crossers

[ErikW]

I'm close to Singlestack's average in trap shooting, where my weakness is the end stations that produce more of a crossing bird.

In sporting clays, my big problem was the crossers. I tended to smoke the going away trap-like shots and miss the crossing shots. At the last station there was a difficult, fast outgoing crosser I missed the first couple times. Then I just got hyper-aggressive and smoked it the next three times, shooting it much earlier. Is it that simple, just shoot earlier? I tend to want to wait too long and aim. I also don't have a sense of how much to lead the things.

[EricW]

Erik,

I'll bet by getting agressive, you're just keeping the gun moving instead of stopping it.  One of the surefire ways to stop your gun is to look at it.  If I get a sight picture where the barrel and/or the bead were visible it's always a miss b/c I focused on the gun and it came to an abrupt halt.  

When I was down in Phoenix, I spent 3 nights in a row at Ben Avery on the skeet range.  It did wonders for my ability to hit crossers.  (It was heap cheap too!)

Eric

[benos]

Erik,

What Eric said.

You guys are confusing me.

be

[Chris Jordan]

Stop the gun???

I thought that was a bad thing! Guess that is why I shoot Skeet. Hmmm.

Cheers,

Chris

[ErikW]

I shot my best-ever round of clays Sunday, beating my average by about seven or eight. I was smoking most of the crossers. I cleaned the station with one of the most difficult crossers in the course. The fur & feather had the most difficult crosser, a little target (90mm?) crossing perfectly perpendicular like a bat out of hell. I missed it each time until I said to myself, "double the lead." Sure enough, it was toast after that.

But I lost a $5 bet by one bird.

I was noticeably better on left-right crossers than right-left. (I'm right-handed/eyed.)

[benos]

If you miss:

Look at the bird;

Double your lead;

That's all you need!

I feel more comfortable shoot left-right crossers as well, in spite of the fact that you're swinging "into" your shoulder.

be

[ErikW]

I was seeing more of the birds that time. I also was more aware of how the target was presented to the shot charge. (E.g., underneath, edge only, quarter-edge.)

One bad thing I noticed was me back-tracking the gun for the second target. Frinstance, the fur and feather both came from the right, and I broke the rabbit pretty much dead ahead of me, then moved the gun to the right looking for the report bird, then swung on it and broke it well to the left. (Making a Z from the bottom.)

Should I plan a station so I don't backtrack the muzzle? (Like on this one, shoot the rabbit earlier.) Backtracking never felt smooth and fluid like the best stations feel.

[tightloop]

You did not say if it was a report pair or true pair.  If a report pair, each target has to be analyzed on its own after you know which one comes out first.

The way Gil Ash teaches it, each target has a focal point where you first see the bird, a hold point where you point your gun, and a break point where it is optimum to break the bird.

You did not say if you start from low gun or high gun either.  If you start from low gun, like us old timers, there is no Z pattern.  You see the bird at the focal point, mount the gun at the hold point and move to/past the bird and break it at the break point; dismount the gun and go to the focal point for the second bird and repeat the sequence again.

While it might seem like an advantage to keep the gun on your shoulder, it has advantages to dismount.  You don't look at the gun, but look for the bird and subsequently don't hesitate or stop the gun on the second bird, as you see, mount, and move to the bird.   Even if you start with a high gun, take it down after the first bird in the pair to avoid concentrating on the gun instead of the target, and remount for the second bird.

Enough about Z patterns.

If you are having trouble with Xers, you need to tell us what type of lead you use for the shot.  In the Xer you describe, sustained lead doesn't sound like an option, so either pass thru or pull ahead is the one.  Probably pass thru 'cause few of us can move to the bird that quickly.

Don't think consciously of LEAD, to break the bird.  You must move the gun fast enough to pass the bird, so don't slow down or stop the gun.   Move past the bird fast enough  to just see the bird behind the barrel, keep the gun moving at the same pace and let the shot go.  Slowing the gun, not stopping it is the culprit, you want to measure the lead you have and to do so, you must slow down the gun, and by the time you "see" how your lead looks, you have slowed the gun and the bird is even with you or ahead of you.  Trust your instincts, keep the gun moving and let the shot go.

In order to become a finished clays shot you have to be able to analyze each shot and know what type of lead you should use, sustained, pass thru or pull ahead, and be able to utilize the correct one for that shot. Making the wrong decision most times results in a miss.

[ErikW]

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You did not say if it was a report pair or true pair.

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Yeah I did...

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looking for the report bird

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I start low gun. When I started doing this, it tremendously helped start my swing. No shjt, you actually unmount the gun to look for the second target? I've done that on occassion and felt I was making a big mistake.

Most of my shots are taken swinging through. I'll sustain the lead on a dropping clay.

I generally don't think of lead until I miss a bird I felt I was otherwise "on." Then I think I just didn't lead it enough.

Thanks for all the tips.

[EricW]

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No shjt, you actually unmount the gun to look for the second target? I've done that on occassion and felt I was making a big mistake.

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Right or wrong, that's the way I try to do it.  I take two complete shots.  It forces me to focus on the bird.  There are some exceptions to this - like a true pair.  I don't bother for those.  For report pairs, it's two complete shots.  The skeet guys just *cringe* whenever they see me.

[tightloop]

Erik

sorry I did not see the reference to the report bird in your later post.  

yes, I dismount the gun for the second bird in report pairs.  I see the second bird better, faster if I do not have to look for it over, around the barrels.  I will do the same thing on real pairs if there is enough time/space between them to get away with it.  Most times there isn't  but I view each shot as a single shot, which helps me focus on the bird, just like Eric says he does.

[benos]

Move or mount to each bird, and pull away......

be

[Irishlad]

Good advice,

I have always found the longer the time the gun is mounted the greater the chance of missing.

I also double mount depending on the time frame of the second bird. Having a shotgun mounted and swinging for 2 seconds is a long time, 3 seconds is an eternity and my mind is thinking, "This is not good" and I will miss the "rifle shot".

I don't mean to imply "snap shooting" is good, but once the sight picture is acquired- pull the trigger.

Different people will acquire sight pictures at different times, I think the key is simply to mount at the "right" time and fire according to your speed and reflexes.

Good luck

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Open and closed this post just to see if I could de-squirrel the indexes.

E

(Edited by EricW at 11:40 am on Feb. 28, 2003)