Sporting Clays anyone?

[JohnUSCG]

Ok...who here shoots Sporting Clays? If you have shot some in the past or even if you have NEVER shot a round I want to encourage you to give it a try.
I started shooting sporting clays about 6 years ago strictly by accident. I have never been a hunter but very familiar with firearms thru my time in the military and as an LEO. My Father-In-Law wanted me to go pheasant hunting with him and he thought we should do some target shooting to get prepared, so off to the state game lands we went. He threw the clays with an old hand thrower and I attempted to shoot them. It was so much fun that I wanted to find somewhere I could do that on a regular basis. I found a few places around that had Sporting Clays shoots on various days (Carlisle on Saturdays and Starview on Sundays) and I was hooked. Here I am 6 years later as an instructor and on the committee at Starview
It really is quite fun. Some people may think that you need to have special equipment or a 'sporting' shotgun. Not true! All you need is the basics....a reliable shotgun that can fire 2 successive shots. (pump, Over/under, SxS, semi-auto....just no single shots or bolt actions) You need 50 shells and something to carry them around to the stations in such as a vest or 'belt' type bag. That is really it. The cost is minimal...the fun is not.
Anyone who has thought about it and not done it yet, there really is no excuse. There are several Sporting Clays facilities around and all of them set good courses and have very informative staff.
I am not trying to sound like a commercial here...but I enjoy truly enjoy the sport and would like to see it grow. Hope this helps some of you who may be thinking of comming out to shoot a round and have some fun.

[Headhunter 13]

I have been wanting to try this/ Where is Starview? I am on the east side of Lancaster

[JohnUSCG]

Here is a quick link to the website. They are off Jerusalem School Rd in Mt. Wolf (E. Manchester Twp) Sundays from 9am till 2pm.

Feel free to email me if you need better directions or if there are any questions I can answer.

http://www.starviewsportsmen.org/

[Headhunter 13]

I may have to make some time for this real soon.

[87th PVI]

I've got the shotgun & ammo and thanks to your link & a Garmin I can find the place...but I have a few questions.

How much does it cost to participate? Still the $9 I found listed on an older thread?
Do we need to bring our own clays?
Is it every Sunday including the current & oncoming cold months?

Thanks!

[JohnUSCG]

Well I am glad that you are going to come out and give Sporting Clays a try! Cost is now $11 for non members ($10 for Starview Sportsmen members; $8 for Juniors...which is any kid who is of school age)
No need to bring any clays....that is all provided for the $11. When you arrive at the clubhouse, just sign up at the window and they will put you on a squad with 5-7 others. Then you just wait for them to call your squad number and you will go to the first station with the others on your squad. You will remain with that group of people for the whole course which is usually 10 or so stations positioned throughout the upper portion of the club grounds. It is somewhere around a quarter mile throughout the whole course which will bring you back down near the clubhouse. The course consists of 50 clays...but bring a few extra shells in case you will need to have some over for broken birds or malfunctions.
Starview is open every Sunday with only a few exceptions and usually if weather permits. Tomorrow (Dec 21st) the weather is calling for snow/sleet/rain so not sure if shooting will take place or not. To be safe, give the club a call before you come if the weather is questionable. (244-4982)
There is a 3 bird shoot on Sunday, December 28th. The 3 bird shoot is alot of fun. You will need to shoot that course with either a pump or a semi (because they throw 3 birds at a time instead of 2) and that course is 100 birds. I cannot remember what the cost is for the 100 bird shoot, but I believe it is $20 or $22.
Hope to see you there! I am going to post another thread about the 3 bird shoot, but please feel free to PM me with any questions that I can help out with.

[87th PVI]

Thanks John & all the great guys I met today at Starview!
You all made my FIRST EVER sporting clays shoot a wonderful experience!
I'll Definitely be back to shoot those clays again as the opportunity presents among my work schedule and such.
I surprised myself & got 13 out of 50 today! That's 12 more than I had expected to get! (I figured I'd get at least one lucky shot out of 50)
My wife said she even had a good time watching and when we got in the car, she commented on how nice everyone was.
Most importantly I had fun and I got to use the shotgun I had inherited from my grandfather when he passed in 1974. Yeah, it's choked for hunting and it's a pump which I found creates a little disadvantage, but getting some use out of that gun is important to me. Kinda even felt like Grandpa was there with me again at times today.

[JohnUSCG]

So glad you took the time to come out and have some fun on the course today! Great to meet you and your wife and hope to have you guys back ANYTIME!

Those of you who haven't taken the time to come out for a quick round of Sporting Clays on a Sunday.....you don't know what your are missing!!

That is a pretty nice Ithica you were shooting with today. I am certain that you would have made your Grandfather proud!!

[xXWildPonyXx]

couple questions

1. are there any openings or is it still full memberships

2. do they do the shoots throughout the winter?

3. how many shells should i bring with me on a sunday?

4. do you know of any places you can practice other days of the week?

[JohnUSCG]

Dave,

1- They hold membership at 1000 members at Starview and the waiting list has approx 200 names on it. They will probably go thru approx 100-130 names just to fill the 1000 members this year. However, you don't have to be a member to come out to shoot on Sundays. Starview is open to the public.

2- Starview is open every Sunday with few exceptions. (Easter, Labor Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, etc)

3- A round of sporting clays is 50 shots so bring a minimum of 50 shells....but in case you need to reshoot a pair of targets due to broken birds or a malfunction of some sort....good to carry about 55-60 for the course.

4- York Rifleman (Range Rd in Hellam Twp) has a raised platform with a manual trap (you have to bring someone with you to 'pull' for you). You have to be accompanied by a member.....but if you wanna shoot, I would be happy to come out and throw for you (and maybe shoot a few as well!)

Hope this helps.