It takes time, patience and training for the eyes to begin to see what is happening over the muzzle. It is always there—to be seen—to use to our advantage.

Article Intro:
For those who aspire to higher sporting skills, focus inevitably shifts from breaking the target to the final score. It is here we begin to look at the miss. Why did we miss that target? For that matter, how did we hit the previous one?
Those are very good questions.
In the beginning, just hitting the target seems a worthwhile goal. We read, we watch and we listen, all to improve. Do this—don’t do that. Getting a handle on the tangibles, like equipment, is first. Next comes strategies and methods—the mechanics of sporting. Gradually, the game makes more sense. Where to point the gun and how to get it there are calculated and the number of hits begins to outnumber the misses. For those who are patiently building their game, the next round of clays will be better. Slowly but surely we grind concepts into skills. The diligent assembling of techniques, instincts and trust, yields higher scores more often.....
Published in Sporting Clays Magazine, March 2002.