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A newly found love for clay ammo.

259 Views 11 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  skarrd, 
Sandstorm
It’s not often I shoot clay these days, but after reading a few posts about it recently, I picked up a handful of it on my way out to shoot today. Man, did have a lot of fun!

I realized there’s a huge advantage when it comes to shooting clay that you just don’t think about when shooting steel all of the time, and that’s the fact that just about anything you can aim at becomes a target you’re likely to not destroy, sans living things of course.

Suddenly I found myself shooting doorknobs and lamp posts and lawn ornaments and whatever else I could point my forks at, and it felt really freeing. I think there’s a real value to it. Rather than shooting at targets of fixed sizes at fixed distances, I was now shooting at things of all different variety of size and distance. I also found myself shooting instinctively much more because if I missed, so what? That has to be good to round out ones overall slingshot experience, and if you’re looking to hunt, a definite tool for the training toolbox. Plus I don’t have to go look for it with a magnet taped to a selfie stick when I’m done.

I know a lot of people already understand these things fully, but as something I’ve personally undervalued for so long, it was a wonderfully fresh experience that I felt like sharing. From here on out I’ll definitely be shooting a lot more of it. I’d also recommend that regardless of your skill level, get out there and shoot some clay! It’s a blast!
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Axman
Sandstorm said:
It’s not often I shoot clay these days, but after reading a few posts about it recently, I picked up a handful of it on my way out to shoot today. Man, did have a lot of fun!

I realized there’s a huge advantage when it comes to shooting clay that you just don’t think about when shooting steel all of the time, and that’s the fact that just about anything you can aim at becomes a target you’re likely to not destroy, sans living things of course.

Suddenly I found myself shooting doorknobs and lamp posts and lawn ornaments and whatever else I could point my forks at, and it felt really freeing. I think a real value to it. Rather than shooting at targets of fixed sizes at fixed distances, I was now shooting at things of all different variety of size and distance. I also found myself shooting instinctively much more because if I missed, so what? That has to be good to round out ones overall slingshot experience, and if you’re looking to hunt, a definite tool for the training toolbox. Plus I don’t have to go look for it with a magnet taped to a selfie stick when I’m done.

I know a lot of people already understand these things fully, but as something I’ve personally undervalued for so long, it was a wonderfully fresh experience that a just really felt like sharing. From here on out I’ll definitely be shooting a lot more of it. I’d also recommend that regardless of your skill level, get out there and shoot some clay! It’s a blast!
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I love it for hiking.

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Sandstorm
Axman said:
I love it for hiking.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk
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Yeah I can see how it would be good for that. The stuff I was using was about 5/16 in size but it was cheap stuff I got off of Amazon a couple years ago so it’s all a bit off. That was actually a good thing though since I cared even less how much of it I shot. I still have 3800 pieces of it left.
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SlingScott
I shoot clay primarily because a ricochet can take out a neighbor's window or ding a car. Like you said, almost everything becomes a target and it's a blast when I walk the dog.
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StringSlap
Yup, with clay almost everything is fair game. My shooting has improved tremendously since shooting clay. I used to have to be very selective about my targets when shooting steel. Now I shoot several hundred shots each time I'm out in the woods, about 3 or 4 times a week.
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Rallan
Being a newbie, I pretty much have only shot clay so far, so hard for me to compare it to anything else. Clay is super cheap, available on Amazon, makes marks on rocks so you can see where you hit, and is easy to have at hand when you are on a walkabout with a jeans pocket full.

I have been noticing I get the odd flyer, where the clay is obviously misshapen and spins off at an angle... but figured it was maybe my novice shooting. I've realized (after reading this forum) that clay is simply not as consistent as steel or glass balls, which makes me wonder if I'm compromising my skill development using clay.

Also, clay is fun for shooting flies. Find a brick or stone wall. Even if you don't hit them straight on, the explosive shattering of the clay will still take them out.
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Sandstorm
Rallan said:
Being a newbie, I pretty much have only shot clay so far, so hard for me to compare it to anything else. Clay is super cheap, available on Amazon, makes marks on rocks so you can see where you hit, and is easy to have at hand when you are on a walkabout with a jeans pocket full.

I have been noticing I get the odd flyer, where the clay is obviously misshapen and spins off at an angle... but figured it was maybe my novice shooting. I've realized (after reading this forum) that clay is simply not as consistent as steel or glass balls, which makes me wonder if I'm compromising my skill development using clay.

Also, clay is fun for shooting flies. Find a brick or stone wall. Even if you don't hit them straight on, the explosive shattering of the clay will still take them out.
Click to expand...
As far as comprising your skill development goes, I would say no. I think that they’re regular enough for the most part to still contribute to gaining accuracy, although I would say that you should shoot steel as well, if applicable. You can still learn proper form and release with clay in my opinion and actually might end up helping a bit when you do switch to steel. You’ll really have to be the one to judge for certain though. I’d love to hear about your thoughts when going from clay to steel. Be sure to keep us updated.
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Pebble Shooter
Clay ammo is indeed great plinking ammo, because it shatters nicely on hard surfaces, which in itself is fun to see.

When well made, it can also be surprisingly accurate and definitely useful for practice shooting. The same principle applies to biodegradable airsoft ammo.
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wll
I just started using it again after wrist surgery, Using cut down ~15x10 light pulling mystery bands from China and 3/8" Clay at about 18 yards. Goes out fast as heck and is shooting accurately.

Hopefully it will strengthen my wrist also.

wll
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Z
Good post - sounds like fun!
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SonoftheRepublic
My shooting addiction says: "Its always good to have some clay on hand when you get the urge to shoot, but you're someplace where you don't dare shoot steel."

Keep on shootin'!
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skarrd
clay is becoming more of a favorite of mine also,same above reasons :) :) :)
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