The Wing and Clay Flyer:  Summer 2005

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Page 7

Target Tactics

Shooting Skeet Doubles

Want to win at skeet?  Then you better learn how to shoot doubles and shoot them well (or at least better than your competitor on the day of the shoot-off!).  Skeet tournaments today are won and lost in shoot-offs from stations 3, 4, and 5, not only in AA and AAA classes, but also D and E class and all classes in between. 

While skeet doubles is a different game than the game of standard, American skeet, there are many similarities from a fundamentals standpoint.  You should look at
doubles as shooting two singles close together, since each target will be attempted separately.  Let’s take a look at some of the most important fundamentals needed for successful skeet doubles shooting.

· Break points.  Break points are crucial in doubles, especially placement of the first target in the pair.  We know that the high and low house targets cross at the center stake, so this means both targets are always equidistant from the stake.  The goal is to break each target on your half of the field using good, sustained lead for both targets.  To do this requires proper placement of the first shot since the break point of the first shot sets up the second target in the pair.  If a shooter is always breaking the first target in a different place, that means he or she will need to always look for the second target in a different part of the sky and the move to the target will be different each time.  When the first target is
consistently broken around 15 feet before the center stake, the shooter needs only look over the center of the field to pick up the second target.

· Good foot position.  For most right handed shooters, the foot position should be near belly-button in the low house window, feet parallel (just like in a regular round).  Many shooters like to use extreme foot positions to favor the second target in the pair, however if doing so, one must be certain to break the first target rather quickly (15 to 20 feet before the center stake) or risk running out of swing on the first bird.

· Hold points.  Identical as a regular round of American skeet; 1/3 of the way from the house to the center stake and level with the bottom of the window for the high-house and no higher than level with the top of the window for the low house.

· Vision.  Another key to shooting doubles well is getting the eyes to look for the second target, independently of the gun.  When the first target is broken, the eyes should shift to the opposite side of the gun to look for the second target while the gun is slowing down and transitioning to make the move to the second bird.  For doubles on station 4, many shooters find it easier to simply look up above the gun for the second

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