Pattern plate

[esox]

Hi all, spent a bit of time firing at a pattern plate on Saturday, in all cases most of the shot pattern was to the left of where i was aiming. Is this normal ??, if not is there an easy fix or do i just take this into account when i am aiming at a clay . Thanks in advance.

[Ian E]

Sounds like not enough \ to much cast, I presume your right handed ? so you need to get your eye over to the right some more, can you see down the left hand side of the barrel by any chance ?

Edited September 11, 2011 by Ian E

[kent]

Try and shoot as the gun comes on point rather than actually aiming, it could be your other eye is pulling some. Other than that its cast or mounting error

[utectok]

Left eye could be pulling it over. Might be left eye dominant if ur a right handed shooter?

Edited September 11, 2011 by utectok

[utectok]

Btw how far out was it? Also you can't counteract it by aiming as you would have different leads for right and left crossers. It's worth getting sorted but if it's only out a couple of inches at 20 yrds then it's not going make a massive difference

[clay shooter123]

find a decent coach, they'll have you sorted in < 5 mins

 

/thread

[COACH]

Too much cast or eye dominance but sounds very much like cast.

[Hamster]

It`s not normal but common enough to find guns that shoot left. It`s not likely to be cross dominance as the fault would be TOO exaggerated in those cases, but much more likely to be rectifiable with the correct cast being applied.

 

There are other possible causes including barrel fault, choke fault and yes a VERY poor gun mount routine etc, but the usual suspect is cast.

 

The US forums are the best source of finding proper advice on patterning, they like their technical stuff . I have read loads on the subject and in the early days did more patterning than most and have to say the Americans often come up with sound intelligent material.

 

They do NOT advocate patterning by our flip up, shoot and see method, rather a very rigid shooting session using sandbags and aiming rather like a rifle (over short distances as little as 13 yards) to see precise movements. I can already hear the cries of: but shotguns are not like rifles etc, etc but I`m afraid they`re right. At the end of the day you are trying to zero your shotgun and yes they very much do need to be shooting where you want exactly, just like a rifle.

 

If you really want to find accurate material to read on the subject go to places like Trapshooters.com and Shotgunworld.com .

[esox]

Thanks for all the replys chaps........Hamster that was very helpful

[clayman]

Wilst I agree with the prognosis that cast and/or eye dom may be the issue here - in the case of cast this is only an issue if the gun is being mounted correctly in the first place.

 

Applying more cast-off ( for a R/Hand shooter) to artificially correct a mount that is not tight into the shoulder socket in the first place is not an ideal solution.

 

As expressed by others, see a competent instructor and ensure that the gun placement and foot positions are correct before exploring the issue of cast, as a correct mount may be the only thing required.

 

One test of your quality of mount is to mount from gun down with your eyes shut - then open your eyes with the gun in place.

 

If you have mounted correctly with a gun that fits, your shooting eye SHOULD be already directly sighting down the rib and about 3mm high at the back of the action, ie in line and slightly high of the rib so you can see the barrel length and aim with the view of the rib in your lower periphary vision - not level with the action so you only see the bead and aim through it.

 

If this simple test shows your shooting eye is to the left of the rib at the action, the gun will shoot left, and you need to square up your footwork more, raise the elbow, and get the gun tighter into your shoulder into what is known as the shoulder pocket. The head / nose line should be near straight and not canted over to try to get the eye in line, as the comb should be under the cheek bone, not on it. Low mounts with dropped heads often cause the comb to be pushed out to the right slightly, leaving the shooting eye to the left of the action. Ensure in the mounting process that the gun simply slots in one smooth motion simultaneously into both the shoulder pocket and the cheek pocket at the same time without an additional movement of the head to try to correct the eye off line.