Shooting

GSPhntr · Post by **GSPhntr** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:59 am

Hey dose anybody have any advice on wingshooting becuase my dog got a great nose and will find the birds but I can only hit about 1 out of 5 birds she find. I go out to the gun range alot but if theres any tips to imporve shooting, any help would be great.

Thanks

Nate

littleking · Post by **littleking** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:48 am

practice

original mngsp · Post by **original mngsp** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:08 am

Start shooting sporting clays. The goofy presentations you learn to hit there make hitting a bird on the wing seem easy.

thunderhead · Post by **thunderhead** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:10 am

It is not as simple as just going out and practicing. If you are practicing without applying proper fundamentals, then you will not see the improvements that you are seeking. You have to practice proper fundamentals to become a good shot.

I would suggest that you spend a few sessions with someone who can analyze can shooting and determine if you have any bad habits that need to be corrected and can give you good instruction on how to properly apply the fundamentals.

fuess · Post by **fuess** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:20 am

Practice shooting is one thing, which will help. But when shooting birds, I found out a long time ago, positioning yourself and/or antipating where the most likely place to shoot from/at will greatly enhance your performance and average.

1/5 may not be bad, depending on the gamebird.

FUess

Chaingang · Post by **Chaingang** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:47 am

thunderhead wrote:It is not as simple as just going out and practicing. If you are practicing without applying proper fundamentals, then you will not see the improvements that you are seeking. You have to practice proper fundamentals to become a good shot.

I would suggest that you spend a few sessions with someone who can analyze can shooting and determine if you have any bad habits that need to be corrected and can give you good instruction on how to properly apply the fundamentals.

I agree here. Find a club instructor or someone affiliated with a shooting range who has helped instruct beginners in the past.

Low gun skeet is a good way to start achieving good wingshooting skills. It is normally cheaper than Sporting Clays and less intimidating in the beginning. You will experience every conceivable angle from outgoing to incoming, to crossing and quartering birds. If you use a "Low Gun" starting position which is basically having the butt pad off the shoulder at the start, you will drastically improve your gun mount. This and the birds are relatively close will help build confidence. Pick a presentation such as high house 2 or low house 6 and practive the quartering bird till you achieve some consistency, then move to another angle.

Skeet was originated by a group of Grouse hunters looking for a way to hone their wingshooting skills.

Good luck and practice really does make perfect.

markj · Post by **markj** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:58 am

If my dad was alive I would send you to him

he had many trophies for this and never missed a bird. It is all in the follow thru. I gotta say I can shoot but never was as good as he.

Post by **topher40** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:10 am

I would have to agree with Thunderhead here. Ask someone who knows. I cant hit but around 30 out of fifty sporting clays

and I dont enjoy them. On the other hand I DONT MISS birds and they taste better than sporting clays so I havent ever worried about it!

Practice will only get you so far.

BigShooter · Post by **BigShooter** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:20 am

First hint: Make sure you know which eye is dominant. Proper technique is to shoot a shotgun with both eyes open. For instance, if you are right handed but left eye dominant you have a few choices: learn to shoot left handed, shoot with one eye closed but then you lose depth perception and the ability to accurately follow a moving target is diminished. Some shooters have trained themselves to start with both eyes open and shut one eye just before shooting ... very difficult.

One way to check eye dominance is to make a circle with your thumb and forefinger. Starting at your arms-length ( about two feet from your eye) ... look through the circle at an object, like a clock face, some distance from you. While continuing to look through the hole, bring your arm in until the circle is just in front of your eye. The eye that you naturally bring the circle in to is your dominant eye. The dominant eye should be looking down the barrel.

Second hint: When shooting on a course like skeet, continue to shoot at one station until you've mastered it before moving on.

GSPhntr · Post by **GSPhntr** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:12 pm

Thanks for all the great tips I'll put them to use this next wensday when I head down to the range.

Thanks again

bean1031 · Post by **bean1031** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:15 pm

topher40 wrote:I would have to agree with Thunderhead here. Ask someone who knows. I cant hit but around 30 out of fifty sporting clays and I dont enjoy them. On the other hand I DONT MISS birds and they taste better than sporting clays so I havent ever worried about it! Practice will only get you so far.

I went out for the first time the other day! 17 out of 50

ohiohuntinweim · Post by **ohiohuntinweim** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:00 pm

How long have you been shooting at birds. I had shot trap of one form or another for quite awhile, birds are just plain and simply different. This is my first year on them and shooting at (sort of) wild birds, preserve birds and post trial cleanup birds has been the best help for me!!! Nothing like the real thing!

Ruffshooter · Post by **Ruffshooter** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:20 pm

When I was in my teens and early twenties, I couldn't miss a bird. Then some thing changed couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Then about 15 years ago I got back into the bird dogs and felt guilty for missing so much. So I went to a club instructor. He quickly found that I had equal dominance in both eyes. After a simple exersise he stuck a piece of scotch tape on my glasses and I started hitting immediately. The tape is just 3/8" square. It blocks the view of my left eye when I am faced and mounted properly on the gun yet I can still see what is coming and going.

Ironically, I have 20/15or so, vision.

Beyond that I practice shooting and at home I practice mounting the gun and swing through with snap plugs.

I always where my shooting glasses with tape, get some funny looks. You can figure out your dominance your self but best to go to a pro and let them get you going right and help you fix any problems.

romeo212000 · Post by **romeo212000** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:57 pm

You can practice all day every day but if you are practicing with the wrong techniques then you will accomplish nothing. Remeber practice makes permanent not perfect. Find someone who can teach you or hire a coach.

Post by **Ayres** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:24 pm

If you're training and the birds cut between you and your dog, or you and your training partner, or you and your truck.. those don't count.

Practice at a range will help because you can concentrate on the shooting and the technique without being worried about the safety of a randomly flying bird. Having someone who knows watch you and give you pointers is a good tip too. (Credit the first guy that said that up above). You don't need to hire a shooting coach or anything though, unless you plan on competing. That's like buying a Ferrari to go pick up groceries. It'll do the trick, but something more economical will do just fine too. (bring along a buddy that knows what he's doing, or grab a few F&S mags and turn to the shotgun section between page 30 and 40)

Ruffshooter · Post by **Ruffshooter** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:27 am

I only spent $80 dollars to fix my problem with a shooting instuctor.

Casper · Post by **Casper** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:38 am

Something I did recently that has improved my shooting was I got my eyes examined.

Found out that my right eye (most dominant) was 20/200 and my left eye was 20/40. My eyes were fighting to correct for clear vision and it was effecting everything. No sooner after I got my eye glasses I could see better and my shooting increased dramaticly.

Not to say this is your issue but it was mine. I didnt know i couldnt see I just thought that was the way everyones vision was.

FWIW

zzweims · Post by **zzweims** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:56 am

BigShooter wrote:Some shooters have trained themselves to start with both eyes open and shut one eye just before shooting ... very difficult.

I am forced to do this on a right-to-left. I'm right handed and right eye dominant, but on a right-to-left, my left eye will take over when the target is directly in front of me. It's a trip. The clay or bird will momentarily disappear while my eyes adjust. For some reason, this doesn't happen on a straightaway or left-to-right. For those, both eyes remain open. Otherwise, I must shut my left eye for an instant before pulling the trigger.

An experienced instructor diagnosed the problem. Definately worth the money.

Aline

tmanker · Post by **tmanker** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:51 pm

Put a small mag-lite or similiar in the end of your barrel. Make sure gun is unloaded first. Turn the light on and in your living room, kitchen, etc... pick a spot on the wall or a corner where the wall meets the ceiling. Mount the gun to your shoulder and see if the light is pointing where you want to aim. This also helps narrow down what you are doing wrong. Is the gun the wrong size, are you mounting it correctly, is your cheek mounted to the stock properly, does the comb need adjusted, etc... Sounds stupid, but works for me.

ga shorthairs · Post by **ga shorthairs** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:56 pm

GSPhntr
Are you concentrating on the target, I find that when I miss a lot of times I don't really concentrate on the target. As soon as you decide its safe to shoot try to zero in on the target. Also make sure your gun is mounted properly, I find myself getting lazy with my gun mount at times (not getting the gun stock all the way up to my cheek). Another thing is rushing your shot, you usually have more time than you think to make a clean shot. Hope this helps.

nj gsp · Post by **nj gsp** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:29 pm

First of all, you need to be sure the gun fits you. Make sure you are mounting the gun correctly.

Determine your dominant eye. I'm cross dominant, but I've found with enough practice I've learned to compensate for it - it's been easier for me than trying to learn to shoot lefty.

If you are right handed and left eye dominant, try putting a piece of scotch tape on the left lens of your shooting glasses, or a little smear of something oily.

Shoot more, and shoot more often...

Am I a great shot? Nah, but I'm not bad. As I like to say I'm better than some, worse than others, but I generally hit what I'm shooting at most of the time.

Kmack · Post by **Kmack** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:25 am

I like to see the gun, shoulders and elbows as close to being on plane perpendicular to your spine as is comfortable. This allows for smooth rotation. Feet need to establish a stable base. I like set up with my base about 45 degrees open to the left of my anticipated target (right handed shooter).

Swing through target from behind, pull trigger when target is on top of barrel, keep swinging at same speed until target starts to fall.

Other tips. Gun fit is important. Correct shells for the target. Both eyes open.

I would start with shooting Trap as it gets you used to determining where the target is going as soon as you pick it up in your peripheral vision. Skeet would be second to help with crossing shots. Once you can hit some/most of the targets in Skeet and Trap then you are ready for sporting clays.

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