The past hunting season is a memory, hopefully a great one. I’m sure your outdoor thoughts have turned to fishing, gardening, golf, tennis, or whatever makes you happy.
Now would be a great time to review your past wing shooting hunts and think about what you would have done differently or what you learned. Write some things down that you want to do or try next hunting season. We find that when you write something down it seems to get done, provided you can remember where you put the piece of paper you wrote it down on! Vicki and I travel the country teaching people to shoot shotguns. We are often asked questions by hunters like you. The following are some of the most frequently asked questions and our answers.
Admit to himself that he needs to improve and make a commitment to do so. Making a commitment means spending time each week or month practicing to get better. Taking shooting lessons from an experienced coach would be a good start. He should practice his gun mount at home daily. He should also practice clay target shooting at least every other week. But most important is practicing the gun mount.
Most hunters don’t have a realistic view of their proficiency. They look at reaching a limit when they’re bird hunting as an indication of success. But the key is this: How many shots did it take to get a limit? If it takes four boxes of shells to get 12 doves, that means he’s a 12% shooter. If it takes one box, he’s a 48% shooter. Hunters have to admit they need to improve or they won’t get any better. A goal without a commitment is a dream.
Trap, sheet, and sporting clays are all good practice. Trap is good practice for flushing game like grouse, pheasant, and quail. These birds are generally going away from you when you shoot them, and trap shots are all going away at different angles.
Skeet is great practice for doves and ducks because these birds are typically shot at while crossing or incoming. Skeet targets are more crossing or incoming than trap targets.
Sporting clays is ideal practice for all game bird hunters because of all the different trajectories it offers. It’s more like hunting. Trap and skeet are usually shot from a mounted-gun position, but if hunters are using these games to practice for bird hunting, they should shoot them from a low gun position like sporting clays.
First, the methods:
In the pull-away method, the gun is mounted just under the bird, and after following the bird for ten to fifteen feet, the gun is pulled or pushed away into the lead and the shot is taken. In swing-through, the gun is mounted just behind the bird, and as the gun passes through and leaves the bird, the trigger is pulled. For maintained lead, focus on the bird, move and mount the gun into the lead in front of the bird, and take the shot as the mount is finished.
No one method is best, and all are used for hunting live birds. The fact is that the gun must be in front of the bird to hit it. How the gun gets there is of less importance than where it is when the trigger is pulled. It is the smoothness and consistency of the move and mount that is the most important. The more the hunter thinks about the mechanics of his move, the worse he will shoot.
The same can be said for lead: the more the hunter focuses on lead, the worse he’ll shoot. That’s why it’s so important to practice moving and mounting the shotgun for consistent wing shooting. You can’t think and shoot at the same time.
The basic difference in clay shooting and wing shooting is that the clay target is typically decelerating, and a live bird is either accelerating or maintaining its speed. Although the birds are different, the fundamental move and mount is the same in clay targets and wing shooting. It is the consistency of the move and mount that determines the consistency of the shot.
A fundamental difference between clay and live bird shooting is that unlike a spinning clay target, a live bird has wings that are typically moving rapidly. Because the eyes instinctively go to motion, the wing shooter automatically focuses on the bird. If there’s a little bobble in the move or mount, the eyes will typically stay focused on the bird and improve the shooter’s chances of hitting it.
When shooting clays, there’s nothing moving on the target, so if there’s a bobble or erratic move during the move or mount, the eyes go to the gun barrel, which is the number one reason for missing a target or a game bird with a shotgun. The smoother and more precisely a person moves and mounts a shotgun, the more consistently and successfully he shoots.
Perhaps the most common mistake we see wing shooters make is that they mount the gun to their shoulder first and then put their head down on the stock like they were shooting a rifle. They then look at the front bead, and try to chase the bird with the gun. That creates visual confusion. Successful, consistent shooters know they must focus on the target first, then move and mount the gun into the lead and pull the trigger.
So, whether the gun comes from behind the bird and goes to the lead or goes to the bird and then the lead, or if the gun comes up in front to the bird and into the lead, it is focusing on the target and instinctively moving and mounting the gun that generates consistency in shotgun shooting.
When shooting a rifle, you mount the gun to your shoulder, put your head down on the stock, line up the sights with the target, and squeeze the trigger. When shooting a shotgun, you never look down the barrel. This is probably the greatest misconception out there in the world of wing shooting. The eyes will always be off to one side or the other focusing on the target, whether it’s painted or wearing feathers.
Think about it – if you’re focused on the bird and the gun must be pointed ahead of the bird to hit it, you can’t be looking down the barrel of the gun! You aim a rifle and you point a shotgun ahead of what you are looking at.
The most common reason for missing with a shotgun is excessive muzzle awareness. Your eyes can only focus on one thing at a time. We have found a common thread in all successes with a shotgun. It is laser-like focus on the front of the target or on the head of the game bird that will put more X’s on your score card and more birds in your bag.
What do you do if you can’t see the head?The head is easily visible on a crossing bird, but sometimes not so visible on birds going away. If they are going straight away from you, focus on their body between the wings. If they are flying away from you at an angle, focus on the leading wingtip.
Birds that are flying on an angle to the left focus on the left wingtip and those going to the right focus on the right wingtip. It is our experience that your eyes will typically focus on the back of a moving object. This is why you get tail feathers so often. It is also why the majority of all shots taken with a shotgun miss behind the bird.
We realize that in many instances there are only a few inches between the front and back of the bird, but in some instances it could be as much as two or three feet (large geese and cranes).
You might think, “What difference does a few inches make?” Here is the difference: On a moving target when you are focused on the back, your eyes are receiving movement input from the “where it’s been” side of the target. However, when your focus is on the front of the target, the eyes are receiving movement input from the “where it’s going” side. It’s more important to know where it is going than where it’s been if you must be in front of it to hit it.
Another obvious difference between rifle and shotgun shooting is the target is moving when shooting a shotgun, and the target is typically still when shooting a rifle. When mounting a shotgun, it must be mounted smoothly to the face in the same place each time. The reason for the smooth mount, again, comes back to vision.
When you track a moving object with your eyes, you are actually pointing your nose at the object as it moves and your eyes are still. This is because for the eyes to efficiently focus with pinpoint accuracy, they must be in the center of the ocular orbit or eye socket. Once your eyes have focused on a moving object, your head must turn in sync with the object in order for you to maintain focus on the object.
When shooting a bird, you must first focus on the bird and at that point your nose will begin tracking the bird. As you begin to mount the gun, it must be mounted smoothly to the face without interrupting the head’s movement as it tracks the bird. If, during the mount, the head stops for whatever reason, you will lose focus on the bird.
If the move and mount of the gun is in sync with the bird, it makes it easy to mount the gun to your face and shoulder without stopping your head from moving with and tracking the bird. When a shotgun is mounted correctly, it is one fluid motion and the speed of that motion is 100 percent determined by the speed of the bird. If the bird is fast, move fast. If the bird is slow, move slow. It’s not a fight – it’s a dance. And the bird is leading.
We are sure you would all agree that it is impossible to hit a moving object without first focusing on it. As you can see, it’s impossible to maintain focus on a target if you can’t move and mount the shotgun correctly. So, if you want to become a better wing shooter, practice your gun mount.
There is a shortcut to becoming more proficient with a shotgun: go take a shooting lesson with an experienced shooting instructor. But remember, the value of the lesson is not in what you paid for it. The value is in what you do with the information after the lesson is over.
You will never shoot a shotgun better than your basic move and mount. Technical expertise is always preceded by experience. Practice. Practice. Practice. Do it now. Don’t wait until the last minute.
