Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
It was after a rousing round of Chinese trap today. Geezer in Training Mike and I were comparing notes.
The wind had given us a good excuse for missing, quartering in from the left and then gusting from behind, but we owned up to our misses.
Mike shot a 24 his first round of Chinese. He uses a Perazzi he bought in 1987 ("When they were cheaper", he said) and it's a death ray. He dropped a few today and so did I.
Mike said he had trouble getting a hard focus. I know I was having way too much fun on a couple posts and suspect my focus had softened also.
We both have thousands of round behind us. If veteran shotgunners like us have trouble maintaining a focus, I'm sure others do also.
Here goes....
Once we have basic techniques down, have a well known shotgun at hand that we can keep on line and have a workable load/choke combination installed, most misses can be attributed to a lack of focus.
Orange discs can be contributors to the problem. We see the fuzzy blob at launch and do not bring into a clear view. After all, close is good enough and things are happening fast.
On the range we used today, the targets at the first two posts are almost edge on, showing little dome. Funny thing though, most of them busted nicely on the shot. As veteran shooters, we unconsciously tightened that focus on the sharp outline and maybe even on the leading edge as we should. We got more hits on that side than we did on the next two posts, which had a bigger piece of dome showing and we shot those after a warmup.
Other things can contribute to the problem also. Speed is one, we want the grouse/quail/ringneck and we want it before our hunting buddies can get it.
So is the stress of not wanting to look bad in front of anyone. After all, we Manly Men are great drivers, lovers, fighters and shooters, right?
Testosterone poisoning has helped many birds to escape and scores to lower since first we shot flying stuff.
So has unfamiliarity with our shotguns. Someone running a few boxes a month through Ol' Trusty Rusty will do better than someone whose custom fitted bird gun has sat neglected since last September.
So, solutions......
First, mix your clay games up. If you shoot lots of trap, shoot skeet, wobble and SC just to break up those machine style moves. Vice versa, of course.
The new presentations will tighten up concentration.
Second, work on that focus. Ted Williams, the baseball legend who was the last .400 hitter in the majors, said he could see the stitches on a fast ball. We're not in that league, literally, but some practice and committment will see improvements. On clays, focus on that leading edge. Birds, the eye or beak or that ring that gives pheasants their moniker.
Since doves are just around the corner, here's a tip. Since the wings on a dove are in such fluttering motion, our eyes go to them.
Resist the temptation,focus on the head and watch your bird to shells ratio improve.
Third, get some home practice in. Use the corner of the room to focus on while you mount a shotgun KNOWN TO BE EMPTY. And narrow that focus down to the finest point you can. It helps.
Traditional bowhunters that use no sights speak of picking a hair on a deer and trying to split it with the arrow. They do so often.
We can do similar mind games. Focus on hitting that leading edge, practice and see it happen.
The floor is open for discussion.....
The wind had given us a good excuse for missing, quartering in from the left and then gusting from behind, but we owned up to our misses.
Mike shot a 24 his first round of Chinese. He uses a Perazzi he bought in 1987 ("When they were cheaper", he said) and it's a death ray. He dropped a few today and so did I.
Mike said he had trouble getting a hard focus. I know I was having way too much fun on a couple posts and suspect my focus had softened also.
We both have thousands of round behind us. If veteran shotgunners like us have trouble maintaining a focus, I'm sure others do also.
Here goes....
Once we have basic techniques down, have a well known shotgun at hand that we can keep on line and have a workable load/choke combination installed, most misses can be attributed to a lack of focus.
Orange discs can be contributors to the problem. We see the fuzzy blob at launch and do not bring into a clear view. After all, close is good enough and things are happening fast.
On the range we used today, the targets at the first two posts are almost edge on, showing little dome. Funny thing though, most of them busted nicely on the shot. As veteran shooters, we unconsciously tightened that focus on the sharp outline and maybe even on the leading edge as we should. We got more hits on that side than we did on the next two posts, which had a bigger piece of dome showing and we shot those after a warmup.
Other things can contribute to the problem also. Speed is one, we want the grouse/quail/ringneck and we want it before our hunting buddies can get it.
So is the stress of not wanting to look bad in front of anyone. After all, we Manly Men are great drivers, lovers, fighters and shooters, right?
Testosterone poisoning has helped many birds to escape and scores to lower since first we shot flying stuff.
So has unfamiliarity with our shotguns. Someone running a few boxes a month through Ol' Trusty Rusty will do better than someone whose custom fitted bird gun has sat neglected since last September.
So, solutions......
First, mix your clay games up. If you shoot lots of trap, shoot skeet, wobble and SC just to break up those machine style moves. Vice versa, of course.
The new presentations will tighten up concentration.
Second, work on that focus. Ted Williams, the baseball legend who was the last .400 hitter in the majors, said he could see the stitches on a fast ball. We're not in that league, literally, but some practice and committment will see improvements. On clays, focus on that leading edge. Birds, the eye or beak or that ring that gives pheasants their moniker.
Since doves are just around the corner, here's a tip. Since the wings on a dove are in such fluttering motion, our eyes go to them.
Resist the temptation,focus on the head and watch your bird to shells ratio improve.
Third, get some home practice in. Use the corner of the room to focus on while you mount a shotgun KNOWN TO BE EMPTY. And narrow that focus down to the finest point you can. It helps.
Traditional bowhunters that use no sights speak of picking a hair on a deer and trying to split it with the arrow. They do so often.
We can do similar mind games. Focus on hitting that leading edge, practice and see it happen.
The floor is open for discussion.....
