Sorry to see a great topic get sidelined and trashed, hard for me to understand. As to "how poorly", I usually describe myself as a lifelong mediocre shot. Newly met people say "that can't be true, you shot tons of birds!". My response is "I hunt a lot!" After nearly 60 years of shotguning a few truths seem apparent:

1. A new gun rarely ups my average, never shot better than I did when all I could afford was a 12 ga. 870 as my only gun. Shot everything from quail to Canadas, just changed loads and the barrel--either a 26" Imp. Cyl. or a 30" full choke.

2. Species and method might be #1. Decoyed ducks, I shoot over 75% with 100% on occasion. Ruffed grouse I might as well shoot a slingshot, seldom over 20%.

3. Most hunters are shooting guns that are overchocked. My current "go to" gun is a SKB 585 12 ga. o/u. Though I have 7-8 chokes I rarely switch from SK1 and SK2 chokes no matter if I'm pass shooting geese with steel BB's or hunting praire grouse over my Springer with lead #7's.

4. Age is a mixed blessing. I often hunt waterfowl with a 20 something son of a old hunting buddy. His reflexes and shooting ability are something I dimly remember if ever I actually had his level of skill. The down side is I don't shoot nearly as well as I used to and I'm losing lifelong hunting partners at an alarming rate. The up side, retirement allows me 60+ days in the field every year and the opportunity to hunt the exotic (for me) places I read about all my life.

5. I, too, fell for the "magumitis" advertising on ammunition. Heavy loads of big pellets at high velocity. I admit to an aversion to recoil and have returned to light loads at reasonable velocity and do better. Raised in S.D. at the zenith of pheasant/duck hunting I saw thousands of birds killed with 1 1/4 of 6's at 1220 fps. I now shoot 1 oz. or 1 1/8 oz. 12 ga., 7/8 or 1 oz. 20 ga. loads @ 1200 fps and smallish shot--7's being my all around favorite. For ducks, 1 oz. of steel #3's at 14-1500 fps or so matches the old favorite of 1 1/4 of lead #4's at 1220.

6. Practice, practice, practice! I shot best as a kid, a thousand rounds or so every summer(I had a job and a handloading setup, want to avoid an attack) at flying birds; pigeons, crows, blackbirds, starlings and sparrows were all fair game. Now I'm reduced to several sporting clays and five stand shooting sessions every summer and wish I could do more. Oh, and by the way, to support my claim of mediocre shooting, breaking over 65 at sporting clays is cause for celebration.

My overall average when the hunting season is done (last week in Nebraska for spring snows for me) would likely be something like 50%---high 80's on ducks and preserve pheasants, low 20's on ruffed and blue grouse.

Steve

"Every one must believe in something, I believe I'll go hunting today."