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You need ear and eye protection, at a minimum. A vest will help you look cool, some have additional padding at the shoulder to help with recoil. I suggest a Browning vest for just that purpose. Their pad is very good.

I would also suggest a shell carrier for your belt. It can have its own belt or clip to one you are wearing. It holds a box of shells and saves you from bending over each time to pick one up, reducing fatigue.

That should do you.
 
I started with just a break action 12g. Gun, ammo, eye and ear protection, vest (Or just wear a sweater) and a shell carrier.

Once you spend some time at the trap club you'll see other knick knacks people use, but none are required.
 
Good advice so far. A good pair of shooting gloves helped to keep from developing a callous on my fingers. If you are shooting singles or handicap with an auto, a clip that keeps the shell attached to the gun is nice, just pick it off and put it in the shell bag.

Practice and lessons, read, Daro Handy wrote a very good book, as well of other great shooters have too.

My sister is a trap shooter, won the state in the late 90's.

Good luck, most importantly, have fun.
 
If you can get next to someone with a good shell re loader, buy some Hulls, wads, primers, powder and shot. Start pulling the handle now that way when summer gets here you will already have half the work done.
Ammo was not your consideration, what about the components? This was my most useful tool next to my shot guns wile shooting trap & sheet.
Silver Hand
 
Vest definitely makes you look the part of a clay shooter. I have both vests and belt shell holders. It depends on my mood and outside temp. Really hot days I rock the shell holder as I get hot anyways. Fall it's time for the vest to come out.

Once you have the basic gear, the next best expenditure is some lessons from a local pro. There are a couple instructors that teach out of Seattle Skeet & Trap Club in Ravensdale. Give the club a call and ask, sure they will point in you in the right direction. I can't stress enough how important lessons are, they will pay off in spades. Bad form can take days to learn, and years to change.

http://www.sstclub.com/
 
Great Advice.
Every range in NY state I ever had the privilege of shooting with or becoming a member of had instructors and or Range Masters on hand that at no charge would be watching and working with every Novice shooter, regardless of what they were wearing.
Doesn't this take place in the Pacific North West?
Silver Hand
 
Andy & Bax (close-in NE Portland) sells a little square green canvas bag to hang on your belt - just a little bigger than a box of shells. Dump 25 or 50 in there and you're ready to reload very quickly without fishing in pockets, etc.

When you're not at an official skeet or trap range with machines, get a friend to toss practice clays for you with one of those cheap red plastic throwers. With a consistently good pitcher, you can add challenging randomness to how they fly (high/low, L/R, overhand, skimmers in the bushes, straight up). You'll quickly figure out what your weak shots are. As a right hander, I have to work on targets dropping fast to my far left.

Get in synch with someone good and there's no yelling "pull." Just 2 people loading and firing as fast as they can manage. I've had 2 throwing for me before and I was busy. Helps with reactions. 2 throwers in one hand can be a hoot, too. Feels good to shoot fast and smoke them both.

Hand thrown clays are super dynamic and random. The caveat to everything above is that you need plenty of room, defined shoot/no-shoot lanes, and partners you know well so there's no surprises or chasing wildly thrown clays that should just be allowed to die a natural death. Police your area and be safe. Enjoy the satisfaction of being prettydamngood with a shotgun!
 

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