little time and money, need practice

[Zach Bollman]

okay, i love to shoot trap, skeet, and sporting clay. Inbetween schoolwork and not having much money at the moment, I am in a little trouble with getting practice. The local range closes about a hour after i get out of school, and i am 13(no car). I have loads of paintball equipment that i have been trying to sell so i can get a clay thrower to use with a friend who also loves trap and smallgame/bird hunting. Does anyone have any help or a substitute so i can practice. I am also inbetween a rock and another hard place because i need a new gun and i don't want to damage my dads "red label". If anyone has any help or ideas please let me know.
Zach

[fezman]

get a job and learn a skill

[Zach Bollman]

if you have a store around you that will hire a 13 year old let me know, and what skill do i need to improve. I need money to IMPROVE my shooting skill. anyone with a helpful thought or a well thought out post please post up.

[skeet25]

Hello Zach,
My advice would be purchasing a cheap three dollar hand thrower and a box of champion clays for around four dollars. This would be the cheapest route however, the gun situation is a rough one. Start saving now and hope to borrow until you have aquired the finacials to purchase a cheaper pump shotgun. Now! If you'd really like to get professional start with a BB gun and fine tune your accuracy afterall, if your a dead eye with a BB gun you will be money with a shotgun. I am not trying to be-little or down grade your current shooting status I am only making a suggestion.

This is the cheapest advice I can think of. Best of luck my friend!

Patrick Flanigan

[ 01-14-2005, 10:33 AM: Message edited by: Nelli Girl ]

[Zach Bollman]

Thanks for the advise, the only problem with the BB gun though is that my body will adjust to the speed of the BB, while a shotgun fires off a much faster moving shot. I already have this problem since i moved from a 35# to a 45# bow and i am still shooting like i am using the 35#.

Zach Bollman

[sirmallard]

Well for a cheep shotgun you can scout pawn shops.
Pump would be your best choice. And if your trying to be really cheep a single shot, one shot one kill right. New England Firearms has nice single shot shotguns that are about 200 new.
http://www.hr1871.com/

[trapshoot7]

my advise would be to buy a thrower from a sporting goods store $15-30 and then talk to the people at the range and check the bulletin boards(if they have on) and you can usually find a great deal on a great gun.

[Bryce Brodeur]

I feel the pain. I am 16 and like you have now sorce of cash to support my sports I choose to participate in. In this small town lie some of the worst fly casters, tying some of the best flys, I sell them for a dollar a fly (a very good deal) and that seems to help. Beware~sales slow down and hit dirt in the winter months. Walmart has a sale every year, if you hit the sale, buy all the shells you can (your parents will need to be there). Reloading is another option, once you buy all the gear, you actually will save over half of what you would pay in a store. For the skeets, make a mold from a light oil rubber. Thats the easy part, now you need to come up with a clay good mixture. The one I use is a bit of squlpting clay mixed with roof pitch. BE CAREFULL dont get it onto your hands. Paint them any color you want. I wish you luck and enjoy the sport safly but not squarly.

Bryce Brodeur

[Adam Barkoskie]

Zach,
-I'm 13 to, I started using a .410 break barrell single shot. I'm now using a 12 gauge single shot from New England Firearms, I've had it little over a year, you usually only get one shot at a deer anyways so why spend money you don't have. when I bought my New England Firearm it was only $105.00 after taxes and a background check, You can usually find them at Wal-Mart. Also at Wal-Mart they have a Skeet Thrower for $30.00.

(LOOK FOR HOLIDAY SALE'S)

*Adam Barkoskie-CwbyUp385@yahoo.com*

[8 Shot M1 Super 90]

Hey, its good to see so many people interested in throwing clays! You say that you have a buddy to shoot with. This is great. Wal-Mart sells hand thowers for no more than $5, and boxes of clays are cheep too. You can buy enough clays to last you a summer for 25 dollars. As far as the gun goes, that is tough. Scout pawn shops (good ones) with your parents. This is what I did. I found my first gun, a Remington 870 Express for $120. I know this sounds like a lot, but as a Christmas Gift (that time is now upon us) it would be awesome. As far as the BB Gun statements this isnt really the best Idea. A shotgun and a rifle (or bb gun) use 2 totally different kinds of shooing. With a rifle you aim, a shotgun you point. I agree that shooting a bb gun will improve your overall skill as a hunter, and does teach some very good techniques, but it isnt gonna help you with your shotgunning too much.

[efudd]

zach-- ask around and see if any of the guys at athe gun club are into the boy scouts , a scout leader that i know here takes his group shooting as well as camping and ;hiking and all of that stuff, my first shotgun was a bolt action mossberg 20 guage paid thirty bucks for it used it was, got the money from picking blackberries and selling them to the neighbors-- so where there is a will there is a way and you can do it just don't give up--make it happen--and you in all likley hood won't find a gun in the 30 dollar price range cause that was in 1961--just charge more for the berries