Clay Target Q&A
With Russell Mark, Olympic gold and silver medallist
Questions: russell@corporateshootingstars.com.au
Q Over the past 12 months, I have really started to enjoy clay target shooting. I recently went to a range that shoots at night and shot very poorly. I am told you need to shoot a different technique when shooting clays under lights. Is this true and what color shooting lenses are best when shooting at night?
Vic Garfield, Victoria
A Technically, Vic, there is nothing different when shooting clay targets at night or day; the traps and targets are still the same. Certainly, the quality of the background lights can come into play, which can cause a disadvantage for somebody with poor eyesight. I will assume though for the purposes of this answer that the lights on the range were adequate and that your vision is reasonable. If that is the case, then I would suggest you do everything else exactly as you would during the day.
One thing that I always found helpful at night though was to wear side-blinkers on my shooting frames because often, lights from the side can cause distractions when your gun is mounted to your shoulder. If you point your shotgun with the need to use the front-sight as an aid in your fore-vision, then a white sight may be useful. I often just painted my sight for night shooting with a touch of stationary white-out ink.
As to the color of the lens, it is my belief that clear lenses are not only the best, but the only logical choice. Despite what some people would have you believe, there is no color lens that allows more light to enter your eyes than the color God gave you. ANY color lens that you use will inhibit the amount of light entering your eyes.
On bright days, darker colors will stop you squinting, which can certainly be an advantage. My advice though on bright days would be use the lightest tint that you can comfortably get away with. Shooters who wear very dark lenses on days when the light constantly changes due to cloud cover are looking for major problems. Whatever color you chose during daylight hours is a personal choice. It is purely a matter of perception and much the same as how changes in recoil in firearms can be a perception, as opposed to a matter of fact. At night, the lack of light is the major problem, so there is no sense making the problem worse by using colored lenses.
Many shooters complain about seeing a long ‘trail’ on the back edges of the targets at night, mainly when white targets are used. Often, this can be cured by getting an ‘anti-glare’ coating on your clear lenses, but in reality, this is simply putting a hint of green or purple in the lenses, which again inhibits light.
Personally, I always found night shooting fun and in many cases, it offers near perfect backgrounds for target acquisition. Try to focus on the positives and I am sure you will enjoy it too.