Thread: Shooting Sporting Clays, help

OK all you Sporting Clays experts. Following on from another thread.

I need some pointers. I have a major issue with shooting crossing targets at say 40 yards. Left to right or right to left it matters not. If I see the bird coming, start moving, mount the gun and shoot I generally miss.

However If I try and shoot it the instant i see it then generally hit 3 out five even though its further away and going faster.

I shoot gun down.

I have the same issues in that i can generally hit the fast / no time for thinking birds but on the long shots where there is no hurry then I have issues and feel I am reverting to "aiming"

How do I teach myself to look at the "bird" and only the "bird" and nothing else.

Its frustrating to say the least.

Was going to mention in the other thread the reason a lot people shoot with no time well is they just shoot on our instinct knowing your never gunna hit any target shooting behind it.
You are most likely over thinking your shots and not trusting what you know is right mikee. We all do it.
Your mind set may already thinking miss before you even address the target.
It is also hard to fix things without seeing. Everyone within reason has it in them to address a target and engage it properly they just have to get rid of some bad habits.
Don't forget you almost always need to shoot under long crossers as well.


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Originally Posted by mikee

OK all you Sporting Clays experts. Following on from another thread.

I need some pointers. I have a major issue with shooting crossing targets at say 40 yards. Left to right or right to left it matters not. If I see the bird coming, start moving, mount the gun and shoot I generally miss.

However If I try and shoot it the instant i see it then generally hit 3 out five even though its further away and going faster.

I shoot gun down.

I have the same issues in that i can generally hit the fast / no time for thinking birds but on the long shots where there is no hurry then I have issues and feel I am reverting to "aiming"

How do I teach myself to look at the "bird" and only the "bird" and nothing else.

Its frustrating to say the least.

I'm not being a smart arse when I ask you this .
Do you have an idea of how you shoot a crossing target , doesn't matter if its close or far . What I mean by that question is
Do you start the barrels behind the bird , on the bird , in front of the bird ?
Are you a swing through , pull away or maintained lead shooter on a crossing target .
That often isn't a easy question to answer for a lot of shooters , because they say I don't know I just shoot it .
Knowing what technique you use will have help a little in tracking down some answers for you .

Set your body up where's it's neutral to where you want to shoot the bird
Gun back about 1/3 - 1/4 distance out from where you'll see it to shoot it (unmounted)
Eyes back to where the bird comes out
Pull

Shoot it gun up same way 1st before bringing mount into it.
Swing will be faster too
Then work towards gun down

Originally Posted by Ground Control

I'm not being a smart arse when I ask you this .
Do you have an idea of how you shoot a crossing target , doesn't matter if its close or far . What I mean by that question is
Do you start the barrels behind the bird , on the bird , in front of the bird ?
Are you a swing through , pull away or maintained lead shooter on a crossing target .
That often isn't a easy question to answer for a lot of shooters , because they say I don't know I just shoot it .
Knowing what technique you use will have help a little in tracking down some answers for you .

Will give this some thought because I am trying to figure out how I do it.
if I am trying to shoot the bird as soon as it gets out of the house, I would say gun up and onto bird and pull trigger but if I try and shoot it more out front the I seem to struggle, I swing thru from behind the bird but then as I come past it the lead thing pops up, as in how much, things get indecisive from there and a miss results as I lead too much or stop the gun on firing (I think)

Do you have access to a Skeet layout where you can practice shooting ?
Although Skeet has developed into a gun up ( many would say boring ) game , it is a great way to practice for sporting , you will see 80% of all sporting targets ( sure the distances may be different , but the angles are the same ) on a Skeet field and if you are having a problem on a particular target you can learn a huge amount by taking a couple of boxes of ammo and just shooting that target until you have become confident with it .
Also remember that a lot of the reason that gun up - pre mounted shooting is allowed in many clay target events is because you don't actually have a great deal of time to engage the target and kill it before the distance increases or the targets line of flight changes due to gravity .
Sometimes on a target that you can see at distance and for a longer period of time the worst thing you can do is mount the gun earlier than you need to .
That often leads to tracking the bird and as I call it " photographing " it . You start to do calculations in your head they are only going to muck you up . Delay your gun mount Watch the target and nothing else , you will start to move the gun still unmounted without even thinking about it and the barrel to target relationship will start to develop , mount the gun and shoot the target in one fluid action . That doesn't mean rushing it , but you will start to develop a timing of the shot .
Your feet position is one of the most important aspects of shotgunning . You must know where you are going to kill the bird and set yourself up for it .
Confidence is a massive part of it all , and that is why I mentioned practicing on a skeet field . When you are presented with a target on a sporting course you just say " hey that's just like the target I practiced the other day , I know how to shoot that "
You are already ahead of most of the other people in your squad when you have that attitude .


Ken

Thanks for the reply Ken,
I dont have easy access to a skeet layout but the group of shooters I shoot with have a sporting clays layout comprising 7 traps . I can shoot more or less anytime I like
I spent sunday arvo there trying to get the hang of shooting the crossers, burned up a slab with out any concrete answers. Apart from the closer to the trap I try to hit the bird the better my chances.
Since I was shooting on my own I think I spent most of the time chasing my tail and just burning up ammo for naught. I have a better chance of sucess with my origional 20g but being a 28 in 6lb field gun is lighter and shorter and swings complety different than my new 32in 8lb gun
Time for some proper lessons methinks.

Hi Mikee, lot of very good Sporting shots up your way, all members of Nelson Wimea Clay Target Club and all very keen dedicated Sporto's.
I'm sure they will be more than happy to help you, check their web site: Clay Target Shooting Club | Wix.com!
Looks like they have a duck shooters sporting day 80 targets on April 6, probably a good start.
Also have a look at: Forward allowance, lead for clay target Shooting by Sunrise Productions - YouTube one of the best!
Have a peak at 'See the lead' a great practical video to look at what the 'experts' are seeing: See the Lead - Shooting with a Shotgun - Home Page

mikee, Ive just found an American clay shooting web site, OSP Shooting School
It details and shows good u tube of several targets found in Sporting Clays and how to approach them.
It is a bit 'American' but very easy to follow and understand the graphics are simple but tell the story.
See if it helps.

@madds Thanks mate, Ill have a wee squiz.
I shoot with quite a few good shooters (who are also members of the gunclub you mentioned) who have set up their own little layout, I am going to see if i can get some one on one help.

Get that barrel moving boy!!!!! Spanners and Ground Control explained it well, as in a lot of things, your body will follow your head, get that barrel moving before mounting. You really need to swing faaaaaaaast on some of the faster crossers, faster than you'd think and lead waaaay more than you think also. It can be handy having someone stand behind your shoulder and spot where your shots are going, more often than not you'll be way behind...

Hell Ken, did you write that all by yourself, Aussie must be agreeing with you!
You couldn't even read when you lefy Nelson LOL
Seriously, very good advice I must say, confidence, get the feet and head right you are pretty well there.

Cheeky W***er.

: )

When are you coming over here for a shot.
Our club (S.I.Sporting Clay Shooters) is running the Compak Nationals late Nov. this year at Oamaru and the N.Z Sporting week next February at Wanaka!!

Originally Posted by madds

When are you coming over here for a shot.
Our club (S.I.Sporting Clay Shooters) is running the Compak Nationals late Nov. this year at Oamaru and the N.Z Sporting week next February at Wanaka!!

I don't know when I'll be in NZ next .
I was going to go to Portugal for the worlds this year , but the guy I was going with is very ill , so I've put that off for now . To tell you the truth I'd prefer to go to the worlds in the States and I believe that they may be there in a couple of years .
Are you going to Portugal ?

Ken