The key to becoming a better wingshot is consistency. Regular practice on relatively easy targets like this high house 7 target offers the opportunity to focus your concentration on the fundamentals of shotgun shooting, and the success you have here will give you more confidence when afield.
It was amazing to watch Bill shoot. We were in Colombia’s Cauca Valley, and although what I saw took place more than 30 years ago, I can still picture his movements in my mind. He was smooth and effortless, barely moving the barrels or is body. Doves kept falling, most at significant distances. Plenty of birds were passing overhead, but I was too intrigued with Bill’s shooting to take a shot.
At the time I thought I was a decent shotgunner, but seeing Bill shoot was an awakening. Since then I’ve become a student of the game, a pupil of consistent smoothbore shooting. If I have learned anything, it’s that being successful with a pump, semi-auto, over-under or side-by-side boils down to consistently remembering the basics. That takes practice—a lot of practice.
Seek out a skeet field
There are thousands of gun clubs across the country with skeet fields. If you’re not already a member of a gun club, find and join one. I suggest skeet because it is the least expensive, so you can practice the fundamentals over and over. But don’t do what everyone else does, shoot a regimened round from all eight stations. Instead, start at station 7.
Although the formal game of skeet permits you to start with a mounted shotgun, always begin from the low-gun position of your choice. This is a going-away bird, typical of many upland shots. In the field you get other angles on game birds, but let’s walk before we run by practicing the easier straightaway shots first.
Start by pointing the gun’s muzzle where you think the bird is going to be when you pull the trigger. To help determine where to place it, simply ask for a low target to be thrown. Mount the buttstock in the appropriate low-gun position. Assuming you’re a right-handed shooter, point your left toe in the vicinity of where you expect to break the bird. Place about 60 percent of your weight on that foot. Bend both knees slightly and call for the bird.
When the bird appears, you should be staring at it so hard you can see the rings on the target’s dome. Hard focus is one of the fundamentals you must always try to improve.
Smoothly start the gun to your shoulder as you see the target. One key to hitting a straightaway bird consistently is to make sure the gun’s muzzle does not dip from the bird’s path during the mount. Doing so compromises the smoothness you’re striving for, as well as pulling the muzzle from where it’s supposed to be. If the muzzle dips down, another move is required to get it back where it should be.
Once you have mastered the low house target from station 7, move to a position half way between skeet stations 6 and 7. Here you practice a very slightly quartering bird. |
Incorporate everything you learned in mounting the gun into the low 7 shot. Shoot it repeatedly, and remember there’s no sense practicing a more difficult shot until you master the easy one. Get to the point where you can consistently break nine or 10 out of 10.
Then you are ready to switch to a slightly more difficult shot. Stand half way between Station 7 and 6 and continue shooting the low target. From where you’re now standing, a very slight quartering shot is offered. Again, this type of shot is often what you get when hunting upland game birds. Point the muzzle where you expect to break the bird; then move the muzzle back about a third of the way toward the low house. Focus your eyes back another third. As the target emerges, hard focus on its leading edge. Start the muzzle moving along the flight, then blend bringing the buttstock to your shoulder and cheek.
Now move to station 6. This increases the shot’s angle a little, but the basics remain the same. Again, work on breaking nine out of 10 targets consistently. Concentrate on the same fundamentals every shot.
Passing shots
But how do you hit doves, ducks and other incoming targets consistently? Go back to station 7. Now shoot the high house target. This is an easy, lazy incomer, but the fundamentals are the same.
Break it 10 straight times, and then increase the angle by moving to a position half way between stations 6 and 7, just as with your low house practice. You’ll discover this bird requires just a little more lead. Practice until you break 10 straight nearly every session, concentrating on these same fundamentals. Call every shot—just as rifle and handgun shooters do—and be brutally honest and analytical with yourself about every miss.
A single trip to a skeet field for these practice sessions might help, but in reality it pays to do it as often as possible, for months, even years. If you’re interested in becoming a better shot in the field, don’t stop with these simple practice sessions. They are all easy shots, and I think you’ll quickly develop the skills to be very consistent. Once you are hitting them regularly, your confidence will soar. Limit your practice sessions to no more than 100 rounds. Shoot in the manner I’ve suggested as often as possible, not just a day or so before the season opener.
Take it to the field
In the field you won’t always be able to get the muzzle perfectly established, the buttstock in the perfect pre-shot position or your vision exactly where you had it on the skeet field. But you’re going to find you can do all of these things in the field on a surprising number of occasions. You will find that muscle memory will take over. All the gun-mounting practice you’ve done, and all the easy targets you’ve broken using great fundamentals will take over and help you make the shot fly true.
Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. Talent is very important, no matter the endeavor, but practicing fundamentals over and over allows us to achieve a skill level that we could never attain otherwise. Talent and proper fundamentals made Bill a fantastic wing shot. After watching him I started concentrating on fundamentals. While I may never have the talent to match his skills, I became a lot better than I ever thought I could be.
Gun Mount |
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Of all the fundamentals involved in field shooting, a proper and consistent gun mount heads the list.
You can develop a proper and consistent gun mount at home. First and foremost, make absolutely sure that the chambers and magazine of your shotgun are empty before beginning these exercises. Practice mounting your shotgun every day and as often as possible. Start by practicing on an imaginary low 7 target, using the top corner of a room. Point the muzzle at the corner and place the buttstock where it’s most comfortable. I like my buttstock tucked in about 1/2 inch under my armpit. If you’re more comfortable with some other buttstock position, go ahead and use it. Just make certain you get it to the exact same starting place every time. Now simply raise the stock to your shoulder, without allowing the muzzle to deviate from that corner. Work on being smooth. If the muzzle dips, even the slightest, slow down your next mount. —NS |
