you can do it. Don't go to your practice to shoot a score, work on your game. The students that we have had do this have excelled in their game. Yes, others thought they were silly, but they are shooting better than those who mock them. Remember, you are establishing confidence in your game during your practice. You are removing doubt and fear of not hitting these targets and adding the ability to hit it at any spot you want. Therefore, your confidence level will grow and with it so will your scores.

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2 Eyes or 1

Is it better to shoot with 2 eyes open? The answer is definitely YES. The targets will look larger, closer, and moving more slowly. Is it going to look completely different when you shoot? YES. Remember that your eyes are used to working together, so that you can walk or drive a car. If you will think of shooting your shotgun like driving your care and merge into the lead with the gun, you won't have to be so concerned about the barrel. If you are looking at the barrel of the gun, you are not looking at the target and focusing totally on it. That will put you behind the target. There is a 3/10 of a second delay in the brain and sending the response to the arems, that will put you behind the target. Try focusing really hard on the front of the target and bringing the gun up in front of the target and as it touches your cheek, pull the trigger. A way to practice this, as it is a learned thing, is to find something small to focus on--such as the light switch or the edge of a picture frame. Look at it and count to 10. Start to train your eyes to stay focused on something small in a large area. That's what you have to do when you are shooting. Finding a small 4" disk in the sky and focus on it.

My question to you is, are you willing to take the time to retrain your brain on the pictures? I had to do the same thing years ago. I'm left eyed and shoot right handed. I went fro m 1 eye shooting to both eyes open. It took some time, but it really helped my shooting. It will be frustrating for a while, but after you have seen the picture a few times, it will get easier. It will maket he targets look slower and larger. Just trust the gun a little more, as it is going to go where your eyes are looking.