Practice with tighter chokes?

[Luke_(NL)]

Quick question - are you skeet shooters putting in any OSK practice with tighter chokes than you would use for a match? If so, what do you train with? I am wondering what the best training-setup would be, which won’t make me feel like an ***** but will still let me get a good feel and picture of where I am hitting the clays. I am thinking IC-IC for practice, and then SK - SK US for matches but would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[Bavarian]

You could use IC, but it won´t make too much difference. Much more important is your gun position , foot position and a quick and reliable

gun mount.

On stand 8 the chokes are almost useless, anyway ;-)

 

[AW13]

I was think the same yesterday - should I practice with tighter chokes to try and assess whether over leading/behind or just plain rubbish 

 

[Will Hewland]

I think the best practice tool is to have somebody film you through the whole round, so you can look at what you did differently when you missed. I keep meaning to get somebody to do this for me. 

 

[Walter]

I think the best practice tool is to have somebody film you through the whole round, so you can look at what you did differently when you missed. I keep meaning to get somebody to do this for me. 

I've literally just bought a very cheap digital video recorder ( £18 ) and tripod off evil Bay to do the same thing ; )

 

[Luke_(NL)]

I was think the same yesterday - should I practice with tighter chokes to try and assess whether over leading/behind or just plain rubbish 

And have you made up your mind? My reasoning is twofold. Being better able to tell where I am hitting the clay is one, the second being that it would force me to be “on the clay” to a greater degree, which will help in the long run.

Unfortunately I don’t have someone on hand to film me for an entire round (and know what to film and where to look). While I don’t like the idea of hanging weight under my barrels, I am tempted to borrow a shot kam once I find someone who has one on the skeet range.

I’m not worried about foot positions and hold points, honestly: I’m trying for marginal improvements.

On stand 8 the chokes are almost useless, anyway

Not my weakest stand - although I am sometimes tempted to bring a blunderbuss.    

 

[AW13]

Tomorrow I am going for a practice and decided to start with chokes 1 step up to 1/2 and 3/4 to see what happens and a round of skeet with 1/4 and 1/4.

Not much of a step up but it should be interesting

 

[Will Hewland]

The trouble can be not changing anything about your shooting. With any equipment change it’s so easy to get distracted thinking about it, which creates a much larger effect than the equipment itself. 

 

[Luke_(NL)]

The trouble can be not changing anything about your shooting. With any equipment change it’s so easy to get distracted thinking about it, which creates a much larger effect than the equipment itself. 

The ponderor-effect, similar to the observer effect in quantum physics… Practically impossible to explain but very noticeable indeed  

I expect to miss more with tighter chokes, but that is the idea- train myself to spend just a fraction more time on the “instinctive” ones and see whether I’be been putting the clay center column or just clipping it. I’ll leave them in save for matches: If I can shoot well with IC-IC I should also manage with SK-SK 

 

[AW13]

I did practice today - half the course with 1/4 & 1/2 and half with Cyl & SK 

Both the above were used on a variety of targets and overall I felt the 1/4 & 1/2 gave me more confidence and I think I lost at least a couple of edge on targets through the pattern with Cyl & SK, they were 30+ yards away. I now see why a lot of people like 3/8th's.

Conclusion - well my limited knowledge conclusion, stay with 1/4 & 1/2 and only choke up or down for trap or skeet targets.

 

[Luke_(NL)]

Conclusion - well my limited knowledge conclusion, stay with 1/4 & 1/2 and only choke up or down for trap or skeet targets.

I intend to do exactly that, reason for me to post the question in the Skeet threads  

Now I am waiting for the IC chokes to arrive, as well as a second LM choke. I look forward to making the rounds (even) harder for myself

 

[Scotty]

A bit like getting a few rounds of snooker in before starting the pool competition. It makes sense to me.

Try this for stand 8:

 

[Luke_(NL)]

A bit like getting a few rounds of snooker in before starting the pool competition. It makes sense to me.

Try this for stand 8

Could well have used that this Sunday. Stand 8 made me well near cry.  

 

[JoostB]

I think investing in a good coach will get you further. 

 

[chippy]

A bit like getting a few rounds of snooker in before starting the pool competition. It makes sense to me.

Try this for stand 8:

View attachment 9015

Iam after a skeet gun. What choke is it ?

 

[Bavarian]

Iam after a skeet gun. What choke is it ?

3/4 and full. You have to use spreader shells.

 

[Luke_(NL)]

I think investing in a good coach will get you further. 

Skeet can be such a mental game. Stand 8 hasn’t been much of an issue for me, until it became one on that day. The next day… I suppose we’ve all been there. 
 

It did expose a hole in my game for me, as there are stands where I just sort of “shoot’em as I see’em” , as opposed to having a well considered method that I can revert back to. Stand 8 being one of them. As a result, it works well when it does, but when it doesn’t it is hard to reset. So that is what I am working on (and am looking for a coach to help me along). 
 

Apart from that I did reward my less than stellar performance in the match with IC-IC chokes for practice. Early days now, but having put a few rounds in I think I am missing a few (mostly over the clay) that I would otherwise crack, so I hope that by adjusting I’ll be on those clays a bit better. I do have to shake off the thought that I need to “aim better” as that doesn’t help a fluid (pair of) shot(s). Did I mention skeet is a mental game? 

 

[JoostB]

It did expose a hole in my game for me, as there are stands where I just sort of “shoot’em as I see’em” , as opposed to having a well considered method that I can revert back to. Stand 8 being one of them. As a result, it works well when it does, but when it doesn’t it is hard to reset. So that is what I am working on (and am looking for a coach to help me along). 

No better coach for me than Eric Swinkels.

He will work with you on technique, on shooting always in the same system. That way you have something to rely on when under mental pressure. Get the system right, you will also consistently start to hit the clays at the right time, in the right spot. No need to change chokes for that.

 

[Luke_(NL)]

Thanks Joost - I look forward to shooting in Boekel, hopefully under the watchful eye of Eric. 

The change of chokes just serves to identify my flaws, so I know what to address and make the solution to those issues part of my "system". In practice, missing tells me more than a chipped clay.  

 

[The world champ]

Quick question - are you skeet shooters putting in any OSK practice with tighter chokes than you would use for a match? If so, what do you train with? I am wondering what the best training-setup would be, which won’t make me feel like an ***** but will still let me get a good feel and picture of where I am hitting the clays. I am thinking IC-IC for practice, and then SK - SK US for matches but would love to hear your thoughts.

I sometimes put in 2 mod. just for the fun of it. But normally I use SK and CL