It seems we are seeing more and more of you SCI members showing up at our clinics as we travel around the country. We are getting an increasing number of emails asking a variety of questions, not only about hunting, but about clay shooting as well. So, this issue we decided to list and answer several of the most often asked questions.
“Why am I not consistent? I shoot great on one day and then for the next six to seven times I can’t hit anything. It doesn’t matter whether it’s on clays or real birds.”
Well, inconsistency is something we are faced with a lot no matter where we go. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s on clays or live birds. This comment is usually followed up with one about what a great shot they were when they were young, and now that they have the time and money to travel and shoot, it seems that they can’t hit #&$@!
Sound familiar? We see many people that are still trying to swing through birds, and there is just too much risk in doing that, especially if you are past the age of 50. Suffice to say, we are both past 50, and all the research we have read and done indicates that as we age our ability to maintain focus on a moving object when there is another moving object in the same field of view is compromised.
Don’t believe us? Just pick up one of those video games when your grandchildren put them down and have a go at it. Our research shows that not only have you tried, but you failed miserably and you blame it on something other than age. But hold on – we just gave you a good scientific excuse if you want to use it.
What does this have to do with shotgunning you ask? Well, read on.
When we began our journey together 35 short years ago, mounting the gun behind the bird and swinging the gun through the bird and pulling the trigger as the muzzles moved past the bird was the accepted way to approach hitting a moving object with a shotgun. To the shooter it seemed that they were just shooting at the bird, but the reality was as the muzzles passed the bird, they were moving faster than the bird. By the time the trigger got pulled the gun was in front of the bird. The necessary lead to hit the bird was the result of the muzzle speed being greater than the speed of the bird.
Gil can still remember his granddad telling him that when you swing the muzzles past the bird, the movement of the muzzles would spread the shot in an oval out in front of the bird, making the lead more forgiving.
Well, we still hear this today and we might as well put it in print right here that it can’t happen. And here is why.
The shot comes out of the barrel at 1,200 fps, which doesn’t sound very fast. But the reality is that it is just over 800 mph. Do the math and see if we are off-base or not. Now, if the shot column is 1 inch long and it comes out of the barrel at 800 mph, how fast would the barrel have to move to spread the column like butter on a biscuit?
We don’t know the answer to that. If there are any of you who would like to do the math on it, we will publish it and even talk about it in Las Vegas in our seminars. Even though we don’t know the exact answer, we do know that it is impossible to do. So, there we said it. You have no idea how many times we have to answer that question each year.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about the inherent risks of the swing through method. Our research shows that swing through shooters shoot really great or really bad. One in ten times they are incredible shots, but the other nine times, they not only don’t have a good time, they are not fun to be around.
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