Being Aware of the Periphery When Shooting
When shooting a shotgun at clays or birds, the target is always in our primary visual circle and the gun is always in the periphery. What that looks like differs greatly shooter to shooter and depends on whether they shoot clays or birds. In the beginning, the...
The Difference Between Shooting a Rifle and Shotgun
When shooting a rifle, the shooter is looking down the barrel and lining it up with the target. While holding the barrel on the target, the shooter begins to squeeze the trigger and the gun goes off. But when the gun is going to go...
Focus on the Target: The “Mainest Thing” About Shotgun Shooting
Whether you are a clays or wing shooter, none of us start with the same game we end up with. What we do and what we see is an evolution based on how much we practice our passion with the smooth bore. As my late friend...
Foot and Hand Positions on Targets Below Your Feet
The elevation of the target has a lot to do with foot position and the front hand’s grip position. When shooting overhead targets off high towers, the front hand must come back towards the action of the gun just to be able to get the gun...
Young Shooters Sticking Their Elbows Out
Here’s another anomaly we often see often in younger shooters. With the gun mounted, their elbows are sticking straight out to either side. To this day, we cannot understand why they do this. Your elbows on both arms should be a comfortable 45 degrees to the line...
Shooting Single Targets with Prediction
Shooters who practice more single targets moving the breakpoint and predicting how and where they will break the target and then executing their prediction gain a consistency in their game quicker than those who just shoot the course to try to shoot a good score. In...
The Height of Skeet and Sporting Clays Targets
Skeet and sporting clays are similar in many ways, but there is one basic difference: the height at which the targets are broken. In skeet, the targets are hooped and set so they have a common crossing point over the center stake. If you could take...
Variations in Weight Displacement
When the stance is right for the individual height and body shape, maintaining balance is simple and repeatable. Maintaining a central balance point and good shooting posture so the gun fits is a result. Women tend to have a top-heavier variance - some more that others...
Balance in Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays
Let’s talk about the different clay target games: how their similarities and differences affect stance, weight displacement, and balance. In trap and skeet, the targets are the constant. Both games are played pre-mounted and most shooters are “in the gun pretty tight.” And because they have...
Different Centers of Gravity and Your Shooting Stance
Because of the balance issue, shooters with different centers of gravity could need a more open stance, a more closed stance, or more upright or leaning forward stance to position their head and cheek in front of their shoulder pocket. So, to say that there’s one...