Beads on the end of shotguns.

[WGD]

I was just re-alliterating what our clubs coach's where teaching the new shooters.

 

Hrm, I see no alliteration in the first or subsequent post

 

 

Nor do I, but by the same token I doubt you were actually "eluding" earlier.

 

touche pin

[pin]

Nor do I, but by the same token I doubt you were actually "eluding" earlier.

 

Fair comment, completely the wrong word, and misspelled

 

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", A lesson I could learn something from

[GBS]

I too have had the bead fall off my gun during a round of sporting clays and my shooting completley went to pieces! However i have friends who's beads have fallen off and it doesn't concern them one bit.

 

My girlfriend has recently taken up shooting and her coach has reccomended that she has an oversize red/orange bead fitted. He says that she won't look directly at it has no clearly defined outline but that it will give her a greater awareness of where the end of the barrels are pointing. Useful for a learner getting used to a gun I presume.

 

Each to their own I suppose.

 

George

[Harnser]

No you dont see the bead in your periphial vision. its only there really to make yourself aware when you mount the gun that you have the rib in a true plane to your vision, after that you look beyond to the target!

 

 

berettaman you are absolutely right . How else would you know if you were shooting to the left ,right ,up or down . harnser .

[Emmsy]

if your gun fits and you mount smoothly there should be no need to look at the gun full stop. i have no bead on my gun and i cant say its ever affected my scores. as for the shooting from the hip, i can probably hit a good 50% from the hip and when you do shoot like that you only watch the target, the gun follows your eyes! same with tennis, cricket etc you watch the ball not the bat.

[clayman]

The bead on the shotgun is very useful for static set up. A good coach or gunfitter will use it looking back down the barrels ( after an empty gun check), while you have the gun fully mounted, and they will check your eye / rib alignment and alter your stance / mount / gun fit to get your eye in the correct position ( pupil 1/8" above the rib so the line of sight is over, not through the bead).

 

The "pointablity" of the gun is emphasised by looking slightly down on the rib and seeing it tapering away like railway lines. If you eye is low on the comb, and you see the bead a a silhouette over the action, you will tend to rifle aim the gun and stop a smooth forward allowance swing as you look back to the bead.

 

So, the bead has its uses in terms of gun fit and assisting the shooter in dry training, but ultimately you should be aware of the rib in your peripheral vision rather than the bead as your guidance to the direction of aim, and yes, you will learn to ignore / not notice it as your proficiency improves (assuming correct gun fit).

 

Jerry Parks Young

Senior CPSA Coach

Edited March 19, 2008 by clayman

[Emmsy]

There's an old addage...if you can, DO! if you can't, TEACH! I don't see many of the Digweeds (with the possible exception of John Bidwell) of this world teaching!

 

 

is he refering to you jerry

[Jimbo57]

Must confess that I am never aware of the bead at the muzzle end of the barrels when shooting normally. I used to have a Trap gun though that had two beads - one at the muzzle and and one halfway down the rib. When shooting DTL I did use them both to make sure the gun was mounted right before calling for a bird.

 

Jim

[clayman]

The skills of coaching and being a top competition shooter are different.

 

Sometimes ( and John B is an example) a person has both - but usually a good coach will not be a top shot - competent yes, but not world class.

 

Why?

 

Simple, what George / Richard / Charlotte can do is totally instinctive and in a piece of automated reaction brain tissue that mere mortals like most of us do not have and are unlikely to acquire by training. How can a top International convey to the average shooter what makes him / her score 100 straight?

 

A good coach knows how to analyse you personally, has a range of techniques and cures available, and will find the correct ones for you, and then communicate them effectively, monitor your performance and provide understandable feedback.

 

A good coach has skills a top shot may be lacking. The average pupil will benefit far more from a trained coach than basking in the glory of some top internationals.

 

Jerry Parks Young

CPSA Senior Coach

[Pirate]

Not that Jerry needs it, but I totally agree and can add nothing.

 

Highlander: You forgot to mention:- Richard Faulds, Carl Bloxam, Micky Rouse, Duncan Lawton, Stuart Clarke, Paul Bentley, Kevin Gill etc.

 

Pirate:

[vole]

As a newish shooter,I have had several professional sessions on clays before I unleashed my powers upon the animal kingdom. The very best coach told me how to hold the gun and to shoot instinctively.The bead did not come into it. On my own in the field and not having the luxury of having perhaps the best fitting guns,more the ones I can afford and mostly the dreaded moderated ones; I find the bead really useful.It assists me in shouldering a gun,despite maybe having bunched up Goretex or a snatched shot at a magpie in that as I shoulder the gun I can maybe see a hint of rib and the bead floating at the top of the broad inverted V shape of rib.When I bring it up to the target the bead is a shadow over where my shot will go.

In other words it helps me compensate for any mis alignement of my gun when I shoulder it as it highlights the exact top of the inverted v. Gives me confidence too in shooting sitting targets as I admit to shooting them rifle style.Dont miss many.

[chrispti]

So, the bead has its uses in terms of gun fit and assisting the shooter in dry training, but ultimately you should be aware of the rib in your peripheral vision rather than the bead as your guidance to the direction of aim, and yes, you will learn to ignore / not notice it as your proficiency improves (assuming correct gun fit).

 

Jerry Parks Young

Senior CPSA Coach

 

:wacko: Prehaps I should have listened a wee bit closer!!! sorry for the miss information!

Edited March 20, 2008 by chrispti

[gadgit]

I've found the bead a confusion when first shooting. Some say you should see about half an inch of it when setting up, and some say about the thickness of a pound coin?

 

The only way I really found out was to shoot at some test 30 inch targets to get the point of aim. I then found about 70% shot above centre.

I then went to the clays and missed loads..............Not telling the scores!!!! it was that bad.

 

I've since been out in the fields and just shot at clods of earth and found I was shooting over them?

 

I've now found that I need to be low on the bead and aim straight at the target and am hitting things far better.

 

I think the double sight ball, with one half way down forming an 8 is a better guide for a beginner???

You can't go wrong with that...........................or can you?

[Ferret Master]

What I did was sit a pound coin on the rib of the gun and adjust my head so I could only see the bead above the coin. Then tilt the coin off and that's how much rib you should see... apparently.

 

FM

[gadgit]

:blink: I would say that is about where I am now with thw aim ( I mean point, just so I don't upset the purists)

 

It works for me.

[clayman]

Ferretmaster is correct - the £1 coin test is the correct eye height over the rib.

 

Buy the Clay Target Shooter's Handbook on EBay for a full explanation.

 

70% of the shot above the bead is correct placement, the clay / target should be on top of the bead, not sighted through it "rifle-like".

 

If your eye is 1/2" above the rib at the action you will be shooting around 1 1/2ft high at 30 yds. This may be OK in a trap discipline, but will loose you crossers / skeet / sporting targets.

 

How-ever, it s better to be too high ( and thats rare) than too low ( which is common).

 

Clayman