How good is "good enough"?

[Guest stevo]

I have always found that one of the best ways to practice shooting over decoys , buy that I mean close range but varied shots . Is to practice Skeet , this is just my view but I feel it offers and covers everything , the main one being competent at crossers and left and rights . also another big thing is confidence , skeet is not the hardest discipline , therefore it doesn't take long to build up your confidence , and therefore get you to a level where you are/feel your ready for a day in the field .

 

stevo

[jayDT10]

Shooting pigeons is something that's very difficult to 'practice' for. Yes, clays help, but pigeons tend not to fly over when you shout "PULL!".

Try a compact sporting layout, with a friend launching targets randomly, and wear good ear defenders so you can't hear the traps working. This will help with your instinctive shooting. (and start with gun unmounted, as there can be long periods of inaction).

shooting pigeons ain't all instinctive shooting , when decoying depending on the day you will most probably be seeing pigeons from a couple of hundreds yards away get down in your hide and watch it come all the way in to your decoys where you will then read the bird give it what lead it needs which over coys ain't usually a lot and shoot at it, how's that instinctive, to the the original poster if you can hit clays you'll hit pigeons .

[Azzurri]

shooting pigeons ain't all instinctive shooting , when decoying depending on the day you will most probably be seeing pigeons from a couple of hundreds yards away get down in your hide and watch it come all the way in to your decoys where you will then read the bird give it what lead it needs which over coys ain't usually a lot and shoot at it, how's that instinctive, to the the original poster if you can hit clays you'll hit pigeons .

 

Exactly right, and also a good clay shot will make short work of any decoyed woodie

 

I'd just say get out there and you'll soon pick it up, everyone has to learn but remember to respect your quarry as nobody likes to see pricked/wounded birds...as someone else said know and learn your limits

 

 

Azzurri

[yickdaz]

shooting pigeons ain't all instinctive shooting , when decoying depending on the day you will most probably be seeing pigeons from a couple of hundreds yards away get down in your hide and watch it come all the way in to your decoys where you will then read the bird give it what lead it needs which over coys ain't usually a lot and shoot at it, how's that instinctive, to the the original poster if you can hit clays you'll hit pigeons .

what about the birds that suddenly appear in the decoys or swings round overhead from behind, and the birds that are leaving the decoys after you have shot one, and your going for another one , or roost shooting when they appear in a gap in the canopy I could go on I would say that's instinctive shooting

 

don,t get me wrong azzurri is right to an extent but I have seen top AA clay shooters not do very well on pigeons more than once

[humperdingle]

shooting pigeons ain't all instinctive shooting , when decoying depending on the day you will most probably be seeing pigeons from a couple of hundreds yards away get down in your hide and watch it come all the way in to your decoys where you will then read the bird give it what lead it needs which over coys ain't usually a lot and shoot at it, how's that instinctive, to the the original poster if you can hit clays you'll hit pigeons .

Those spotted at 200 yds are the easier ones

[jayDT10]

Those spotted at 200 yds are the easier ones

not to all , the ones that are watched from a long way in can hinder some shooters as they have too much time to think, I'd say that wildfowling in very low light maybe call instinctive shooting as you can't really see your bead but if you know your gun you instinctively know where the gun is pointing . But I don't shoot on instinct , everything I shoot at is thought through and measured . Edited December 13, 2013 by jayDT10

[-Mongrel-]

 

No, it isn't. I shoot clays and I don't shoot like that at all.

 

At the risk of sounding disrespectful, you may be missing a trick.

 

Lots of clays can be shot using maintained lead, lots can be broken by pulling ahead, however, a few are best snap shot. Think a crosser through a gap in the trees. By the time you see it, it's too late to follow and pull ahead, or get ahead and work out lead, you just need to 'throw' the gun at it and pull the trigger. Sounds crude and basic I know, but, on some birds, particularly fast ones it is the way forward for me.

[jayDT10]

what about the birds that suddenly appear in the decoys or swings round overhead from behind, and the birds that are leaving the decoys after you have shot one, and your going for another one , or roost shooting when they appear in a gap in the canopy I could go on I would say that's instinctive shooting

 

don,t get me wrong azzurri is right to an extent but I have seen top AA clay shooters not do very well on pigeons more than once

Everyone can have off days even AAA shots. And I've seen a few apparently very good pigeon shooters On a clay shoot looking like they have never held a gun before.

[Westley]

Thanks to the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club I've had the opportunity to shoot at lots of grounds that are set up for "game shooters". The clays are bloody easy. I have been advised by a BASC coach that being able to shoot standard English sporting presentations of clays at 40 yards would make you quite good enough for a game shoot. It's more about learning how to use your gun and follow through. Also, being secure enough in your gun mount to go gun down, which I did ten minutes into my first sim day. Oh, my arms!

 

If you want to go and shoot pigeon try DTL ;-)

Of course 'clays' are easy, makes you wonder why they bother having competitions, does it not

[gunner1000]

I started just under a year ago on the clays to start with and once i felt comfortable with my shooting i took the leap and went pigeon shooting after a couple of months.

I kept going on the clays and pigeons only went on the clays just for extra practise but now do both fine so just when your ready take the plunge mate good luck

[ChrisWill184]

As nearly everyone has said it is very instinctive yes. BUT. You are going to hit naff all if you are not somewhat familiar with the gun and gun mount. I've taken guys out pigeon shooting who have had a few goes on the clays and the usual problems are:

• They can't sit still/hidden until the last second to mount the gun - pigeon is gone!
• Try and mount the gun as the pigeon is 60 yards away - pigeon is gone!
• They forget the safety catch is on and by the time they get it off - pigeon is gone!
• Mount the gun really early on a really far away bird and end up waving the gun like a wand at it as they try and chase ahead and come back to find it numerous times before pulling the trigger and 90% of the time - pigeon is gone!
• Mount the gun at the right time but smack it in their face or tuck it under their arm, or mount it on their bicep meaning they then have to try and correct it (if they bother) and - pigeon is gone! or they fired way wide of the mark.

If you are happy with your gun mount most of the time from gun down position (which is usually with the butt of the gun on the floor if you are decoying) then I would say go out and lay in to them! If not I would say practice your gun mount in front of a mirror from gun down and make that gun a new extension of your arms. I did this when I was younger every day until my arms were sore and I still think it is some of the best practise you can do to get familiar with the gun.

 

If you wanted to practise on the clays first, get someone to come with you and with the gun down, get them to ping the clay at a random time from any trap on the layout in front of you. Surprise factor is the game here and that will improve your instinctive shooting.

 

Thats just my experience of it but has worked well for me and a few guys I advised to go through this process. Hope you get your first bird soon. Its a great feeling to know all your hard work has paid off as it folds in the sky.

[Longchalk]

.

If you are happy with your gun mount most of the time from gun down position (which is usually with the butt of the gun on the floor if you are decoying) then I would say go out and lay in to them! If not I would say practice your gun mount in front of a mirror from gun down and make that gun a new extension of your arms. I did this when I was younger every day until my arms were sore and I still think it is some of the best practise you can do to get familiar with the gun.

 

 

Couldn't agree more about learning to be confident shooting gun down. I first started shooting on cock days, fox drives & beater's days on game shoots, aged about 14 or 15. Us kids never got to stand on a peg very often, just carry a gun in the beating line, to take any birds breaking back our out the side. You can't pre-mount, lead and swing nicely in these circumstances, there just isn't time. Plus, you will most likely have a lot of trees flashing between you and the target. As someone else said, you just have to throw the gun barrels up at a spot your brain instinctively tells you will intercept the target as it passes through, and pull the damn trigger. … The best shots were always where you heard a bang and saw a pheasant hit the deck, before realising it was actually you that shot it!

 

I've since shot clays quite a bit, and have always sucked at it. Before getting going on the woodies again after a long lay off, I recently had a skeet lesson to “get my eye in” whilst waiting to pick up some permissions. My point & poke style horrified the tutor, and to be fair he did a reasonable job of getting me to cut down on some of the more exaggerated movements, and mount a little more neatly.. But in a hide, when pigeons are suddenly flashing past you out of nowhere, and from all angles, there's no substitute for being comfortable snap shooting from a gun down position IMHO.

 

I went roost shooting recently, under a tight canopy, in a strong wind, and was pleased to find that I could still hit them. My technique might be shabby, but my instinct still knows where to throw the bead at!

[Setwings]

why would you shoot DTL as practice for pigeons, that would be great if every bird you shot at was going away from you

sporting clays is perfect practice for woodies different targets, angles, speeds, etc I used to shoot clays quite a lot, and when I did shoot pigeons after a round of sporting days or the week after I hardly missed a bird

 

Hi all

 

I'm new to shotgunning and never shot at pigeon with one.

 

I'm currently practising on the clays and wondered at what stage you chaps would consider a clay shooter to be "good enough" to move onto live quarry.

I'm breaking the clays fine.... but there again, I know which way they are coming from and going to so scores will be a little misleading.

 

I've been airgun hunting for years so I'm a great believer in taking the most humane shot you can.. but shotgunners are going for moving targets so there is much more skill needed in shot placement in a very short space of time compared to airguns where fieldcraft is king and the shot a formality.

 

Your comments will be interesting.

 

Cheers

if your breaking the clays fine and your safe with the gun then you ready ,just have fun and dont be disheartened on your kill to cartridge ratio etc its not important

youll soon get in the swing of it .

[GingerCat]

Pratice never hurt anyone.

45-50% on clays is good enough to start. No one is a crack shot from the beginning despite the bs you may hear.

Just be sure when you shoot that you will kill it .

In short order you will know what shots you can take and what you can't, yet.

In fact 45-50% May be over the top to start. Up to you really but you get my drift.

[geordieh]

HI all

I started shooting rabbits duck and snipe when I was 10 I am now 57 I have had a few goes at clays on the farm and at a B-b-q once(about 10 yrs ago) and it bored me silly.I couldn't tell you how much lead I give and I could never teach someone else how to shoot, it is all instinct to me.I have stood next to people shooting and when they miss, ask if they were above, below,behind or infront of the bird and I have to tell them I haven't got a clue.I suspect most people don't know either.Some years I don't pick the shotgun up between January and September and still hit more than I miss

Geordie

Edited January 12, 2014 by geordieh

[Catweazle]

The guys saying "practice on clays" have their hearts in the right place, but many people have gone straight onto the pigeons. If you're worried about your skills then wait for the pigeons to land in the decoys, shoot them and kill them, when you're happy with where you are shooting start to shoot them as they are about to land. Build up your skills that way.

 

There is nothing wrong with taking a pigeon on the ground or close to it when you are learning, as long as the pigeon is killed cleanly you have nothing to worry about. My decoys have loads of pellets struck in them.

 

Ignore people who say it's "unsporting" to take the easy birds, you are learning and the most important thing is a clean kill, you can test yourself later.

[Guest stevo]

The guys saying "practice on clays" have their hearts in the right place, but many people have gone straight onto the pigeons. If you're worried about your skills then wait for the pigeons to land in the decoys, shoot them and kill them, when you're happy with where you are shooting start to shoot them as they are about to land. Build up your skills that way.

 

There is nothing wrong with taking a pigeon on the ground or close to it when you are learning, as long as the pigeon is killed cleanly you have nothing to worry about. My decoys have loads of pellets struck in them.

 

Ignore people who say it's "unsporting" to take the easy birds, you are learning and the most important thing is a clean kill, you can test yourself later.

+1

[dead eye alan]

The guys saying "practice on clays" have their hearts in the right place, but many people have gone straight onto the pigeons. If you're worried about your skills then wait for the pigeons to land in the decoys, shoot them and kill them, when you're happy with where you are shooting start to shoot them as they are about to land. Build up your skills that way.

 

There is nothing wrong with taking a pigeon on the ground or close to it when you are learning, as long as the pigeon is killed cleanly you have nothing to worry about. My decoys have loads of pellets struck in them.

 

Ignore people who say it's "unsporting" to take the easy birds, you are learning and the most important thing is a clean kill, you can test yourself later.

 

 

Spot on!

[TIGHTCHOKE]

The guys saying "practice on clays" have their hearts in the right place, but many people have gone straight onto the pigeons. If you're worried about your skills then wait for the pigeons to land in the decoys, shoot them and kill them, when you're happy with where you are shooting start to shoot them as they are about to land. Build up your skills that way.

 

There is nothing wrong with taking a pigeon on the ground or close to it when you are learning, as long as the pigeon is killed cleanly you have nothing to worry about. My decoys have loads of pellets struck in them.

 

Ignore people who say it's "unsporting" to take the easy birds, you are learning and the most important thing is a clean kill, you can test yourself later.

 

 

Some VERY valid points there Catweazle, only one small problem;

 

 

The distinct lack of pigeons for the vast majority of the newbies to practice upon.

 

 

Plenty of clays though and they seem to come when called!