Here is a question for you all. Who gave you the best shooting lessons? I don't mean your buddy, I mean a lesson you paid for. To workout a problem target or whatever. I know there are a bunch of good instructors out there.
Here is mine. I think its a funny story too.
I split a lesson with a gentleman at a club in the Northeast where I am from. I was broke but spent every cent I could dig up to shoot. I was living paycheck to paycheck. I drove a old needed to be retired GMC S-15 pick-up. Anyways this gentleman I know, knew I wanted to take a lesson with this guy and he had a spot booked. So he asked me if I wanted to split it with him. Of course I said yes. I don't remember what I scarificed to pay for the lesson but I can promise you it was something. So the day came when it was our lesson. The gentleman that invited me to spilt went first. Now the Gentleman giving the lesson did not say much of anything. I was thinking to my self wow you idiot you just paid $100.00 for a lesson and this gentleman isn't saying a word. After I don't know how many shells were fired he brought him in and said try this, do this, why did you do this? Now I am like what is this some sorta cruel expensive selfhelp instructor? Now its my turn in the box. Again he just let me shoot. Now I am steaming and thinking to myself boy you have really done it this time. So he calls me in, says in his lovely English accent you have a nice smooth swing. I am thinking wait a minute I can't break 65 on a tournament sporting clays course and you are telling me I have a nice swing?? I paid how much to hear that? Now its the other gentlemans turn again. He gets in the box and this time to my surprise he speaks. So I am all ears listening Even if its not me I can learn something right? He tells him very small adjustments to make. Now I am fumming, I shot with some very good shooters at this club and they all gave me help for free. So again he pulls him in says I want you to go and practice this and I want you to remember this. It wasn't much I can't remember the exact words or minnor adjustments but at that moment in my eyes we both got mugged. Now its my turn in the box. He comes up and says that stock is to small for you. Put this on it. So I slip it on. Now I want you to turn your foot 2 inches and twist your upper body at the waist. Start your gun here. Ok finally I get something. So he is pulling the trap non stop and I am shooting. I shot so many rounds I was tired. That was it the end finished. I wanted to smack myself. I thought you just paid $100.00 for that?????????? Dam you are an idiot. So we walk back to the club house and we are chatting. I am more listening then anything else. He is talking to the other gentleman about shooting driven birds. Anyways we get back to the club house and all I can think is I just wasted $100.00. Not like it was the first time I had wasted $100.00 but never the less. So I reach in my pocket to see how much money I have left. Feeling like I need to waste money now on something positive I would like to go shoot a round of sporting clays. Well I did not have enough so I was going to leave. Then the owner asked me want to shoot some clays? I said yes but I don't have the coin to. He replied I didn't ask you if you had the money to. So I said I would love to. Now I am thinking ok this is better at least now I am recouping some of my wasted coin on the lesson. The owners manager was going out to set some new presentations so I got to pull for him and he let me shoot too. All I really remember is I was tired from all the shooting I already did for the supposed to be lesson. Well somewhere about 1/2 way thru the course I started to hit very consistanly. I did not think much of it. So I left after shooting and really didn't give anything much thought. A few days later I am back at the club to shoot. This was the first time I ever broke 65 and well I shot a 79 on a challenging course. Walking back to my truck I realized this gentleman did not have to say much to me. I realized he was much smarter then me. What little he said and had me change was enough for one lesson to get me to shoot better and not confuse the hell out of me. When I got back to the club house I asked the manager when will Mr. Mitchell be back? I knew I had to book another lesson with him. Unfortunately I had to move away for work. A few years after that I read that Mr. Jack Mitchell had passed on. My first anything was a terriable feeling in my stomach. I surely wish I could have had just one more lesson with him. Now whenever I see his name somewhere or hear his name spoke I smile and realize just how lucky I was to have one lesson with him.
