TrapperReady
Member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2003
- Messages
- 2,732
I had an experience recently which drilled into my head (literally) the importance of good form. It reminded me in no uncertain terms that a key aspect of good form is to lessen the effects of felt recoil.
First the story...
Last week I was in a friend's duck boat, shortly after sunrise. We had a nice spread of dekes off to the left and the boat was well-anchored into some marsh grass. My friend was scanning the sky behind us and to the right. I was scanning in front and to the left. Suddenly, a dark flash caught my eye... a teal was ripping over the dekes about 5' off the water, in front of me and to the left.
I quickly stood and swung on the bird as I mounted the gun. Unfortunately, the polypro shirt, thick wool sweater, waterproof jacket, and lifevest conspired against me to screw up my gun mount. Had I been able to take the shot right then, it would have been almost exactly like shooting the high-house doubles bird at station #7*. As it was, I held up a second, shrugged my shoulder higher, screwed my head down onto the stock and tracked the bird a bit longer... like the same #7 shot, but after it has disappeared behind the house.
When I pulled the trigger, the bird splashed, but I felt like George Foreman had just clocked me for insulting his favorite sandwich maker. While the dog swam out for the retrieve, I massaged my jaw and looked at all the pretty stars dancing in front of me.
BTW, the gun I was shooting was an 870 Supermag with a Limbsaver pad and 3" Hevishot shells (#6 shot). When I made the shot, I'd already downed a couple other birds that morning. In each case, I'd made a good gun mount and hit them in the general direction my front foot was pointing. However, that one shot was so messed up, I developed a bad headache immediately, and it stayed with me for the next 24 hours.
OK, great... Trapper took a messed up shot and hurt his little head. So what? (Ever since watching Bob Dole run for president, I've wanted to refer to myself in the third person.)
I can't tell you the number of times I've seen new shooters with God-awful form. The picture of a girlfriend/spouse hoisting a shotgun with all of their weight on their back foot is so commonplace it's become a cliche. Feet too close together can be unstable. Feet too far apart can impede a smooth swing. Ill-fitting guns can and usually will enhance recoil. Barnburner loads can sometimes just plain hurt.
As gets preached here all the time... good gun fit, proper form and light loads are critical for safety and enjoyment. Right now, there's a discussion in the Hunting Forum about a video of a small kid dove hunting. I am all for introducing new and younger shooters to shotguns and firearms in general... but let's make sure that we do it right.
With respect to form, here are the main things I go over with new shooters:
1) Keep your feet about shoulder's width apart... maybe a bit less.
2) Point your front foot (which is the one opposite your trigger finger) towards where you want to break the target.
3) Point the other foot in the same direction, but about 45 degrees right (for a right-hander) or left (for a left hander).
4) Keep most of your weight on your front foot.(a very slight bend in the front knee helps this).
5) When you mount the gun, keep your head straight and raise the gun to your face... don't lower your head onto the stock.
6) Keep the elbow of your "firing hand" arm up. This helps create the "pocket" into which the gun's butt is placed.
Now, I'm not an instructor and I'm sure there are numerous refinements that need to be made to these instructions; however, this at least gets most folks in the ballpark. For more reading information, please check out the links I've included below. BTW, I can't stress enough how useful good instruction from a qualified person is. I've taken a handful of lessons from an NSCA instructor and each time I've come away better than I went in (once I had practiced the skills enough for them to become ingrained).
Helpful Links (Courtesy of Dave McCracken's excellent "101" series):
Foot Position and Stance 101
Fit 101
Getting Started 101
Recoil/Kick 101
* BTW, a while back, Mrs. Trapper was shooting maybe her second or third round of skeet ever and let the high-house #7 doubles target get too far and took a similar shot. IIRC, she broke the bird, but afterward she seriously thought that she'd broken her collar bone. This, despite having shot 50 sporting clay targets, 25 5-stand targets and most of a round of skeet in the preceeding couple hours. The gun was the same, the shells were the same... only her form broke down for a single shot and caused significant pain.
First the story...
Last week I was in a friend's duck boat, shortly after sunrise. We had a nice spread of dekes off to the left and the boat was well-anchored into some marsh grass. My friend was scanning the sky behind us and to the right. I was scanning in front and to the left. Suddenly, a dark flash caught my eye... a teal was ripping over the dekes about 5' off the water, in front of me and to the left.
I quickly stood and swung on the bird as I mounted the gun. Unfortunately, the polypro shirt, thick wool sweater, waterproof jacket, and lifevest conspired against me to screw up my gun mount. Had I been able to take the shot right then, it would have been almost exactly like shooting the high-house doubles bird at station #7*. As it was, I held up a second, shrugged my shoulder higher, screwed my head down onto the stock and tracked the bird a bit longer... like the same #7 shot, but after it has disappeared behind the house.
When I pulled the trigger, the bird splashed, but I felt like George Foreman had just clocked me for insulting his favorite sandwich maker. While the dog swam out for the retrieve, I massaged my jaw and looked at all the pretty stars dancing in front of me.
BTW, the gun I was shooting was an 870 Supermag with a Limbsaver pad and 3" Hevishot shells (#6 shot). When I made the shot, I'd already downed a couple other birds that morning. In each case, I'd made a good gun mount and hit them in the general direction my front foot was pointing. However, that one shot was so messed up, I developed a bad headache immediately, and it stayed with me for the next 24 hours.
OK, great... Trapper took a messed up shot and hurt his little head. So what? (Ever since watching Bob Dole run for president, I've wanted to refer to myself in the third person.)
I can't tell you the number of times I've seen new shooters with God-awful form. The picture of a girlfriend/spouse hoisting a shotgun with all of their weight on their back foot is so commonplace it's become a cliche. Feet too close together can be unstable. Feet too far apart can impede a smooth swing. Ill-fitting guns can and usually will enhance recoil. Barnburner loads can sometimes just plain hurt.
As gets preached here all the time... good gun fit, proper form and light loads are critical for safety and enjoyment. Right now, there's a discussion in the Hunting Forum about a video of a small kid dove hunting. I am all for introducing new and younger shooters to shotguns and firearms in general... but let's make sure that we do it right.
With respect to form, here are the main things I go over with new shooters:
1) Keep your feet about shoulder's width apart... maybe a bit less.
2) Point your front foot (which is the one opposite your trigger finger) towards where you want to break the target.
3) Point the other foot in the same direction, but about 45 degrees right (for a right-hander) or left (for a left hander).
4) Keep most of your weight on your front foot.(a very slight bend in the front knee helps this).
5) When you mount the gun, keep your head straight and raise the gun to your face... don't lower your head onto the stock.
6) Keep the elbow of your "firing hand" arm up. This helps create the "pocket" into which the gun's butt is placed.
Now, I'm not an instructor and I'm sure there are numerous refinements that need to be made to these instructions; however, this at least gets most folks in the ballpark. For more reading information, please check out the links I've included below. BTW, I can't stress enough how useful good instruction from a qualified person is. I've taken a handful of lessons from an NSCA instructor and each time I've come away better than I went in (once I had practiced the skills enough for them to become ingrained).
Helpful Links (Courtesy of Dave McCracken's excellent "101" series):
Foot Position and Stance 101
Fit 101
Getting Started 101
Recoil/Kick 101
* BTW, a while back, Mrs. Trapper was shooting maybe her second or third round of skeet ever and let the high-house #7 doubles target get too far and took a similar shot. IIRC, she broke the bird, but afterward she seriously thought that she'd broken her collar bone. This, despite having shot 50 sporting clay targets, 25 5-stand targets and most of a round of skeet in the preceeding couple hours. The gun was the same, the shells were the same... only her form broke down for a single shot and caused significant pain.
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