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How fast does a standard clay fly?


Madcowz
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I was wondering how fast a standard clay flies (if there is such a thing).

 

I ask as I am trying to work out how far it will travel by the time the shot hits it (or in my case misses behind it).

 

Say a left to right crosser with the trap 35 yards away. I fire and my shot travels at about 1450m/s?

 

Also, how long is the shot string by then and what is the margin of error between the front of the string and the end?

 

I'm not planning on getting too technical but am interested in the figures.

 

 

thanks,

 

 

/Mad

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I posted something on this and TLE slated me, and rightly so.

 

Clays travel at differing speeds depending on the angle of launch as well as the type (weight and profile) and more importantly the trap.

 

At 35 yards with a straight crosser doing about 40mph, pointing right at it...

 

Could be as much as a foot and a half behind it depening on reaction and lock times :good:

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The problem I have here, and it must be obvious in the factual and reasoned way I normally post (If I'm not drunk) is I am an engineer. I can't help seeing everything as a formula.

 

Honestly, when I see something moving I think about the energy required, how the thing gets or generates it, how efficient it is. When I see a problem I have to solve it, much to everyone else's dismay when I start solving problems people didn't know they had (until I opened my mouth).

 

I can't help it, its engineering disease, and it's not easy to get over :)

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Thanks for the replies.

 

As I said, I'm not going to get hung up on facts and figures, I am just interested in how far that clay moves and the length of the shot string.

 

Going to practice more lead and keep on swinging tomorrow. Hopefully do better.

 

 

/Mad

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now i wants to know, if im "the last engineer" whodahelleryouguys ?????

 

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

 

urges pin,,,,,,urges,,,,, i sometimes have to will myself out of the fartsack to face another day with the muppets i have in this shop,, eg one guy who was hired asked me for some help on a VMC (vertical machining centre) he was running, he'd tried but couldnt figure out why the three holes around the periferal of a part he was milling couldnt be equaly spaced at 90' degrees, after it was explaned to him the lights came on (in his barnet) and after a comprehensive "oohhhhh" he then told me that this must be why a triangle has 240' degree's :):lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

a slow walk back to my office to drain the daily cough syrup (vodka) and a sigh of desperation cometh.

 

urges my foot i want to **** something :lol::lol:

im tired and dont wanna work no more dad :/

 

Martin

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Thanks for the replies.

 

As I said, I'm not going to get hung up on facts and figures, I am just interested in how far that clay moves and the length of the shot string.

 

Going to practice more lead and keep on swinging tomorrow. Hopefully do better.

 

 

/Mad

 

 

one thing to remember though is shotstring is not always your friend, most ofthe international shooters use a 7/8 oz load at higher velocity with no shotstring allowed, this means all of the pattern arives on target at the same time, now if you can picture it this way it may help you understand, shoot a target and stop time, your shot pattern looks like a falt lid, no depth, no holes, solid, take another shell capable of a string again shoot stop time, now it looks like a long cone gradualy opening up, you now have three dimensions to the pattern the third being depth this pulls the pattern open creating many holes as the shot arrives at differing times, birds will fly through untouched, saying that it can aid by the target running into therear of the pattern if you've shot ahead,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

god damit, see what happens when you talk with Pin ,,,,,, urges take over again ,,,,,,,,, sod it mate go out and have fun, blow the dynamics of it .

got a headache now where's my medicine :):lol:

 

 

Martin

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I am an engineer and I have an enquiring and technical mind but the best solution is go out and shoot some clays at a practice ground where you can blast away at your hearts content, with out a pattern plate and a slow motion camera you are not going to see exactly what the shot string is going to do.

 

At 35 yards give it 3 foot of lead but dont stop swinging, if the clay turns to dust it has flown into the centre of the shot string, if the back edge has been chipped off you were slightly behind the clay, use these pointers to gauge lead on your next shot and dont forget your 35 yards and 3 foot of lead could be totaly different to my picture.

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The problem I have here, and it must be obvious in the factual and reasoned way I normally post (If I'm not drunk) is I am an engineer. I can't help seeing everything as a formula.

 

Honestly, when I see something moving I think about the energy required, how the thing gets or generates it, how efficient it is. When I see a problem I have to solve it, much to everyone else's dismay when I start solving problems people didn't know they had (until I opened my mouth).

 

I can't help it, its engineering disease, and it's not easy to get over :lol:

 

God, I wish that I had thought of that excuse :):lol::lol::lol:

 

Don

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Pin

 

I am also an engineer, and can appreciate your points and reasoning. You are possibly correct in stating that is a disease. By the sounds of it you are suffering from a chronic dose. Immediate treatment is the only answer if your sanity is to be salvaged. I always said that too much calculus could be bad for you.

 

Now, be a good lad and go put some things in a bag, enough for a few nights will do, then put the front door on the latch and sit on the stairs. Two very nice people will be with you shortly, and they will take you for a ride in a nice big car in the countryside. Hopefully you will return refreshed.

 

Oh, as for the formula, I decided that there were too many variables to be estimated to be bothered!!

 

webber

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:lol: I replied to it once the last time it came up and remember getting annoyed because of all the assumptions I had to make, almost deleted it because of that :lol:

 

 

if the clay is at 40 yards doing 40mph and your using an average cartridge,wnen you pull the trigger it will take roughly a tength of a second to reach the clay, which inturn is about 7-8 ft actual leed infront of the clay. :)

 

 

7/8 of an oz of high velocity with no shot string :lol::lol::lol:

more than 1 pellet and you get shot string. :lol::lol:

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I am an engineer and I have an enquiring and technical mind but the best solution is go out and shoot some clays at a practice ground where you can blast away at your hearts content, with out a pattern plate and a slow motion camera you are not going to see exactly what the shot string is going to do.

 

At 35 yards give it 3 foot of lead but dont stop swinging, if the clay turns to dust it has flown into the centre of the shot string, if the back edge has been chipped off you were slightly behind the clay, use these pointers to gauge lead on your next shot and dont forget your 35 yards and 3 foot of lead could be totaly different to my picture.

 

now even im confused :lol::lol: i think the forum should have all engineers rounded up and forced to shoot a thousand rounds in a day, if that dont cure it another thousand the next day , :lol::lol::lol::)

 

when i out on the range instructing i often hear "give it 3 feet", my first question to them is how do you perceive 3 feet on a bird thats traveling at 60 mph at 35 yds :lol:? each and every target's lead will vary through its flight, gauging a lead is the key to a good kill, for some reason most people use that term "3 ft" , and as you rightly said your veiw of the bird will be different from mine, one practiced method i do use is to gauge lead with your fingers, something you can actualy visualise, think of lead in the number of fingers you can see between your muzzle and the target

, onviously the more acute the target the more fingers lead required, its a good gauge for newcomers to the game and one i've adopted from an old pro shooter with great results, give it a go next time your out.

 

Martin

 

 

p.s. your absolutley right, my reference was to the int'l shooters, their loads are governed to produce as little a shotstring as possible, i beleive its to reduce any advantage of one shooter with one load over another, havong participated in these avents i can tell you there is a difference between them.

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There are too many variables involved. Shot slows from the moment it leaves the barrel, and will vary in velocity from shot to shot aswell. Clays vary in pace depending on the trap settings and wind on the day.I think that the best bet is to get down the club with a big wad of notes and don't stop shooting until you get it right! Unfortunately for me it keeps getting dark before I've mastered it, so I have to keep going back :):lol:

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Unfortunately I have the same type of mind - engineer's, enquiring etc. First thing I did after starting shooting was to get a calculator out and try to calculate lead. I came to similar conclusions as above but the biggest assumption I had to make was the speed of the clay, after all you should know everything else to a reasonable degree. So, what is the speed of the average clay?

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My shooting pal Pete is an ex rifle shooter. He often goes on about finding out the speed of a clay, in relation to the speed of a cartridge.

Another bloke said to me recently "rifle shooting is a science, and shotgun shooting is an art". And I believe him.

Dont think so much. Swing . Bang. sorted :)

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My shooting pal Pete is an ex rifle shooter. He often goes on about finding out the speed of a clay, in relation to the speed of a cartridge.

Another bloke said to me recently "rifle shooting is a science, and shotgun shooting is an art". And I believe him.

Dont think so much. Swing . Bang. sorted :lol:

 

Thats why I prefer rifles then, I cant stand art!

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Unfortunately I have the same type of mind - engineer's, enquiring etc. First thing I did after starting shooting was to get a calculator out and try to calculate lead. I came to similar conclusions as above but the biggest assumption I had to make was the speed of the clay, after all you should know everything else to a reasonable degree. So, what is the speed of the average clay?

 

These sorts of calculations are simply not possible to make on Sporting clays, skeet shooters can have a go and try and work it out, but then the wind blows and the high bird is screaming downwind at 90mph, with the low bird stalling over station 8..!!

 

There are so many variables it's simply not possible to apply any sort of mathematical formula to it, as another poster quite rightly said, "shotgun shooting is an art, not a science".

 

I will lend you and Pin a book on the subject of science in shotgun shooting that will leave you even more confused..!!

 

Cat.

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Cat, I wasn't thinking that it was an answer to all my problems but I thought it might give me a rough idea about what was needed when I first started out. I'm now getting enough shooting in to know the picture I should be seeing in front of me when I pull the trigger. Now the problem is getting the gun there before the clay either hits the trees/ground or is too far away.

 

I'd like to see that book though. Pin's probably already started writing one :D

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