ChrisAsh Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 As a new person to clay shooting aged 65 and just coming up for two years with licence , I still am a poor shot with fast left -rigt clays but not to bad on skeet (20-21) and slow to medium sporting, some may say gun speed others slow reflexes, who really knows The thing that's different with clays is everyone shoots the same targets regardless of ability, so with 80-90% of a club being good to expert level it's very easy for learners to not feel defeated after a couple of hours shooting with little effect after watching the clever guys and ladies dust them with what looks like ease In most sports you actually start in a learner league and then move up as your skill grows, imagine how you would feel starting in say snooker and being partnered with a professional player, slightly depressed after the first few games I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Keep going at it mate, but do book a lesson or two with a good coach. I was struggling to improve my scores at one point so went for another lesson and after explaining what i was having difficulty with he suggested trying some of the targets with a maintained lead technique, Hey presto a lot of the targets that were flying on unscathed were broken.I now shoot with a mixture of maintained lead/push through and it is an automatic thing that happens as the clay is presented. The point of me saying that is without going to have a lesson i would have carried on as i was, and listened to the people behind me saying to high/low/behind etc. As you get more expierienced you will be able to correct any problems you get into yourself, but even then a regular lesson is a great help. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_commoner Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 dont be over critical of yourself a year is not very long at all. you probably started off on 'easier' birds, thought ''i'm ok at this'' progressed onto a 'normal' sporting layout found it a bit more difficult, lost your confidence, changed your choke, cartridges, swing/style and everything you had been taught, missing messes with your head a bit !!!.........go back to basics with a coach and you will be amazed at how quickly things can improve. a coach will also be able to advise you on gunfit (with no hidden agenda like a shop might have) because it may well be a contributary factor dont beat yourself up, get a lesson and youll soon be back on track Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Keep at it skeet is your friend and will teach you allot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdSolomons Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Get a good coach who really knows the game and listen. Practicing on your own will only help build in technical faults and will cost alot for little or no gain. Get the right coach and after two or three lessons you will be lightyears ahead of where you are now. Quality not quantity; go forth and enjoy. Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Keep at it skeet is your friend and will teach you allot I completely agree, it teaches to to read targets from every direction, keep the gun moving etc but do get some coaching. There has been plenty of good advice above already. I started out shooting about 2 years ago and got hooked on skeet about 18 months ago, the biggest mistake I made was just going and shooting and practicing bad habits where I should have spent more money on good coaching, I have only had 3 proper sessions, 2 at the beginning of last year and one a few weeks ago with a new coach that i'll be sticking with. Prior to that session I was getting to the same point, started the year shooting low 90's at skeet and then went downhill despite help from friends, I was really disheartened and didn't look forward to going shooting so didn't for a couple of weeks. I then had a 2 hour session with the new coach which was bloody hard work, i have switched to maintained lead, added 1" to the LOP and to be fair quite a lot of technique changes and have only shot about 700 shells since the changes. That was about 5 weeks ago and my scores initially dropped but are now heading back in the right direction, the birds look massive, i feel like i have all the time in the world on them and now I'm in control. In the last 10 days i have shot 25 straight, 23 (Dropped L7 single and the High on the pair) tonight i shot 24 & 24 for a new PB of 48ex50, both were L6 singles that I lost. OK, coaching isn't cheap compared to practice rounds but a good coach will get you headed in the right direction and get the buzz and enjoyment back and get the scores climbing Once you find a coach that you get on with just stick with them and practice what they teach you; if other's try to offer advice politely decline. Look forward to hearing of your successes a year in is nothing, just find a cartridge you like, get the gun fitted, any eye dominance issues addressed by a coach and practice Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twigos Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 (edited) if it helps i've had my gun a year and only in the last 2 months i have really committed my time to shooting and i can really sympathise with you. Ive been lucky that the people i go with can read what i'm doing wrong and give me sound advise and only now i'm starting to see some slight improvement. All i can say is i love going and thats what matters stick with it Edited June 5, 2011 by twigos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 You cannot blame the gun if you have been only shooting for a year..... So what do you blame if the stock is an inch too short, combs too low so he cannot see any rib/bead and has too much right hand cast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garjo Posted June 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 Many thanks for all of the helpful replies to my post - just to update I have had lessons with coach and it has helped a lot - really made my understnad why I was missing - also practice dry mounting which has helped technique and is free - stopped experimenting with chokes and cartridges - think my gun fit is okay, had it checked out. Anyway although my averages are still low circa 50% I`m feeling a lot more self confident in myself and begining to at least understand where I go wrong (although I still have glitches - wipeouts at some stands) - I really love shooting despite all the frustration and tricks on the mind it plays - as I say many thanks for advice and will update at further posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psych4shooting Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 great to hear the updates, there have been some great replies to this thread too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer-of-the-Futre Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 Im just the same, been shooting properly for about a year and a half and i am going down hill, when i first started i was about as good as my dad (mind you he isnt the best shot) but i guess i just had a large dose of beggingers luck. One thing ive noticed is i always used to shoot with only my dominant eye open, now i shoot with both open. Dispite what evryone says about using one eye or both i think it depends on the shooter, im trying to get into a habbit of shooting with one eye again and will see if it helps. Don't give up though! a lesson or two will be money well spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapalniczka Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 I have only just starting shooting and this thread is proving very useful to me so thanks to the original poster and to all the replys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmicblue Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 One of things that having proper lessons teaches you is not only why you miss but vitally, what to do to correct it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 Im just the same, been shooting properly for about a year and a half and i am going down hill, when i first started i was about as good as my dad (mind you he isnt the best shot) but i guess i just had a large dose of beggingers luck. It may well be that when you started you were shooting instinctively, now you're thinking about it. Today I was practising on my own. On a couple of tricky stands I forgot to set the three second delay, when I pushed the button out came the clay and I shot it instinctively and hit it (you don't want to waste 25p do you!). Once the delay was set and I had time to think about the bird I missed. Don't think, point & shoot. Just wish I could remember that myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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