Transitioning back to wingshooting and I have a problem that needs help

1

17freak

New member
After 20 years of shooting silhouette I'm getting back to wingshooting this year. In the eighties I was very active in duck hunting as well as sporting clays. Now I find that I'm constantly trying to aim the shotgun which is disastrous.
My question is there a drill that I can do at home which will break the aiming habit. Tired of missing.
Thanks
 
Pick a point on the wall or what not and practice mounting the shotgun. Look at the points and practice mounting the shotgun till it comes up naturally to where you are looking. If you have a yard buy a 20dollar bb gun and practice shooting thrown soda cans-cheap and fun.
 
re: bb gun and soda cans

take a soup can and hang it from a long piece of string over a branch or something.

start it swinging and then do your best to keep it moving.

we used to shoot both when we were kids, but the soup cans (being heavier) seemed to react a little better and you'd get more swing out of them when you shot them.
 
Hi Folks
Appreciate the feedback. Shooting in my back yard is not feasible. On picking a point on the wall I'll give that a try as that should reacquaint me with the shotgun and the mount routine. I have heard of attaching a flash light and swinging along the seam between the ceiling and the wall as a way of adjusting for a changing path. Has anyone used such a technic and if so does it work and are there any pitfalls.
Thanks again.
 
Go to a skeet range and shoot a bunch again. If it's a eye dominance thing that's a different story and takes a different approach. Looking and sighting down a barrel should not cause you an issue, as long as your leading enough and you keep your swing moving throughout. I don't see what the issue would be with aiming? Beads front sight and your eye is the rear sight. Good luck!
 
Originally Posted By: viperGo to a skeet range and shoot a bunch again. If it's a eye dominance thing that's a different story and takes a different approach. Looking and sighting down a barrel should not cause you an issue, as long as your leading enough and you keep your swing moving throughout. I don't see what the issue would be with aiming? Beads front sight and your eye is the rear sight. Good luck!

Aiming a shotgun is a sure fire way to miss while wingshooting. The OP understands this.
 
Like others said, practice mounting the unloaded gun (in a full length mirror if possible, so you can look at yourself for errors). And practice, practice, practice. My 1st advice to anyone, is make sure the gun is comfortable for you and one you enjoy shooting it. Just like in silhouette its muscle memory to mount the gun properly every time and that takes time and practice. Hang in there, it will come back for you. I'm going thru the reverse of this, trying to shoot at distance with a rifle. Being a shotgun guy most of my life, I still slap the trigger like a shotgun way to often. LoL. But I keep practicing.
 
Get some clay targets and throw two of them in the air by hand while holding your shotgun in your other hand.

Once you can hit them both targets most of the time start throwing 3 targets in the air and shooting at them.

Shooting at targets like this makes you learn to mount your gun quickly and point and shoot quickly.

This type of shooting will not help you on learning to lead crossing targets. But it should help you to learn to point and shoot a shotgun. With a shotgun on moving targets you should not point, aim and shoot.
 
Originally Posted By: 17freak..have heard of attaching a flash light and swinging along the seam between the ceiling and the wall as a way of adjusting for a changing path...
Have done a similar thing in the past, with the addition of picturing a bent back paint brush to simulate the varying lead of a crossing target. Picture slow crossing, ie, not much bend in the paint brush, vs fast crossing with a lot of bend in the paint brush. Nothing tops a few (sobering) rounds of skeet.
 
Been doing much better since working on developing the gun mount using the flashlight system. Also shooting some trap targets from the low gun position which has done wonders to my speed and learning to focus on the target as opposed to the bead on the shotgun. The doves so far this season are wishing I had not worked so hard on improving the mechanics.
Thanks to all who have offered suggestions.
 
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