Sporting clays is great fun, but as you've found out, it can also be expensive for the cost per clay thrown.. and it can be very intimidating/frustrating for many beginers.
Skeet is a very good way toquickly learn changes of lead with changes of position at minumal cost per clay thrown. For practice, many teachers have a studant stand on one station and shoot all 25 birds from the station to help "burn" the visual lead for that angle into your brain. For sporting courses can afford to do that for a beginer.
Also, clubs that do "Five Stand" (Sporting clys done on a skeet field) tend to charge less per clay thrown because they can do it with the fewer trap machines. Also, Trap will help learn the longer, shallower angles.
And my favorite is" Wobble Trap". A standard trap machine which is not only the random swing laft and right, but has an aditional motor/gear box for random vertical too........ then work your way out 10-15 yards, or more to either side of the standard trap stations ...... real fun for about as cheap as it gets !!!!!
Paul.
