doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Shotgun technique: sustained lead or pass through

Man you guys got me all screwed up now....

I think it best to keep your eye on the target, specifically the leading edge and use peripheral vision to watch the barrel, rather than vice versa. So jOe, that's my opinion and you can trust me on this matter.

I'm a righty and right-eye dominant most of the time, so, given that I take a pre-mount swing toward the house and then out to the holdpoint--with emphasis on finding the old human backsight in alignment with the rib both vertically and horizontally--and then lower the butt below shoulder it's at least likely that I look up the rib with the right and scout for orange with the left. No one taught me this "out in front baton pass" method. I knew guys broke targets before the stake and I didn't. I could also see their "insertion" point and the short stroke of the muzzle and one day I stopped chasing and did it. After a while, things did slow down a bit and I can now more or less analyze what I do--I hope! How do you guys shoot 8? Lot of shooters deal with it (even if pre-mounted) as an overhead. I shoot both 8s pre-mounted but hold outside the house about 2' and pretty much on what appears to be the path of the target, move on the sound of the trap and pull the trigger. This is a pure robot shot of no use whatsoever to a hunter but I seldom miss at 8 and break them well before overhead (even in blinding sun). I don't know if skeet still helps grouse hunters; in some ways I sort of doubt it. But I will say that on a sporting course, if you see target trajectories that look similar to skeet targets, you'll be conditioned to shoot them with skeet methods.

jack

Jack, at my club no one is real, real serious - so we shoot some leagues international, some doubles, and then the wimps shoot regular. A number of us shoot gun down even at 8, and with the gun stock on your hip it's a crap shoot for us over 60. Same at SC's - at times we shoot gun down, no movement before you see the bird, up to 5 second delay, and all doubles even though I didn't set the course for them. One year we made the shooter walk forward and threw the bird whenever. Usually when the right foot was going forward. You want to talk about doing the 'Soupy Shuffle'. And there's the usual " talking " to the shooter as he's trying to shoot. I find when setting the course that curling, dropping birds give em fits. Paul

Jack: I am a right handed shooter as well. I like to shoot station 8 rather quickly. It really is a simple shot, almost could be considered a trick shot. I like to hold a little to the outside and even or a tiny bit low of the opening of the house. Call for the target and shoot it between a 20-30 degree angle virtually shooting right at it. Apparently, I am swinging so quickly that I can shoot right at it with adequate follow through. The more quickly you shoot this target, the more open your pattern will be. I have seen novice shooters shoot this target directly over head and here the pattern is pretty close to a slug gun and a much more difficult shot. Buzz

We also mess with the international time delay, shoot from between stations, shoot stations in reverse because of evening sun, shoot doubles targets from the "ends" inside out with tight chokes, etc. Haven't tried the walkup thing at Sporting as "we" are not the local gang at that range and are forced to shoot conventionally. I once broke high 8 from low gun, safety on. I don't think I've done it since that first time. Probably started thinking about it. Quite true that distance opens patterns even in the relative compactness of the skeet field. Why so many overhead shooters really smoke em even with skeet or ic at 8. I actually enjoy shooting a modified choke Flues SBT on the skeet field, all singles obviously. Probably the sweetest swinging 34" barreled gun I've encountered.

jack

Jack, I shoot tournament skeet but I also shoot low gun, usually in preparation for fall grouse and quail hunting with my S xS's. Try hold the heel of the butt under your armpit and hold the muzzle of your gun just at or below eye level for station 8. This method and maneuver is taught at shooting schools and I use it for upland hunting, especially when approaching a bird dog on point. Works great on the skeet field too for practicing hunting. Try it, you might like it!

Buzz, I'll try that just off the shoulder mount again at 8. I think that's what I did but I do know that sometimes what I'm doing sort of degrades into an actual port-arms carry with the muzzle certainly in the wrong place and the butt way low like in international.

jack

Skeet is a special case where the fixed lead ishighly successful. Most other games and hunting presentations are not as amenable to the fixed lead so learn one of the swing through or pull through methods if you hunt. And if you really want to find out how well you shoot - try the live bird ring or sporting clays FITASC rules or even International Skeet.

http://www.issf-sports.org/development/coachingplatform/stepbystep/en.ashx - interesting to see how carefully analysis and coaching for ISU skeet is done. As I read it, the recommended method is a form of maintained lead that was forced by adding doubles at station 4. I guess the large move back across the field for the second target is hard to control, so maintained lead is now used to get the first target quickly and minimize the move to the second.

This game would have me off balance and rushed all the time. Shooting real birds might seem comfortable by comparison - real birds usually do not appear as a flash that is hard to focus on.