410 Protectors and EXTREME Skeet

Unofficial home of the
ohio state skeet ASSOCIATION

NSSA “Association of the Year” 2007-2008

from Sportsmen’s Shooting Center, Canton OH

Protector skeet: The game consists of 5 teams. Each team has two shooters who stand

next to each other within a few feet. The five teams take their places on the five stations marked somewhere behind regular stations 2-6.

The shooter on the left behind station 2 calls for the first high target and tries to shoot it. If he misses, his partner (who has already mounted his gun and is swinging on the target as well) then tries to hit it.

If the first shooter hits the target or if he misses and the partner picks him up, then the team gets one point. If both miss or if the second shooter fires on an already broken target, then no points are scored.

Then it goes to the left shooter behind station 3 to call for the next high target with the team acting the same as the first team did. And so it goes until all five teams have shot at a high house target.

Then the shooter on the right on the pad behind station 2 calls for a low house with the shooter on the left now acting as the back up using the same scoring system. The next one to call for a low house target is the shooter on the right on the team behind station 3... and so forth until all five teams have shot at a low house.

You now have 5 teams who have each shot one high house and one low house. Now the teams rotate one station to the right with 2 going to 3, etc, and 6 going to 2.

The team that started behind station 2 always starts off each high-low pair by the shooter on the left calling for a high house while the shooter on the right backs him up. Teams again go in order until the last team (which is now behind station 2) shoots its high house. Then the shooter on the right calls for a low house with the shooter on the left being the back up and each team does that once in order followed by another shift of teams to the right.

The first team (now behind station 3) starts it again until each team has shot one high house and one low house from each of the five stations. In the end the best team score out of the possible 10 shoots per team gets to split the money. Any ties get shot off in any manner you desire but tradition usually has the teams backing up behind station 4 even farther until one team misses.

The cost to the club is 50 targets (2 rounds) and if your rounds cost $4 each and you charge each shooter on each team $3, the winning team splits $22 after the club gets paid for the targets. Teams can sign up together or you can have them "pick a pill" or "draw cards" for team assignments which gives everyone a chance to shoot with the better shooters so that the same guys don't ALWAYS win.

There... I think I covered everything except that 5 teams is just one version. I've also seen the same game shot with 6 - 7 stations but then the stations get a little close to each other and the field gets a little crowded and confusing. Try to keep it to 5 teams for a quick fun game and never stand a team either closer to the high house than behind station 2 or closer to the low house than behind station 6.

FYI: I'm told that the game of .410 Protectors originated at Ohio's MidWest Open by Jim Doebereiner and the other guys who wanted something to do on Saturday night at the shoot after the shoot offs and meal.

It had been a tradition at the MidWest Open for many many years and everyone always had lots of fun with it. We also played it on practice nights when the club was full of folks willing to try something new. Even Al and a bunch of the old time New York shooters have shot it back when the MidWest was a major shoot in Ohio and the region.

For clubs that don't have nice neat pads to stand on, try marking 5 boards about 8" square with numbers 1-5 and have partners standing on each side of the board that you just lay in the grass back behind the normal stations.

Have fun...

by Charles Blaylock of North Carolina

1. One shooter at a time for the extreme skeet. No Squads. Maybe teams, but one shooter at a time.

2. Voluntary entry.

3. Shot outside the normal skeet events on fields not in use for the regular events.

4. If you scratch your gun, your fault. Don't enter it again.

5. Events for each age group, Sub Jr., Jr., Collegiate, SSSSr, SSSr, SSr, Sr, Doubtfully Veteran - HAVE MEDICAL STAFF ON HAND

6. Bring out the 1100s, 870s, 391s, etc. and leave the tubed guns for the other events.

7. You could have a pump winner, semi winner, O/U winner, then an overall winner. And winners for each age group. This falls in line with NSSA awards of having many winners for the same shooting venue.

8. No classification system if need be - just age grouping - each shoot is the beginning and end of that event. Shoot for fun and for winnings and bragging rights. It would be another recorded event for end of year awards (single quickest time/score (world record holder if you will), most targets hit on average with time average, whatever else one could fit into it.

Times for the lower age groups might well be in the 3-5 minute range per round. Ref can stand back and follow at a distance. Call it loudly or it adds to your time. Or the ref can pull at his/her leisure after you've closed your bolt/barrels.

As for scoring, I figure take the seconds, divide by the targets hit, get a final number.

2:37 = 157 seconds

add 10 second penalty for each missed bird.

167 seconds divided by targets hit 24 and you get 6.958

1:51 = 111 seconds plus three missed (30 seconds) = 141 seconds

141 seconds divided by 22 targets hit = 6.409

If I'd have ran clean with the 157 seconds, the score would have been 6.280. Enough to beat the quicker but less accurate 1:51 time/22 hits.

Speed and accuracy play a part. It's conceivable to run clean but slower times hurt your overall final rating.