A SPORTING ROUND
The Homestead Shooting Club hits the bull’s-eye.
If you’re a golfer, you’ve probably been told to “keep your head down” at least a hundred times. The natural inclination is to look up, just in time to see a lousy shot. The same approach applies to pointing a shotgun at a high-flying clay target. Lift your head from the gun and you’ll see the same shot, followed by a target that breaks only when it hits the ground. It would be a humiliating experience if it wasn’t such fun.
Part of the fun, as in golf, depends on where the game is being played. Shoot at a first-rate facility and the desire to return can become an obsession. One round of sporting clays at The Homestead Shooting Club in Hot Springs, Virginia, and I was hooked on the club and the course. The yearlong interval between visits seemed like forever as I waited for a chance to shoot again.
A sporting clays fan, I’ve spent little time shooting skeet or trap and I am determined to try both on this trip. The skeet fields, built in 1933, face the Allegheny Mountains. The panoramic backdrops vary widely from field to field and I’ve never seen views quite like these. On the first field, the mountaintops are adrift with mist, both morning and afternoon, prompting my instructor’s repeated warning to “look into the clouds, not at the barrel.” The view on another field forces me to shoot against the lofty foliage of maple, cherry, and white oak trees. For someone used to shooting over the flat terrain of West Texas, it is a serious exercise in visual adaptation.
The trap field offers a different challenge. It overlooks a valley far below the mountains in a direction that is not quite due west. Although bordered by huge trees on the left, the shooting area is wide open and the targets are launched over the valley. On this field, perhaps more than on any other area of the facility, the sunlight affects the shooter’s perception of the target.
Shotgun sports have vast differences, even though all are based on shooting clay targets. Skeet and trap shooters have one goal: to break every target every time. Because sporting clays replicate a field situation, it is virtually impossible to break all the targets in any round. While some people participate in all three sporting disciplines, many people have an instinctive knack for one in particular and tend to stick with their favorite.
Although the entire facility is exceptional, the sporting clays course remains my favorite part of the club. Built in 1991 and reworked in 1993, it is superbly designed, incorporating the natural elements with as little disruption as possible. Positioned deep in the woods surrounding the clubhouse, the course winds through the mountain foothills. Sunlight permeates some areas of the towering forest, with filtered light shading the pathways. Rhododendron, mountain laurel, and wood fern are abundant, along with an occasional dogwood. It’s beautiful and distracting at the same time.
Sporting clays require not only concentration, but the abilities to mentally block out the landscape and to focus only on the target. Many of the trap houses on The Homestead course are hidden from the shooter’s view, and their locations are critical factors in the course design. Very difficult presentations may allow a glimpse of the target for just tenths of a second as it flies through a small clearing in thick brush. And as some stations have more than one shooting platform, each gives an entirely different view of the same launched targets.
The use of diverse clay target machines and targets of varying sizes and colors also adds interest and challenge to The Homestead’s course. One station is set with two traps that throw only “rabbits,” a target launched at ground level. Simulating a rabbit’s moves, the target leaps and bounces as it hits debris in its path. It’s a tough station for those hoping to break a double and I never manage to hit both targets. Along with the rabbit target, the industry produces other sizes, including a middle-size target called a midi, and a smaller mini version. At 21⁄4 inches, the mini is not much bigger than an Oreo cookie and just about as hard to hit.
Certain stations remain fixed in my mind since shooting at The Homestead. I could happily shoot incoming targets at No. 11 for hours, especially since it’s a great spot to break doubles. And I will never forget No. 6 with its trap house set low in front of the shooter. Paired with a right to left, low-crossing, fast-dropping bird, it tried my abilities and my command of polite language. It’s a station meant for a 12-gauge gun, but with serious coaching, I managed to break a double with my infamous little .410, leaving an accompanying group of male shooters shaking their heads. I loved it.
THE LESSONS
Shotgun sports are addictive, can be frustrating, and require, like any
sport, practice. Lessons from a professional can mean the difference between
mediocre shooting and a respectable game. As I arrive for my scheduled
appointment to shoot with David Judah, the manager of The Homestead Shooting
Club and a Level III National Sporting Clays Association certified
instructor, I am intimidated by the prospects of a lesson with an instructor
of his caliber. But his manner puts me at ease immediately.
His teaching approach is very direct. The lesson time is limited and he begins to assess me as a shooter as soon as we are introduced. It is important, he says, to determine the level of comfort that a student has with a shotgun, and with target sports in general. His goal, no matter how experienced the student may be, is to devote the allotted time to improving the shooter’s ability.
While he is unfailingly gracious, he can be tenacious about what he thinks will help the shooter. I had been using a 12-gauge gun at home and, although he is aware of this, he opts to have me shoot a .410 — a smaller, lighter gun with less recoil. His intent is to keep me focused on the lesson, fearing the recoil from the 12-gauge shotgun will eventually cause me to flinch.
We begin on the skeet field. Three missed targets in a row earn me a stern lecture. “Look at the front edge of the target,” he instructs. “There’s a big difference between looking at a target and watching it fly through the air.”
I miss again. “All right,” he says, “you’re behind the target. Nine out of 10 missed shots are behind. This time, I want you to miss the target, but miss it in front.”
Great idea. I break seven in a row, and he has quietly taught me how to lead the target. As we move to the sporting clays course, we discuss lessons and shooting in general. Women, he says, are the easiest students.
“Men let their egos get in the way, even when they know they need help,” he comments. “Women have the ability to listen and organize the process, from focus to follow-through.”
David notes also that the sport is growing rapidly and entire families are involved. “I’m seeing more young men and women, teen-agers, take an interest in sporting clays, and I’m really pleased,” he says. “This is a sport requiring manners and good sportsmanship, and these young people are developing qualities that will be important their entire lives.”
We also talk about the new equipment flooding the shotgun sports market. “I think there’s a lot of new stuff that isn’t necessary,” he says. “But you have to look at it like this. It’s all in the head of the shooter, and if a different bead or custom-built chokes or a special recoil pad makes someone believe they shoot better, then by all means they should go for it.”
The lesson has its moments. He is pleased when I hit a target, and relentless when I don’t.
“Where did you shoot?” he asks after I miss a target.
“I don’t know,” I mutter.
Wrong answer. The reaction is immediate. “If you don’t know where you missed, you weren’t looking at the target. If you were focused on the target, you would know where you shot and whether it was behind or above.
“Again, and this time look at the target.” All this is accompanied by a grin and a story about Ted Williams’ ability to focus on the seam of a baseball.
OK, I’m not Ted Williams, but I get the point. The next target shatters into a zillion pieces.
Sidney Carlisle regrets that she is not related to world-famous shooter Dan Carlisle, an Olympic medal winner and 12-time National Sporting Clays Champion.
THE PACKAGE DEALS
The Homestead Shooting Club offers target shooting for guests traveling
with or without their own equipment. Guns, shooting vests, ammunition, and
eye and ear protection are available and priced per round of targets.
Appointments are required for skeet, trap, and sporting clays lessons.
The club hosts two prestigious target tournaments: The Homestead Cup in late spring, and the Sporting Clays Golf Championship in late August. The resort offers accommodations for both these events, and other shooting sports packages are available during the year.
For more information or reservations, call 800.838.1766 or visit www.thehomestead.com.
THE STAFF
Shotgun sports are more formally arrayed than non-shooters expect, and
the field arrangements and club amenities are important to serious shooters.
The Homestead Shooting Club is not only unsurpassed in both areas, but few
shooting facilities can match the quality of the staff. It is the only club
in the United States with seven National Sporting Clays Association
certified instructors, including two Level II and one Level III. The seven
instructors, who have a combined experience of more than 100 years, are
available to teach skeet, trap, or sporting clays lessons.
THE SHOTGUN SPORTS
Anyone familiar with shotgun sports is aware of skeet and trap since
both have been popular in Europe and the United States for many years. In
the 1980s, sporting clays were introduced in America, adding a new element
to clay target shooting. Since then a number of innovative target games have
been developed. The following guide defines the basic shooting sports at The
Homestead Shooting Club. Shooters are encouraged to contact the club for
specific information.
American Skeet. A round of 25 targets shot from eight shooting
stations. Targets are launched from traps set in two houses and the sequence
includes both single targets and doubles. Several formats are played
throughout the world, including Skeet Doubles and International Skeet, and
the stations and target distances vary. The Homestead has three skeet fields
and one universal field.
American Trap. A round of 25 targets, all singles, thrown from a constant height and distance. Shooters rotate through five stations located 16 yards behind the trap. Other trap variations, such as handicap trap and Olympic trap, alter the stations and the number of traps, and the degree of difficulty changes accordingly. The club’s trap field is maintained in accordance with Amateur Trapshooting Association standards.
Sporting Clays. A round of 50 or 100 targets launched from a variety of traps on a course designed to replicate a hunter’s walk through rough, wooded terrain. The traps usually are hidden, where possible, in the underbrush. Shooting stations are designed for optimum safety, and shooting rules and etiquette are strictly enforced. A round usually covers 12 stations. The course is heavily wooded, well maintained, and designed so the stations are not visible to one another.
FITASC Sporting. A challenging sporting clay discipline generally reserved for competition shooting. Single and double targets are shot in a specific rotation, with a variety of clay target sizes.
5-Stand Sporting Clays. A clay target game consisting of a round of 25 targets presented from six to eight traps, usually placed on a skeet field. Shooters move through five stations. The three levels of difficulty are determined by the order of single and double targets. The targets are as varied as those on a full-size sporting-clay course, but in a compact field arrangement.