A friend of mine recently got married. Sure, no big deal, people get married all the time. Not to say that it isn’t special or momentous. Well…it’s not actually the marriage or the wedding that really intrigued me. What I thought was really clever and fun was the bachelor party. Instead of the usual barhopping or poker game, this to-be groom and his brothers went skeet shooting!
If you don’t know too much about skeet shooting, it’s a great shooting sport in which people (in this the groom and his brothers) attempt to small clay discs that are thrown into the air at a very high speed from a bunch of different angles. This sport requires precise aim as the discs are only about 4 inches in diameter and an inch thick. It’s hard enough to hit a target like this when it’s stationary; it’s a whole other ballgame to hit one while it’s flying through the air at high speed. This sport harkens back to the old days when hunting parties would go out to shoot and kill birds – that’s one of the reasons why the discs are called clay pigeons!
Skeet was invented in the 1920s by a man called Charles Davies – he was an avid hunter and particularly like hunting grouse (a bird related to the chicken). By 1926, Davies had introduced the nation to the sport and even started a contest to come up with a name for the new sport. The winning entry “skeet” was entered by a woman by the name of Gertrude Hurlbutt and was said to be inspired by the Scandinavian word for “to shoot.” Skeet shooting went on to be a wildly popular sport – going so far as to become an Olympic sport in 1968 – and also a military training program for the US Army during World War II.
My friend had a great time at his “bachelor party.” None of the guys were too great – after all, they were all newbies to the sport – but they had a great time. It’s a challenging sport, a clever bonding activity, and an interesting new sport to take part in. I’m going to try my hand at it the next chance I can, and I’m sure you’d like it too.
Have you ever tried Skeet? Were you any good? Did you have a good time?