Skeet Shooting
Skeet shooting is a recreational and competitive activity where participants, using shotguns, attempt to break clay targets mechanically flung into the air from two fixed stations at high speed from a variety of angles.
Skeet is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting. The others are trap shooting and sporting clays. There are several types of skeet, including one with Olympic status (often called Olympic skeet or international skeet) and many with only national recognition.
For the American version of the game, the clay discs are 4 5⁄16 inches (109.54 mm) in diameter, 1 1⁄8 inches (28.58 mm) thick, and fly a distance of 62 yards.
The international version of skeet uses a target that is slightly larger in diameter [(110±1) mm vs. 109.54 mm], thinner in cross section [(25.5±.5) mm vs. 28.58 mm], and has a thicker dome center, making it harder to break. International targets are also thrown a longer distance from similar heights (over 70 yards), resulting in a faster target speed.
The firearm of choice for this task is usually a high-quality, double-barreled over and under shotgun with 26- to 30-inch barrels and very open chokes. Often, shooters will choose an improved cylinder choke (one with a tighter pattern) or a skeet choke (one with a wider pattern), but this is a matter of preference. Some gun shops refer to this type of shotgun as a skeet gun. Skeet chokes are designed to be a 30-inch circle at 21 yards distance. Alternatively a sporting gun or a trap gun is sometimes used. These have longer barrels (up to 34 inches) and tighter choke. Many shooters of American skeet and other national versions use semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns. The use of clay targets to simulate hunting scenarios is one reason the targets are called clay pigeons.
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