Are you looking to make your shooting experience more enjoyable? There are a few absolutely necessary items you need for clays, trap, and skeet shooting, like a gun, eye protection, and earplugs. However, there are also a lot of other essentials, like recoil pads and shell pouches to make your time at the range more productive and comfortable.
Whether you’re just starting out as a beginner or you have some experience with shooting clays, trap, and skeet, you’ll need to find the right gear to perform your best. The best gear and apparel will allow you to move freely, handle the gun easily, and protect yourself from the effects of recoil. We’ll go over some of the top essentials you should consider for your next day on the shooting course.
Eye Protection
One of the most important essentials you’ll need for target shooting is protective eyewear. During target shooting, there is a lot of different debris flying around your face, such as powder dust, target shards, and even ricochets. Glasses can also help to shield your eyes from the sun. However, you should take care to avoid dark-colored lenses, as they make it harder to spot the target.
Rose and orange-tinted glasses work well. You may also want to consider a hat for target shooting. Baseball caps work well to keep the sun out of your eyes and protect your face.
Hearing Protection
Besides eye protection, the other area of your body you’ll want to protect is your ears. Having some kind of hearing protection is essential, without it you’ll risk damaging your hearing. Foam earplugs will do an adequate job. You could also invest in ear muffs to wear in addition to ear plugs. The high-quality ones may feature an amplification system, where quieter noises are amplified while the loud ones are muffled.
Gloves
While you’re out shooting many rounds, your hands will start to experience discomfort from the friction of handling the forearm, comb, and grip of your gun. They can also protect your hands from dreary weather, such as cold temperatures or rain, so you can remain comfortable and perform your best.
Lightweight and Stretchy Clothing
It’s also important to choose clothing that won’t interfere with your shooting performance. Clothing that is too tight will restrict your movements and may affect the outcome of your shooting. On the flip side, if your shirt is too loose and baggy, you risk it catching while mounting your gun.
Vests
If you’re looking for a practical addition to your shooting wardrobe, a shooting vest is helpful for any type of target shooting sport. Shooting vests have helpful features, such as pockets designed to carry shells and glasses. Some shooting vests even come with pads on the shoulder to help soften the force of recoil.
Recoil Pads
Recoil pads are an essential part of your shooting gear. Without a high-quality recoil pad, your overall performance will suffer, as the effects of recoil include a decrease in accuracy. Recoil pads help to reduce the force of recoil, which causes flinching. With a reduction in flinching during your shooting, you’ll improve the accuracy of your shots.
Plus, it will help to reduce pain and soreness, which will allow you to spend more time on the course. For those shooters looking to spend long periods of time on the course, making things comfortable for yourself is crucial. Even if you don’t think the pain will bother you, consistent shooting practices may lead to long-term injury or soreness over time. Recoil pads can help spread the force of impact over a larger surface area, so you aren’t left with bruises or pain.
Shell Pouches
During trap and skeet shooting, you’ll need to carry shells with you from each station. Having a shell pouch makes this aspect of trap and skeet shooting simple and convenient. Most shell pouches will have dividers so you can organize your shells, extra cartridges, and spent shells separately.
Range Bags
Carrying your gear around the trap, skeet, or sporting clays course can be tiring—unless you have a golf cart. But if you end up walking—you’ll want something that can hold all of your gear while you walk to the fields and around the course. You’ll want to find a range bag that accommodates all of your gear, apparel, and items you may need or want while on the course.
Why Are Gear and Apparel Important for Target Shooting?
Target shooting is all about precision and accuracy. If you’re uncomfortable or don’t have the right gear, you likely won’t be at the top of your game. Without the right gear, not only will you have to deal with safety issues concerning your eyes and ears, but you’ll also have to deal with the effects of recoil. Luckily, there are a lot of great products out there that don’t cost a fortune and can significantly help protect you and improve your performance.
Having the best products for your target shooting is essential if you want to do your best out on the field. If you’re looking to improve your performance in target shooting sports, like trap, skeet, or sporting clays, you should consider our recoil pads. Recoil is one of the most common reasons why shooters might be dealing with accuracy issues or stamina issues, as it may cause pain and flinching. Our hydraulic fluid energy-dampening system makes our pads stand out from the competition. You’ll enjoy more comfort and better control over your shots. Check out the products in our shop to find the recoil pad that’s right for you.
