July 2009 Shooting Tip

The target is a crosser, 90 degree angle, left to right and moderately fast. The trap fires and your swing begins. Remember now, your body is rotating but can only rotate to the right just so far. How far it can rotate will depend on where your feet are set........

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June 2009 Shooting Tip

When you hit—or miss a target—do you know why?........

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May 2009 Shooting Tip

Here are a few simple suggestions to accelerate your progress and enhance your shooting enjoyment........

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April 2009 Shooting Tip

Sorry. Couldn't help myself with that title.

Hardly a week goes by that someone doesn't ask me which shotgun to purchase. Nice to be asked.

Shotgun quality costs and better quality costs more. So a moment or two pondering what you like and what you will use your shotgun for makes good sense. There are already a zillion words in print on the pros and cons of the over/under versus semi-auto's, so let's review two other considerations often overlooked, and one I feel crucial to we sporting clays shooters........

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March 2009 Shooting Tip

We’ve come to the end of our shooting method series. I hope you’ve enjoyed your time here as much as I have. I’ve purposely saved for last what I consider to be the best, most reliable, all around shooting method,…Pull-Away.

The pull-away method is a superb foundation method for multiple reasons. First, it starts the muzzle on the target. That’s a great reference point. Being on the target puts the gun on the line and matches the target speed. Those 2 results equate to gun control, a fundamental requisite and primary objective in our game........

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February 2009 Shooting Tip

We’re here again, talking about shooting methods. We’ve previously covered Maintained Lead and Swing-Through. This month we’ll cover Churchill, an old and controversial shooting method.

Few have been able to accurately describe this method and how it works. But it does work and it has its advantages........

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January 2009 Shooting Tip

Last month we discussed the first of the 4 primary shooting methods: Maintained Lead. This month I thought we could talk about Swing Through. While more than a few good shooters favor swing-through as a base method, I personally see it as a specialized shooting method.

Let's look at its primary weakness. And it's strength. Ample gun speed. When gun speed picks up, it's exponentially harder to control. The higher the rate of speed, the higher the risk of compromising precision in the swing. Many who employ swing-through simply cannot control the gun, their sight picture or the shot. It's a dicey affair, with success hinging mightily on timing of the trigger pull. Get the timing right,.X. Get it wrong,.0. And the higher gun speed makes it increasingly difficult to time that trigger pull correctly, and consistently........

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December 2008 Shooting Tip

Last month we talked about the advisability of you having more than one shooting method available when facing so many sporting clays target presentations. I thought, over the next few months, each month we could focus on one method, why and where you might want to use it.

Before we begin, I'd like to say that this is a hotly debated topic. Many will argue that this method or that method is best for a particular presentation. Will that method work on that presentation? Sure! Consistently? Ahhh,..now there's the real question. Every shooting method has its strengths and weaknesses. It's up to us to match a method's strength to a presentation difficulty. That gives us the advantage, not the target!

I believe each of the methods we'll discuss will put the odds in our favor when applied correctly and matched correctly with a presentation. Method # 1 will be Maintained Lead or Sustained Lead..........

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November 2008 Shooting Tip

As you would expect, I field a lot of questions about shooting methods. Which is best, where and why. 30 years of sporting and watching literally millions of targets from behind the trigger has taught me this.

No one shooting method is best for all targets. The wide diversity of target presentations in sporting clays strongly suggests we have more than one shooting method in our skill inventory.

For instance, what method would you use on a fast, left to right, 40 yard crossing target off a tower? Well for starters, what breakpoint have you chosen on this bird? An early breakpoint will likely mean the speed of the bird is up, requiring a suitable lead. Midway through the flight the bird speed has slowed, changing the lead. Eventually running out of speed the bird is still a crosser, but the lead has again changed. Finally, the bird begins its descent creating another new lead picture altogether. And that picture might change 2 or 3 more times depending upon how far the bird has to fall. 1 target, 6 possible breakpoints. The odds are high the shooting method you used on the first two breakpoints won't be the same method you would use on the last two breakpoints........

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October 2008 Shooting Tip

I hear this frequently when my student first calls to inquire about taking lessons with me at his club or River Bend. My caller is (understandably?) disappointed over breaking fewer of his or her targets than the group's 70% or 80%, maybe a 90%.

When I ask how long he's been in sporting clays, the answer is usually less than a year or two. We can all relate, it's human nature to compare ourselves to those ahead of us, sometimes forgetting they've been shooting 4, 8, maybe 15 years or more.......... 

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September 2008 Shooting Tip

Have you noticed how the really good ones make it look so easy? Gymnasts, skateboarders, cyclists, runners, shooters—the ones in the lead—all have an easy, rhythmic stride or stroke. 
 
Too many shooters approach the shot anxiously, the swing is much too fast and the shot is launched, more with hope than confidence. Their tempo—the first T—is too fast, putting the gun out of control. Contrast that with the advanced, experienced shooter who has this almost “syrupy” swing, a slow, fluid, graceful swing that delivers the XX.......... 

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August 2008 Shooting Tip

What if I told you I had the “secret” to advanced shooting skills—an irrefutable truth. Before you say, “Yeah, sure you do Dan,” take a minute to consider this.

The road to advancement has to 2 toll booths. No one advances without paying the 2 tolls.

The 1st toll is that we search and find what needs changing in our game. We must first learn—specifically—what is holding us back, causing our inconsistencies and current plateau........  View The Full Sporting Clays Tip

July 2008 Shooting Tip

Sporting clays is the ultimate test, pitting ourselves against targets down gullies and through trees at countless unknown speeds, angles and distances. We spend thousands of dollars on equipment, books, videos and training all to master basic, rudimentary skills. Some shooters do, and they have the skills to show for it. But why is it that skills don’t always match scores?........  View The Full Sporting Clays Tip

June 2008 Shooting Tip

In late 2007 I made some important changes to my shooting. That meant I was putting my attention on those changes during practice. Early this year I was still working diligently on those changes, even during my tournaments. As a result of that, my attention riveted on specific parts of my shooting, I slipped and made errors I don’t usually make........  View The Full Sporting Clays Tip

May 2008 Shooting Tip

Sporting clays is the ultimate test, pitting ourselves against targets down gullies and through trees at countless unknown speeds, angles and distances. We spend thousands of dollars on equipment, books, videos and training all to master basic, rudimentary skills. Some shooters do, and they have the skills to show for it. But why is it that skills don’t always match scores?........  View The Full Sporting Clays Tip

April 2008 Shooting Tip

What is POI? It’s Point of Impact and there are multiple ways to look at POI. The first is the nature of your barrels to shoot straight and a second refers to proper gun fit.

Do your barrels actually send the shotstring on a straight line to the target? From a bench rest, as you would a rifle, does your shotstring hit the bulls-eye dead on, with 50% distribution on the top, bottom, left and right? Or is it slightly high, low or off center? If score is a priority in your game, this is an important piece of information........  View The Full Sporting Clays Tip

March 2008 Shooting Tip

The fastest way to take random gun movement (RGM) out of your swing is to pre-mount your gun. As sporting clays shooters - when shooting gun up - it’s important that we not forget to raise our head and relax the shoulders. Head up allows us to see - and shoulders down keeps much needed body movement in the swing. Gun up works in sporting clays........  View The Full Sporting Clays Tip

February 2008 Shooting Tip

I commonly hear stories of my student shooting a station very well, or a course very well, and suddenly concentration is gone. Result: 00 or worse. It is frustrating and usually occurs without notice. Why does this happen?........  View The Full Sporting Clays Tip

January 2008 Shooting Tip

As you would expect, the “best” shooting method is and always has been a hotly debated topic. Shooters who frequent the tournament circuit are always looking for that “1 thing” that might give them more X’s, hence the “best” shooting method invariably rises to the top of the discussion checklist........  View The Full Sporting Clays Tip