Shooting Poppers and Plates

[Lino Felarca, M.D.]

I was at the handgun forum and inquired about whether we could apply some handgun hosing techniques to shooting poppers or plates in array using the shotgun.

I look at the target and not at the sights, and when I swing to the next target I trip the trigger as soon as I see the edge. However, if I'm doing it real fast, I sometimes overshoot to the other edge resulting in a miss. Am I doing it right? Any suggestions please. Lino

[blackdragon]

When you are shooting a shotgun it is generaly a point and shoot. But! you still have to have the timing down, A pause how ever small, needs to happen. You still need to see what you need to see and that is different for eveyone.

Ivan

SCS Vegas

[JD45]

I can't give any advice conerning the handgun, but I know for a fact that a shotgun is different. I don't shoot 3-gun, but I have shot a shotgun for over 25 years at game and clays. Basically a shotgun must hit where you look. Your eye is the rear sight and the target is the front sight. As long as your thumb doesn't hit you in the nose ( stock long enough), most people can learn to shoot a poorly fitting shotgun. If it fits really bad, you are going to have to fire thousands of rounds to adapt to the stock (kind of like guys that learn to hip shoot). However, this is not the best way.

The shortest route to better wingshooting is to find a shotgun that fits or change things so it does.

When I have the rare chance to shoot steel with my shotgun, I shot them just like they are clay targets.

In my opinion, the number one fault in shotgun shooting is what we call "bead checking" or "measuring lead".

Your eyes should be glued on the target and when you are aware of the correct lead you break the shot. What happens in "bead checking" is your focus moves back to the barrel to "check lead" and then things fall apart.

It doesn't really matter if the target is steel or clays you have to move smoothly to the target and trust that the gun will be where you look without shifting your focus off the target.

[Bear1142]

Lino,

What you are experiencing is being out of rhthym. You are either swinging too fast or shooting too slow (how often do you hear that!). You are on the right track, just keep practicing. I like to use a minimum of 4 poppers/plates in a shooting string. 5 or 6 is even better. 2 or 3 just isn't enough to get into a good rhythym. Make sure to use a timer. Your goal should be nice even splits across the board. Start out slow, then speed up the runs as you feel more comfortable.

Erik

[Lino Felarca, M.D.]

Thanks Erik. I think I just should keep on practicing. An array of 4 to 6 plates/PP as you have suggested and slowly speeding up, maintaining hard focus and making sure I keep my cheek to the wood at all times as JD45 said should do the trick. I forgot the pause (blackdragon) and was more concerned with the swing. Thanks guys. Lino

[benny hill]

When you get to 5 poppers in about 1.6 sec. you will be just about right.

[Lino Felarca, M.D.]

Benny,

would that be from port arms/butt of SG touching the hip? how far apart should the poppers be? Thank you.

Lino

[benny hill]

Butt on belt, poppers about 12 yds., 4 ft. apart.

[EricW]

When you get to 5 poppers in about 1.6 sec. you will be just about right.

Does your muzzle even slow down at that speed? That's right about the limit of where my gun will cycle.

[benny hill]

Slight hestation on each popper, 1st shot in the .6's with the next 4 poppers at about .18/.20 splits.

[Lino Felarca, M.D.]

Benny,

I practiced your drill yesterday. First shot is at .5 to .6+ sec. I still had transitions in the low threes to at most high 0.2+sec. I need to practice bit more until this becomes muscle memory. I still miss a popper sometimes. I guess the key is what BE mentioned in a previous post that you should see the target clearly just before you break the shot.

Lino

[BillL223]

I've shot and RO'd the shotgun side match at the PSA Steel Match the last two years. The 5 targets are at about 12 and 15 yards and spread out over 15 yds wide. Two years ago, shot from a low gun resting on a table, the best time was 1.43 sec. This year it was a little slower, maybe 1.49 seconds. What you need is a first shot @ .5 and shot breaks @ .25 average. Only the fastest run counts. The fast guys run 2 or 3 times each, 3 runs per run, until the're satisfied (Don't Miss). Once they hear some-one beat them, they enter again.

[Pierruiggi]

I've actually seen a friend of mine from a static position, at 20 yards shoot and hit 8 pepper poppers from a low ready position, with his Benelli M3 loaded with 2 3/4 inch 00 buckshot in 1.76 seconds. It was something like a 0.5 second to first shot and around 0.18 second transitions, some slightly faster, some slightly slower.

And it was not a fluke, he could do it consistently. It's been 2 years from that and in that period for personal reasons he couldn't practice anywhere near as much as he did back then. Now he fires the same "drill" in about 2.4 seconds. He's still the best shotgunner I know.

[benny hill]

At 20 yds your transitions are only 1/2 as far as 10 yds & your pattern is twice as big. If he can hit 8 at 10 yds that are 4 ft. apart, he is the best I have ever heard of hands down in 1.76 sec.

[Pierruiggi]

Benny, he could do that 2 years ago. Now he's slower. Sadly he never entered competition because an accident in his teen years severely affected his mobility on his right leg. He can't move his right ankle, and thus, he limps and of course cannot run/move fast and smooth through a COF.

I never measured the distance between the poppers, but it was less than 4 feet for sure. The lane we used to (and still do) use to practice shotgun transitions is 9 meters (10 yards aprox) wide by 25 meters (27 yards aprox) long. We placed the pepper poppers evenly separated accross those 10 yards at the end of the lane, almost touching the backstop.

Nevertheless I assure you this was timed and every target got hit with a single cartridge, no lucky "one shot takes 2 down" shots.

I never saw him fire at 10 yards or with a wider separation.

Even though he is "rusty" now, I'll ask him to do that just to see how fast he can manage to do it.