Shooting on Course

If you enjoy golf and duck hunting, there’s a sport that combines elements of both. There won’t be any bird dogs or birdies, but there will be shots at moving targets and navigating challenging and varied terrain while executing those shots.

Dating back to the early 1900s, sporting clays simulate shooting at game birds and other quarry. It features various trajectories, angles, speeds, elevations, distances, and target sizes. With a standard course offering 10 to 15 different shooting stations placed over natural terrain, one can understand why the sport has been referred to as “golf with a shotgun.”

As in golf, you’ll have company when playing the course. Generally, squads of two to six people compete against one another. Each shooter starts on the assigned first target and shoots at subsequent stations in order. Eye and ear protection are required at all times on the course. A gun must be open and safe before leaving a station.

Before shooting at a station, the referee will show the squad the target, so shooters are familiar with the targets and how they’re being fired. The referee scores each shot as a hit or miss. If any part of the target is broken, it’s considered a “dead bird.”

The most common target used in sporting clays is the same clay used in skeet and trap. Specialty targets are also employed, creating the illusion of speed and distance and simulating game bird speed and movement. Six different sizes of clay targets are used to replicate various hunting conditions.

Shotguns can be any gauge and must be able to fire two shots. The most popular are 12 and 20 gauge. If you’re hitting the sporting clays course in the South Georgia area, Armory Farm and South Georgia gun shops are excellent choices to meet your ammo needs so you can stay right on course.