Bobba Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 I wonder if there is anything like an average hit rate? I know we are all different in our skills and can have good or bad days but, overall, is there an "average" / good day ratio? I ask because the guy I shoot with will be 78 this year. He has been shooting since aged 14 and did a lot of shooting (non-combat) when in the army. His hand eye co-ordination is superb and on a good day he probably hits a good 8 out of ten wood pigeons. By comparison I will be 76 this year have shot for about 10 years and am a little uncoordinated. Some days it just doesn't click. On a good day when it all comes together I'm in the 60% area. On a bad day 50%.. Before anyone mentions gun fit etc I would mention that it was choked and fitted by the nice Mr T (now retired). I've had a few lessons on a clay ground and finished hitting about 75% Perhaps I'm wrongly comparing myself with something of a crack shot and be happy with where I am. But I do not know how where I am compares with any averages out there. Any views on how well you guys shoot would be welcomed. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B725 Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 Some people are obsessive with kill to cartridge ratio, me personally don't care what's more important to me is that I've enjoyed the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmboy91 Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 12 minutes ago, B725 said: Some people are obsessive with kill to cartridge ratio, me personally don't care what's more important to me is that I've enjoyed the day. +1 There are plenty of days when I gone out for a wander and not hit a thing, but I don't let it worry me because I've just enjoyed being out. If I worried to much about what I'd missed it would spoil the shooting for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 Some have better skills than others, simple. As hard as some try they will never be top at the game otherwise life would so very boring, they wouldn't need to run the Olympics etc etc Having said that you can improve and that just takes practise and sometimes a little help from a coach. I have always understood the shot ratio on driven game birds to be pretty good if your killing 2.5 to 1. I shoot occasionally with a couple of guns who will kill 1.5 to one or better. Personally my average is around the 2.6 to 1 BUT I believe I enjoy myself as much as my 1.5 to 1 friends. When I shot a lot of competition clays 50 years ago I got annoyed with myself if I dropped a single bird and it got that I did not enjoy the clay scene as a result and packed it in. B725 says it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultrastu Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 Its weird but when i go out decoying if the birds are about i usually start off really well for the first 10 birds or so often hitting 100 % and then it goes wrong and i start missing and my percentage drops to around 30 % . Its at this point i usually knock it on the head. I might be because initially i start with birds i know are easily in range and i can hit ,as confidence grows i take on the tricker shots and consequently miss more .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalfordninja33 Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 5 hours ago, B725 said: Some people are obsessive with kill to cartridge ratio, me personally don't care what's more important to me is that I've enjoyed the day. Definitely. I suspect we all know a numbers man. as I’ve gotten older I’ve become less obsessed with numbers and more about enjoying the day and being slightly more selective on what I shoot. I’d rather shoot fewer ‘good’ birds than more average birds. 1 hour ago, Ultrastu said: Its weird but when i go out decoying if the birds are about i usually start off really well for the first 10 birds or so often hitting 100 % and then it goes wrong and i start missing and my percentage drops to around 30 % . Its at this point i usually knock it on the head. I might be because initially i start with birds i know are easily in range and i can hit ,as confidence grows i take on the tricker shots and consequently miss more .. I find my shooting tails off slightly as the day goes on. 🤷♂️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 Don't worry about the figures; just enjoy the day - and you will do well. If you worry about the figures, you will very probably end up shooting less well - and so enjoy it less. We all have good and bad days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 Never really got into the numbers game I think we shoot for many reasons my personal pleasure is from shooting different guns and enjoying them although I do think you should be able to put in a good score at the clay ground before you venture into live quarry and game shooting as john said enjoy the moment and the day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 2 minutes ago, Old farrier said: my personal pleasure is from shooting different guns and enjoying them +1 I enjoy my vintage and hammer guns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 Don’t worry about kill ratio ,just enjoy your self . Just count how many opportunities you had on the ,hit em or miss em it doesn’t matter . harnset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 On clays I average 18-20 out of 25 but sometimes I drop to 15-16. i missed a fox the other night about 250 yards and it’s an easy shot but spent all night thinking what went wrong. I went the range the next day and confirmed it was my poor shooting lol. on pigeons I can hit everything for 10-20 in a row then miss the next 50 . I get incredible shots then miss sitting targets. ive come to the conclusion that I’m **** so I feel better about myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted July 29, 2019 Report Share Posted July 29, 2019 25 minutes ago, team tractor said: On clays I average 18-20 out of 25 but sometimes I drop to 15-16. i missed a fox the other night about 250 yards and it’s an easy shot but spent all night thinking what went wrong. I went the range the next day and confirmed it was my poor shooting lol. on pigeons I can hit everything for 10-20 in a row then miss the next 50 . I get incredible shots then miss sitting targets. ive come to the conclusion that I’m **** so I feel better about myself. How do you think you would do at clays if you could have 2 or3 shots at each clay ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted July 30, 2019 Report Share Posted July 30, 2019 9 hours ago, Old farrier said: How do you think you would do at clays if you could have 2 or3 shots at each clay ? I’d just make myself look worse lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead eye alan Posted July 30, 2019 Report Share Posted July 30, 2019 Some people are naturals at certain things others have to learn a skill, shooting is no different, as for it gets worse the longer you are at it i think age and muscle control can make a difference. At the end of the day who cares as long as you are pulling the trigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbob Posted July 30, 2019 Report Share Posted July 30, 2019 I shoot at a small clay club once a month. My average is currently 62% I know this as we keep scores and I record the ongoing handicaps. It's not competitive and we all shoot for the fun of shooting. I used to obsess about the numbers and tried to better myself but that obsession made me reluctant to go at all. I know go for the laugh and to chat with friends. The clays are second and the score is totally unimportant. Enjoy the shooting first and the scores will sort themselves out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestonSalop Posted July 30, 2019 Report Share Posted July 30, 2019 Its really reassuring reading these responses. I was getting annoyed with my performance on clays (definitely shoot better early in the session than later - must be getting some sort of fatigue). Lessons have helped but I am resigned to the fact that I'm no Olympic shot in the making and just pulling the trigger and enjoying the day is good enough. I def wont be seeking places on bird shoots come the season, until my performance on clays is much better than it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Funker Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 I sound similar to others when decoying pigeons, I can have a run of 10-15 birds where I could be George Digweed. Then spend the next 50 shots wondering if the cartridges are empty 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 7 hours ago, Muddy Funker said: I sound similar to others when decoying pigeons, I can have a run of 10-15 birds where I could be George Digweed. Then spend the next 50 shots wondering if the cartridges are empty 😂 This is more noticeable as you get older , when I was younger I maintained a fair average nearly all day and mentally I always wanted to kill the pigeon , now I am in my 70s I start off well and sometimes stay fairly sharp for an hour or two , then my mind start playing tricks with pulling the trigger , this varies a bit with weather conditions , if it is dull and cloudy then I can judge the range and the target looks as clear as a bell , then on a hot day with a clear sky you can't be off at looking into the sun now and again and that's when I sometimes find it hard to judge the range and at times even seeing the pigeons if there is a dark back ground . There will be ways and means to overcome these problems , but at my stage of life I am more than happy just to have a day out and now I think about the ones I hit not the ones I miss . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 I do very well on game and decoyed pigeons, but seem to be having bit of a nightmare on clays at the moment, with a really embarrassing 12 ex 30 at a recent straw bale shoot! It's even worse than it sounds as I started off with a 9 ex 10 on the first stand and expected to clean up, then for whatever reason 1 ex 10 followed by a 2 ex 10 on the last. I also attended a 100 at another ground on the same day and scored an abysmal 53 ex 100! I have a left master eye and can only think that due to the irregularity with which I get out to shoot nowadays since moving, my old dominant eye is starting to take over again. I am going to try closing my left eye when next I'm out, and take it from there. I have to admit it has really given my confidence a shake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 6 minutes ago, Scully said: but seem to be having bit of a nightmare on clays at the moment ...... I find that for some (unknown) reason, I can shoot reasonably well on say 4 out of 5 stands - and abysmally on the other. Has happened to me several times recently, with a score of 1/10 on one stand, but averaging 8 or 9/10 on the other stands. No idea why, usual gun(s), cartridges, and the bad one is not always my usual bogey stand of rabbits either. It can often happen on stands where I would usually do quite well, and isn't generally on a difficult stand. I'm also left eyed, but close it - and that isn't the trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobba Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 Some interesting replies and observations thank you. Today, a contribution to my diminishing performance was revealed. For some time I have been experiencing an ache in my right eye. Also, when opening and closing left / right eye when watching tv my right eye vision is a tad blurred. My eye checkup was due so I went to the optician. I am diagnosed with a cataract in my right eye and a v slight formation in my left. I have been referred for a necessary operation. In discussion, the optician said that we do not realise it but with deficiencies in one eye the brain will compensate by increasing reliance on the better eye. This I translate as what with my being right handed and right eye dominant, unknowingly to me my left eye is starting to influence matters. Now the wait (for the op) You learn something every day........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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