In March, I saw Bob Wilson at River Road Sporting Clays and he said he was having trouble with rabbits. When I asked him what seemed to be the problem he said he kept shooting in front of the %#@$ rabbits and couldn’t seem to correct it.
When he said that, I knew that one of two things were the problem. Either he was not holding focus on the target or he was moving the gun way too fast. We went to the Fur & Feather on the south course immediately. When we arrived at the station we looked at a couple of rabbits and talked about some of the idiosyncrasies of that target.
We discussed that the rabbit target appears to be going faster than normal because it bounces erratically. It also doesn’t fly in a straight line like a normal clay. Because the rabbit appears faster than it really is, excessive gun speed typically creates misses in front. Even though everything looks right when you pull the trigger, you still miss in front because the gun is going so much faster than the rabbit.
Vicki and I see this problem most frequently in women. We feel that it has something to do with the fact that most women see lead in terms of inches at the barrel, not feet at the target like most men. More on that in another article.
The easiest way to slow down both the rabbit and the gun is to focus on the center circle of the rabbit, and don’t move until you see it. Yes, for those of you who have been shooting streaks, the rabbit has a raised circular portion in its center where the manufacturer’s logo is stamped. When sharp focus on this circle is achieved, the target will seem to slow down because you are less aware of the background. The target will also seem to straighten out its flight path.
After going over these things, Bob and I looked at a few rabbits and he decided that he hadn’t been focusing on the center circle. Once he did that, the rabbit really did appear to slow down and roll smoother. It was then that Bob realized another big thing about rabbits – they come out fast and slow down every time they hit the ground. Also, the longer they are on the ground (rolling and not hopping) the quicker they slow down. We then talked about his swing and how it should slow down with the rabbit so his lead picture would be constant and correct.
Then came the magic moment. Bob tried one – and hit it. The look of disbelief on his face was priceless. He couldn’t get over how slow the rabbit appeared and how easy it was to hit. Then he asked if he needed to do anything different at longer distances, so we backed up. To his amazement, it got slower and easier to hit.
Problem solved!
So, remember: when shooting rabbits, focus on the center circle first before you move. Swing with the exact speed of the rabbit, put the gun where it needs to be, and kill it.
