The game of sporting clays was originally crafted in England nearly a century ago to help bird shooters better their wingshooting performance afield. While the game has evolved to include competitions for the sole sake of seeing who’s best at cracking clays both here and abroad, it should come as no surprise that sporting still attracts legions of game hunters and others who relish fun days at the range improving their shotgunning skills.

While some instructors seem to routinely attract clays crushers bent on boosting their tournament tallies, many of the teaching pros insist that the lion’s share of their students are bird hunters first, recreational shooters who book clays lessons simply to improve their gunning skills with little regard for competition clays shooting.