By Jim Romanelli GUN GAMES 'N I first learned to use a shotgun behind my uncle's farmhouse, where I'd use a full-choke .410 to hit tin cans on the ground. Seeing the shot pattern, I reasoned I'd have no problem hitting them while airborne. But the misses far outnumbered the hits when I started shooting at cans tossed into the air. It took some time to learn how to follow and lead them. By the time I graduated to a 20-gauge with an improved cylinder choke, I regularly could hit clay birds thrown straight away. But it really wasn't until years later, when I was invited to a local gun club that had skeet and trap facilities, that I really learned to hit targets coming and going at different angles. Today, a lot of hunters don't belong to clubs with such facilities. Maybe they don't live near one, or feel they just don't have the money or time. But many clubs open their facilities to the public occasionally, even weekly. And shooting a 25-shot round of trap or skeet usually costs just $5 to $8. STAYING SHARP WITH SKEET, TRAP & SPORTING CLAYS MARCH 2018 53