More from Nationals

Learning from Long Targets

Well, it’s been an interesting few days for me. I’ve been missing a lot of targets in front and finding it hard to let the target close.

Perplexed, I’ve begun to remember the advice I have given over and over to shooters about shooting a lot of long targets: if you don’t finish up with at least two boxes of close stuff, you will find yourself missing targets in front. Well, I proved that for sure.

I’ve been shooting a lot of long targets in clinics and spent eight days in Argentina shooting long shots on doves and pigeons. So I’m really comfortable with the gun well in front, but not so much with the gun close to the targets.

There are more longer targets this year at Nationals than ever before. Lots of crossers, which will begin to educate the shooters about separating the gun and the bird.

One more thing on long shots and training: I found myself getting trapped into seeing the lead as I would try to adjust the picture closer to the bird. Strike a blow for training before coming to Nationals. Last year I had not shot nearly as much long stuff. In fact, I would recommend that you shoot a lot of close stuff and some longer shots, but mostly close, easy shots. It’s easier to adjust out to targets needing more than adjusting back and not seeing the lead. More on this on the Coaching Hour in a couple of weeks.

I must shoot more midis because I have fear when I see one, especially this week when I’m missing so much in front of targets.

What a contrast in attitude between this shoot and the World Skeet Shoot. I came over to San Antonio to get my gun fixed during the World Skeet Shoot and it was like a funeral. No one was talking or having fun. Everyone was so serious. Here, everyone is having fun and laughing and joking, and shooting a lot.

We are going to shoot super sporting next year and probably do the main on two days and shoot some small gauges – just to do something different. One of the shooters who I showed the picture of three rocks on the ground is shooting much better.

The Power of Our Animations

I had a session with a lady on Saturday afternoon who had lessons with several top shooters. She was looking down the barrel and keeping the target in her periphery, which was diagnosed as having a dominance problem.

When I asked her what she was trying to do, she stumbled around and said “look at the target, see the rings, look at the front edge…and not see the gun.”

There you have it. Trying to not see the gun is the culprit again and again. The gun is part of the picture and the harder you try not to see it the more you will see it.

Well, after looking at the animations and the dove kill shots and doing the three-bullet drill, when she began to shoot she said “that’s what I saw. But since I’ve been trying to get better, nothing looks or feels right.” This is just another example of how great shots don’t make good teachers. They end up teaching what they see and few if any can see what they see unless they have the same amount of experience as the shooter

It’s another testimony about the power of the animations and the ShotKam shots. They make it clear what it really looks like when the shot comes together.