The first thing everyone in our clinics wants to do is to learn to shoot hard targets. Our first question is, “what is your definition of a hard target?” What may be hard for one person is not for another. Once we have established what is hard, we can go from there. You can only improve when you have isolated the problem.
If all right-to-left targets are hard for you, then your goal will be to practice hitting only right-to-left angled targets. Hit them close to the trap, in the middle of their flight path, and then further out. Be comfortable with all angles and speeds, so that none of the targets on a course are hard targets for you.
We are always amazed at the ranges that present really hard targets. There was a range here in Texas that got great glee from throwing ridiculously hard targets. The shooters got tired of going and being humiliated, and therefore, they stopped going. When a master shooter shoots 75, you know how the D and E shooter shot. Are they going to come back and do that again? I don’t think so. There is a way to throw targets that can not all be broken, but at least the lower class person won’t feel embarrassed. Let the person beat themselves, not have the targets beat them.
We also are surprised by the tournament shooters who go and just practice these really hard targets. Not all the targets on a course are going to be hard. The majority are going to be close and fool you with angles and speed. Go to the skeet range and have confidence in your ability to hit anything that comes within you and 25 yards. Be comfortable in hitting it anywhere you want to. Your practice will be better spent on making all targets and all trajectories within 25 to 30 yards dead. If you only work on that 50-yard crossing target, you are not getting the full benefit out of your practice. You will only see maybe 10 of those targets. The other 90 will be those close ones that have a little curve on them and are at your feet.
Remember the courses at the US Open? Nothing was really far away, but they were very deceptive and probably the best targets I’ve seen in a long time. Many a shooter grumbled off the stands where the targets were really close and fast. “How can I miss that? It was right at my feet.”
Sound familiar? All were very hittable, but you didn’t hit them.
Do you need to practice those 50-yard crossing targets? Yes. Of course, you do. More importantly, you need to be confident that you can hit anything between you and 30 yards anywhere you want to hit it and at any angle.
Practicing only hard targets gives you permission to miss the target. Practice hitting each of those easy targets. That makes your score better. That is the goal of shooting.
