Vey close birds

[Kilbo Fraggins]

I give up! Birds on the end of the barrel can't hit them.

Give me a 60yd crosser and no problem but some of the stupid birds you get that are literally on the end of your barrels ( 2-3 ft ) I can't hit.

Tried to bead the bird on the centre , front edge , below, above, a bit of lead, gun swing, covering the clay with the barrels and doing all of the previous....... Nada.

Any tips?

 

[Jonny English]

Try a little negative lead, 6 inches behind it may be, gun movement will still probably put you onto or infront of the bird, any lead at all may put you way in front of it. I have shot at 5 yard rabbit clays that I needed to shoot when behind the clay.

 

[Kilbo Fraggins]

Negative lead  ......?? have heard that one with some rabbits , will try it ta

 

[Hamster]

I have watched you shoot and would say the problem is familiarity, being fairly new to the game you have grasped the idea that generally speaking the further a crossing clay is and the faster it is travelling, the more forward allowance it will need, a great deal of variation exists in between when you take into account target angle/orientation/kill spot relative to launch point/visual acquisition timespan from calling pull etc, etc, which will affect the tempo. 

The challenge with very close birds is their near zero speed (relative to the barrels), they therefore need a lot more muzzle awareness and the ability to constantly remind yourself that even 3 inches of lead can translate to double that if your muzzles are moving (which they will be), and that is enough to cause misses because the "pattern" is the size of a clenched fist. 

 

[Kilbo Fraggins]

Cheers Hammy....

 

[Will Hewland]

Hamid is right of course. The close shot involves not only a tiny pattern, but the shot speed is very fast indeed at that range.  (After 10 yards it starts slowing rapidly and that’s the speed we are used to). So it really is about not moving the gun and adding lead. I struggled years ago when I was shooting swing through as I just couldn’t control it on the close stuff. So my advice (rather than shooting “behind” it with swing through) is to use diminishing lead. Move gently ahead of the clay and open up a small gap, then slow the gun smoothly and let the clay come to the muzzle and fire. Like all methods, you wil need to try it a few times, but it works for me as I like to see what’s going on and swing through is often visually deceptive..

 

[VicW]

I go along with the appearing to shoot behind the close clay or rabbit. It worked for me shooting swing through.

Swinging the gun on the target line shoot when just behind the clay. the swing will continue and you will shoot when virtually pointing at the clay.

This as opposed to seeing definite lead with further away clays.

Vic.

 

[Will Hewland]

Personally, I think swing through is the work of the devil. It’s a bit like using full choke, it looks great while it’s working, then with just a small error you get a loss. It necessitates that you must judge a slightly adjusted image and in a very tight time frame. You also need to repeat your swing speed exactly from one shot to the next and indeed one day to the next. Treacherous. Not for me.. My shooting took a big step forward once I ditched it in favour of mostly pulling ahead and (almost) matching the speed of the clay, so the gap is obvious and repeatable. 

 

[westley]

I give up! Birds on the end of the barrel can't hit them.

Give me a 60yd crosser and no problem but some of the stupid birds you get that are literally on the end of your barrels ( 2-3 ft ) I can't hit.

Tried to bead the bird on the centre , front edge , below, above, a bit of lead, gun swing, covering the clay with the barrels and doing all of the previous....... Nada.

Any tips?

FIX BAYONET'S.......................they don't like it up em yer know     !     :fie:

 

[wylye]

Shoot at another ground.

 

[bugsey hogan]

A lot of valid points in above posts it s a bit of a case of finding what suits you plus close birds can be presented in different ways requiring different techniques one which may be required particularly  if windows of opportunity are small is ambush or a form of minimal maintained lead 

 

[Geordieboy]

Shoot at it....with a moving gun and as little choke as possible.

 

[FreeShot]

By all means forget any kind of method (ok Churchil might get a nod). Get a good feel of the barrels and where they are poitning - get a laser 12. ga bore sighter and practise with - looking where the gun points from the ready position through the mount, look at the laser strictly...and learn to trust then proceed  to snap shooting.

Do a google search for A.B.C. of snap shooting by Horace Fletcher

 

[Bebo]

I have a tendency to stop the gun if I'm tracking slow, close stuff.  I now track just behind and then just slightly increase the speed of the gun as I come to the kill point and fire as I reach the front edge of the clay.  By consciously increasing the gun movement (albeit very slightly) I don't stop.

 

[westley]

I give up! Birds on the end of the barrel can't hit them.

Give me a 60yd crosser and no problem but some of the stupid birds you get that are literally on the end of your barrels ( 2-3 ft ) I can't hit.

Tried to bead the bird on the centre , front edge , below, above, a bit of lead, gun swing, covering the clay with the barrels and doing all of the previous....... Nada.

Any tips?

My 24 grams don't go 60 yards  !      :fie:

 

[schmokinn]

My 24 grams don't go 60 yards  !      :fie:

Thats because you can't see past 30! 

 

[chippy]

Having missed all the close rabbits at barrowheath Sunday I tried a new technique today at the English and ambushed them with a stationary gun . I hit them all so something worked.

 

[matt s]

Ahh that was you in the bushes with the .22.