Jump to content

Mid life crisis


Dunkield
 Share

Recommended Posts

Yes it's that old favourite again, somehow I have got into the terrible habit of doing it, and as a result at times I am shooting worse than I ever :no:

 

So, apart from:

 

Getting my gun fit re-checked

Getting my weight forward

Having a session with a coach

Having velcro surgically implanted in my cheek

 

Does anyone have any other suggestions/cures?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you study a picture of Digweed shooting you will notice that his head is screwed right down into the stock every time.

 

Head lifting is a fault that affects most Sporting shooters at some time, and it's more common on low incoming targets.

 

I've never heard of Henry's coin between cheek and stock trick, and I'm absolutely amazed that a Scotsman would ever contemplate the possibility of actually losing a coin, of whatever denomination by letting it fall in the mud..!! :good:

 

The way I overcome head lifting is to consciously remind myself "Head Down" before calling for the birds.

 

Cat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

stuartp, i shoot gun down all disiplines, i find it helps in sight picture and target aqusition, gives me a better veiw, i would ask is your stock flat across the comb, the reason i ask is a lot of shooters with a dropped comb can and will lift their heads when shooting, this may come from a bad mount or loss of bird prior, it becomes a mindset "maybe i didnt see it right " ect ect, the guns i shoot are very fairly flat, not perfect but good enough for me, the main call is i can make a bad mount and not effect the sight picture drasticly causing a miss, i can still see the birb well wit hmy head forward or rear of my mark, it gives me confidence when mounting the gun, it sounds like a few birds/targets have gotten away from you and your looking to pin it on something, go back to basics and start gun up for a few then slowly drop the stock from your face as you inproove your scores.

 

Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Martin, some good stuff there, I am not going to let it distract me too much, but I am going to get a tune up and the fit checked - the problem is under those conditions things are very controlled so everything 'works' :good:

 

I am going out with the side by side instead this week, so that will really confuse my brain :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For sporting shoots Cat, do you shoot gun up, or gun down?

 

I have always shot gun down, so now if I try shooting gun up now (for anything other than very fast going away targets) it just feels wrong and puts me off even more :lol:

 

Stuart,

 

I generally shoot "Gun Up", it works OK for me, as it eliminates one of the many variables in shooting that can lead to a missed target, i.e. a mismount.

 

However, this does not work for everybody, and I have seen some damn fine shots who shoot "Gun Down", so I never try to tell people whether it's right or wrong, I just say that it works for me.

 

You can certainly see the target better to start with if you shoot "Gun Down", however at the moment you pull the trigger your sight picture for both methods will be the same.

 

A good many targets are missed by novice shooters because they are too busy wasting time "See-sawing" the gun butt from their waistline up to their shoulder, and consequently they cannot "attack" the target by shooting it quickly.

 

Look at the video's of American Skeet shooters - most of them put the gun butt very firmly in the shoulder, screw their head tightly into the stock, and only when they are entirely happy that their sight picture is right do they call "pull". They simply cannot afford to lose a single target through a mis-mount, as if they did so, they might as well put their gun in the slip there and then.

 

That's one of the reasons why ISU Skeet scores are always so much lower than English or NSSA Skeet scores, as the targets all have to be shot "Gun Down". (they are also faster and there is a random delay of up to 3 seconds after you call "Pull").

 

The "Gun Up" method can look a bit foreign to some of the more traditional Sporting shooters, but as George Digweed once remarked when someone dared to ask why he shot so many birds "Gun Up", his reply was "Look mate, this ain't figure skating - they don't give points for style..!!"

 

Enough said...:angry:

 

Cat.

 

Thanks Martin, some good stuff there, I am not going to let it distract me too much, but I am going to get a tune up and the fit checked - the problem is under those conditions things are very controlled so everything 'works' :good:

 

I am going out with the side by side instead this week, so that will really confuse my brain :lol:

 

Stuart,

 

If you're serious about getting improved scores at clay shooting, leave the S/S in the cabinet.

 

Cat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find a lot of people lift ther head becaus they are anticipating the kick. Reducing the kick might help. Increase the weight of the gun with 1lb or so of a weight in the but and try lighter cartridges until you can get over this temporary glitch.

 

Dave

 

 

Very very true...

 

Not just in anticipating the kick, but if you hold the gun loose on your first shot, you get a wallop and a sore / swollen face very quickly and then instinctively keep your head well away.

 

I got all manner of padding and shock absorber stuff and in the end wimped out and got a semi. Head down 100% of the time now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

in my experiance if your getting smacked in the face by an o/u the gun dosent fit

 

i shot my lanber for about 9 months getting smacked in the face constantly, the short term solution was to add drop and pull, as this means your head is flatter in relation to the rib so you dont need such a head down stance.

 

However in the long term you need a different gun. I eventually got fed up with the lanber, and sold it and my franchi to help fund my mk70, it fits like a glove, i can shoot head down and it dosent hurt in the slightest.

 

If buying the semi sorted your problems i might suggest the semi is a much better fit than your o/u was.

 

i certainly find semi auto's shoot alot flatter in general than o/u's do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you study a picture of Digweed shooting you will notice that his head is screwed right down into the stock every time.

 

Head lifting is a fault that affects most Sporting shooters at some time, and it's more common on low incoming targets.

 

I've never heard of Henry's coin between cheek and stock trick, and I'm absolutely amazed that a Scotsman would ever contemplate the possibility of actually losing a coin, of whatever denomination by letting it fall in the mud..!! :o

 

The way I overcome head lifting is to consciously remind myself "Head Down" before calling for the birds.

 

Cat.

 

No .........It would hit him on the back of the head first :P

 

Stuart ..............Is your Kill rate suffering ?................Someone once said to me that if you can hit them with both eyes shut then use that technique .

 

My technique is all over the place ,one eye shut for incomers and going awayers and both eyes open for crossers ........Wrong I know but it works for me ;) ........Just keep practicing ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Well things have improved a bit but not much, so I have bitten the rather expensive bullet and booked a combined gun fit check and lesson for the weekend :good:

 

I will let you know if he just says 'you just need a rocket up your **** mate' :good:

 

 

Will a "combined gun fit check and lesson" fix a fundamental problem of just being XXXX :yp:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will let you know if he just says 'you just need a rocket up your **** mate'

 

That is probab;y what he will say, I had a lesson about 2 years ago and that is basically what I was told. I where I should be to hit the clay, the problem I seem to have is getting there. Since I have been shooting regularly (every week) my scores are improving. Up to about 80% in Sporting.

 

Hope it goes well for you

 

Cheers

 

Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will let you know if he just says 'you just need a rocket up your **** mate'

 

That is probab;y what he will say, I had a lesson about 2 years ago and that is basically what I was told. I where I should be to hit the clay, the problem I seem to have is getting there. Since I have been shooting regularly (every week) my scores are improving. Up to about 80% in Sporting.

 

Hope it goes well for you

 

Cheers

 

Martin

 

 

80% eh.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...