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instinctive

New member
Joined
Dec 20, 2015
Messages
3
Hi all,

writing from South Carolina, USA here....enjoy the site and watched some of the videos by international style competitors.

I want to develop my skills in this style of shooting, as I don't get to pre mount when a bird rises after my dog points, so I want to practice this discipline to support live bird skills. I noticed in the videos , they shoot very tight chokes and I have been brought up with skeet chokes on the skeet field, believing the open pattern would not cost you ,but rather break a bird on a marginal shot. If someone could explain the logic with the use of very tight chokes , much appreciated.  

Also, any books or written materials explaining the thought/visual process through the mount...I understand the basics are that when the bird is released , one is to mount the gun and when the gun mount is completed , you are immediately taking the shot. What I would like to get feedback on is how fast the mount should be, how much of the gun barrel is seen in peripheral vision as the mount is in process, while still focusing primarily on the target as it starts its flight. Another thought is how clearly the bird should be seen, when beginning the mount...some say "start with the blur" others say, "don't mount until the bird is seen more clearly" .  

I have not established membership at a gun club in these parts, as I have recently moved, but will shortly and want to practice effectively.

thanks,Terry  

 
Tight chokes are generally used by trap shooters, trap disciplines are shot with the gun pre mounted. International Trap is faster than ATA trap or DTL. ISSF/Olympic Skeet is shot gun down, not sure about the American variety of skeet though. Your local gun club should be able to help you out.

 
George digweed ,ben husthwaite and john bidwell all have videos showing most of what you want to know,but there are some very good coaches in the US so im told.

 
Instinctive

Welcome to the forum.

I get the impression from your post that you are interested primarily in sporting type targets? Be good if you could confirm.

As for choke constriction, all depends how far away your targets are? Skeet choke is fine for close stuff (like skeet targets :) ) but the pattern opens up with distance, creating huge gaps through which a clay can pass unhindered. Tight chokes keep the pattern tighter for longer, therefore reducing the chances of a clay getting through the pattern.

DT

 
Hi , thanks all...yes primarily interested in skeet and sporting clays...gun down...will look at some videos by Digweed, etc.

I was watching doubles skeet ISSA  championship shoot off videos here on this site...I think they were in Arizona, but the shooters were from Italy, USA, Denmark, Australia, etc. They were shooting doubles on stations maybe 3, 4 and 5 to determine the champ, and the targets were "smoked" indicating very tight chokes....that is what prompted my question about the chokes.

thanks,

Terry

 
Hi , thanks all...yes primarily interested in skeet and sporting clays...gun down...will look at some videos by Digweed, etc.

I was watching doubles skeet ISSA  championship shoot off videos here on this site...I think they were in Arizona, but the shooters were from Italy, USA, Denmark, Australia, etc. They were shooting doubles on stations maybe 3, 4 and 5 to determine the champ, and the targets were "smoked" indicating very tight chokes....that is what prompted my question about the chokes.

thanks,

Terry
At the Olympics they use flash clays so that it is easier to spot a hit.  These clays have a pouch of powder attached that is burst if the clay is hit.  Makes it look like they've been smoked even if they've just been broken in two.  Could that have been the case in the videos that you were watching?

 
if you are using sporting clays as practice for bird shooting then why don't you use your typical bird gun setup ?  I would suggest an IC or 1/4 choke in first Bbl and Mod or 1/2 choke in Bbl #2.  That combo will suffice for most courses on this side of the pond .  If you're using a single Bbl gun I would start with the IC and get tighter as you get more proficient.  Enjoy.   J...

 
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