Too much time...

[ChrisPackham]

Whether it’s clays or game, if I have a long time to see and read the target I invariably miss whereas an instinctive fast target that I can’t think about is unlikely to be missed.  

Suggestions for how to deal with these targets, other than closing eyes, would be appreciated..

 

[ips]

I am same mate. Just mount later.

get a copy of Churchill's book ?

 

[ChrisPackham]

I am same mate. Just mount later.

get a copy of Churchill's book ?

 Mounting later doesn’t really help, it’s once I have clocked the bird that my brain starts calculating, then I’m done for...

 

[Bebo]

Had a long slow quartering in rabbit this morning.  I mounted the gun and lifted my head off the stock, waited for it and then dropped my cheek onto the stock once it had come in to a point close to where I wanted to shoot it.  If I'd tried to track it I would have ended up with the gun wobbling all over the place and missing it.

 

[ips]

 Mounting later doesn’t really help, it’s once I have clocked the bird that my brain starts calculating, then I’m done for...

I see...churchill (and I think stanbury also) advocate looking down counting to three then looking up. No idea if that would help as I haven't tried it myself ?

 

[Skeet UK]

Gun down...well down, slow mount.

 

[Clay day]

When shooting game I like to take my time, keep my eyes on the bird, move my feet then mount.

But obviously this is only possible when you have enough time, whenever I miss a driven bird I know exactly why, clays I rarely have any idea.

Twice last season  I had birds poached by the gun next to me, "thought you weren't gonna shoot that mate"

 

[ips]

When shooting game I like to take my time, keep my eyes on the bird, move my feet then mount

"

Same here ?

 

[westley]

Strange that you should raise this, but my shooting pal has exactly the same problem. The bulk of the clay targets that he shoots, he has plenty of time to 'measure' the lead, which usually results in a miss. We were at Doveridge with another pal, who was trying a Blaser. He chose to do this on the Olympic skeet layout. As both the Blaser shooter and myself had shot Olympic skeet before, we suggested to pal No.3 that perhaps he should shoot 'gun up' and stick to singles.  He went on to beat both of us !  The difference being, the targets were so much faster than he was used to, he simply swung through and pulled the trigger and it worked.  He had been fiddling with his gunfit since he has owned the gun, proved my point that the 'fit' was OK and it was the shooter stopping the gun. On game, I will watch the bird over the muzzle of my gun and when I think  'NOW'  I simply mount the gun, apply lead and bang ! Seems to work for me.

 

[Will Hewland]

That fast reactive shooting style only goes so far. It’s reliant on your mood and timing and certainly doesn’t work on long targets reliably. My tip is to make a firm decision on the place you’re going to kill it and simply reserve all your attention to that area alone. So don’t look back for 5 seconds while the clay gets there, except to get ready to start the actual shot process. Being gun down is a way of confirming this, but it’s more about leaving your mind in casual state until the kill zone approaches.