In addition to English Skeet, there are also versions such as skeet doubles and olympic skeet.  In skeet doubles pairs of targets are shot starting on stand 1, shooting stands 2,3,4,5,6,7 then shooting stations 6,5,4,3,2 if you are counting this tots up to 24 birds.  Start again on stand 1 and shoot stands 2,3,4,5,6,7 and 6,5,4,3,2,1, another 26 birds making 50!  Olympic Skeet is quicker, the spring on the traps is wound up and there is a random delay between calling for the bird and the target being released.  Olympic Skeet is shot gun down, the starting position near the hip, not moving until you see the target and using station 8 between the two skeet houses, ooo yes you use 24gram cartridges too!

HOW DO YOU SHOOT IT?
A group of up to five shooters start at the first station, by the high house and will each shoot, in turn from each of the firing positions.  The first targets to be fired will be two singles (high then low house), followed by a simultaneous pair. These are shot from each peg except for Nos. 3 and 5 where singles are shot only, one high, one low. The 25th and final target will be either a repetition of the first target to be missed or a final single from the last shooting position. This 'option bird' is only used if the shooter is currently on a perfect score. On pegs 1 to 3, the high target must always be shot first on the pairs, at peg 4 (the centre position) the shooter must inform the referee which target of the pair they are going to shoot first, on pegs 5, 6 and 7, the low target should be shot first. The shooter has the option to call for the target with their gun pre-mounted but in most cases the shooter would find it beneficial to call with their gun in or partially out of the shoulder. 

HOW IS IT SCORED?
The score is simply the number of targets broken by a shooter.

WHAT ABOUT THE BEST GUN FOR THE JOB?
In the past, Skeet guns have been very lightweight, short in length (around a 26" / 28" barrel), and were usually very openly choked. Modern thinking leans towards a gun with 30" barrels and substantially tighter chokes say quarter choke in both barrels. If you are using a multi-choked gun put in your two most open chokes or alternatively purchase a pair of aftermarket skeet chokes so the two barrels will match pattern.  If shooting with tighter chokes, and you are on target with a 32" gun choked full and full, then you'll get 25, who am I to tell you not to use it, but for mortals the open chokes give an element of forgiveness and a margin for error, possibly making the difference between 22 balls of dust / 3 losses and 25 chipped kills..

CARTRIDGE CHOICE?
You may well be using size 9 or 9½ shot, which by definition have many more pellets per cartridge than say a 7½ shell.  Plastic wads can be beneficial, keeping the pattern tighter and well formed. Choose cartridges that have a manageable recoil, this is usually more comfortable for you, the shooter and allows you to get onto that second target quicker. 

ADVICE?
Don't try to anticipate the doubles. Keeping calm is generally better, be comfortable in the knowledge that you have enough time to make both shots. Aim to shoot both targets on the same side of the centre peg that you are on.  For example when shooting station 1, the high should be killed before it reaches the centre peg and the low should not be shot as soon as it leaves the trap but allowed to come past the centre peg, this way on the pairs you will kill both targets in the same place as you killed the singles, the cadence and rhythmn will be the same.  Contrast this with another pair where you leave the high to run a little more, you make sure of it, bang it's dead, you look for the low target and its disappearing past you, past the high house and you are twisting round to kill it before it hits the ground.  Hmmm not a comfortable experience, would you be confident of killing that pair every time?  Shoot this correctly and you will have ample time to make a smooth swing and hit the second target. 

FURTHER ADVICE?
When shooting, forget the chokes, forget the shells, it's too late to worry about whether you have made the best possible selection, if you miss a target, it's not the end of the round or the world.  Persevere, keep yourself together, vow to shoot the other 24 dead centre, measured, with all the time in the world.

BEGINNERS RATING
In a round of 25, we want 25 kills.  Failing this, what are you shooting?  The important thing is not where you start but the consistency.  If you score 15's for a few weeks, then 17's and 21's then you are getting better and something is improving.  Keep working at it! 

DIGWEED RATING
To succeed you have to be putting in 25 straights and 98+ ex 100 would generally be the minimum to be placed in competition.  It's a concentration game so do what it says on the Campbell's soup tins ~ concentrate !