How to Dial in for Fall Hunting at a Clays Range

Visit a sporting clays range this summer to prepare for fall hunting seasons.

August 11, 2025 By Ian Nance

The rabbit clays run everyone for a loop with their unpredictable bounces and deceptive speeds. I’d wager our group burned two boxes on a rabbit station at the Tenoroc Public Shooting Range near Lakeland one pleasant February afternoon. Misses were way over the top or way in front, chased by groans and chuckles from the peanut gallery, which is par for the course.

Running real-deal cottontails are as dodgy, hustling and leaping at various angles, and every bit as embarrassing to miss with a shotgun as a crowd bears witness. Neither scoot as fast as they appear, and it’s best to lead through the center of the target down to the going-away rabbit’s foot to get lucky.

Clay shooting, in all its forms, is a pastime growing in popularity, especially among young shooters. Whether trap, skeet, or sporting clays, each is its own discipline. Though the former two are excellent for learning the fundamentals of shotgunning—from form to footwork—sporting clays courses better prepare hunters for the field as they are intended to simulate flying and fleeing gamebirds and bunnies. And a course is more fun than a five-stand, in my opinion.

Most sporting clays courses feature between 10 and 20 stands, each one presenting a different challenge, flinging birds at varying trajectories, angles, and speeds. The finer establishments cultivate a natural ambiance between stations. In some scenarios, clays are arranged to fly away from or towards the shooter. Others cross low, others cross high, while other stations toss multiple birds. One person shoots, as another hails the birds.

During a day at a course, shooters typically rotate through each stand, shooting a handful of times at every stop. A round is usually 100 targets. Of course, there are the rabbit stations which spew clays like vertical skipping stones in all directions. The low-flying going-away clays mimic flushing upland birds. The crossing ones imitate duck or dove hunting scenarios, as do those coming towards a shooter. It’s surprisingly easy to miss a decoying duck or dove, I will clue you.

And that’s the benefit of these courses—getting in some reps to prepare for the real thing. Sure, not even the best set-ups can fully replicate nature. Not once have I seen a thrown clay suddenly stop before a shot, like a cottontail will do. They pale in comparison to a dove’s twisting and turning, and nothing can fully prepare wingshooters for snipe.

But, it doesn’t need to be perfect, either. What’s important is instilling familiarity with your shotgun and knocking off the rust and dust. Though there are all manners of fancy firearms in the clay shooting world, it’s best to use those you plan to hunt with on a course, breeding confidence and competence with the weapon. A German shorthair on point is not the time to figure out how to work the safety. Likewise, discovering flaws in a shotgun’s performance while shivering in a cold duck blind is no good.

This happens constantly, I promise. As for ammunition, sticking with cheaper target loads is just fine. Aside from cost, hunting ammo is designed for terminal performance and the beating you’ll take after 100 rounds will be a killer on the shoulder. Target shells are quite suitable for powdering compressed limestone and petroleum without leaving you a flinching mess. Again, the point is prepping for the field and having a little fun doing so. A sporting clays course provides on both fronts.

Shooter at a sporting clays range. — Clays is a fun way to keep general shotgun skills fresh or to focus on weak spots to prepare for days afield.

Public Sporting Clays Courses

A Google search will lead to numerous privately-owned and operated sporting clays courses throughout the state at various prices per round and with membership opportunities.

For the more casual shooter, the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission also operates five courses, as shown below. For more information, visit myfwc.com.