Shooting high birds

[iano]

Was shooting today on a sporting trap, that had it pretty much at about 60 degrees from the trap, coming towards me.

 

Could nail the lower one every time, but found it hard to keep my head on the stock for the higher one, and was shooting when the gun was pretty much pointed straight upwards.

Any tips, advice for this? Hit a few but fluked them really. A lot of lead was needed but found the mount very hard to do, kept looking down the side of the gun

 

any and all advice appreciated, please.

 

Edited as original post was very hard to read.

Edited September 17, 2016 by iano

[herby]

Keep your head on the stock

[iano]

Keep your head on the stock

 

Not easily done, for some reason.

[Hamster]

Was shooting today on a sporting trap, that had it pretty much at about 60 degrees from the trap, coming towards me.

 

Could nail the lower one every time, but found it hard to keep my head on the stock for the higher one, and was shooting when the gun was pretty much pointed straight upwards.

Any tips, advice for this? Hit a few but fluked them really. A lot of lead was needed but found the mount very hard to do, kept looking down the side of the gun

 

any and all advice appreciated, please.

 

Edited as original post was very hard to read.

 

I have read and re-read this 10 times but just can't understand the actual presentation of the birds. Can you describe slowly and exactly :

 

How far was the trap from the shooting position ?

 

To which side was it throwing the clays ?

 

Are there two clays in the air at the same time and are they coming off the same trap ?

 

How far apart are the clays from one another and is one obviously faster ?

 

Did you watch anyone else shooting these and were they taking the second bird earlier or later than you ?

 

When you say high do you mean off a tower high or just thrown high off the ground and going sideways to you ?

Edited September 17, 2016 by Hamster

[iano]

 

I have read and re-read this 10 times but just can't understand the actual presentation of the birds. Can you describe slowly and exactly :

 

How far was the trap from the shooting position ?

 

30m or so to the bottom of the tower they were mounted on.

 

To which side was it throwing the clays ?

 

Straight on, so they are coming towards the stand

 

Are there two clays in the air at the same time and are they coming off the same trap ?

 

One at a time (second on report) from two different traps

 

How far apart are the clays from one another and is one obviously faster ?

 

First is lower, both go at the same speed

 

Did you watch anyone else shooting these and were they taking the second bird earlier or later than you ?

 

Nope, wasn't a competition and everyone was skipping that stand

 

When you say high do you mean off a tower high or just thrown high off the ground and going sideways to you ?

 

Nope, lower one was coming from a trap c. 20m high (on a tower). Second was about 7m higher or so

 

Bolded answers in your quote

Edited September 17, 2016 by iano

[Old farrier]

Hi

 

Do you shoot gun up or gun down ??

 

Did you remount your gun correctly after the first shot

 

Just a thought

 

All the best

Of

[Hamster]

Straight driven birds are very often missed miles in front so since you could deal with the lower one well we can assume your lead picture was OK for this so the problem is obviously something different about the second bird as 7 meters isn't really enough to cause consistent misses.

 

What is odd is that you could keep your head on the stock for the first but seem to suggest doing so was a problem with the second ?! This shouldn't really be the case if you treat each bird in isolation meaning for the second you should pretty much assume the same address position you did for the first.

 

Difficult to say without seeing you actually shoot but taking the bird almost directly overhead is usually the right thing to do (which you say you did) so the problem might have been misreading the line, if the second bird was off a different arm then it is very likely that it would have been slightly on a different line which of course you must take into account.

 

Next time you're there try and see if you can throw just the higher one and try a few different things. My own technique for tower birds is to start off with the gun very very high up in the sky, absolutely nowhere near pointing towards the trap, look through the gun at the tower and call, then once you see the bird keep still till it comes about midway at which point you lift into its line and for a moment or two follow it just behind, then when almost overhead just flip the bead/barrel past with enough momentum to provide lead (fast birds need a fast flip, slow ones need slow), avoid a demented effort to provide 5 yards of lead they simply do not need it.

 

Finally this is one of very few presentations where tight choke can cost you kills, try Cylinder or Skeet and defo no more than 1/4 if you can help it.

[Walker570]

Without being stood alongside you it is very difficult to give advise. If the second bird is on report I would personally remount my gun for the second. I would attempt to kill them in front where you have maximum spread. I don't shoot clays often these days but I do shoot driven birds at least once a week during the season, often twice and the above would also apply. On driven birds when I reach my peg I try to envisage where birds will be in front at 35yrds, obviously they may be at different heights, but that position is where I want to be killing them as I know the chokes I have in give me a good cover at 35yrds and at least 30 inches in diameter. The closer they get the tighter that circle. Hope this helps.

[iano]

Hi

 

Do you shoot gun up or gun down ??

 

Did you remount your gun correctly after the first shot

 

Just a thought

 

All the best

Of

 

I don't understand what you are saying here...

 

I try not to have the gun mounted for either shot, as when I'm out in the field I can't call the birds on demand.

 

Straight driven birds are very often missed miles in front so since you could deal with the lower one well we can assume your lead picture was OK for this so the problem is obviously something different about the second bird as 7 meters isn't really enough to cause consistent misses.

 

What is odd is that you could keep your head on the stock for the first but seem to suggest doing so was a problem with the second ?! This shouldn't really be the case if you treat each bird in isolation meaning for the second you should pretty much assume the same address position you did for the first.

 

Difficult to say without seeing you actually shoot but taking the bird almost directly overhead is usually the right thing to do (which you say you did) so the problem might have been misreading the line, if the second bird was off a different arm then it is very likely that it would have been slightly on a different line which of course you must take into account.

 

Next time you're there try and see if you can throw just the higher one and try a few different things. My own technique for tower birds is to start off with the gun very very high up in the sky, absolutely nowhere near pointing towards the trap, look through the gun at the tower and call, then once you see the bird keep still till it comes about midway at which point you lift into its line and for a moment or two follow it just behind, then when almost overhead just flip the bead/barrel past with enough momentum to provide lead (fast birds need a fast flip, slow ones need slow), avoid a demented effort to provide 5 yards of lead they simply do not need it.

 

Finally this is one of very few presentations where tight choke can cost you kills, try Cylinder or Skeet and defo no more than 1/4 if you can help it.

 

Will try this. Basically, I could get the first bird without having to shoot straight up, its the act of shooting 'horizontally' that seem to cause the problems.

 

Without being stood alongside you it is very difficult to give advise. If the second bird is on report I would personally remount my gun for the second. I would attempt to kill them in front where you have maximum spread. I don't shoot clays often these days but I do shoot driven birds at least once a week during the season, often twice and the above would also apply. On driven birds when I reach my peg I try to envisage where birds will be in front at 35yrds, obviously they may be at different heights, but that position is where I want to be killing them as I know the chokes I have in give me a good cover at 35yrds and at least 30 inches in diameter. The closer they get the tighter that circle. Hope this helps.

 

Cheers - I think the choke has four marks. Not quite sure what that is (quite new to all this).

Shooting a semi so a single barrel and choke.

[Walker570]

Four usually denotes the open choke. What range are the clays when you decide to shoot?

[bornfree]

I would say on the higher one you're giving it some lead which is making you lose sight of the clay so you're looking up the side to make sure.

[bunnykiller]

If straight driven at height is a problem, is there room to turn 90deg and shoot as a crosser, this way you can see what lead you are giving.

[iano]

thanks guys - a lot to think about.

Will try this stand again, hpefully next week.

Also time for a lesson I think, I'm probably doing a lot of things wrong.

 

However, hitting more then I miss on most stands now, hoping to actually get out in the field and bring home some dinner.

(if any Irish people here are in the wicklow / dublin area and wouldn't mind giving a novice a chance, let me know!)

[darren 67]

Take a look at this fellas wayhttps://youtu.be/1ss-p3xVhMA

[iano]

Take a look at this fellas wayhttps://youtu.be/1ss-p3xVhMA

 

Thanks - very intersting video

[Westward]

Hamster is well placed to give practical advice - certainly better than me - but I will point out that shooting high driven targets requiring lead is much more consistent if you keep both eyes open. If you close the 'off' eye the clay will be blocked out by the gun making it very difficult to judge the lead, whereas with 2 eyes, the nifty special app that runs in the brain allows you to see the clay 'through' the gun because the 'off' eye can still see it even when the lead eye looking down the rib can't.

[Walker570]

Plus one on that excellent advice from Westward. Try to always shoot with both eyes open anyway and look at the target not the gun. If the gun fits you it will fall into place.

[figgy]

One clay must have been going faster or was a midi. Something was different or you wouldn't have missed it. I never leave a clay untill it's over my head shooting up at 12 o'clock, try to nail them at ten o'clock 11 latest point of angle for me.

 

Only thing to do is start by swinging steady and fire the gun on blocking out the clay buy keep the gun moving then increase the time after blocking out the clay untill you break it.

 

Some days I never miss a driven clay others I'm no where near them.