Got stuck and cant seem to improve at clays

[utectok]

Ok heres the story I have had a couple of lessons with qualified instructors and both of them were not that helpful to sum up they said you can shoot ok just practice.

So I have practiced and currently shoot 2-300 carts a week (quarry and a clay trap I've got up the hill) . I'm getting about 90%-100% of the easy birds and 30-40% of the hard ones and shoot a mixed sporting layout at around 50-65% hits, occasionally 75%. But for the last year or so no real improvement.

Perhaps Im practicing wrong I tend to concentrate on the difficult targets but maybe I should go for the ones I do well at and try and ace them instead of trying to hit one or two more hard ones. Or perhaps do both?

I know a lot of people will say lessons are the answer but it would have to be a better instructor than I've had so far if so whom (given location)?

 

Or perhaps I need to compete more I found at golf I never really improved till I was competing regularly. Or perhaps you do get better in fits and starts and I just need to hang in there and I will see improvement sooner or later. Perhaps I've peaked and am doomed to never improve in which case I can stop practicing and save a fortune!!

 

As a note I'm mainly interested in shooting live targets (Game vermin etc) but I do enjoy clays and want to treat my live quarry right so think the better shot I am the kinder I am to my feathered friends?

Thanks anyway I'm sure you will have some good ideas.

Cheers Will

Edited February 12, 2010 by utectok

[Chard]

I think you do tend to improve in fits and starts. I also seem to be on a long spell with no improvement.

I feel as if I'm making progress, I feel a lot more confident about certain targets, but there seems to be no improvement reflected in my scores :look:

I seem to be stuck at scoring between 69 and 78 in registered competitions and 80-90 at club targets and I can't seem to get moving

It gets a bit disheartening, but I think you just have to keep plugging away at it.

I'm trying throwing myself into difficult competitions as a way of gaining experience at a wide range of different grounds and targets, but sometimes feel that I would do better to mix this with more real practice. I can't really afford to shoot any more than I do, so that would mean shooting less competitions

I'll give the competition circuit a bit longer yet, to see if I start seeing some improvement, if not I'll need to think again.

I think you may benefit from a session with a good, experienced coach, but that depends if you have one in your area. I've got a full day session with Beretta soon, I'll see if that throws up anything I can work on

Talking to a few top shots, it also seems that it is quite common to experience a noticeable dip in performance in the winter months. Many competition shooters knock it on the head altogether in the winter. It is a fact that there seems to be a lot of shooters on the registered circuit who are "off form" at the moment. I am hoping that, come the better weather, I might see a sudden improvement I'm not completely convinced, but we'll see.

Edited February 12, 2010 by Chard

[utectok]

Thanks for that Chard encouraging that it's not just me let me know how you get on with Mr B I've heard he's the man! Straight shooting Will

[Chard]

Thanks for that Chard encouraging that it's not just me let me know how you get on with Mr B I've heard he's the man! Straight shooting Will

 

Yes, I'll let you know how it goes. I'm shooting with him in a registered punch-up at Llandegla on Sunday. I expect he'll be nagging me :look:

 

One thing that I have learned, and that is that it is a long, slow process. I think we tend to think that within a few weeks, we're going to become much better. I can see now that real improvement only comes with a lot of experience, and that seems to mean firing tens of thousands of cartridges at a lot of different set-ups. That's a few years of persevering rather than a few weeks

Edited February 12, 2010 by Chard

[100milesaway]

Sometimes the extra clothes you wear don't help your scores in winter or visa-versa. Remmember,1/2 inch of extra padding could give a foot of different lead on your clay.Go for thinner layers to keep the cold at bay. Do you wear gloves in the winter, unless they are really thin tight ones that could also affect your "feel" on the trigger.Slight misting on specs also could have a detrimental effect on scores.If you feel it's more than any of these things, see a good coach or just carry on untill it warms up abit, so long as you are enjoying the crack, what the!!!!! From Auntie :look:

[beretta]

most new shooters expect instant results, it DOES NOT work that way. you will gradually improve untill you settle into a routine where you can handle most targets reasonably well but find you come across the odd awkward one that bites back. these are the stands that will drop your score down 6/8 targets every shoot. you have to master ALL the types of targets you could come across. everyone has a bogey bird!!!

 

at a guess i would say if you put the effort in, after 5/6 years serious shooting,you will start to see results.

the key to success is not putting the odd big score in, its putting big scores in CONSISTANTLY, this takes TIME.

 

keep at it, we have 'ALL' been there.

[Mr Potter]

most new shooters expect instant results, it DOES NOT work that way. you will gradually improve untill you settle into a routine where you can handle most targets reasonably well but find you come across the odd awkward one that bites back. these are the stands that will drop your score down 6/8 targets every shoot. you have to master ALL the types of targets you could come across. everyone has a bogey bird!!!

 

at a guess i would say if you put the effort in, after 5/6 years serious shooting,you will start to see results.

the key to success is not putting the odd big score in, its putting big scores in CONSISTANTLY, this takes TIME.

 

keep at it, we have 'ALL' been there. :look:

 

and ain't that the truth what I wouldn't give for some consistency, my scores for Issue 38 of the CPSA classifications include two 67's and two 88's and everything in between? I think that the reason for this is psychological, I've got the technique to kill the targets (sorry, clays) and I think I'm doing the same things on the bad days as I am on the good ones, I'm obviously not but I don't know why (if I knew why I'd know what to do about it)

 

Sorry this doesn't help you utectok, my advise is to reduce the unstructured practice, when you talk about "hard" targets they maybe just targets YOU can't hit or they may be out of effective range Start going to local clayshoots, they don't need to be competions just practise but where it is scored, watch, listen, ask and learn. Keep up the coaching but make it quality coaching, give beretta a PM, travel a bit further and take advantage of someone with a proven track record. Talking about traveling, when you get addicted and want to start registered comps you will pile the miles on, I don't know of any regular registered sporting shoots in Canberra.

 

Mr Potter

 

PS Try and make it to Hodnet for the North v South battle, if you can get 65% at that shoot you will not be disappointed.

[utectok]

Thanks for all the encouragment guys I guess I've still got alot to

learn ! That'll be fun! Straight shooting Will

[Ian E]

Personally I think those scores are pretty good, so well done..

 

I found once I started visiting different grounds, and seeing different targets my scores have slowly started to climb..

 

Thou that more often then not means you have to take part in comps which some people find a little intimidating, but I just view them as practise, if you shoot birds only more often then not there no more expensive then a praccy round..

 

I've also found books and dvds useful, and of course PW

 

But over all experience is the key

[TonySmith]

A good read...thanks, I think I am going through the 'erratic' stage.... some days I can dust a pair of fast midi's, next..cannot hit a slow close crosser... :look:

[DSPUK]

Years ago when I started there was a lot of small 50 bird straw bale shoots about which really helped newcomers to clay shooting - we were lucky at time as a Gunshop owner used to run a beginners shoot every Sunday - he had one hand trap and you paid your £1 for 10 bird's - all you did was shoot at going away targets - when you hit all ten he moved you round - like from 6.00 clock to 6.40 and so on after you hit ten on there - this worked in fact it gave you a lead picture in your mind - you don't say what sort of targets you are giving yourself but that might help - another thing I did was try to follow a group of shooters who were hitting the targets - look how they stood on stand - where they held gun - where they shot target and try to be in a position to see where their barrels were pointing to give you an idea of lead. - it took me two years before I picked up my first novice trophy with a score in 40's from 50 so tight was competition.

Even now after 25 yrs I am not a top shot - sometime I score well others suck but I didn't start shooting till I was 40 - so now age is taking it's toll. - Also try to enjoy your shooting and relax - too serious and you get tense and can't swing gun - also I am assuming your gun fit's.

 

Keep at it - it will get easier.

 

Dave

[beretta]

there is more to be learned by watching someone shoot than watching the target he breaks as said by DSPUK

[webster]

Ok heres the story I have had a couple of lessons with qualified instructors and both of them were not that helpful to sum up they said you can shoot ok just practice.

So I have practiced and currently shoot 2-300 carts a week (quarry and a clay trap I've got up the hill) . I'm getting about 90%-100% of the easy birds and 30-40% of the hard ones and shoot a mixed sporting layout at around 50-65% hits, occasionally 75%. But for the last year or so no real improvement.

Perhaps Im practicing wrong I tend to concentrate on the difficult targets but maybe I should go for the ones I do well at and try and ace them instead of trying to hit one or two more hard ones. Or perhaps do both?

I know a lot of people will say lessons are the answer but it would have to be a better instructor than I've had so far if so whom (given location)?

 

Or perhaps I need to compete more I found at golf I never really improved till I was competing regularly. Or perhaps you do get better in fits and starts and I just need to hang in there and I will see improvement sooner or later. Perhaps I've peaked and am doomed to never improve in which case I can stop practicing and save a fortune!!

 

As a note I'm mainly interested in shooting live targets (Game vermin etc) but I do enjoy clays and want to treat my live quarry right so think the better shot I am the kinder I am to my feathered friends?

Thanks anyway I'm sure you will have some good ideas.

Cheers Will

hi there utectok . I was interested in the comment you made regarding the instruction you received and being dissatisfied with it . Instruction can be costly and often lacking in basic instruction . By this I mean I am not so much interested wether I was infront or behind the bird ,as why and what do I do about it .Teach me how to read targets ,feet position on fast and slow tagets , gun hold ,pick up points ,mental attitude to competition. techniques that I can fall back on when things start to go wrong .As far as I am concernd a coaches job is to give the student enough tools in his or her box to eventualy make the coach semi reduntant If this type of instuction were give n at the begining and less emphasis on breacking clays .As you may gather by my coments I have been dissapointed by the level and quality of some of the instruction I have paid for regards Webster

[beretta]

i doubt you could remember all that in a few lessons. :look: maybe a years worth.

[utectok]

Good thread guys some thoughtful and interesting comments. Thanks . Currently My practice routine is to do a few DTL to check my gun mount is OK and I'm shooting where I'm pointing. I then usually do a few longish left to right crossers and a few right to left crossers, occasionally I shoot some driven targets but that more of a game season thing for me. Today I shot these crossers as slightly going away birds and missed loads till I realized you had to hit them early as out at 40 yrds plus they were stretching things a wee bit with 21gms in a 1/4 choke or maybe a better shot would nail them. Its the long birds I struggle with! Cheers Guys straight shooting

[COACH]

I also agree with DSPUK. Shoot with a good shot. Don`t watch the clay, watch him/her and see what they are doing.

Ask them questions after they have shot.

It will still take you years to get up in the 85/95s so don`t be too hard on yourselves, just keep at it.

[originalgeezer]

Good Thread all, especially for a real newbie to shooting as myself.

 

Things I have personally found that has helped me improve from pot luck to hitting some of what I am aiming for is having my gun fit done and some coaching on gun mount when the gun was fitted.

 

This along with a routine to practise, in the mirror over and over again of how to get consistent placing/ mounting of the gun so that when it comes to shoot day, its a routine rather than having to think about the gun.

 

Just my teeny bit of advice as a newcomer learning.......

Edited February 16, 2010 by originalgeezer

[Claybuster]

Good thread guys some thoughtful and interesting comments. Thanks . Currently My practice routine is to do a few DTL to check my gun mount is OK and I'm shooting where I'm pointing. I then usually do a few longish left to right crossers and a few right to left crossers, occasionally I shoot some driven targets but that more of a game season thing for me. Today I shot these crossers as slightly going away birds and missed loads till I realized you had to hit them early as out at 40 yrds plus they were stretching things a wee bit with 21gms in a 1/4 choke or maybe a better shot would nail them. Its the long birds I struggle with! Cheers Guys straight shooting

Your doing ok try just to be calm when shooting & as Beretta said you need to be able to shoot all types of shooting for sporting & if I could shoot rabbits I would win more. Still as long as your enjoying it why bother about missing a few its better than being in the house on a sunday morning