[Dave McCracken]

The Beretta White Onyx Sporter that comprises the high end of my shotgun collection keeps chugging along. The glitch that had the inertia triggers not resetting with my 7/8 oz reloads has gone away. After close to 8K rounds in 1.5 years, it has proved its worth.

And it feels like a body part, not a tool....

Total mods consist of a Hi Viz F/O sight and a Sims(Limbsaver) pad that brings LOP to 15". The pad was a prefit and fit very close to perfectly.

Oh, yes, some electrical tape is wrapped around the sides of the pad to slick up the mount. The Brister method.

No visible wear to the shotgun, but the aftermarket pad has a worn place on the left where it must rub during the mount. Since I've altered pads in the past to duplicate this, I'm not bothered by it. It may even improve fit.

And if I'm mounting the shotgun enough to show visible wear after less than 2 years use, I'm probably doing something right.

The soft material of the Sims may wear faster than some pads of old, but I can accept the tradeoff of needing a new one sooner than Century XXII. The Sims helps handle kick, holds off my flinch and slides nicely into the pocket where it belongs. Not much more can be asked of a pad.It's as good a pad as the Pachmyer Decellerator, another long time favorite.

PM has been done on the shotgun,though the chromed bores need little attention. A touch of grease on the action pins and hinges, a bit more on the ejectors, and some on the choke tube threads. The exterior gets a wipe down with automotive oil on a rag, and I've waxed the stock twice since purchase. Use of a Boresnake immediately after shooting gets the plastic crud out before it hardens much and keeps things nice and neat inside. When I'm really motivated, I do use SLIP 2000 on the bores. I dunno how much it helps but am absolutely sure it does not hurt.

IMO, the Beretta WOS is a great entry level clays O/U and well worth the money.

Now the software....

Shooting darn near everything low gun (Mounting as I call for the bird or when I sight it) has improved my mount enormously. A lot of work, but again worth it.

I'm still working on shooting two eyed. I note that I have to move my hold points back towards the trap on left to right shots to get the bird into my right eye's field of vision sooner, but at this point it's nigh unconscious.

For those coming in late, I've had some mixed eye hand dominance issues and have been a one eyed shooter most of my life. A decent one eyed shooter, but felt limited and vowed to change a few years back.

My stance has also altered a bit, moving more towards a squared off stance rather than the rifleman's style. For students of British shooting, more Churchill than Stansbury. This means more flexibility and use of a slightly shorter LOP while losing some recoil tolerance.

IOW, I'm more behind the gun than alongside it.

That last is not to be considered a universally beneficial move. People vary, and good work is done with both styles. Each of us needs to find out what works.

I'm still primarily a swing through shooter, some pullaway, not much sustained lead. It works for me, though my skeet scores still reek.

And now some Zen....

Shotgunning is one of those things where the journey IS the goal.

Never let the fact that you're not hitting them all stop you from trying.....

[Ben Shepherd]

Thanks for sharing.

I also LOVE those limbsaver pads. But I fight one thing with them bad. Mounting the gun. They're soft and sticky, I seem to catch and drag the darn thing 2 out of 3 times. Thoughts? Maybe the tape method over the top edge of the pad?

[Jeff F]

I have the same problem with those sticky limb savers pads and have found that a little talcum powder or baby powder on the pad helps a lot.

[sm]

Dave,

Thank you again for sharing such wisdom.

[Fred Fuller]

Thanks again, Dave.

Never let the fact that you're not hitting them all stop you from trying.....

Not me... not even in public. :D

lpl

[sm]

Never let the fact that you're not hitting them all stop you from trying.....

Clay do not come from "When the daddy clay and mommie clay come back from having a nice dinner and mommie clay had too much wine".
Nope, sorry , hate to disappoint some folks...

Clay targets come from Earth, so if one does not sew clays, they ain't gonna reap clays.

*rationale-one-o-one*

[Snarlingiron]

Good post, Dave, as usual. I didn't know you had the same eye dominance issue that I do. I am working on shooting with both eyes open, but with mixed success. Sometime I do it and don't even realize it until the shot has been taken. Other times I consciously try to do it and can't hit a barn from inside. A lifetime habit is hard to break.

With all that said, I shot my best ever sporting clays this am. 65. I know it's only a passable score, but it sure made my day.

Next goal, 70.

I learned sustained lead on the skeet range. I have been going to the range by myself, and shooting only stations 3,4 and 5. This has helped me get dialed in on sustained lead, and lead in general.

Peter Blakeley says in his book that you are better off to shoot one troublesome station over and over until you are consistently breaking it rather than trying to get dialed in just shooting it during the course of the game.

I have found this to be good advice and it is the reason I often go by myself. It keeps the other guys from having to suffer the tedium of watching me shoot high 3 or low 5, or whatever 30 or 40 times in succession.

Never let the fact that you're not hitting them all stop you from trying.....

Not me... not even in public.

The other day when I was shooting station 5 by myself, a gentleman sat down on the bench a few feet behind me. I glanced at him, and he asked, "Am I making you nervous?". "No, sir..I can miss 'em with or without an audience."

[Oldnamvet]

The other day when I was shooting station 5 by myself, a gentleman sat down on the bench a few feet behind me. I glanced at him, and he asked, "Am I making you nervous?". "No, sir..I can miss 'em with or without an audience."


One of our skeet ranges is in close proximity to the parking lot. When someone drives in and sits in their car watching one of our regulars shoot, he goes to pieces. Even if they are not watching him, just staying in the A/C until a range opens up, listening to a favorite song, etc. It doesn't matter, he still goes downhill. He will routinely miss at least 3-5 birds he normally crushes. Lot full of cars doesn't bother him but if someone is inside one and he notices, there goes his score. A self-fullfilling prophecy anymore. Misses them only with an audience.

[Snarlingiron]

Funny how different things effect us. I sometime shoot at a place that has manual controls. They only have 2 skeet ranges, so when you sign up at the club house for a round, you often meet a group of strangers that have signed up just before you. Of course, you can wait, but often as not I just ask to join the other group if it is only 2 or 3 guys. You also have to have a trapper, so that means that you are shooting in the company of several folks you don't know. It has really helped me, and I find that even if there is one guy that is a real ace, there is almost always at least one other duffer.

It has become obvious to me that whatever game you shoot, shotgunning is a game of concentration. Anything that breaks your concentration will negatively impact your performance.

[Pete409]

I solved my gun mounting problem years ago by switching to the pre-mounted position on EVERYTHING. Makes no difference whether skeet, trap, or sporting, I always start with the gun mounted to my shoulder.

I may not have my cheek on the stock, depending on where the target is coming from, but the recoil pad is on my shoulder when I call for the target.

As for one or two eyed, I shoot mostly one eyed. I usually have both eyes open when calling for the target, but before pulling the trigger, I instinctively close the left eye.

As for stance, I usually line up to be in a comfortable shooting position when the target is in the "kill zone". Then I wind back toward the trap as much as I feel is necessary. If shooting a pair, I will usually line up to favor the second shot. I may be a little out of position for the first one, but I'll be comfortable for the second one which is often the harder of the two shots.

Likewise, I shoot mostly swing through with some pull away and some sustained lead and some "spot shots". I seldom think in advance of what type shooting method I'm going to use for that shot. I usually just think of where I'm going to break the target and where I'm going to hold my gun when calling for the target. Then I just let my subconscious take over to figure out how to get it done. When the picture looks right, I pull the trigger.

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks, folks. A couple things...

Ben and Jeff, the sticky sides are the only downside. A little electrical tape wrapped around the sides fixes nicely. It needs replacing periodically. Picked up the tip from something Brister wrote.

Brister, BTW, was a genius/artist with a shotgun. Anything he wrote is worth reading and remembering.

Steve, you're very welcome.

Lee, you'd love it. Come on....

SI and OLNV, audiences don't bother me much. I did demos when instructing in front of hundreds of folks. Still do at times, though now it's clays instead of silohuettes and tombstones. I do know folks that fall apart, though.

One guy is fine until he misses one. then, his game has the wheels fall off. I've seen him run 25, then drop one, followed by three more in the next five shots. By the time he gets it back, things are ugly.

Re mixed dominance. Sometimes I can shoot without closing my left eye, others times I can't keep it open. Progress is being made, but it's a slow process changing a habit a half century old.

Pete, if it works for you, fine. I just wanted to get my mount grooved in and low gun does it for me. It also helps my flinch.