[DCR]

Hi, all -

I'm not a serious shotgunner and don't plan to become one. I use them for home defense and CAS, and, as of last night, shooting clay birds with my brother-in-law's "just for fun" team in a league. And my scores will definitely keep the team from shooting handicap.:o I stink. 17/25 and 13/25. No beginner's luck for me!

I guess I've never quite learned proper "sight picture" for shooting shotguns; I'd always thought you just point in the direction where you want the shot to go. Very different from my rifle and handgun shooting. And what is "swing through" or "floating the bird?" Is it somewhat akin to leading a target?

I really can't go buy a shotgun and have it fitted to me ($) for league shooting, or get lessons (time, $) or practice regularly (time) between the weekly shoots, so any tips, advice, or links I would greatly appreciate.

It's only an 8 or 10 week league but if I come to really like the sport, though, my time and $ priorities may change.....

Thank you in advance for your responses! (PLEASE do so)

Don

[kudu]

Kind of hard to give advice if you don't tell us if you were shooting skeet or trap targets. Two very different games there.

[riverdog]

Use of the term "handicap" sounds like Trap to me.

There are a few good books out there which could help: "The Complete Book of Shotgunning Games" by Tom Migdalski, and "The Clay Target Handbook" by Jerry Meyer are sitting on my bookshelf, but there are other good books, some are probably better.

Swing through is a technique of getting the proper lead. You can also use a constant lead. With Trap swing though seems to work best for me because you don't know where the bird will be so most folks hold near or over the house and then swing through the bird to get in front. Better to read the book and practice. 17/25 is not bad for a first time out.

With Skeet, you know where the bird will be because they always fly the same path. Here you can experiment with determining how to get the best lead and it may (probably will) change between the different shooting stations. HTH, good luck.

[mnrivrat]

I'm sure that someone more familiar than I will do a better job at explaining this but as long as I was taking the time to read this thread I might as well give a couple things a shot . 1.) Follow through I believe is the technique of not stopping your swing - that is to say when you come onto target you fire but continue to move the gun in the direction of your swing. The idea is not to stop the swing when firing as it will cause you to shoot behind the bird. 2.) Floating the bird I believe is in reference to the sight picture - the bird should be above the bead when firing - not covered by it. (float the bird on top of the bead) .

So now if you are pulling on a bird you are swinging the barrel to meet the target - as soon as the the bead falls onto (and just below) the bird - you pull the trigger without checking (stopping) your swing.

Hope this gives this the right idea ! :D

[riverdog]

Follow through is something that must be practiced with every shot. I stop my swing way too much and my score suffers for it. You can have the perfect lead for every shot but if you don't continue to hold that lead as the shot is leaving your bore, you will miss.

I was thinking about follow through on my last post but as usual I pulled the trigger too soon.

[Dave McCracken]

It's really difficult to armchair QB a new shooter into proficiency. The 101 series may help a little, I hope to add something on stance and foot position this weekend.

Meanwhile, I suggest watching the better shooters at the range. Note how they stand, mount, and swing. When it's your turn, keep your head on the stock and the gun moving.

Swing through means bringing the barrel to the bird and triggering as you swing past it. Floating the bird requires a high shooting gun, one kinda perches the bird over the barrel instead of blotting out the bird with the barrel then triggering.

HTH...