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Missing the "Easy ones"


Boofy999
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Hi guys, I've been lucky enough to have some really good shooting over the past few weeks and I've been putting a good few pigeons on the ground at the 30-50 yard range! I do however have a problem I'm missing what I would deem to be really easy "killable" birds, ones coming really close and others flying straight at the hide. On one occasion a bird flew directly over my head going away from me and as I fired I watched the wad hit the bird up the bum but no shot found the mark and the bird flew off none the worse for wear! What's going wrong???

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By lead I mean the distance in front of the bird ...

 

If it's flying over your head as you discribed you give lead in front at the same speed as the bird , but also important to keep your gun swinging..

 

Some people don't see lead they just shoot instinctively

Edited by fruity
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Hi guys, I've been lucky enough to have some really good shooting over the past few weeks and I've been putting a good few pigeons on the ground at the 30-50 yard range! I do however have a problem I'm missing what I would deem to be really easy "killable" birds, ones coming really close and others flying straight at the hide. On one occasion a bird flew directly over my head going away from me and as I fired I watched the wad hit the bird up the bum but no shot found the mark and the bird flew off none the worse for wear! What's going wrong???

Where are you based?

 

There is a Pigeon shooting course on September 5th at Wrexham

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A common problem.

It's simply down to complacency , you see them coming a mile off normally , they head straight to you , easy you think , up goes the gun , you point straight at it and pull the trigger.

 

What you forget is despite being so easy it's still moving so you miss , you are simply subconsciously forgetting to give the correct lead , get the gun moving !


I'm based in Somerset.

I understand the concept of lead for a crossing bird but when they are flying straight into your face at eye level or directly away from you, you can't shoot in front of the bird, can you? ....... Am I being daft?

 

Even a bird coming straight at you is likely to be either rising or dropping .

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What about the one where the wad hit the bird? Was I above or below it?

 

Have you got bionic eyes?

 

One problem may be that the birds are too close when you pull the trigger. The pellet pattern is actually quite condensed at up to 15m.

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Ha! I do have quite good eyesight actually.

 

What I thought was that I was underneath the bird so shooting low. When the shot is dispersed from the wad it begins travelling faster than the wad itself.... Correct? So when the wad hit the bird up the bum the shot was obviously already past the bird. My question was do you guys think I went above or below the bird as the wad and the shot obviously go in the same direction?

 

This forum is fantastic, when I talk to none shooters they just look at me like I'm mental and boring! They don't understand the excitement!

Edited by Boofy999
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Ha! I do have quite good eyesight actually.

 

What I thought was that I was underneath the bird so shooting low. When the shot is dispersed from the wad it begins travelling faster than the wad itself.... Correct? So when the wad hit the bird up the bum the shot was obviously already past the bird. My question was do you guys think I went above or below the bird as the wad and the shot obviously go in the same direction?

 

This forum is fantastic, when I talk to none shooters they just look at me like I'm mental and boring! They don't understand the excitement!

 

 

Be careful with your posts then.

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Ha! I do have quite good eyesight actually.

 

What I thought was that I was underneath the bird so shooting low. When the shot is dispersed from the wad it begins travelling faster than the wad itself.... Correct? So when the wad hit the bird up the bum the shot was obviously already past the bird. My question was do you guys think I went above or below the bird as the wad and the shot obviously go in the same direction?

 

This forum is fantastic, when I talk to none shooters they just look at me like I'm mental and boring! They don't understand the excitement!

If the bird is coming from behind directly overhead you need to be swinging through under the bird, so your angle is in front , if you are shooting straight at it as it comes over your head and out in front then chances are you will miss over the top.

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If it's coming at you, blot out the birds head with the barrel and pull the trigger, it will fly into the shot.

If it's going away from you, put the bird on top of the barrel and pull the trigger, again, it will fly into the shot

Thanks that's brilliant info! I'll try that!

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apparently the easy ones are not always so easy, happens to us all speeds are different, spread is less and angles more acute. I fell about in fits of laughter last season as me and a mate let 3 shots a piece go at an easy widgeon, yet I think we finished on about the usual 33-50%

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Remember that all pigeons in flight are moving and rarely fly straight down your barrel, so always need some swing/lead. Recently I missed what looked an easy pigeon as it that looked stationary, fluttering above the decoys as I just pointed the gun and fired....and missed. You need to observe the movement then swing the gun accordingly. On skeet I have been routinely missing the first bird (high trap overhead). Looks an easy shot but I routinely stop my swing once I pass through the bird as appears to be little movement.....and keep missing. Best thing you can do is identify shots you struggle with and practice on clays. I had 40 shots on the skeet first stand the other week...scary how long it took me to hit them consistently as I tried different methods.

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Remember that all pigeons in flight are moving and rarely fly straight down your barrel, so always need some swing/lead. Recently I missed what looked an easy pigeon as it that looked stationary, fluttering above the decoys as I just pointed the gun and fired....and missed. You need to observe the movement then swing the gun accordingly. On skeet I have been routinely missing the first bird (high trap overhead). Looks an easy shot but I routinely stop my swing once I pass through the bird as appears to be little movement.....and keep missing. Best thing you can do is identify shots you struggle with and practice on clays. I had 40 shots on the skeet first stand the other week...scary how long it took me to hit them consistently as I tried different methods.

Really? I thought you would have had that one sorted a bit sooner.

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