Dry Fire Training

[Tangram]

Shooting a shotgun is expensive (on my budget) in both fees and shell costs. I am looking for ways to cut costs, actually not to cut costs, but to get more bang for the buck. One idea is to work more on dry firing. Currently, I do a drill in front of a mirror practicing bringing the shotgun to my shoulder using the reflection of my eye as the target or I drop a minimag light down the barrel and work on pointing the shotgun various points in a room.

Other ideas?

[HSMITH]

Mount and swing where the cieling meets the wall, where the floor meets the wall, door frames and anything else linear, as you move around the room the angles constantly change. Stay smooth and track the seam. It helps a lot.

Sporting clays is almost a precision sport anymore, trap and skeet have been precision sports for decades. The more accurately you can track the fewer birds will be missed high and low. If all you have to worry about is forward allowance things get a lot easier.

[JD45]

It sounds like you are already doing what most coaches suggest. Practicing mounting the gun will always pay off.

I'm not a pro by any means, but there are a few things that I wish I would have known from day one with a shotgun. First, the smoothness of your swing/gun movement is paramount, especially on longer crossers. When we miss, it is not always incorrect lead and other stuff, it is often poor gun movement.

Just be careful about one thing when dryfiring. Don't let your focus stay on the rib or barrel. Focus on the wall or flashlight beam. Plenty of livefire will confirm that your focus is in the right place.

[Irishlad]

Dry firing and mounting is good.

Almost a two step process; one is practicing your mount and then mount, swing, fire, and follow thu according to your style of shooting,i.e. swing thru, sustained lead, etc.

To practice gun mount and gun fit. Close your eyes and practice mounting. Open eyes and see if you are lined up along the rib, beads, etc. Do this while swinging left, right, straight on, etc while maintaining your shooting stance. Meaning, balance is correct, elbows, fluid movement and all that stuff!

Then, eyes open and practice "dry firing". I might suggest you tape a piece of paper on the wall with an edge on clay target...magic marker. Concentrate on seeing that so you don't focus on your rib/beads which is easy if you don't have an object to look at.

[benos]

Mount and swing where the cieling meets the wall, where the floor meets the wall, door frames and anything else linear, as you move around the room the angles constantly change. Stay smooth and track the seam. It helps a lot.

+1

I practiced the mount that way for a few years when I was training for the Sportsmans Team Challenge. When dry mounting (only, not when shooting), keep a good part of your attention on the relationship of the bead to the line your tracking. With you gun in low ready, have the bead on the line, then the goal is to keep the bead on the line throughout the entire move and mount. As you start the mount, if you "move your forward hand first," that will help you get the feel of it.

A particular way of visualizing also helped me improve the technique of the "move - mount - shoot." Visualize a line from your eye, through the bead, and to the line (you're going to track as you move-mount-shoot). Now imagine that if you fired a shot - with your gun in the low ready postition, for example - that the shot would go down that line. (As opposed to where the muzzle is actually pointing.) So the visual goal is - if you fired a shot anytime during the move-mount-shoot - it would hit the target. That wouldn't actually happen of course because the muzzle won't be pointed at the target until the gun was shouldered. But it really helped me learn to keep the "muzzle on the line" for the entire length of the move-mount.

There's a direct correlation between practicing that way with your shotgun, and practicing your draws with your pistol. After a few years of ingraining the correct movements, the shooting becomes more effortless and therefore a whole lot easier.

With your pistol, you look at a spot, draw, and your sights appear there. With a shotgun, you look right at the target all the time, and at some point the target just breaks.

be

[tightloop]

Mount and swing where the cieling meets the wall, where the floor meets the wall, door frames and anything else linear, as you move around the room the angles constantly change. Stay smooth and track the seam. It helps a lot.

+1

I practiced the mount that way for a few years when I was training for the Sportsmans Team Challenge. When dry mounting (only, not when shooting), keep a good part of your attention on the relationship of the bead to the line your tracking. With you gun in low ready, have the bead on the line, then the goal is to keep the bead on the line throughout the entire move and mount. As you start the mount, if you "move your forward hand first," that will help you get the feel of it.

A particular way of visualizing also helped me improve the technique of the "move - mount - shoot." Visualize a line from your eye, through the bead, and to the line (you're going to track as you move-mount-shoot). Now imagine that if you fired a shot - with your gun in the low ready postition, for example - that the shot would go down that line. (As opposed to where the muzzle is actually pointing.) So the visual goal is - if you fired a shot anytime during the move-mount-shoot - it would hit the target. That wouldn't actually happen of course because the muzzle won't be pointed at the target until the gun was shouldered. But it really helped me learn to keep the "muzzle on the line" for the entire length of the move-mount.

There's a direct correlation between practicing that way with your shotgun, and practicing your draws with your pistol. After a few years of ingraining the correct movements, the shooting becomes more effortless and therefore a whole lot easier.

With your pistol, you look at a spot, draw, and your sights appear there. With a shotgun, you look right at the target all the time, and at some point the target just breaks.

be

You don't talk about shotgunning much, but from reading your posts on the subject, it sounds like you really like it...Clays is lots of fun and just different enough from pistol to give you a challenge...do you shoot any clays now?

[benos]

You don't talk about shotgunning much, but from reading your posts on the subject, it sounds like you really like it...Clays is lots of fun and just different enough from pistol to give you a challenge...do you shoot any clays now?

I got really into it. So much so that if I could have figured out how to eek out a living at it, I woulda hit the circuit. But I haven't busted any clays in 5 years or so.

The most appealing aspect was, when done properly (as Steve Middleditch would say), is that your mind is completely and fully occupied with looking at the target. There's not even any sights to align or be aware of. At that point, all the technique and technical aspects take a back seat to focused awareness. And I know many things are like that, but to me, shooting a shotgun (without a scope on it for crying out loud), is the "purest" form of any type of shooting. It was the closest I felt I came to how Zen archery is described. It's not possible to miss the target because you are the target.

be

[Irishlad]

" The most appealing aspect was, when done properly (as Steve Middleditch would say), is that your mind is completely and fully occupied with looking at the target. There's not even any sights to align or be aware of. At that point, all the technique and technical aspects take a back seat to focused awareness. And I know many things are like that, but to me, shooting a shotgun (without a scope on it for crying out loud), is the "purest" form of any type of shooting. It was the closest I felt I came to how Zen archery is described. It's not possible to miss the target because you are the target."

How true!

You summed up the "sport" in 7 sentences. That's not easy!

[benos]

Thanks!

I threw in the "without a scope on it, for crying out loud," because a long-time friend and shooting partner once asked me if I ever thought about putting an Aimpoint-type scope on my shotgun. Without hesitating I told him that I'd quit shooting shotguns if I felt I had to put a scope on mine. It was funny because he looked at me like I just insulted him.

But we've been great friends for many years so there were no worries.

be

[Irishlad]

Ha, scopes!

That would be the "end".