[Dave McCracken]

And that,of course, is Miss...

In our various Quests To Hit Them All, we do miss some. The reasons vary.

Some reasons and excuses Yr Humble Scrivener uses include....

Lifting my head.

Stopping the swing.

Flinching.

Overswinging.

Overconfidence.

Over-intellectualization.

Lack of concentration.

And least as well as last, wrong load/choke/shotgun..

You probably have your own additions.

More importantly, what do we do AFTER the miss?

A typical scenario goes.....

We miss a shot, often one we have made countless times. That bothers us, and wrecks our focus. The next shot also misses, then the wheels come off.

We end up losing our Mojo, with a bad score and poor self esteem.

Slumps can be rough. Some are serious enough people stop shooting.

So, what's the cure?

No cure, but some aids to help us out of the rut....

First, we often know why we miss. Get the basics back in action. Know that you CAN do this.

Next, do not let a miss snowball. Remember that, unless we're competing at the top levels or in an actual life crisis, not much bad will happen if we miss a clay, miss a dove, etc. Even unfilled deer tags are not much cause for angst.

Before taking that shot, think to yourself something like "I can do this".

Then do it....

[Oldnamvet]

The worst feeling is knowing before you shoot that you are going to miss! In that split second, something tells us that we are not doing it right. Usually my misses are all by about 6 inches -- the distance between my ears.

[sm]

Hey man, did you see that Katter-Whompus mess with the Whomper-Jaw and therefore the White Flyer did not Discombobulate ?

Thats my story and I am sticking to it. :D

All shooting is , is repeating the correct basic fundamentals over and over again.

Sounds really simple, especially when the human computer with its ability to do so much, so blinding fast , with processing speed, angle of flight, eye to hand coordination and everything else is part of all this "shooting".

-Gun Fits - check.
-Gun and loads patterned - check.
--Shooter has correct basic fundamentals instilled, ingrained, and lots of quality trigger time - check
-Mental game is in order - checked.

This should be Easy - correct?

No, we humans just have to mess with a good thing.
WE cannot stand NOT messing with something.

-I know, I'll lift my head!

-How about I look behind the target, instead of the leading edge!

-Sure I know to stop, access that shot, even ask another /others what I did, did not do. Once told, I will ignore them, and get really frustrated by continuing to work really hard at proving them wrong, and keep ignoring my human computer, or taking a break and keep on shooting doing all the mistakes until I run out of shells and get totally frustrated , mad and threaten to take up golf , or tennis, or maybe just go join the French Foreign Legion.


There is a reason some folks sit on the porch, sip a soda and mess with the dawg and shoot the bull with others.
This re-configs the human computer.

One can also re-config a human computer, by assisting others in shooting, refilling trap houses, making coffee, cooking the hot dogs and burgers , especially for kids.

Gremlins are another "reason" why folks miss.
These suckers change your 12 ga loads into 20 gauge loads when you arrive at the range with a 12 gauge shotgun. And other such "odd" happenings.
I mean I totally understand how 45ACP in a bag can look and feel like 28 gauge loads...really.
;)

I'll be messing with the dawg if'n you need me..

[TrapperReady]

Dave - When it comes to sporting clays... when I miss, I do one of two things:

1) If I know exactly where I missed it, then I correct that on the next shot. For example, if I missed in front of the target, then I cut the lead. If behind, then I stretch it out for the next pair.

2) If I pulled the trigger and have no idea why the target didn't break, then I do something radically different. Usually, this amounts to shooting the target either earlier in it's flight path or later in it's flight path for the next pair.

This approach helps me eliminate the problem of continuing to miss in the same location. When teaching students, I'll sometimes tell them "If you're going to miss it, at least miss it somewhere else."

In rough terms, a usable pattern is around 30". Therefore, making a change of less than 2' isn't likely to be helpful. In fact, it's amazing how often the advice of "double your lead" or "cut your lead in half" works out just right.

Now, as sm has pointed out, this assumes that the gun fits, the mount is consistent, the head is on the stock and the shooter can duplicate their actions from shot to shot.

[The Deer Hunter]

I think the #1 reason of missing clay is.....

Thinking!

[SoCalShooter]

Well when I was shooting clays for the first time it was apparently the fact that I was not "Pointing" I was harkening back to my rifle training.

[cslinger]

I don't miss. I just sometimes aim at something other than the target. I don't get lost either, I just take the scenic route. :uhoh:

[sm]

I think the #1 reason of missing clay is.....

Thinking!

No argument from me and others about that.

Gun fit and correct basics really are that important.

As Trapper shared, ""If you're going to miss it, at least miss it somewhere else."

Mental Game is a HUGE factor in shooting well.

Ever notice a clay shooter, especially a Skeet Shooter ask to "Shoot Two"* before the start of an event?

*Before the event, shooter focuses on something downrange, mounts gun to face and shoots two rounds.

This lets the shooter know the safety is off, the gun will fire a repeating shot, and to again let his Human Computer get the input of the gun as an extension to them.

See the gun stays "off safe" - perfectly safe and permissible on a Clay field.

Shooting Two , if the weather /lighting is right, can see the shot pattern, and effect of shot pattern downrange. Gets human computer "programmed" again on backgrounds (trees, no trees, brush, grass, dirt, ...etc).

Now known distances on Skeet, Trap fields are one thing.

Sporting Clays, as Trapper is sharing with, means One does not always know.
This can fool and play havoc on a Shotgunner.
One shoots from low gun, one has to mount gun to face correctly, and find the clay(s) and shoot perhaps in a little clearing the clay(s) came out of, and before they enter another set of trees.

Shoot! Don't think! You do not have time to do anything else. Clay is zipping along at 55mph or so....Skeet Field, Trap Field is one thing, Sporting Clays are another.

5 Stand is the same way, not knowing known distances, and having to shoot from low gun.
Just how "far" is that Springing Teal?
Last Springing Teal I was breaking ( I likes the ST stage *grin*) It was ~42 - 45 yards and I was breaking them hard, with a Fixed Skeet choked gun, using #8 Target loads - in 28 gauge *snicker*

Rifle Shooters : It is difficult for a Rifle shooter to transition to Shotguns more so than someone that is new to shooting, or does not shoot Rifles.

Rifle Shooters have programmed their human computers to shoot rifles, with guns that fit them, with correct basic fundamentals.


Home Practice goes a LONG way in programming the computer.
Rules of Safety in Dry firing apply,
Repetitions of Correct Basic Fundamentals , with a gun that fits, every night ( every chance through the week) of at least 25 times each session, really does help in "not missing"

Firearms should be an extension of the user, no matter the firearm or discipline.

Repetition becomes habit, habit becomes faith . - anon


Just shoot the damn thing! -anon

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks, folks.

ONV, I know the feeling.

Steve,"repeating the correct basic fundamentals"...

Absolutely. Part of the challenge is doing things exactly as they should be done.

TR, I've done that. Shot exactly the same wrong way and wondered why the target didn't break. Practicing missing...

As stated, I overswing. Remedy, return to swing through and work on the timing.

TDH, if not the biggest reason, close to it.

SoCal, folks with lots of rifle time have troubles shifting to shotguns. Putting the rifle away during the steepest part of the learning curve helps,IMO.

Cslinger, sure.....

[sm]

Habitat Management

You know, only so much acreage can support so many critters...

See, some folks just think I missed. Nope.

Ever notice how all them busted clays end up in the same spots all the time?

Well, if you let that Clay Target sail on...you are practicing Habitat Management :)


Just passing onto the new folks like I was is all...

[Big Az Al]

I really want to see that bird break so I cheat my head up off the stock to see it better! Loss get over it, sometimes I can!

My last slump started with my feet, not getting them in the proper position and fighting my body to make up for that mess up.

Once I realized That then I had to overcome the muscle memory that was made doing things wrong!

I found a book, first printed in 1971, Score better at Trap, by, Fred Missildine, Winchester Press.

In one section he writes, "We worry about the hard angle shots, and miss the Straight away shots!"

I would gladly shoot 3 hole hard angles and never have a dang nab straight away at all!

[sm]

Big Az Al wrote:
I found a book, first printed in 1971, Score better at Trap, by, Fred Missildine, Winchester Press.

Big Al,

Thank you for bringing up Missedine.

Score Better At Skeet and Score Better At Trap by Fred Missildine are two of the books I and others have recommended to others - forever.

Shotgunning : The Art & Science - Bob Brister being another one.

Folks, as Big Al knows-

Misseldine not only shares with pictures how to each of the stations at Skeet, or Trap, he also goes back and shares Why You Missed that station.

Example, Positioning, includes the feet and body as Big Al was sharing above.

Common Problem to new shooter and shooters that have not shot in awhile.

New shooter is a bit overwhelmed with "everything" one must do to hit a flying clay target zipping along at ~ 55 mph.
The Human Computer is gathering data, and getting itself programmed for something new, and all.

New shooter positions themselves "here" to break bird "there".
In Skeet for instance, halfway between center stake and the trap house, maybe even more "further toward" that house.

Learning, instilling all these Correct Basics and *finally* breaking birds and shooting a really good score, heck maybe even run a straight!

All of a Sudden, they are missing targets, they have been hitting with Authority.

Frustration sets in. I mean "Why?" they have been dusting them same targets.

Misseldine shares : One has become more one with the gun, letting the human computer do what it can without interfering with it [not thinking, but shooting], and these Correct Basic Fundamentals are more Instilled.

Simple as it may sound, still Misseldine shares That person is now ready to RE-Position body - including feet - to acquire that target faster, pick it up sooner, and they CAN break it faster.
I mean just past the center stake, instead of halfway or three-quarter way to house.

They are goofing up by "riding out " the target. Human computer is ready to break it sooner and the shooter is Impeding by thinking they still have to break it where they did starting out.

Reverse happens when seasoned shooter does not shoot for some time, or maybe has not shot in years.
They attempt to do what they did back when they had a lot of trigger time back in the day, shooting 2, 3 , 4 times a week.
Nope, change positions to allow for being "rusty" and in short order the human computer and body says " Oh yeah, we remember this".


Art & Science indeed!

[Dave McCracken]

Misseldine knew his stuff. Old book but still applies.

A common prob,Al, is to set up 90 degress off the flight path. We run out of swing quickly then. A more open stance doesn't inhibit the move.

[waterhouse]

Over-intellectualization.

As someone else mentioned, the main reason I miss is thinking too much about it. My uncle noticed this in me at a young age:

When we were walking and birds would just flush I rarely missed. If caught by surprise, I dropped birds before most of the older folk had their guns shouldered. But if the dog got on point and everyone got ready for the flush I missed a lot. It was very frustrating. My uncle pointed out that I was spending too much time preparing for the shot and thinking about it, instead of just reacting and letting the gun do the work.

It's crazy how well your brain and body work if you don't interfere by thinking too much. Now before I call pull or when the dog gets on point I have to remind myself to just let the shot happen. It is sort of a Zen thing.

[tkendrick]

I had my earplugs in too tight...so I didn't hear myself say pull, and I wasn't ready for the bird!

[sm]

I'm prone to only miss on the days that end in "Y"...

[Rollin Oswald]

Consistency is very important when shooting. It is more important when consistently doing things correctly - body posture, gun mount, etc.

Most people do as I did back in the 1950s when I began shooting - buy gun, buy shells, find targets, shoot. That is OK for some people and not so good for others. I fell into the not-so-good category.

Due to a genetic anomaly (possibly caused by an ancestor's attempt to breed with a domesticated animal), I was born with low cheekbones. So what, you ask? I look normal and my knuckles don't drag when I walk but when it came to shooting, many birds owed their continued existence to my cheekbones.

We all shoot (or should) with our cheek making snug contact with the top of a shotgun's stock, the comb. That fact determines the height of our eyes relative to the rib or barrel.

The eye serves the same purpose on a shotgun that a back sight on a rifle. The sight is raised when we want the bullet to print higher. And so it is with shotguns. My eye was above the level of the rib/barrel and I shot over all crossing targets.

The stock dimension that describes the level of the stock's comb compared to the level of the rib or barrel is called, drop at the comb. The drop at the comb on all guns is inadequate for my low cheekbones. There were solutions to my problem but I did not learn about them until years later.

So it is with many shooters. One or more of the five basic stock dimensions do not fit the majority of shooters. That doesn't mean they cannot shoot the gun, obviously. What it does mean is that they cannot use the shooting form (gun mount, body posture, weight distribution) that time proved to result in the greatest shooting success.

These unfortunate shooters have increased difficulty doing everything the same, shot after shot. Because of these inconsistencies, their shooting success varies from shot to shot and from day to day.

Solutions to this problem vary. It may be a matter of just learning how to shoot or it may involve getting their guns to fit them. The averagee man for whom shotgun stocks were designed is 5' 10" tall and weight 160 pounds. He has an average distance between the pupil of his eyes and his cheekbones, he has an average shoulder width and an average chest configuration. If you fall withing this criteria, your gun probably fits very well. It allows you to use the correct shooting form (if you know it) and can allow you to shoot better and more consistently if you use it.

(Self promotion:) The above problems were the reason I wrote Stock Fitting Secrets a few years ago, to help shooters shoot better and more comfortably by providing step-by-step instructions for getting their guns to fit while using the correct shooting form for various shooting disciplines. (End of flag-waving)

Rollin

[sm]

Rollin Oswald,

Welcome to THR.
You wrote:

Solutions to this problem vary. It may be a matter of just learning how to shoot or it may involve getting their guns to fit them. The averagee man for whom shotgun stocks were designed is 5' 10" tall and weight 160 pounds. He has an average distance between the pupil of his eyes and his cheekbones, he has an average shoulder width and an average chest configuration. If you fall withing this criteria, your gun probably fits very well. It allows you to use the correct shooting form (if you know it) and can allow you to shoot better and more consistently if you use it.

Trust me, you ain't the only one that has been preaching that message for some time now.
:D

Yeah, Steve drives us nuts about Gun Fit and all around here... ;)


One cannot buy skill and targets. - Me

Good shooters are made - not born - Misseldine

Always bring the work to you, don't go to the work
- Mentor, in reference to using tools effectively to work on something, one must use the correct tools for task, tools must fit user, user must have correct basics of tool use and if one does not get uncomfortable, they do not fatigue, and fatigue causes mistakes.

Not read the book, sounds good to me though.
I wish you will well with it, and I bet , you, myself, and others around here are on the same page on all this.


Steve

[Dave McCracken]

Nobody shoots their best with an ill fitting shotgun.

Nobody does their best with bad form and technique either,IMO.

Both the equipment and "Chops" have to be good to consistently bust clays, down ducks or whatever.

I've been preaching getting the fit right, then BA/UU/R for a good while now.

[sm]

I've been preaching getting the fit right, then BA/UU/R for a good while now.

Yeah, and we still ain't get our pictures on the cover of Rolling Stone. :)


Ya know, just a suggestion mind you, I mean you are welcome to do as you please and all , just you might wanna try flipping that shotgun over where the trigger is on the bottom and see if that helps with fit just a bit. - Mentor.


:D


True.
Hustling, and he said to this a fellow that had a high dollar gun, great shooter.
Mental game got rattled and high dollar gun owner, dropped two birds
Mentor got the "cigar box".

[johnmcl]

Hi Dave,

I should have weighed in earlier on this, but I'm just back from one of those trips again. Every time I want to talk shotguns, work interrupts.

I find I miss (most) because of the concentration level. As you know, I run this informal trap league. When I'm shooting Tuesday nights I have a 100 things going through my head, and just one of them is mental preparation for the shot. I find that I have to execute a complete mental flush to get set straight.

I'm only so effective. I'm averaging in the low 20's. On off-league shootings, I can do a 24 any day.

Focus, focus, focus....

[Picknlittle]

I always figured I missed cause I pointed the gun in the wrong place!;):):D

[Dave McCracken]

Steve, I don't WANT my pichur on the cover of anything.

Cept maybe the premier issue of Pumpguns Forever....

John,so true. narrowing the focus is both crucial and hard. Good for character development, though.

Work on it, and let that fine shotgun find the way.

Pick, true but we want to hit them all....

[Big Az Al]

Talking or noise behind me?

No.

Right out of High School I got into an archery league. Twenty five people, ten or twelve of them were top twenty pro's.

The things that went on inch's away from my elbo when I was at full draw trying to stick three arrows into the X ring, would fill a novel, it was sink or swim, if it bothered me I was sinking fast. Other wise it was total focus, and a bomb could have gone off in the building and the shooters that were on the line would need to be told.

So when I am struggling, with self distraction, please try to distract me more, after all it is still the best way I know to get into deep, relaxed, focussed, concetration!

That and for me while doing good, it is living in the moment. I can't not count, but if I can make it that I know I am doing good and focus on the fun of doing good and not worry about what I can do wrong. When I am in this mode All of the sudden I reach for a shell and find an empty box! What I say it can't be I am having to much fun!

OOPs this is supposed be how I miss. I think I have found everyway possible.

At least ten times over!

[John Rogers]

(struggling to hold back a joke about "the missus") The nice thing about being a rank beginner is that missing is normal and not a cause for concern. I just try to think about whatever I was doing when I got a hit, and then doing that again.

If you could eliminate all missing, wouldn't shooting shotguns become terribly dull? Not that this is a problem I'm likely to have in the foreseeable future...

[sm]

Always respect the quail - Ruark

Quail are something else. One can learn a lot from quail.

Now I was raised a certain way, and learned to shoot with distractions , like Mentors tossing a big old firecracker, or shooting a big bore about the time I was to slap trigger on a Skeet Target - just to get me stay focused.
I grew up around quail, and quail assisted me a LOT in staying focused.

I have seen the big macho folks, the hot shot clay shooters, the big bullies, braggarts and gun-ho wannabe's come totally unglued when a quail Explodes at their feet.
I mean wet themselves.

"What the hell was that!" - they ask
"Quail" - we reply, trying not to look at peed britches, we do chuckle tho'
"Quail? And we are supposed to shoot them after they do that!"
<chuckle> " Yeah, general idea, and the reason we are out here" we reply, wiping tears from eyes.

Might be Rambo, Club Champ, Big Braggart from the Gun Store, don't matter.

Missed?
Hell they never even got the damn gun up, much less made any headway toward anything to so with shooting a shotgun.
:D

[Oldnamvet]

I have seen the same thing with first timers when a pheasant blasts out under their feet, cackling, feathers flying, and sometimes getting rid of "excess weight" at lift off. Saw one guy actually drip his gun and cover his head with his arms. I could never quite figure when he thought he was doing. You never get used to it, you just control it, stay calm, and make the shot.

[TexasRifleman]

Damn Wal-Mart value pack 20 gauge, they always shoot way left......

[Dave McCracken]

Sonebody raised a point. If we never missed things would be dull.

Wingshooting demands a leap of faith every shot. We HAVE to believe we're sending the shot to the right place. The better we are, the more it happens.