Shooting advice??

[Shoot.The.Crow]

Iv started shooting and have been out quite a few times decoying for pigeons and have bagged a few, I'm missin loads tho and in my opinion easy shots that seem unmissable at the time! I was thinkin of maybe a lesson at a clay pigeon shoot, would anyone recommend this to help me improve? I'd take any advice cheers!!

[fenboy]

Clay lessons should hep, as would a day out with a experienced pigeon shooter.

You may be taking those "easy birds" for granted and pointing rather than swinging the gun I suspect.

[B725]

Two or three lessons will help and iron out any faults

[Shoot.The.Crow]

Cheers guys! Wot are likely to be the faults? It's v frustratin when u lure the bird in, swing the gun lookin down the barrel and BANG miss fs lol

[tweedledee]

missing behind or possibly not letting them into range

[fenboy]

Cheers guys! Wot are likely to be the faults? It's v frustratin when u lure the bird in, swing the gun lookin down the barrel and BANG miss fs lol

 

You may think your swinging the gun but stop early.

If they are dropping into the decoys you may be shooting over them or if they are going away you could be under them.

If they are crossing you, chances are your shooting behind them.

you may be trying to shoot them too far out or even too close in .

Its a job to say without watching you .

Clays will help with the swing , but as i said try and get a decent local shooter to have a day out with you , as its impossible for us to actually see what your doing wrong over the internet

Edited December 5, 2012 by fenboy

[anser2]

Think carefully before you start clay shooting for pratice at the real thing. Some years ago I took shooting lessons and became very good at hitting clays , but my live bird shooting rapidly went downhill. After a few months of lessons i stopped and my live bird shooting improved greatly . Never shot a clay since .

 

One of the problems with decoying pigeons is as they swoop into the decoys they are constantly changing direction and speed. I have always found decoying pigeons in a wind much harder than high roost shooting birds. At least the latter are going in a reasonable straight line giving you the chance to give the bird lead.

Edited December 5, 2012 by anser2

[Shoot.The.Crow]

Good replies there much appreciated! Heading out on Saturday with the decoys and hide gear etc, mite spend half an hour tryin dif chokes at paper to give me a better idea of spread and pattern, iv been tryin the skeet choke and quartet and half but still unsure as to wot iv done best with, think iv took birds with all 3.

On the swing I think u could be right! I'm prob behind the birds slightly

[evo]

if ya shooting ptgeons over decoys use your 1/4 and 1/2 chokes leave the others at home,use no 6 carts and practice will make perfect you will improve,just keep making sure you swing thro and remember to give them some lead,,, good luck evo

[Shoot.The.Crow]

if ya shooting ptgeons over decoys use your 1/4 and 1/2 chokes leave the others at home,use no 6 carts and practice will make perfect you will improve,just keep making sure you swing thro and remember to give them some lead,,, good luck evo

 

Cheers mate il be givin it my lot! With lots of lead! Lol

[Shoot.The.Crow]

Been out again this week but still missing loads starting to get v frustratin! Lol back out again in the mornin god loves a tryer!

[Mr Rizzini]

Cheers guys! Wot are likely to be the faults? It's v frustratin when u lure the bird in, swing the gun lookin down the barrel and BANG miss fs lol

 

theres your problem, If you would like to invite me out someday to your permission I would be willing to bring my gear and show you what I do etc, I had a couple of hours coaching and can pass anything I have learnt onto you. There is also a cheap we clay shoot between lisburn and glenavy where you could take a go at to fine tune yourself, Its £7.50 for a round of 25 with cartridges provided.

[Mr Rizzini]

Good replies there much appreciated! Heading out on Saturday with the decoys and hide gear etc, mite spend half an hour tryin dif chokes at paper to give me a better idea of spread and pattern, iv been tryin the skeet choke and quartet and half but still unsure as to wot iv done best with, think iv took birds with all 3.

On the swing I think u could be right! I'm prob behind the birds slightly

Forget about your chokes and put in a 1/4 and 1/2 as thats all you will ever need, Also don't read into it to much and make sure your gun is a good fit or you will never be consistent as you will be mounting different every time. keep both eyes opened and dont look down the barrel if the gun fits. You shouldn't even notice your gun and shouldn't be thinking of lead or anything as its pretty much natural and at 25-35 yards and a bird about to land will require very little lead as its flying pretty slow at this point.

More important in my opinion is that you have a good pattern with the birds coming in nice rather than from every shape.

Just speaking from my experience and I have a right good day every time I go out.

I would be willing to take you on as my shooting partner and I have a lot of ground all over the place but I would like to make sure your not one of these people that I see on youtube shooting trees for the craic

 

Edited December 7, 2012 by Mr Rizzini

[kent]

Iv started shooting and have been out quite a few times decoying for pigeons and have bagged a few, I'm missin loads tho and in my opinion easy shots that seem unmissable at the time! I was thinkin of maybe a lesson at a clay pigeon shoot, would anyone recommend this to help me improve? I'd take any advice cheers!!

 

Most people miss because they shoot out of thier range or ability. Pick your shots better! clays slow down and fly in predictable directions, real birds speed up / flare etc when you poke a gun at them.

[Shoot.The.Crow]

 

Forget about your chokes and put in a 1/4 and 1/2 as thats all you will ever need, Also don't read into it to much and make sure your gun is a good fit or you will never be consistent as you will be mounting different every time. keep both eyes opened and dont look down the barrel if the gun fits. You shouldn't even notice your gun and shouldn't be thinking of lead or anything as its pretty much natural and at 25-35 yards and a bird about to land will require very little lead as its flying pretty slow at this point.

More important in my opinion is that you have a good pattern with the birds coming in nice rather than from every shape.

Just speaking from my experience and I have a right good day every time I go out.

I would be willing to take you on as my shooting partner and I have a lot of ground all over the place but I would like to make sure your not one of these people that I see on youtube shooting trees for the craic

 

 

Where abouts u from mate and where do you shoot and stuff?

[Mr Rizzini]

from lurgan direction, Mostly pigeons I shoot all over the country mate.

[demonwolf444]

i wouldnt bother with lessons, just to much to think about, generally all the stuff works on clays but as soon as birds are comming in from all over and your having to move around and hide and everything.. just try givving them a bit more lead, a bit less, aim under aim lower, sounds stupid but start of this season i found i was missing birds over the top, just slowed it down, sorted out my gun mount and made sure i was swinging through and got on them again.

[Shoot.The.Crow]

i wouldnt bother with lessons, just to much to think about, generally all the stuff works on clays but as soon as birds are comming in from all over and your having to move around and hide and everything.. just try givving them a bit more lead, a bit less, aim under aim lower, sounds stupid but start of this season i found i was missing birds over the top, just slowed it down, sorted out my gun mount and made sure i was swinging through and got on them again.

 

Cheers mate out again in the mornin il be givin that a go too!

[Cosd]

Are there any particular shots you are missing more than others? Birds coming straight in from in front, crossers left to right or right to left, going away, rising, descending?

 

What sort of range are you trying to shoot them?

 

Sometimes easy shots are the ones that you have plenty of time on, watch them coming in from a distance and where you follow them a little too long before taking your shot; In this case you could possibly be aiming instead of pointing your gun, where as a bird that comes over your shoulder and you snap shoot is more instinctive and you don't have time to aim.

 

Try to describe with a bit more detail the types of shots you're missing and you will definitely get a few pointers as to what you could be doing wrong.

 

If you're new to shooting, don't get hung up on chokes and or cartridge, as said, for decoying a popular choice is 1/4 (first fire barrel usually bottom) and 1/2 (second fire barrel usually top). Stick to same cartridge as well if you can. This is important in my books especially when you start up as you will constantly be trying to work out if it's choke, cartridge or you which is at fault. Set your gear up and leave it like that until you are consistently and confidently hitting your target, then you can start to change these and notice the difference each change makes for you.

 

Also try to keep your range within capability, I'd say 30 - 35 yards to begin with, and again as you get more confident with your ability you can extend the range a little at a time. It is a little too much to begin with understanding lead, speed of swing etc when you keep changing your ranges, especially when the birds already vary their flight speeds, angles etc.

 

And most importantly, practice, practice and practice some more, there's no magic lesson or instruction that is going to improve you over night.

 

Good luck and keep us updated how you are getting on.

 

 

Cos

Edited December 14, 2012 by Cosd

[Shoot.The.Crow]

Are there any particular shots you are missing more than others? Birds coming straight in from in front, crossers left to right or right to left, going away, rising, descending?

 

What sort of range are you trying to shoot them?

 

Sometimes easy shots are the ones that you have plenty of time on, watch them coming in from a distance and where you follow them a little too long before taking your shot; In this case you could possibly be aiming instead of pointing your gun, where as a bird that comes over your shoulder and you snap shoot is more instinctive and you don't have time to aim.

 

Try to describe with a bit more detail the types of shots you're missing and you will definitely get a few pointers as to what you could be doing wrong.

 

If you're new to shooting, don't get hung up on chokes and or cartridge, as said, for decoying a popular choice is 1/4 (first fire barrel usually bottom) and 1/2 (second fire barrel usually top). Stick to same cartridge as well if you can. This is important in my books especially when you start up as you will constantly be trying to work out if it's choke, cartridge or you which is at fault. Set your gear up and leave it like that until you are consistently and confidently hitting your target, then you can start to change these and notice the difference each change makes for you.

 

Also try to keep your range within capability, I'd say 30 - 35 yards to begin with, and again as you get more confident with your ability you can extend the range a little at a time. It is a little too much to begin with understanding lead, speed of swing etc when you keep changing your ranges, especially when the birds already vary their flight speeds, angles etc.

 

And most importantly, practice, practice and practice some more, there's no magic lesson or instruction that is going to improve you over night.

 

Good luck and keep us updated how you are getting on.

 

 

Cos

 

Cheers mate some more great advice! Was hopin to get out today but not lookin likely with the weather, headin out tomorro and il certainly be tryin the different things mentioned cheers!

[EdSolomons]

If your mising that much you will have a basic flaw in what you are doing. Bite the bullet, see a decent coach, and get it sorted. For the sake of £75 odd quid you will enjoy it a whole lot more and will be abl to build from what you have learnt. Going out missing everything is no fun and is a lot more expensive in the long run.

[Shoot.The.Crow]

If your mising that much you will have a basic flaw in what you are doing. Bite the bullet, see a decent coach, and get it sorted. For the sake of £75 odd quid you will enjoy it a whole lot more and will be abl to build from what you have learnt. Going out missing everything is no fun and is a lot more expensive in the long run.

 

I'm not missing everything and I am gettin some good shots and kills too, it just could be a whole lot better! Lol

[EdSolomons]

Same applies!

[T-Bolt94]

Just keep in mind the fact that you don't aim a shotgun, you point! If you are trying to aim it like a rifle you will have difficult hitting anything, something that might help you with the swinging action is Bum, Belly, Beak, Bang!! Good luck!

[corvid wings]

yes go on the clays, if nothing else you will learn to mount the gun correctly