Clay Sports: Can They Really Help?
Poor tip...get it?
by Jay
A section header in our grouse book is “Forget Everything You Learned in the Clay Sports,” except the mount. That keeps coming back to me when I read shooting tips emailed to me from shotgunlife.com.
They’re great tips (some of them), but in a hunting context they’re downright laughable. Examples:
> You can’t hit all of the targets or be machine-like in your shooting if you are chasing targets all over the place out there. You have to establish a zone to shoot the targets so you have very few sight pictures to memorize and less swing motions.
> Your eyes have to be comfortable on the target. Don’t stare at it. I’m really relaxed looking at it, like I don’t even have a gun.
> The correct posture should begin with your weight evenly distributed between your feet. Upon completion of your gun mount, whether pre-mounted or gun down, seventy percent of your weight should be on the ball of your front foot.
> You wouldn’t think that grip pressure would control the consistency with which you move the gun. We find that it’s a huge factor. When you grip the gun really tightly, you can’t move the gun smoothly and efficiently.
> Making your swing and mount slow and smooth is crucial.
> Eyes to the trap machine. You want see that target as soon as you can, and let it come to your hands. You’re bringing the target to your hands with your eyes. It doesn’t take a lot of movement to kill these targets.
What?! Lol. There’s no “zone” in bird hunting, relaxing is pretty tough when a bird gets up, doing anything slowly is a risk, and I wish I could bring a bird to my hands with my eyes!
Of course, those aren’t intended as hunting tips but again, they serve practically zero purpose when field shooting.
Even some bird-hunting-specific tips are odd. Take this one:
> It is best to hold the muzzle a little below the line of sight when bird hunting. This allows you to get a clear view of the bird so that you can still point and swing the gun on target. Most bird hunting situations are unpredictable, so it is imperative that your view is unobstructed by the barrels as you start the gun mount.
Seriously, who do you know that holds a shogun so the barrel is above his/her line of sight?
All that said, there are a few tips that are great ones for hunting. I want to be the shooter in the field (even for ruffies) described here:
Watch a good shot in action. Everything is spontaneous and unhurried. His eyes will be locked onto the target, and at the same, his gun will be moving unerringly into his cheek and shoulder pocket to complete the mount.
The computations of speed, distance and angle will be complete by the time the ocular stimuli from his brain give him the signal to trigger the shot.
This culmination of events should ensure that the shooter will not “track†the target unnecessarily and will “stay in the gun†instead of lifting his head. “Wood to wood,†as we say.
Tracking and head-lifting are two of the most common shooting flaws. There is no place for them in the proper mount and swing.
Category: Clay games, Shooting tips, Tips
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If you want your clay shooting to improve your wingshooting you’ve got to practice like you play. Of course one can’t replicate uneven ground, unruly dogs, and unnerving flushes, but one can shoot low gun, so the mount sequence in practiced. I like to use a delayed pull, too, so my eyes get practice picking up the target.
Five- stand wobble trap is a good game. I need something to keep me sane until October 15th. I like a good shot to watch me. Don’t look for the perfect leed, find the bird,(clay),bring the gun thorough the bird, and shoot , and let your choke do it’s job.I also take my bird gun to the clay course. Who was it that said, “You gotter dance with the one what brung ya”!