Skeet Chairman: Andrea Lehr

Facilities

Rochester Brooks has 14 skeet fields, 3 of which are fully lit for night shooting in the winter months. Two of our fields are set up for International-style targets, and are available year round unless all fields are being used for a tournament.

The club is actively involved in promoting skeet shooting, and hosts club leagues, traveling leagues, Zone, State and National tournaments.

Leagues: Industrial League, Finger Lakes Skeet

About Skeet

Skeet shooting was “invented” in Andover, Massachusetts in 1920 by a kennel owner and some of his friends, as a way of improving their wing-shooting skills. The game was originally called “around the clock” because the field was circular, with a machine throwing a clay target from behind the 12 o’clock position across the field over the 6 o’clock position. The shooters moved “around the clock” and each competitor fired two shots from 12 positions. The final 25th target was taken from the center of the circle, just like today’s high 8.

A next-door neighbor started a chicken farm, so the founders cut the circle in half to avoid fried chicken, and skeet as we know it today was born. Doubles targets were added to make up for the lost stations, rules and guidelines were established, and the game was introduced to the public in 1926 through articles in national “field and stream” magazines. A contest was held to name the sport, and out of the 10,000 entries received, the winner was Mrs. Humboltt from Montana, who called the game “skeet” from the old Scandinavian word for “shoot.”

The sport gained popularity quickly, and by 1935 had a national organization and was hosting world competitions. World War II brought all shooting sports to a halt for civilians, as equipment and ammunition was unavailable, but the 1940’s “hot shots” of skeet were recruited to the military, where they instructed many a tail gunner and soldier on the concept of leading a moving target.

Leagues:

Finger Lakes Skeet League http://rbgunclub.com/leagues/