Bloggs Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I have been shooting for a few months now and I've been getting some tuition from my shooting buddy Chris but as with all these things there is certainly room for improvement! I've been trawling this forum on useful hints and tips but I haven't really come up with a thread that covers all the aspects in one area, so I thought that I'd start a thread not just so that I can glean some info but it's also there for the benefit of others The sort of things that I'd like to discuss on this thread are:- Sight picture Hold point Pick up Kill point Lead - maintained lead, swing through etc How much lead to give different targets Correct stance Gun mounting Etc, etc,etc..... I would just like to say thank you in advance for your input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshLamb Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 You can't really learn all that off a forum, you just got to get out there and practise, and find what works for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I wish you luck, but suspect it will peter out. As you point out - the information is on the internet, but not necessarily all in one place. To try to cover all the points you make would take considerable space and time. For example:- How much lead to give different targets Almost impossible to answer briefly. It varies depending on the distance, speed, trajectory of the target - also whether it is slowing down (normal) or speeding up (rarer). It also varies from shooter to shooter - depending on speed of swing, method of shooting etc. Not sure why you want them all in one place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Are you going to the Norfolk Flush March 10th? If you are I am willing to spend some time with you going through the basics and answering as many of your questions as I can. I will have a word with Alan to ask if I can use 1 of the sporting traps to take you through lead, mount, stance etc,etc. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I have been shooting for a few months now and I've been getting some tuition from my shooting buddy Chris but as with all these things there is certainly room for improvement! Before you get too many bad habits find a coach you can get along with and have a series of lessons you need to start with the basics and build up from there, knowing your gun start position for every target is no good with correct stance and mount etc. while all are important you need to work on them with the correct priority. PRactising is the key but you'll practice far more effectively if you know what to practice and how to make it better. A miss with good technique is better than a hit with bad at this stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulos Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Before you get too many bad habits find a coach you can get along with and have a series of lessons you need to start with the basics and build up from there, knowing your gun start position for every target is no good with correct stance and mount etc. while all are important you need to work on them with the correct priority. PRactising is the key but you'll practice far more effectively if you know what to practice and how to make it better. A miss with good technique is better than a hit with bad at this stage. Isn't a hit always better than a miss? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Isn't a hit always better than a miss? I would say no (not always) sounds strange and took me a long while to come to this conclusion and i did say a miss with good technique is better than hit with bad technique if you can shoot consistently then minor tweaks are needed if you are all over the place then major changes are needed. There are lots of skills to learn and different techniques you can apply to various targets. With sporting clays knowing which technique to apply is half the battle. If you have solid technique then a change in gun start position can make a real difference, if you are inconsistent and have dodgy techniques (as my coach says bastardising the rule book) the minor change wont be of real benefit. Well that's my experience and opinion but i bow to the better shots..... Knowing why you hit or missed is the key without that information how do you know where you are going to go and what you need to change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ME Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 i did say a miss with good technique is better than hit with bad technique missing with style eh? new one on me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 missing with style eh? new one on me! That's how I roll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Isn't a hit always better than a miss? I too feel that it's better to shoot well but miss than to shoot badly but hit things. There are many things you can do to shoot badly such as sniping targets, stopping the gun, not getting on with it and more, and if you hit some targets by doing this you may be pleased with your score but it is bad shooting and will only work on certain targets - shoot at something different and you find that the bad shooting rears it's ugly head cause you can't hit anything because you're doing it wrong. Shooting well but with low scores is much better than hitting everything by chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beretta Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 if your shooting an average of less that 50% i can make your scores go up in three words. Double your lead thats the most common fault in new shooters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) Use a coach to get your basic's right. The gun's right, the fit's right. Start on easy targets, get your confidence going. Practice, practice, practice. On your own or very small group. If you start listening to the nice folk you shoot with you can easily get very poor advice. They mean well but can ruin your progress. Once you feel you've made a bit of headway go back to your coach, on to the next phase. Be patient, it can take years. But some are natural shots. My grandfather started me shooting when I was 6 and my father took me when I was 9. I'm now 51 and it doesn't get any easier! Edited February 23, 2012 by Whitebridges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulos Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I too feel that it's better to shoot well but miss than to shoot badly but hit things. There are many things you can do to shoot badly such as sniping targets, stopping the gun, not getting on with it and more, and if you hit some targets by doing this you may be pleased with your score but it is bad shooting and will only work on certain targets - shoot at something different and you find that the bad shooting rears it's ugly head cause you can't hit anything because you're doing it wrong. Shooting well but with low scores is much better than hitting everything by chance. If you're hitting everything, then it won't be by chance - you have to be doing something right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 If you're hitting everything, then it won't be by chance - you have to be doing something right. Fair point, what I really meant was that if everything you hit is by chance when shooting badly then it's not good, hitting everything you aim at consistently will be good shooting and will only happen if you are shooting properly, bad habits/poor shooting will not lead to consistently good scores! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougall Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 OP, There have been books written trying to answer all your questions.. you could do worse than buy a couple of books; I would recommend anything by Percy Stanbury/Carlisle/Ken Davies for 'classic techniques'(ie missing with style!) Overall though go see a coach or 2,find 1 you like have a few lessons and practise.....all you've got to learn is how to point a couple of metal tubes in front of a moving target there are a few different ways of achieving this and which is best for you is impossible to answer on 'tinternet. atb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timps Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I think it’s the word "miss " that causes the debate. If you miss then your technique is not good on that shot, you have done something wrong so it cannot be good. If you then change something no matter how large or small from the miss to then hitting the clay you have also changed the technique from a bad one to a good one no matter how large or small the change in technique is. I do understand what you are getting at, hitting with good technique is miles better than hitting with bad (even though the score might be the same), but be prepared to miss a few to get the technique right first when you are learning to shoot. When a self taught shooter goes to see a coach they can get upset when the coach corrects their style and they miss clays they would normally hit due to this change, they then revert back to their old ways. It will work out better in the end for them when they start hitting consistently again but they may have to accept loss of form while they relearn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I do understand what you are getting at, hitting with good technique is miles better than hitting with bad (even though the score might be the same), but be prepared to miss a few to get the technique right first when you are learning to shoot. When a self taught shooter goes to see a coach they can get upset when the coach corrects their style and they miss clays they would normally hit due to this change, they then revert back to their old ways. It will work out better in the end for them when they start hitting consistently again but they may have to accept loss of form while they relearn. That's a better explanation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beretta Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 To hit targets consistantly you need a good technique as well as a few other things. With a bad technique you can still hit targets though, but only the easier ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poontang Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Learn to read the target. You can have the best technique in the world, but if you don't know what the target's doing you're probably going to miss it. But as has already been said, at least you'll miss it with style. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jega Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I would highly recommend a really good coach to iron out these issues you have.At first glance your list of questions seems to be inter-connected ,stance, mount etc which would suggest its time to back to basics which is where the coach comes in .It really is surprising how seemingly small insignificant adjustments can make a big difference to your scores especially when there is more than one aspect to correct. When you weigh up the cost of a couple of hours quality tuition against the ever rising cost of carts and clays it really is a no brainer. Remember that while you are not being as succesful as you'd like to be, the probability is that you are more than likley practising the same mistakes over and over,thus it can quickly becomes a never ending circle of frustration until your pointed in the right direction. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ME Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I would highly recommend a really good coach Here's one - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shropshire_Lad Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Learn to read the target. You can have the best technique in the world, but if you don't know what the target's doing you're probably going to miss it. But as has already been said, at least you'll miss it with style. :blink: I have to say this is a good point. As a long time shotgun owner but a person that used them from only time to time the last few months have been an eye opener for me. I shoot Rifles with Salop Sniper off here, but we are getting a bit more into the whole shotgun thing. His approach of reading the target fully, lay of the land, speed e.t.c. has started me thinking a lot more. I also have to say keeping focused for those few seconds is harder than you think, well, harder than I thought it would be. Also gun mount is so important, I was getting realy sloppy on this. Lessons are a good idea for sure but you can't beat shooting with better shots than your self who are prepared to help you out and be prepared to put lead down the barrel, if it was too easy it would not be fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ME Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I find that emphasising the L's on "PULL" really helps my technique. I have upped my L's from "PULL" to "PULLLLLLLLLLL" and my scores have gone up by about 20%. Give it a go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulos Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I find that emphasising the L's on "PULL" really helps my technique. I have upped my L's from "PULL" to "PULLLLLLLLLLL" and my scores have gone up by about 20%. Give it a go I do that too Wearing an inappropriate hat at a jaunty angle helps as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloggs Posted February 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I'd jut like to say thanks to everyone or the advice so far and if it's still ok Bakerboy I'd like to take you up on your offer on the 10th Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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