Wingshooting Checklist!
Updated: 10/22
Update: 06.06.20
Just watched a lot of videos and read more about "gun fit." Wow. Length of pull, drop at comb, pitch, cast on, cast off. A LOT going on to get a gun that fits! Bottom line it seems is to buy a gun that fits you as close as possible, then tweak it if necessary. Still a good mount with head naturally straight and stock to cheek will go a long way toward looking at the bird with a straight, flat barrel. Those guns that become "old friends" shoot where you look.
I have always maintained that wing shooters miss one of two ways: either we don't mount the gun well -- or we are behind the quartering or crossing bird.
SO how can you prevent an inconsistent mount and how can you time your swing on the crossing bird?
Just watched a lot of videos and read more about "gun fit." Wow. Length of pull, drop at comb, pitch, cast on, cast off. A LOT going on to get a gun that fits! Bottom line it seems is to buy a gun that fits you as close as possible, then tweak it if necessary. Still a good mount with head naturally straight and stock to cheek will go a long way toward looking at the bird with a straight, flat barrel. Those guns that become "old friends" shoot where you look.
I have always maintained that wing shooters miss one of two ways: either we don't mount the gun well -- or we are behind the quartering or crossing bird.
SO how can you prevent an inconsistent mount and how can you time your swing on the crossing bird?
Book after book has been written about shotguns, loads and wing shooting. Incredible detail and expertise. I am by no means an expert or exceptional shooter, but reviewing some very basic foundations sometimes helps:
Wingshooter's Check List:
1. Focus on the bird. Your gun barrel will blur or become unnoticed or secondary.
2. Mount the gun to your cheek! Wood on wood. Stock to cheek with your head in a naturally straight position.
3. "Point" with your forward hand where your eyes are looking. Balance is key. Gun weight should be balanced between your hands. The goal is a flat barrel pointing right where you are looking.
4. Swing and follow through. Rotate the whole body and hips, not just the arms and shoulders. Focus on the bird and follow-through will become natural.
Too much to think about during the actual bird flush. And if you overthink it, your natural instincts and muscle memory cannot take over. I like to "practice" on early season doves to remind my muscles and instincts what it's like. So that in the field it becomes an automatic, instinctive response. Easy to say. Not so easy to do many times. But when I hit a shooting slump, it's sometimes valuable to review a checklist. It can be very valuable during the off season to just get out the shotgun, and pretend. Mount it, swing it. Remind yourself what it feels like.
Note from Dec., 2015: I shot my back-up gun yesterday. Note to self: If you shoot multiple guns, i.e., you use different guns at various times, perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT reminder is to MOUNT the gun. Stock to cheek. If you do not mount the gun well, you will struggle with accuracy.
Most experts and shotgun coaches start with balance and positioning of feet. And many emphasize the importance of stepping with your front foot toward the bird. Especially for a bird that is moving hard left or right and behind you. However. . . .on positioning your feet -- if you're at a trap or clay course, sure. But good luck with that on the side of a mountain with rolling rocks under your feet!!! Sometimes you just have no choice where your feet are when the bird flushes. I've seen outstanding sporting clay, skeet, and trap shooters humbled by our desert birds. In fact, if you hunt Arizona long enough, you too will be humbled. And many times it's because you really don't have much choice where your feet are when the bird flushes.
This note from Field & Stream shotgun clinics: Do you find yourself stopping your swing? Most common cause is looking at the barrel, not the bird. Focus on the bird -- not the gun -- and swing will naturally follow.
Wingshooter's Check List:
1. Focus on the bird. Your gun barrel will blur or become unnoticed or secondary.
2. Mount the gun to your cheek! Wood on wood. Stock to cheek with your head in a naturally straight position.
3. "Point" with your forward hand where your eyes are looking. Balance is key. Gun weight should be balanced between your hands. The goal is a flat barrel pointing right where you are looking.
4. Swing and follow through. Rotate the whole body and hips, not just the arms and shoulders. Focus on the bird and follow-through will become natural.
Too much to think about during the actual bird flush. And if you overthink it, your natural instincts and muscle memory cannot take over. I like to "practice" on early season doves to remind my muscles and instincts what it's like. So that in the field it becomes an automatic, instinctive response. Easy to say. Not so easy to do many times. But when I hit a shooting slump, it's sometimes valuable to review a checklist. It can be very valuable during the off season to just get out the shotgun, and pretend. Mount it, swing it. Remind yourself what it feels like.
Note from Dec., 2015: I shot my back-up gun yesterday. Note to self: If you shoot multiple guns, i.e., you use different guns at various times, perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT reminder is to MOUNT the gun. Stock to cheek. If you do not mount the gun well, you will struggle with accuracy.
Most experts and shotgun coaches start with balance and positioning of feet. And many emphasize the importance of stepping with your front foot toward the bird. Especially for a bird that is moving hard left or right and behind you. However. . . .on positioning your feet -- if you're at a trap or clay course, sure. But good luck with that on the side of a mountain with rolling rocks under your feet!!! Sometimes you just have no choice where your feet are when the bird flushes. I've seen outstanding sporting clay, skeet, and trap shooters humbled by our desert birds. In fact, if you hunt Arizona long enough, you too will be humbled. And many times it's because you really don't have much choice where your feet are when the bird flushes.
This note from Field & Stream shotgun clinics: Do you find yourself stopping your swing? Most common cause is looking at the barrel, not the bird. Focus on the bird -- not the gun -- and swing will naturally follow.
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