How to get better?

[westley]

This 100%. I am also a relatively newcomer to the sport and would love to learn more about the subject with a view to taking that advice away to the practise ground, but when those that I aspire towards just keep taking chunks out of each other it minds to to look elsewhere….such a shame.

It is, BUT, you are also likely to encounter this stupidity at shooting grounds, I speak from experience. I know of a couple of new shooters who have packed it in, solely due to bad experiences and attitudes of some more experienced shooters, who should have known better.

 

[lh8611]

I'll chip in my 2 pence.

Completely agree with Westley's post above.

(In my opinion)
Field sports and shooting in the UK are misunderstood and generally get a bad press from the mainstream media and those not involved within the community or the sport. Elitist attitudes, in-fighting, trying to drag eachother down or turn everything into a c*ck measuring contest helps nobody. It certainly doesn't encourage those that are new and interested in the sport trying to find their way in.

Additional it's worth pointing out that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and what works for one might not work for another.

With regards to advice for a new shooter. A friend from the US suggested that some people like to keep a shooters diary. It can help with notes and thoughts about how well we are doing (to grow confidence), and can highlight anything that we're struggling with. It's something that I plan on trying myself.

 

[Freddypip]

Additional it's worth pointing out that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and what works for one might not work for another.

With regards to advice for a new shooter. A friend from the US suggested that some people like to keep a shooters diary. It can help with notes and thoughts about how well we are doing (to grow confidence), and can highlight anything that we're struggling with. It's something that I plan on trying myself.

Two bits of really good advice & comment - particularly the first.

 

[Skeetstar]

Long story short, the more you shoot the better you'll get. Don't scrimp on lessons, you need to get the basics right, if you allow yourself to develop bad habits early, they'll be hard to eradicate.. a decent coach shouldn't let you get away with introducing bad habits.
Practice does not make perfect, it ingrains habit, make sure they are good habits.

You'll find that the better you get, the harder it is to improve.
Anyone can score 50,out of 100 after some basic instruction, you'll progress to 60s and 70s with some effort and so on, but moving from 80 to 90, and 90 to 95 takes a lot of time and money, commitment and talent, it's is something few of us will do.

When I miss, I stop, think about the technique, and execute it properly. It's amazing how much better you shoot when you do the basic things right.

You are at the start if a great journey, enjoy it, it will keep you both satisfied and challenged for years.

All the best.

 

[Yorkshire Clay Shooting]

Long story short, the more you shoot the better you'll get. Don't scrimp on lessons, you need to get the basics right, if you allow yourself to develop bad habits early, they'll be hard to eradicate.. a decent coach shouldn't let you get away with introducing bad habits.
Practice does not make perfect, it ingrains habit, make sure they are good habits.

You'll find that the better you get, the harder it is to improve.
Anyone can score 50,out of 100 after some basic instruction, you'll progress to 60s and 70s with some effort and so on, but moving from 80 to 90, and 90 to 95 takes a lot of time and money, commitment and talent, it's is something few of us will do.

When I miss, I stop, think about the technique, and execute it properly. It's amazing how much better you shoot when you do the basic things right.

You are at the start if a great journey, enjoy it, it will keep you both satisfied and challenged for years.

All the best.

Really couldn’t agree more with everything you have said but especially the when you miss stop, think and re evaluate. The amount of times I have been in a stand that 3 pairs. Missed the 1st pair. Done the exact same thing again obviously missed again and wondered why ?

 

[bordergun]

Yorkshire Clay Shooting. I agree100%.....especially the "think and re-evaluate".

 

[PeeJay]

Well that was a crazy kinda day. The easy teal that I normally start with cos it’s so easy, I couldn’t hit. But the more difficult stands I nailed.

Stupid question but is there a generally accepted ‘wisdom’ for how long to get better. E.g it will take 5,000 clays to get your eye in. 10,00 to be comfortable etc.

 

[vmax1010]

Not really, we all have good and bad days some stands click other Not so, just make sure your technique doesn't go out the window when you start missing

 

[SBL]

Hi PeeJay
Don’t worry about those easy misses, it happens. Because they’re usually easy you have an expectation and become “loose” in your method. Everyone will take different amounts of time but as long as you’re seeing a generally upwards improvement, enjoy the ride. Use the internet to look at method etc. Maybe give Bens subscription site a go, loads of great content for £5 a month.
Onwards and upwards.

 

[SBL]

And don’t do what I do. If I’m finding a target easy I often choose to break it in a different place to make it difficult. Then I get peeved when my score isn’t as good as I think it should be

 

[PeeJay]

Some learning points from the day were…

1) shooting solo, I finally managed to work out how to hold the gun and also operate the claymate. I held the gun by the fore end in my LH, and either clipped the claymate onto my RH pocket or placed it near to my right.

2) I loaded single cartridges at a time, to focus on a consistent process, and it seemed to help.

3) I’m starting to manage opening the gun and taking the used cartridge out and tossing it in the bin, rather than opening sideways and ejecting them into the bin.

4) I’ve lost the little bottle of white grease (goodness knows where) so need to buy some more. Not that I really know how/where to grease/oil the gun.

5) cleaning the gun in the boot of the car is a real pain and I really wish the lodge had a table available (it’s stored there).

6) I’ve got a little notebook kept in the jacket to take notes, keep records etc.

 

[donna]

The hardest thing to do is once youve hit a pair to do that exactly the same 4/5 times over. Once I’ve decided what method and hold points etc and I’ve hit the first pair, I really try to do exactly the same thing, ie in my mind I say kill point, then hold point etc but I’m very easily distracted

I would also give Bens subscription site a go, so much information and if I’ve had a break for some reason I go back onto it and just refresh my mind. At your early stage in shooting there’s so much information out there and it’s easy to get bogged down in it all.

I started writing down all the targets I missed at shoots too and then tried to to go out the following week for a practice and just shot them until I found the right method etc for ME! Example, we shot the CG at Owls a few weeks ago, it was windy and missed a few targets completely. Went down there yesterday and went over the ones I missed until I cracked it. Am really struggling with l-r fast rabbits at moment and literally shot 75 of them. Took us both a while to realise that my left eye was taking over and managed to find a way to hit them consistently. Came straight home and wrote down what I did so hopefully I’ll remember

Remember it’s not a race, we all get there at our own pace and even the best of them have off days, it’s how we learn from our mistakes.

 

[bordergun]

Left eye taking over is a common problem. We have two "cameras" (eyes) but only one receiver (brain). Trouble is, because this is neurological, none of us can prove conclusively (no, not even an optician) which eye the brain uses for the correct bird/barrel relationship.

If the wrong eye takes over over (even for a nano second) a miss is the result. That's why some top shooters that "test" right eye dominant, find that their consistency is much better by occluding the off eye.

Article on the LESSONS drop down from December 2000 Sporting Clay magazine "One eye or Two" here:- www.peteblakeley.com

 

[PeeJay]

The hardest thing to do is once youve hit a pair to do that exactly the same 4/5 times over. Once I’ve decided what method and hold points etc and I’ve hit the first pair, I really try to do exactly the same thing, ie in my mind I say kill point, then hold point etc but I’m very easily distracted

I would also give Bens subscription site a go, so much information and if I’ve had a break for some reason I go back onto it and just refresh my mind. At your early stage in shooting there’s so much information out there and it’s easy to get bogged down in it all.

I started writing down all the targets I missed at shoots too and then tried to to go out the following week for a practice and just shot them until I found the right method etc for ME! Example, we shot the CG at Owls a few weeks ago, it was windy and missed a few targets completely. Went down there yesterday and went over the ones I missed until I cracked it. Am really struggling with l-r fast rabbits at moment and literally shot 75 of them. Took us both a while to realise that my left eye was taking over and managed to find a way to hit them consistently. Came straight home and wrote down what I did so hopefully I’ll remember

Remember it’s not a race, we all get there at our own pace and even the best of them have off days, it’s how we learn from our mistakes.

I’m not on pairs yet, I’m still working on getting 4 singles in a row.

I’m definitely going to check out Bens subscription plan. I’m assuming you get more than what he’s gives already on YouTube.

My plan for the notebook is to write down when I get it right, and why, and write down when I get it wrong, for further practice.

Last twice I’ve been there were large corporate events on, so that’s always a bit off putting when you’re a solo beginner. Because you just know the ones stood at the next trap and not shooting are watching you.

 

[donna]

I’m not on pairs yet, I’m still working on getting 4 singles in a row.

I’m definitely going to check out Bens subscription plan. I’m assuming you get more than what he’s gives already on YouTube.

My plan for the notebook is to write down when I get it right, and why, and write down when I get it wrong, for further practice.

Last twice I’ve been there were large corporate events on, so that’s always a bit off putting when you’re a solo beginner. Because you just know the ones stood at the next trap and not shooting are watching you.

Re Bens subscription videos, so much more informative that just YouTube, it will take you through each method, where and why you would use it. Takes you through individual targets, ie rabbits, teal etc and so much more. A new video released every month. Must be about 30 on there or more. Really worth looking at. Good luck.

 

[Martinj]

Stupid question but is there a generally accepted ‘wisdom’ for how long to get better. E.g it will take 5,000 clays to get your eye in. 10,00 to be comfortable etc.

just get a lot of practise and try to put all the good advice into effect, it's taken me about 53 years so far and I'm not where I want to be yet.
You are at a great time in your shooting career because you should see a steady improvement for some years yet and that's a great feeling. When you reach the "plateau" it's tougher

 

[westley]

I did reach the 'plateau ' ! Unfortunately I did not have a head for heights, got dizzy and fell off. I now just stick to the lower levels.

 

[Martinj]

I did suffer with the plateau and I burned out and gave it up while my kids were growing up, using that as an excuse.
I started again in a small way, I remembered why I started shooting in the first place and that was because I found shooting to be fun, I was always messing around with air guns as soon as I was old enough, then shotguns in my teens, terrorising pigeons and rabbits (remember them?)
So I now shoot when I feel the urge to go and I don't so much when I don't feel the need, that's the way to keep fresh, luckily I feel the need more often than not.

 

[Yorkshire Clay Shooting]

I did suffer with the plateau and I burned out and gave it up while my kids were growing up, using that as an excuse.
I started again in a small way, I remembered why I started shooting in the first place and that was because I found shooting to be fun, I was always messing around with air guns as soon as I was old enough, then shotguns in my teens, terrorising pigeons and rabbits (remember them?)
So I now shoot when I feel the urge to go and I don't so much when I don't feel the need, that's the way to keep fresh, luckily I feel the need more often than not.

That’s good advice go enjoy it. Remember how much fun it was and is, to just go and pull the trigger. It obviously depends on how serious you want to take it. But if you just want to be the best you can be go have fun. Concentrate on the person shooting prior to you going in. And concentrate when your in. If the pressures on I have been known to turn of my electric hearing defenders to just be more focused which does seem to work. Although we do all like to say no pressure to each other when there is clearly some pressure so it probably also depends on who you shoot with

 

[Daz W]

Concentrate on the person shooting prior to you going in.

That's not necessarily a good thing. It can cause you to 2nd guess your plan of how to shoot the targets. It's a mistake I still occasionally make. Did it at EJ Churchills this week, stand 1 pair of driven going to the left of centre. Chap before me took them a R-L crossers instead of driven (as I was planning). Tried it myself as crossers, missed the first 2 pairs. Changed back to my initial plan and smoked the next 2 pairs. Too late by then, the damage had already been done.