r/canadaguns • u/Poisonousssssss • Apr 14 '26
Shooting New PAL owner wants to shot clays this weekend, what should I pay attention to?
Got my first shotgun Benelli Nova 3 last week. I cannot wait to play with it. I am going to Vancouver Gun Club this weekend and it will be my first time to shot clays. Is there any advice from you guys?
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u/Reighzy Apr 14 '26
If your range offers trap, that is probably the most beginner friendly to learn. It's single targets, with not too much side-to-side swinging. I would start with a game of trap and then explore skeet and five stand (if your range offers it), maybe all three in the same day if you want!
You will likely do very poorly your first few times. Especially on skeet. That's no problem! Clay sports are difficult. Your 'mount' is extremely important. You will want to watch a couple of good YouTube videos on how to mount. And realistically, your shotgun won't fit you perfectly without a bit of modification (length of pull, a tiny cheek riser if required). Ideally, you want to be able to press the buttstock ("comb") of your shotgun into your cheek, so the top of the comb is resting just below your cheekbone, making firm contact. Assuming you are holding the shotgun right-handed, your right thumb should be roughly an inch and a half from your nose. You want to get to a point where every time you bring up the shotgun to your cheek, you are always perfectly lined up with your rear bead and front bead sight, where the front bead (furthest away from you) is just peaking over the rear bead, as if you are making a figure-eight. If you can't get the beads lined up with all of the pointers I've written above, the shotgun likely doesn't fit right. You may need to adjust length of pull and install a cheek riser to suit. Don't be afraid of recoil, and don't let your cheek come off the comb as you swing your shotgun and shoot.
Remember: you don't aim a shotgun, you point it. Both eyes open. You need peripherals to be able to see the clays crossing side to side. It will be a learning curve to 'lead' your clays. You rarely ever shoot at the clay directly. You always shoot in front of it, depending on the angle and how fast the sideward travel is. Last thing, when you mount your shotgun, again assuming you are right-eye dominant and mounted right-handed, get used to 'focussing' using your right eye. This was the hardest skill that took me a while to figure out because it's not in many YouTube videos. I was having an issue where I felt I was seeing too much of the left side of my shotgun (with my left eye) and it was causing too much double-vision on my sight picture. You want to try and focus so that even though you have both eyes open, you've 'tuned out' that left eye so you can clearly see the beads lined up with your right eye.
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u/DYTREM Apr 14 '26
Most useful advice I have seen since I started shooting trap 3 years ago.
Thank you!
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u/Poisonousssssss Apr 14 '26
Thank you so much! That's really helpful. It's hard to using both eyes to aim. I tried few times when I shot paper targets, but it always failed. I need to practice harder.
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u/Reighzy Apr 14 '26
Anytime! Let me know if you have any more questions. Some shooters actually put a strip of tape (not perfectly clear tape, the normal stuff you'd buy at Staples) onto the left eye which helps a lot with that. I use tape too. Basically allows you to keep peripherals while also zoning out the 'focus'.
To do that, put your shooting glasses on and mount your shotgun as you would, looking directly forward as if you were shooting a target 10-20 metres away. Then close your right eye. Put a sharpie mark onto your glasses where you see the front bead with your left eye. Then put a strip of tape (doesn't need to be huge, maybe a one inch square or less) right over where you put that sharpie mark.
That'll help a lot. A lot of the best shooters at my range do this for clay shooting. It finally allowed me to get over the issue as well.
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u/AndyTheWoman Apr 14 '26
I’ve only clays a couple times so I’m also a beginner. I find skeet easier than trap personally. Sporting is hard though! Always satisfying when you hit it though.
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u/Spydude84 Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
I'm a VGC member, what are you looking to shoot? For a first-timer I recommend starting with trap. It's pretty easy compared to other options. Remember lead target loads between #7.5 and #9 shot (inclusive) only (only #8 or #9 on the skeet range).
If you want to shoot clays often, a membership will save you a lot of money at VGC.
With clays, figure out how to properly mount your shotgun. I personally prefer to have my bead hovering over the rib and centered, with the rib just out of sight, but some people prefer to be able to see the rib a bit. Make sure to lead the clays a bit, if they are rising/falling/left/right. This said, you don't aim a shotgun so much as you point it. You're going to miss a lot, and that's okay, you'll eventually learn to figure out where your shot went in relation to the target. Shooting the clays closer is easier.
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u/platinumresto Apr 14 '26
Make sure you check they are open this weekend, usually Wednesday nights are always open but double check. It's a small range so it's basically volunteer ran
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u/Poisonousssssss Apr 14 '26
They open this Saturday. Do I need to call them to book an appointment?
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u/platinumresto Apr 14 '26
Nope not at all, look for an older fella that smokes about a pack of cigarettes every 30 mins. Dude is an unreal shooter and coaches all the kids there for national championships. I forget his name but he will get you dialed in 1 round
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u/Nascar_chayse Apr 14 '26
Take it easy, it will be awhile before your comfortable, remember the basics, don’t point your gun at anyone make sure it’s unloaded when not using it, don’t be a hero and take your time. It’s easy to get caught up in your excitement
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u/iatekane Apr 14 '26
VGC is a great shotgun range, I like doing their sporting clays course, as others have mentioned trap is the easiest to start.
But, I’d also suggest going over to the skeet range there, that shooting style is a bit more conducive to the others in your group being able to help and give you pointers.
Enjoy!
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u/Hardrock37 Apr 15 '26
Don’t forget about muzzle control, it’s important to always be aware of what you are aiming at while swinging! Don’t point to the side or down below 10ft if you can help it.
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u/IronSack46 Apr 15 '26
Most of the time the clays will be orange. Aim your shotgun at the flying orange thing and shoot it.
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u/s0viet_mini Apr 15 '26
I can’t tell what barrel length you purchased but the club will not allow you to shoot anything under 26” bbl length. Hopefully you have a barrel that meets the requirements.
I hate that gatekeeping requirement and won’t ever go there because of it. I have a 24” bbl shotgun but alas, it doesn’t make the cut
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u/Primus--Pilus Apr 18 '26
The VGC is a great club, but just a heads up sporting clays is only open on Sunday. But like the other comments said trap is probably the best place to start with anyways. Also please bring target loads with shot sizes 7.5 - 9, they won't let you shoot anything else.
I will be at the VGC this weekend as well, if you are unsure of something and there's no one around to help you feel free to send me a dm. Although there's usually plenty of people around.
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u/kootenayboy501st Apr 15 '26
same thing you would with every firearm it's not experience dependent. firearms safety is the same across the board. full stop
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u/Ok-Bowler-203 Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
I’ve found the staff and members at the club can be super helpful with your questions.
Just be polite and courteous and let them know it’s your first time.