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Missing so many birds??


yidoharry
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Hi, I am very new to the sport and have over the last few months been buying all the gear I need.......that has been the easy part! Please don't all shoot me down in flames here but I want to know how am I going to become a better shot. I am lucky enough to have a permission on a huge amount of land with various crops etc so everything is in place for a great days pigeon shooting but after several trips out there seems to be barely any improvment in my kill rate. Would it help me going to a clay shooting ground and paying for tuition or is it a simple case of keep persisting and trying by myself?? Would reading books or watching any videos be the way to go perhaps? Im always open to any suggestions that anyone wants to throw my way and im willing to put in the hours due to having a job that allows me to have the daytime to myself. Just as a note im using a Franchi raptor semi- auto with a 1/2 choke fitted.....not sure if this has much of a bearing though! Thanks for reading guys and hopefully some of you can point me in the right direction.

Edited by yidoharry
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If I was you, I would definitely go to a clay pigeon ground, with your gun and ask , to start with, a professional coach for a lesson, explain to him, what it's the problem, he should be able to advise you and help you, correcting any mistake that you doing, while aiming or mounting your gun.

It might be a matter of eye dominance or wrong mount of the gun, but only a coach can correct that.

I hope it works out for you..... Don't give up

 

Mark

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All of the above mate, as stated lessons can correct any serious issues you might have and watching videos and reading books can help with other elements of field craft and decoying, it also might be useful to see if an experienced hand close to you would go out with you for a couple of days too.

Above all of this you must remember that pigeon shooting isn't easy they are amazing acrobats and the reason we all log on here is because we want to learn more and share our frustrations when despite everything being "perfect" we still didn't get as many as we had hoped for.

You wouldn't expect to buy your first set of golf clubs and be a scratch player without practice, practice and more practice.

It sounds like you are in a great position to get as much practice as you need with the land and time that you have, so take a lesson or two, keep getting out there and enjoy the land and fresh air regardless of the amount you take down.

 

Good luck

 

TDR

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Clay lessons are your answer for the shooting bit of the equation the other is learning hides/position/fieldcraft etc......the gun/choke bit is unimportant,but of course have your lessons and practice with your own gun(obviously)..For this latter bit read alot or ideally invite someone experienced to show you..

atb

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when you are in the hide are you sitting down to shoot or standing up.?..........bear in mind that even if you are "standing" to shoot it will be difficult for you to "assume" the correct position /stance

 

 

a few rounds on the clay range is a good idea...it will give you the confidence that the gun is right and you are mounting and moving in the correct way.........

 

 

when you are in the hide all of that goes outa' the window !........you will have to work out the best way to score a kill from the position your body is in.....and eventally you will be dropping birds using a stance or a position that would be "larfable" on a clay range..

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A visit to a decent instructor would certainly help, though persistence on live quarry will also be key since the two disciplines (clay and live) are quite different.

 

If you can find someone "with experience" to join you in the hide that might also help. Try to get someone who will help you improve your shooting though rather than someone who just wants to join you on a free shoot. My main objective for this would be to ensure you know when to take your shot, in other words are you giving yourself the best chance to take that bird; You don’t want to be shooting too early or too late.

 

What distance are you setting up your decoys? I would suggest no more than 20-25 yards away from your hide to begin with, and I would also open up the choke on your gun; Maximum ¼ choke and preferably cylinder until you get some experience and confidence. Of course you would need to keep your shots to reasonable distances with the more open choke set up.

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How many birds are you missing ? Pigeons are not easy targets at the best of times and hardest in a strong wind. As a new shot if you are averaging one bird for every three shots or fewer shots you are doing ok. You will improve with experiance. Clay shooting works for some people but not others . I have a friend who is a crack shot and has shot at international level at clays , but show him a live bird and he is usless. I had shooting lessons years ago when I first changed to an o\u from a s\s. I got fairly good at clays , but could not hit a duck if it looked up the barrels. It took me several years to unlearn those shooting lessons and start hitting game again.

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Can't offer you as much advice as the much more experienced guns on here can, but if it helps you might want to check some of the following bits and pieces.

 

Have you done any other types of shooting?

Have you an idea of the range at which you are trying to hit the bird?

Are you using the right cartridges ? ( lots of info on here about peoples preferences )

Are you a bit too keen to take your shot (ie bird on the edge of your range)?

Are you "snatching" at your shot ( ie jerking trigger instead of squeezing ) ?

Are you following the bird when you've pulled the trigger ( ie keeping your swing going)? Some people would advocate bum, beak, bang as a way to get on and follow your bird.

Are you using one eye or two ? I used one eye for ages and missed loads then tried both eyes open after advice from this site.

 

As others have said, pigeons are one of the most acrobatic birds , especially after spotting you or the first shot at them.

 

BUT

 

don't give up keep practising, nobody is born a perfect shot and remember to keep a sense of humour

 

kind regards

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A lot is confidence, which is low when you are missing. I generally get 46/8 out of 50 clays but last week, roost shooting, I didnt hit a single bird I shot at. Different gun, very high winds and distant birds and a 1/4 choke I hope. Still enjoyed it immensely - I would advise a lesson from a trusted chap - I know a brilliant coach but sadly you are way darrrrnnn saaarrf.

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try firing your gun at a pattern board or even some sheets of wallpaper at 30yds. depending on how your gun stock fits you the gun may be throwing the pattern high or low the simple pattern test will show you if the gun shoots where you are looking.

don't over think things, the harder you try often the worse it gets.

no need to change choke imo 1/2 is a good all rounder.

a round of skeet at the shooting ground will certainly sharpen up your shooting.

familiarise yourself with your shooting ranges one mans 30 yds is another mans 50.

 

hang in there you will get there in the end.

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Mostly all of what the people above have said!

 

Always use the right cartridges, either 5 or 6's in my opinion.

Also you can learn quite a bit by just looking up tips in shooting, just like this article: http://www.shootinggazette.co.uk/shootfeatures/153139/TEN_Shooting_Tips_you_need_to_know.html

(Yes i know thats for pheasants but it still does help)

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Get your gun fitted :yes:

Why do people always say this?

 

My gun is well fitted to me, but I shoot (pigeon) with other peoples guns ( different makes, models, sxs, semi etc) with no discernible reduction in accuracy.

 

In my experience you need to be either at the very top of your game at clay where a missed shot means the world, or you're shooting a gun so ridiculously wrong for your size.

 

The bloke just needs to get his lead and making sure the birds are in range IMO.

Edited by kyska
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Why do people always say this?

 

My gun is well fitted to me, but I shoot (pigeon) with other peoples guns ( different makes, models, sxs, semi etc) with no discernible reduction in accuracy.

 

In my experience you need to be either at the very top of your game at clay where a missed shot means the world, or you're shooting a gun so ridiculously wrong for your size.

 

The bloke just needs to get his lead and making sure the birds are in range IMO.

 

 

+1

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when you are in the hide are you sitting down to shoot or standing up.?..........bear in mind that even if you are "standing" to shoot it will be difficult for you to "assume" the correct position /stance

 

 

a few rounds on the clay range is a good idea...it will give you the confidence that the gun is right and you are mounting and moving in the correct way.........

 

 

when you are in the hide all of that goes outa' the window !........you will have to work out the best way to score a kill from the position your body is in.....and eventally you will be dropping birds using a stance or a position that would be "larfable" on a clay range..

I try to get myself into the correct position to shoot however the pigeon presents itself. Failure to do this, I believe, will result in a lot of misses.

Can't offer you as much advice as the much more experienced guns on here can, but if it helps you might want to check some of the following bits and pieces.

 

Have you done any other types of shooting?

Have you an idea of the range at which you are trying to hit the bird?

Are you using the right cartridges ? ( lots of info on here about peoples preferences )

Are you a bit too keen to take your shot (ie bird on the edge of your range)?

Are you "snatching" at your shot ( ie jerking trigger instead of squeezing ) ?

Are you following the bird when you've pulled the trigger ( ie keeping your swing going)? Some people would advocate bum, beak, bang as a way to get on and follow your bird.

Are you using one eye or two ? I used one eye for ages and missed loads then tried both eyes open after advice from this site.

 

As others have said, pigeons are one of the most acrobatic birds , especially after spotting you or the first shot at them.

 

BUT

 

don't give up keep practising, nobody is born a perfect shot and remember to keep a sense of humour

 

kind regards

Squeezing the trigger?

 

Mostly all of what the people above have said!

 

Always use the right cartridges, either 5 or 6's in my opinion.

Also you can learn quite a bit by just looking up tips in shooting, just like this article: http://www.shootinggazette.co.uk/shootfeatures/153139/TEN_Shooting_Tips_you_need_to_know.html

(Yes i know thats for pheasants but it still does help)

That will make no difference if someone is missing.

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Can't offer you as much advice as the much more experienced guns on here can, but if it helps you might want to check some of the following bits and pieces.

 

Have you done any other types of shooting?

Have you an idea of the range at which you are trying to hit the bird?

Are you using the right cartridges ? ( lots of info on here about peoples preferences )

Are you a bit too keen to take your shot (ie bird on the edge of your range)?

Are you "snatching" at your shot ( ie jerking trigger instead of squeezing ) ?

Are you following the bird when you've pulled the trigger ( ie keeping your swing going)? Some people would advocate bum, beak, bang as a way to get on and follow your bird.

Are you using one eye or two ? I used one eye for ages and missed loads then tried both eyes open after advice from this site.

 

As others have said, pigeons are one of the most acrobatic birds , especially after spotting you or the first shot at them.

 

BUT

 

don't give up keep practising, nobody is born a perfect shot and remember to keep a sense of humour

 

kind regards

Im decoying pigeons at around 25/30 yards killzone. Im using 7s 28g. I feel that im occasionally keen to take my shot as I have the pressure of either my dad or one of he's two pals with me in the hide! always seem to shoot with one eye purely because this feels more natural. If I try to take more time the chance seems to go as the others will take the shot

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A bit more info would help.....as flighting or roosting is a different to decoying. So where does the problem lie? Clays will get you swinging, however they don't jinks at the sight of a man with a gun popping out of a hide... :whistling:

My money is on less choke and less bobbing up and down...

 

TEH

90% of the time im decoying as I've been told this should be easier than roost shooting. As for bobbing up/down I do my utmost not to move a muscle till the very last second and don't seem to have any birds veer away suddenly. Everything seems to happen very quickly and then I feel the chance goes away!

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A lot is confidence, which is low when you are missing. I generally get 46/8 out of 50 clays but last week, roost shooting, I didnt hit a single bird I shot at. Different gun, very high winds and distant birds and a 1/4 choke I hope. Still enjoyed it immensely - I would advise a lesson from a trusted chap - I know a brilliant coach but sadly you are way darrrrnnn saaarrf.

Don't get me wrong.....even though im missing them I still love being out there! Im from a background of coarse fishing for the last 25 years where ive had loads of days of "hard" fishing or days of not being able to hit any bites but still persist knowing I have the skill to maybe hit the next or knowing ive caught loads before! Unfortunately I don't have this shooting which makes it hard to gain confidence

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Depends on the speed of bird coming into decoys , as said start behind catch up loose the bird pull the trigger , the swing should make up the lead at most speeds :good:

 

On a side note you sound as if your trying to rifle the birds and giving everything 3/4 foot lead , ie stopping your swing ?

Edited by magman
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