Cousin needs help - Skeet/Trap Gun club

[scootrd]

Ok so here's the situation ,
Cousin is about to marry into a fairly well to do family. We are all blue collar background. She seems like a nice enough gal (pretty down to earth from the 2 or 3 times I met her), however, from what I gather her family is a little snooty. 

He has been asked to go shoot Sheet /Trap with Gail's father and two brothers about three weeks from now at what I guess is to be a somewhat upper crust skeet and trap club.

Tim really wants to fit in best he can for her sake so he does not want to turn down the invite , however he also does not want to be embarrassed either. He is a fairly decent hunter but only owns two shotguns.  A  older model Rem 12ga Autoloader (I think polychoked) 2 3/4 shells an older  rem 870 12 GA

So he called me asking If the Autoloader is sufficient  -  I laughed , why are you calling me?, I only hunt whitetails and my shotgun knowledge is limited to one step up from knowing nothing at all. and I also know absolutely nothing about shooting skeet and trap , let alone skeet and trap clubs.

anyway - I told him I would post a few questions for him on this board . I know nothing of Skeet / Trap rules.

If Tim shows up to this hoyti toyti club with a model 1100 12ga Autoloader for this one time event will he be out of place? Can he use the Autoloader for Skeet and Trap?

I don't know if shooting clays will be involved so I will ask same question  - can he use the Autoloader for that as well?

He has squirreled away a few bucks so if other recommend something different to get him through the day he would take your advice.

It's a sticky situation for Tim and he would rather shell out some additional cash to avoid embarrassment, make a good impression , and get through this event with his new expected to be father in law and family,  then show up looking out of place and feel as if he would be made fun of.

Any advice you all offer would be greatly appreciated.

[PowPow]

I've been to those as a guest and as a host.
You will see all kinds of shotguns, including some really expensive ones.
He needs to take the gun he can hit clays with.
If he feels the need to fit in, tell him get get one of those shooting shirts with the shoulder pad.
Or just a polo shirt, don't need to wear camo.

[fatercat]

some of the best shots i've seen have the remington 1100. 

[KAYR1]

Anyone who is safe, affable, and respects the rules of the game and club should be welcome anywhere. Guys at my club shoot anything from used 870s to 40,000 Galazan custom, Perazzis, Kolars, etc. We all have a great time. No one judges another based on score or gun, as it should be.
 
We had a few non-member guys show up with Perazzis, driving 60-thousand dollar cars and dressed in all the best come and shoot skeet with us one weekend. This guys told me about all of the World Shoots he had attended, how great he was, etc. All that was fine until he commented "Why are you shooting that piece of s@#$ Browining 425? You need to get a real gun."  I ran 50 straight, and he went 17/25, and 18/25.
 
You never know who is shooting the gun, AAA trap shooter is shooting his Dad's old Model 12 for fun. Point is, if a person is safe, respectful of the club and the rules of the game, he or she should be welcome anywhere, regardless of the gun or target score. They are at my club anyway...

[fatercat]

is this class warfair???  tell them la tee dah's to honk on bobo.

[Graybeard]

I think trying to "fit in" or to "impress them" would be a mistake.

As previously stated on all the many ranges I've shot on rich and poor alike shoot together and have fun. Never been to a range yet where the have's went out of their way to put down the have not's. Some times the best shooters on the field have relatively inexpensive guns.

I used to shoot with one rich guy that had a full set (12, 20, 28, 410) Remington 1100 F Grade guns with some of the most beautiful wood you could ask for and way more gold than I've ever had in my life.

Heck at one time I even splurged and both a fancy Kreighoff with wood to die for. I spent $12,500 on it and didn't shoot it one bit better than my Reminton 1100s or my Browning Citoris.

The main thing he needs to be aware of and prepare for is (1) Range safety. To wit bring safety/shooting glasses and hearing protection. Not many ranges will allow you to shoot without both and not all provide them. (2) Have a proper means to carry his ammo. A skeet/trap bag is cheap and is what most use. Some of us use shooting vests I have and like those mostly for the recoil pad as I have a delicate shoulder these days. Of course I only use a .410 now but still I'll take all the recoil reduction I can get.

I agree camo isn't needed but what the heck I wear it 365 days a year so if I'm shooting I at least have on camo pants. A properly fitting shooting shirt with padded shoulder is nice to have if he is shooting a 12 gauge gun and isn't used to shooting a lot in one day.

Other than that follow the rules as explained to him and ask questions if in doubt. Don't worry about the score. Some days I break them all and some days I do good to break half. Hey I'm old and worn out and some days I just really should stay at home.

The Rem 1100 will do fine. Poly chokes might gag some uppity shooters but most will understand it's what he has. Now if a Cutts instead hey he will just look like he has an old family gun so equipped. Use the most open choke possible for skeet and if shooting trap from other than handicap distances a modified choke will gain him targets. If sporting clays is shot he might need anything from wide open to tighter than tight depending on the range and the presentation. I never have done what I consider particular good at sporting clays but don't ever seem to do really bad either.

For trap that 870 if a 12 ga might be a better choice as the 1100 will toss hulls on the guy shooting to his right. Not considered proper equiette but it has happened to everyone at least a few times.

Tell him to be safe and have fun and don't try to pretend to be something he isn't. If it's his first time everyone will know it as soon as he steps to the line on station one if they didn't before. Having the most expensive O/U on the field or the fanciest clothes will not fool anyone who has been shooting clays for long. Tell him to try to shoot in the middle of the squad or later definitely he should NOT go first. Tell him to watch very closely what the shooters in front of him do and try to emulate them. NEVER EVER load a gun until on the shooting pad and NEVER EVER walk off the pad or swing that gun other than between the houses while loaded. Keep the action open to show everyone it is unloaded.

If he is safe he will be accepted just fine unless the guys are just plain snobs. Nothing and I mean NOTHING makes you an outcast on a shooting range faster than being unsafe in your gun handling. You can miss every target and no one will think the less of you but if you commit a safety infraction not even hitting them all will make up for it. BE SAFE.

[scootrd]

Thank GB , I cut and pasted your response in it's entirety and sent it to Tim. Much appreciated .