take a look !

[Doctor Lecter]

check out on youtube , " ed solomons out-shot me from the hip "    great vid !  

 

[Fred Flintstone]

Watched it yesterday... great bit of entertainment indeed!

 

[westley]

Watched it yesterday, very good. Reminded me of a guy that came to our club as a 'Guest' some 10 years ago, he came from the Midlands somewhere. He straighted the skeet from the hip, twice  !  He was shooting a Browning B25 with 27" barrels.

 

[Dave9691]

 One thing Ed mentioned during the show was that he felt that there was a dumbing down of targets which Johnny responded was down to shooters 

Having had some small experience of the unsatisfactory setting of targets that were for some unreasonable what doesthe rest of the forum think ?  on this subject of dumb down targets 

 

[woody]

I don't know about the dumbing down of targets but I do know the two sessions I've had with Ed are the best investments I've made in my limited shooting career. I wish I lived closer to his grounds. 

 

[Jonny English]

Shoots are definitely getting softer, I've a sneaky feeling that I'm going to be in AA next month unless there is a decent rise in the cut offs. I am most certainly not a AA class shot. All the shoots we have done lately other than the majors have definitely been on the sifter side of things. When you speak to ground owners if they don't set easy shoots they say take up drops. Sad state of affairs really.

 

[Will Hewland]

 One thing Ed mentioned during the show was that he felt that there was a dumbing down of targets which Johnny responded was down to shooters 

Having had some small experience of the unsatisfactory setting of targets that were for some unreasonable what doesthe rest of the forum think ?  on this subject of dumb down targets 

It’s a constant discussion. I would say that targets haven’t really changed over the 15 years I’ve been shooting competition. OK, they haven’t got harder, so maybe on average a touch easier if anything. But one thing is for sure in the midlands and South, there are more top shooters shooting more often and staying on top form. 10+ years ago only a handful of obsessive widely travelling shooters could find more than 40-50 registered shoots per year. Now with all the midweek shoots it’s easy to shoot 120 per year. I do over 100 and I’m nowhere near shooting everything I can find within a 75min drive. That amount of shooting has raised the game at the top.

Ground owners can’t just make shoots tougher to knock back the top boys scores. If you want to make RF, JBD, BH, Martin Myers etc hit 5 fewer targets, it will cause the lower half of the field to miss 15 or 20 more, which doesn’t inspire them and entries can drop. It’s an unusual sport where somebody who started shooting last week competes against a bus load of champions on the same course. The balancing act for a course setter is harder now than ever I reckon. 

Shoots are definitely getting softer, I've a sneaky feeling that I'm going to be in AA next month unless there is a decent rise in the cut offs. I am most certainly not a AA class shot. All the shoots we have done lately other than the majors have definitely been on the sifter side of things. When you speak to ground owners if they don't set easy shoots they say take up drops. Sad state of affairs really.

Cut offs are rising all the time. If you make AA it’s because you’re in the top 15%, same as always. 

 

[Robden]

Think of it as, the targets are not getting easier,...............we're getting better. 

 

[Doctor Lecter]

its just me then struggling ,   i honestly don't feel targets are getting any softer , i shot the lincs county shoot at east of england     great ground and great shoot  but my  skill set  just not good enough , ok its down to me to try and improve ,  sam green shot a 98/100    i would have bet my bungalow that score was not possible , pleased i didn't i would be homeless today  !!     

 

[Will Hewland]

its just me then struggling ,   i honestly don't feel targets are getting any softer , i shot the lincs county shoot at east of england     great ground and great shoot  but my  skill set  just not good enough , ok its down to me to try and improve ,  sam green shot a 98/100    i would have bet my bungalow that score was not possible , pleased i didn't i would be homeless today  !!     

I agree the HG scores are just mental these days and are no point of reference to the vast majority of shooters

 

[Doctor Lecter]

Think of it as, the targets are not getting easier,...............we're getting better. 

with respect  this is esp  not dtl        big big difference in my book !!!  

 

[Robden]

with respect  this is esp  not dtl        big big difference in my book !!!  

Quite right Doc.....DTL is a lot harder. ........................Just kidding.

 

[Freddypip]

I don't shoot that many comps but from my limited experience can I ask a quick question.

Is it that the 'lower' ranking competitors are missing all of the clays from one trap or are unable to unable to maintain the consistency of the better shooters ?

The same point I suppose - Are we saying the clays are easier to hit or easier to hit consistently. Is the latter harder for the course setter to plan for ?

 

[Will Hewland]

I don't shoot that many comps but from my limited experience can I ask a quick question.

Is it that the 'lower' ranking competitors are missing all of the clays from one trap or are unable to unable to maintain the consistency of the better shooters ?

The same point I suppose - Are we saying the clays are easier to hit or easier to hit consistently. Is the latter harder for the course setter to plan for ?

All of the above, people vary. Some people can hit anything, just not consistently. Others cannot hit certain targets. The really experienced guys have seen every target type before and have consistency and confidence. 

 

[Dave9691]

Good response from the forum members this has provided a great deel of food for thought as mentioned in the responses greater opportunity inproveded equipment with top down  tuition  = better competitors 

One other piont I have would like to know is what distance should the traps be from the shooting stand be as a minimum for esp on all grounds so that (softer grounds would not be sort out ) 

 

[Fred Flintstone]

Good response from the forum members this has provided a great deel of food for thought as mentioned in the responses greater opportunity inproveded equipment with top down  tuition  = better competitors 

One other piont I have would like to know is what distance should the traps be from the shooting stand be as a minimum for esp on all grounds so that (softer grounds would not be sort out ) 

Dave,

traps will vary greatly for sporting... it’s not how close they are to the stand, but rather what they are throwing, how fast, and where! Then of course... how much of it you get to ‘see’ (think trees etc.).

I have just been to West Kent today for sporting... one stand has a trap no further than 10 foot away, but throwing an ‘away’ bird. The next stand will have crossers coming from the tower (maybe 45 yards away).

Is it that the 'lower' ranking competitors are missing all of the clays from one trap or are unable to unable to maintain the consistency of the better shooters ?

I can do both!

 

[TRINITY]

Interesting topic this. I am a relative shooting novice but looking at the wider sporting world, every type of sport there is has the people at the top getting better. Whether its fitter, faster or stronger.  It's therefore reasonable to assume top shooters on average are achieving higher standards and skill.

I suppose a good exercise may be to look at the 'disciplines' .their targets are constant so if the general standard of scores has improved over a 25 year period one could assume it's down to general shooting skills. Also there could be technical improvement in shooting equipment over that time.

Snooker is a good example. Hand eye coordination, mental toughness and concentration, many skills parallel to shooting. The amount of centuries scored over the years in the world championships continues to rise at a steady rate.

 

[SIMON-B]

There seems to be a lot of close stuff thrown due to ground size constraints and the odd ridiculous fast long distant edge on bird, his point about longer targets that show a good amount of face and therefore are breakable is spot on.

 

[westley]

Quite right Doc.....DTL is a lot harder. ........................Just kidding.

Especially with an auto  !