How "Bargain Basement Thinking" Can Help You Break More Clays

This tutorial originally appeared in the free, weekly e-letter distributed by Shotgun Life. To subscribe, please visit http://www.shotgunlife.com.


By Andy Tubb

As a former marine and law-enforcement officer, one thing you realize is that when it comes to making a shot, you often don’t have a lot of time to analyze the situation. Your years of training take over at a subconscious level so that you can process the information yet remain detached enough from it to apply the same level of reasoning that helps you make the decision about which box of cereal to buy in the supermarket.

That is the state of mind you want to be in when shooting sporting clays – or any clays shooting sport for that matter. It’s a mental state where your training blends with your subconscious so that the use of your shotgun becomes instinctive and fluid. This state is where your training and subconscious meet; I call it Bargain Basement Thinking.

Bargain Basement Thinking is a sense of awareness that’s rooted in your subconscious. Bargain Basement Thinking enables you to use awareness instead of analysis. What’s the benefit to this when it comes to clays shooting?

By its very definition, analysis means that you are questioning something. For example, after the target is called for, an analytical shooter will look at the target and analyze if he is too far in front of it, behind it, question the wind, the light – you get the idea. After trying to make sense of all this data as the target is flying out of range, chances are pretty good that the shot will be missed.

Let’s compare that with awareness.

An aware shooter is able to draw on his training to instinctively know when to pull the trigger. For our purposes, awareness = muscle memory + subconscious training + eye/hand coordination. Now, if you look at the individual components of awareness, what you’ll realize is that it all adds up to your instinctive ability to point at a target.

Therefore, Bargain Basement Thinking is when you become competent without having to analyze.

In order to optimize your Bargain Basement Thinking, I recommend to my students that they shoot with their gun down – or low gun as it’s often called. Here’s why…

When you premount a gun, after you call for the target, you have to begin moving a static gun. At the most important time of the shot (the time when you’re establishing the target), your muscles are static, your vision is obscured and you try to catch up by analyzing the situation simply because your brain does not have the chance to be aware of the target yet.

With low gun, you open up vision, your muscles relax and you immediately achieve that fluid movement as you swing toward the target and mount the gun. All the while, you are only aware of the target – not of trying to get the gun moving or struggling to actually see the target as it’s moving away from you.

With low-gun shooting, you’ve detached yourself from the gun while at the same time, you remain fully aware of the target. Muscle memory takes over in terms of the gun-movement mechanics and your focus remains completely on the target. Next thing you know you’ve broken the target.

Many instructors will show you how to hold the gun, where to place your feet, and tell you whether or not you were in front or in back of the target after you missed. Unfortunately, what they don’t stress is your own natural ability to use Bargain Basement Thinking to accelerate your success in the clays shooting sports.


For more information about Andy Tubb, visit his web site at http://www.glorioustwelfth.com.

The Proper Hold Points for Sporting Clays

This article originally appeared in the free, weekly e-letter distributed by Shotgun Life. To sign up for the e-letter, please visit http://www.shotgunlife.com.


The trickiest thing in sporting clays is finding the best hold point. By hold point, we’re talking about the magic spot where you place your gun just before you call for the target. Hold your gun too far back, and you’ll end up chasing the target with all probability of never catching it. Hold your gun too far out front, and you often end up spot shooting the target with little to no swing.

Either way, the results are the same: dismal.

That’s why we tapped Gary Phillips to talk about sporting clays hold points. Gary is the former British Open Sporting Champion, American National Champion, Canadian Open Champion, U.S. Open Champion in addition to holding many titles from sporting clays competitions around the world.


THE PROPER HOLD POINTS FOR SPORTING CLAYS
by Gary Phillips

When it comes to sporting clays, many shooters seem to throw away the book on hold points.

They know where to hold the gun for each skeet station and each trap station, but when they step onto a sporting clays station they almost seem to short circuit in trying to find the perfect hold point.

In a way, it’s perfectly understandable.

Skeet and trap make it easier for you to reliably find a consistent hold point. You can use distance markers, a trap house and standard hold-point guidelines based on geometric fields.

Sporting clays, however, presents a more challenging shooting environment that can really spook a shooter.

Since sporting clays is played in a natural setting, the time of year, sunlight, shadows -- anything that Mother Nature feels like throwing at you -- can affect your mental game. You know what I mean…shooting orange targets in peak autumn foliage with low sun and mottled shadows.

The speed and distance of sporting clays targets also vary compared to skeet and trap.

Did you ever imagine that a slow incoming target could be more difficult to shoot than your standard skeet target?

Then there are the crossing tower shots that are so high and far away you feel like your shooting at a UFO.

But all of these shots can be made, and the place for you to start is your hold point.

What we’ll do in this lesson is go over the basic hold points for the most popular types of sporting clays targets. Once you feel confident with your hold point, the rest of the game starts to fall in place for you.

Now just one thing before we get started.

What I’m about to tell you applies to two-eyed shooters, or shooters who wear patches. In fact, sporting clays should be shot with both eyes to maximize your peripheral vision. You want to give yourself every available advantage to see the target as early as possible -- and that starts with both open eyes.

One of the most common mistakes I see in sporting clays shooters is they hold their gun too far back. They confuse a visual advantage with an extreme hold point.

For example, with a quartering away target why would you want to hold your gun 10 yards further back than necessary? All you end up doing is chasing the target.

By moving your hold point 10 yards further out, you’re giving the target a chance to slow down and your eyes to focus on it. Otherwise, all you see is a blur.

The problem gets worse on a report pair where you’ll find yourself swinging the gun all over the place with inconsistent results as you try to catch up with targets.

Holding your gun too far back puts you at a disadvantage.

Remember: Economy of movement will guide to the best hold point --regardless of the target presentation.

By using that rule myself, my hold points are so good that I hardly have to move the barrel. In fact, I’ve been accused of a cardinal sin in sporting clays, which is spot shooting (where you let the target run into the barrel).

But the fact is I do swing my gun -- only minimally. Now I admit, this comes with practice. To do that, however, you first have to believe that economy of movement really does work for you.

So with that in mind, let’s get started…

Crossing Targets

For a crossing target, you want your hold point to be approximately half way between the trap and the break point. That way, you don’t have to chase the target and once you follow the target for a short period of time you can smoothly pass the target to the appropriate lead.

Teal

For teals, your hold point should be at least half way or two-thirds up its flight path. If you have the gun too low the target will beat you and you’ll swing wildly past it. The proper hold point lets the target gently appear over the barrel before you shoot it.

Quartering Away Target

The best way to determine your hold point for these targets is to follow the target with your finger when you get your looker. Imagine that your finger is the gun barrel, and it helps determine your hold point.

Also, see if you can find a marker in the landscape to identify the start point.

From the low-gun position, when I mount the gun and the stock actually touches my cheek I like to be on the target or slightly behind it. That way, you can break it before it gets away from you. After I break the target, I keep the gun moving.

Loopers

For the sake of this lesson, we’re not talking batus or chandelles. Basically, we’re referring to arching, crossing targets.

You match the target speed. The best break point is just after the target has peaked. Simply hold the gun halfway between the trap and the apex of the target. You pull the trigger immediately after it reaches the apex.

What I’ve heard some people do is draw an imaginary line parallel with the ground and let the target drop into the shot. That’s a good way to become inconsistent. If you have the gun barrel on or slightly behind the target, all you have to do is move smoothly in front, or if it drops, move slightly under. Hoping it drops into the target is just luck.

Rabbit

The hold point for a rabbit depends if it’s a crossing rabbit or quartering away. If it’s quartering away, you aim straight at the target. Just make sure when you mount the gun that the bead is right on the target. If it’s a crossing target, your point is about halfway back between the trap and the break point. In both cases, you treat the rabbit like an aerial target.

Conclusion

Economy of movement is the best way to consistently break sporting clays targets. Minimal gun movement reduces the chances of you chasing the target. This method also gives you an advantage in the natural settings of sporting clays courses by allowing you establish the target right before you’re ready to break it. Also, always remember to shoot with both eyes open and to swing your gun through the target.

Economy of movement takes some practice, but if you follow this approach you will see an improvement in your scores.

Gary Phillips is available for lessons and may be reached at (302) 354-2531 or via email at gphilgun1@aol.com.

A Dynamic Approach to Sporting Clays

This tutorial originally appeared in the free, weekly e-letter distributed by Shotgun Life. To sign up for it, please visit http://www.shotgunlife.com.


This week we have a contribution from Anthony Matarese. If the name sounds familiar, here’s why:

13 Time All-American (Open 1st Team 10 consecutive years)

9 Time Member of Team USA Sporting

7 Time Member of Team USA FITASC

2 Time Great American Champion

3 Time Master’s Cup Champion

5 Time New Jersey State Champion

2 Time National FITASC Champion

2001 US Open Runner-Up

2005 World Sporting 5th Overall

2006 Seminole Cup Champion

2006 US Open Third Over-all

2006 World FITASC Bronze Medalist (Tied for Gold Medal, lost in shoot-off)

2007 US Open Third Over-all

2007 World Sporting 6th Overall

2007 Nemacolin Pro-AM Champion

2008 Browning / Briley Champion

2008 East Coast Championship HOA

2008 US Open Champion

2008 World FITASC Silver Medalist

2008 National Sporting Clays Champion


Junior Wins

2 Time World Sporting Junior Champion

4 Time National Junior Champion

3 Time US Open Junior Champion

2 Time National FITASC Junior Champion

Anthony is recognized as one of the top competitors in the U.S. and the world. In addition, he is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, where he studied Business Finance and Economics. Anthony recently released an instructional sporting clays DVD, “Timed to Win: A Dynamic New Approach to Sporting Clays.”

Now, Anthony fills us in on his Dynamic Approach to Sporting Clays.




A DYNAMIC APPROACH TO SPORTING CLAYS

By Anthony Matarese

The complexity and challenge of sporting clays can leave even the most experienced shooters scratching their heads.

The sport is far from easy. Just when you think you have found the method that works best, you may find your approach leaving you with less than desirable results.

Over the last 15 years, in an effort to the fix the flaws in my shooting, I have developed what I call a “dynamic approach.” A dynamic approach is simply a combination of a few shooting methods. The choice of which method and in what situation to use each can be determined by understanding a few core principles.

Unlike clays-shooting sports such as skeet and trap, the wide variety of sporting-clays targets move in a lively fashion depending on the weather, time of day and the landscape of the course.

Therefore, steadfast rules such as timing, hold points and mounts associated with more predictable shotgun sports can leave even the most experienced shooters “in the woods” when it comes to the dynamics of sporting clays. Whereas skeet and trap fields are built to exacting specifications, sporting-clays courses by their very design are intended to conjure up a natural habitat where game birds can perform their acrobatics – challenging the shooter to make the kill.

While it’s easy for shooters to understand why they need a systematic approach to the predictable flight lines of skeet and trap, others may question of the value of something like that when it comes to the more complex sporting clays.

In fact, the best way to develop a successful approach for sporting clays is to recognize the core principles of the sport that have proven successful. Proper instructions and ongoing practice in terms of the mechanics of shooting then provide a knowledge base that lets the shooter recognize which of these core principles to apply for any given target presentation in sporting clays.

The objective is to arm the shooter with both the mechanical basics of shooting and the core principles in order to achieve a reliable and consistent approach to sporting clays which is flexible, dynamic and plays to the strengths of each individual shooter. I call this line of attack the Dynamic Approach.

Before moving on I feel it is important to give credit where credit is due. I honestly could not have developed this approach without the instruction I received from Dan Carlisle at a young age. His guiding principles that my approach are based on have become a fundamental part of my shooting.

So what are these core principles? The principle that I feel is the most critical in determining how to approach a target is related to the visual clarity of the target. Simply put, you should shoot the target where you see the bird the clearest, or at the point of the target’s flight where the target looks the biggest.

Another principle to live by is to never use excess gun speed. In other words, if the target is traveling 20 mph your gun should not travel much faster than 21 mph. On the same note, if you have already met the target your gun speed should not be slower than the target. If the target is traveling 20 mph and your gun speed is 19 mph you have either started your gun too far in front of the target or you are going to shoot behind. In essence this leaves you with a way to determine hold point.

Determining the angle of a target is also critical in the decision of what method or approach use. For example, is the target crossing, shallow quartering, deep quartering, incoming or quartering in? The angle of the target is critical to determining the insertion or placement of the gun relative to the target.

As I mentioned, you can’t simply follow a set rule-of-thumb as you would in skeet that says your hold point should be 2/3 back from the center stake to the trap house. Remember, this is the Dynamic Approach – meaning that you must be flexible when it comes to applying the core principles.

Understanding the principles discussed above will be critical to determining the best approach. You need to be able to answer the following question: Should I pre-mount or shoot low-gun? Should I use a form of pull-way? If so, where should I insert the gun? Should I use a form of intercept, such as “move-mount-shoot”? Should my gun ever start behind the target? If so, what type of target?

I believe you need to be able to shoot both pre-mounted and low-gun. Keep in mind low-gun means having an actual mount, not just lifting your head. Moreover, how low the gun starts can vary depending on the amount of time you have for the shot.

Let’s start with pre-mounting. You should always pre-mount on anything that you would consider a trap-shot. Specifically, you can pre-mount anytime the trap is located between 5 o’clock and 7 o’clock if you where standing at 6 o’clock. If the target gets past the point where you see it the clearest before you can mount the gun, then I would shoot pre-mounted. When pre-mounted, the most important variable will be your hold point.

As the angle of the target becomes greater, there becomes a point where you may want to shoot low-gun. If the traps are at 4 o’clock or 8 o’clock, while you are standing at 6 o’clock, the decision to pre-mount or shoot low-gun depends on speed and distance.

Your best approach on crossers and targets that give you plenty of time will be to shoot low-gun. The advantage of low gun when shooting crossers is that the movement of the gun to your face gives you timing. The purpose of a mount is to merge the gun and the bird together seamlessly.

I suggest using some form of pull-way as your main approach and using other approaches as needed. You must first determine where you see the target the clearest. If you have plenty of time to shoot the target where you see it the clearest then I suggest using pull-away. When using pull-away you do not always start the gun on the front edge of the target. Specifically, you should start the gun far enough in front so that if the target is moving 20 mph you can move the gun 21 mph and reach the required lead. Therefore, a long crosser may require starting the gun a good bit in front and then “stretching away” to finish the lead. As distance and speed increase you should insert further and further in front. A shallow quartering target is best approached by mounting on the back edge and stretching to the front by moving slightly faster than the target.

You should use a form of “move-mount-shoot” when you want to shoot a target rather quickly. Remember, to shoot a trap-style target quickly you should pre-mount, but if it the target is more of a crosser you should be using a lower-gun and shooting a form of “move-mount-shoot”. You will choose this method when the target looks the clearest for a short period of time and then turns on edge or when you are trying to shoot the first bird of a pair rather quickly to get to the second target. In other words the presentation does not give you enough time to meet the target and “stretch” or pull away to finish the lead. However, I urge you to pull-away from the target when the target gives you time to do so.

As you can see, these core principles are essential for becoming a successful sporting clays shooter. Because sporting clays is dynamic, you need a Dynamic Approach.


To contact Anthony Matarese about sporting clays instructions, please visit his web site at www.clayshootinginstruction.com/

How to Shoot Your Best Round of Sporting Clays -- Even in 40-mph Winds

This article originally appeared in the free e-letter distributed by Shotgun Life. To subscribe, please visit http://www.shotgunlife.com.


By Irwin Greenstein

The week between Christmas and New Years is prime time for a sporting-clays marathon in the Baltimore area. There are at least six great places to shoot within an hour’s drive or so, and a ready group of friends that make it easy to pull together a pick-up squad with a few emails.

One morning, about seven of us drove down to beautiful Pintail Point in Queenstown, Maryland, in the shotgun playground of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Sporting clays, waterfowl and deer are in abundance and many shooters who are born on the Eastern Shore never move away.

That morning, I had packed my Caesar Guerini Magnus 20/28-gauge combo with 32-inch barrels. I shoot 20 gauge for sporting clays and 28 gauge for skeet. It’s a marvelous shotgun. It’s well-balanced and easy to befriend -- the kind of shotgun that can boost your confidence.

When it comes to chokes, I follow the rule of thumb that suggests Improved Cylinders for sporting clays. It’s a good constriction for just about any presentation, especially for a shooter like me who doesn’t change chokes from station to station.

For ammo, I prefer the Remington Heavy Sport Load (Dick’s) or the Winchester Texas Heavy Dove & Quail Load (Bass Pro). Both are 1-ounce 20 gauge packed with No. 8 shot. And as you’ll see later, both are also capable of breaking very long targets.

The temperature that morning hovered in the 40s. The wind was calm and the sky was so brilliant that when you smashed a high target it seemed like a spray of fireworks -- the effect you get when night-shooting under the lights.

Our trapper was a champion sporting clays shooter and he knew us well. There were no bad pulls, bad advice or bad attitude.

In short, aside from the bulk of my jacket, there were no excuses that glorious morning at Pintail Point.

I started missing the easy targets early in the round. At first I couldn’t figure it out. And the unspoken rule in our group that no advice is given unless asked for.

The thing is, I knew what I was doing wrong; I just couldn’t get myself to fix the problem.

I kept shooting over the targets because rather than cock my right knee and lean on the ball of my left foot, for some darn reason I kept leaning back. I started complaining that the stock was too long with my jacket on, that 20-gauge was too small for some of the targets, and on and on and on…

By time we hit the last station, I was seething -- ready to trade in the gun for a 12 gauge and a custom-fit stock. The scores were tallied up and I came in dead last with 53 out of 100.

The guy with the highest score at 86 was Rick Cundiff. Rick has shot hundreds of thousands of rounds of sporting clays, in addition to thousands of rounds in wing shooting. His gun of choice that day was a Caesar Guerini Summit 12 gauge -- the best that the company has to offer.

Just a note about Rick. Whenever we shoot sporting clays, I notice that he uses Cylinder and Skeet chokes -- maybe occasionally going to a tighter constriction for a station or two. I simply figured that Rick was such a good shot he could do whatever the heck he wanted -- and wrote it off to that.

After Pintail Point, we stopped at Annie’s Steak and Seafood House on the Kent Narrows -- our usual place to grab a spectacular burger, fried oyster sandwich or the meat-loaf blue-plate special. We talked about shooting and other things, but as lunch wound down I suggested that we shoot sporting clays again the next day at a different place: Central Penn Sporting Clays in Wellsville, Penn. (call me a masochist). Central Penn was about the same distance as Pintail Point, but due north.

Everyone thought it was a great idea. After the rush of enthusiasm, most of us realized we had dentist appointments, dates, work -- you name it. That is except for Rick and me. It was set then, Rick would meet at my house the next morning and we would make a bee dive to Central Penn.

As usual, Rick arrived promptly on time. Driving up there, I lamented my horrible scores at Pintail Point. Rick said “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.”

During the drive up to Central Penn, Rick suggested I swap out my Improved Cylinder Chokes for Cylinder and Skeet. I figured, Cylinder and Skeet with a 20 gauge? Fat chance. But I did it anyway -- otherwise Rick would make me drop and give him 50 push ups.

Weather.com predicted 40 mph winds that morning with gusts up to 60 mpg. We drove through a snow squall but otherwise it seemed like a calm day -- until we stepped out of Rick’s SUV.

Almost on cue, a razor-sharp wind kicked up the leaves and shook the trees. Inside the club house, Maryanne sat bundled up. A squad of shooters had just returned, and man were they glad to beat the wind. Determined, Rick and I were ready for 100 targets. It was going to be sporting clays boot camp, with Rick as the drill sergeant.

Central Penn makes no pretense. It’s a local club with new machines, cheap prices ($25 for 100 targets for non-members, $20 for members) and the very nice Stoneberger family runs the place. Given the time of year, and the weather forecast, there weren’t many shooters -- giving us plenty of leeway for help from Rick.

Invariably, when I shoot at Central Penn I think about the Charlie Daniel’s song, "Devil Went Down to Georgia." Instead of the devil daring Johnny the fiddle player, he went down to Wellsville and taunted the guy who sets traps at Central Penn. And just as in the Charlie Daniel’s song “The devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat” but this time it was in Wellsville.

"Devil just come on back if you ever want to try again.”

Rick decided we should go down to the last stations, which are set in the woods. Most of the course is shot in open flat land or over corn stalks, and the woods would give us a fighting chance against the wind.

He pulled a couple of left-to-right low sweepers and watched as I missed them. Then he made a brilliant suggestion. Rather than hold the shotgun down at around my rib cage in a low, ready mount, I should place the stock on my shoulder. This would accomplish two things:

I wouldn’t have to deal with the bulk of my jacket during the mount.
I wouldn’t constantly rush my mount because the stock would be closer to my cheekbone.

By holding the gun closer to my face (but not pressing the stock against my shoulder), he believed that it would smooth out and slow down my mount and give me more time to focus strictly on the target.

Sure enough, he was right.

My mount was consistent, deliberate and confident. And combined with the wider chokes I just started crushing targets. Loopers, sweepers, dropping incomers -- it didn’t matter. If it flied, it died.

At Central Penn, there is a teal in the middle of a corn field that’s set about 80 yards away from the cage. The trap machine is in a grove of trees. It throws the bird some 20 yards over the tree tops, peaks and then drops like a comet. Now imagine shooting that target in 40 mph winds.

My inclination is to shoot teals just when they stall. I tried that approach on this target and missed it.

The second time, though, I decided to hold my gun lower and swing up through the target, giving it about a 20-yard lead. Starting my mount on my shoulder, I executed a smooth and deliberate upswing. Now remember, I have a 20-gauge shotgun and my bottom barrel (the first barrel) is choked Cylinder. I called for the bird and then pulled the trigger according to plan. Rick and I watched that tiny spec soar above the tree tops, when suddenly the thing smashes. We look at each other in amazement.

Was it a lucky shot? Neither of us thought so.

We didn’t keep score that day in Wellsville, but I’m willing to bet the Devil it was the best round of sporting clays I ever shot.

The Orvis Sandanona Chronicles Part V

This lesson orignally appeared in the Shotgun free weekly e-letter. To subscribe, please visit http://www.shotgunlife.com.


With Part V we close out our Sandanona Chronicles. This installment will include tips from Joe Wassi -- an affable and capable instructor.

As the Sandona Chronicles worked its way through instructors such as John Higgins, Chris Batha and others, the one topic that kept coming up was the English Churchill Instinctive Shooting Method. They either talked about it as a pure form of instruction or more often used the Churchill Method as a foundation to embellish it with their own skills -- giving rise to something called the Modified Churchill Method.

The Orvis Shooting Schools are based on the English Churchill method. To begin, it advocates the basics of proper fit and mount. The shooter prepares the gun in a proper ready position for the line of flight of the game. Watching the target with both eyes, you move your hands and body with the target as dictated by the target speed. You raise the gun with a solid mount to shoulder and cheek. The trigger is pulled the instant the gun is mounted.

In other words, although you maintain a lead you insert the gun where your instincts tell you the target will be

With the Churchill Method, it seems that you’re shooting directly at the target. But as Chris Batha writes in his excellent book, Breaking Clays, “The lapse between the time the trigger is pulled and the time that the shot leaves the barrel ensures that the muzzles are in front of the target when the shot leaves the barrel, though, if asked, the shooter would swear he shot directly at the target.”

The Churchill Method was developed in the 1930s for game and wingshooting. Over the years, it has been successfully applied to clays shooting. And now that brings us to Joe Wassi.

Along with the other instructors, he was on hand at the luxurious Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds in Millbrook, New York. On September 13th and 14th when Orvis Sandanona hosted the 4th Annual Shotgun Classic and the 2008 Orvis Cup.

Shotgun Life was invited to attend the instruction areas of the Shotgun Classic. The event focused on the teaching skills of wingshooting by top instructors from around the world.

Now, here are Joe’s shooting tips…

* You look a little to the right of the barrel to pick up quartering, crossing targets.
* In shooting true pairs, people often miss the second bird because the first one was an “Oh gosh” bird -- meaning the shooter was so elated that breaking the first one, they lost track of the second bird.
* When you go back to get the second target, don’t move your feet to help with your swing.
* Generate gun speed while you’re in the swing.
* Don’t lock up on the gun.

Well, we hope you enjoyed the Orvis Sandanona Chronicles. We have more great shooting tips coming your way from world-class instructors.

In the mean time, you can arrange a private lesson at the Orvis Wingshooting School by calling 1-800-235-9763.

Visit Shotgun Life at http://www.shotgunlife.com/.

The Orvis Sandanona Chronicles Part IV

This lesson orignally appeared in the Shotgun free weekly e-letter. To subscribe, please visit http://www.shotgunlife.com.

Englishman John Higgins is the subject of our fourth installment of Shotgun Life’s Sandanona Chronicles.

We first laid eyes on John as we all boarded the shuttle from the parking lot to the staging area. Since John climbed on with three instructors from the West London Shooting School, and all were immaculately attired, it was easy to assume he was associated with the famed institution.

But we discovered during his class that he was affiliated with The British School of Shooting in the UK, and an instructor working with Orvis. We also got to know John better as he gave us a lift back to the staging area in his cart after the lesson. As it turned out, we shared the same sentiment about the shotgun sports: the number-one priority is fun, fellowship and shooting (unless of course you’re a competitor).

Now before we continue with John’s tips, here’s a quick recap on the series for readers just joining us. The Orvis Sandanona Chronicles came about from our visit to the luxurious Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds in Millbrook, New York. On September 13th and 14th Orvis Sandanona hosted the 4th Annual Shotgun Classic and the 2008 Orvis Cup.

Shotgun Life was invited to attend the instruction areas of the Shotgun Classic. The event focused on the teaching skills of wingshooting by top instructors from around the world.

John’s class convened at a station with a pair of outgoers. The cage was perched atop a bowl-shaped depression that we hiked down into for the purpose of the lesson. There were four students in attendance. John had them call for the bird, and given our proximity to the targets, the outgoers had transformed into crossers at a height of 10-15 yards.

He started with warm-up shots to get an idea of the shooters’ skill level, and then the lesson began in earnest:

Here are tips from John’s lessons:

* Confidence is everything. 9/10ths of the success of a shot is before the gun reaches your shoulder.
* Go to the bird and then you pull ahead. For example, if the bird is doing 20 mph you want to do 21 mph.
* You should have enough time like an avenging angel to kill the target. By an avenging angel, you wait and wait and wait -- and then find it and strike.
* It’s about the marriage of timing and target picture.
* Don’t hold the gun too far back…but you look back to the trap.
* The temptation when you miss a target is to do something different. Don’t. Do the same thing, but just get ahead of the bird.
* Rhythm and coordination give you success.
* Don’t be an OWL (obsessed with lead).
* You intercept the target with your left hand -- allowing you the hand-eye coordination to give the spontaneity to strike.
* Imagine that the clay bird is looking back at you. All it needs to see is your muzzle.
* Good shooting is about your advanced application of consistent techniques.
* There are two ways to hit a dropping target: 1) hold low and go down with the bird, or 2) hold the gun close to the interception point.
* For dropping targets, you go to the right “toe” of the bird as it continues to fall.
* Let falling birds slow down so they can do all the work for you.
* On report crossers, you have to look back to the next target or you’ll get beat by speed.

You can arrange a private lesson at the Orvis Wingshooting School by calling 1-800-235-9763.

The Orvis Sandanona Chronicles Part II

This shooting tip originally appeared in the Shotgun Life free weekly e-letter. You can sign up for it at http://shotgunlife.com. You can download this tip to your iPod, Blackberry or other Web-enabled PDA and take these lessons anywhere.


The Orvis Sandanona Chronicles Part II

Shotgun Life’s Sandanona Chronicles were developed at the luxurious Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds (www.orvis.com/sandanona) in Millbrook, New York. On September 13th and 14th Orvis Sandanona hosted the 4th Annual Shotgun Classic and the 2008 Orvis Cup.

Shotgun Life was invited to attend the instruction areas of the Shotgun Classic. The event focused on the teaching skills of wingshooting by top instructors from around the world, including Chris Batha, Keith Lupton, John Higgins, and Roddy Watson and Alan Rose from the West London Shooting School.

We are privileged to offer you notes from these esteemed instructors over the coming weeks. In this issue of the Sandanona Chronicles we focus on Bruce Bower.

Bruce, along with other Orvis instructors, used the method of having a student shoot a few targets. After each shot, Bruce would talk with the student, his conversation an object lesson in the fine art of wingshooting for the small group in attendance.

Bruce’s class consisted of six students. It took place in a leafy grove on a station that threw a crosser and an outgoer.

Here are excerpts from Bruce’s session:

On an outgoer, your muzzle should be closer into the target, about 15-20 feet in front of the trap, so you can see the target earlier.

If you use the Churchill Method of Instinctive Wingshooting, it will let you swing the gun naturally and take you through the target as you shoot it -- the natural swing enhancing your ability to focus on the target. It should be an easy delivery.

If you shoot the target in the same spot, you begin to shoot it by rote, reducing your chances of missing the target.

Your eyes should grab hold of the target and not let go.

Don’t let your eyes get distracted by the gun barrel.

Let your eyes and hands work together.

Most American shooters assume a wide rifle stance. By contrast, your feet should be slightly narrower than the width of your shoulders when shooting a shotgun.

The shooters instinct is to move the gun quickly. Do that and you’ll pass the target. The results are that you’ll “slam on the brakes” and have to wait for the target -- meaning that you’ll stop the gun prematurely during your swing. That’s called “hop and stop.”

Your left hand should be held out to the end of the forearm of the shotgun for maximum control.

Don’t look down the barrel.

Don’t beat yourself up when you miss a target.

You can arrange a private lesson at the Orvis Wingshooting School at schools@orvis.com or by calling 1-800-235-9763. You can also visit the Orvis Sandanona web site at www.orvis.com/sandanona.

For more information about Shotgun Life, please visit http://www.shotgunlife.com.

The Orvis Sandanona Chronicles Part I

This lesson originally appeared in the Shotgun Life free weekly e-letter. You can subscribe to it at www.shotgunlife.com. Shotgun Life is the first online magazine dedicated to the best in wing and clays shooting.

The Orvis Sandanona Chronicles Part I

Shotgun Life’s Sandanona Chronicles were developed at the luxurious Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds (www.orvis.com/sandanona) in Millbrook, New York. On September 13th and 14th Orvis Sandanona hosted the 4th Annual Shotgun Classic and the 2008 Orvis Cup.

Shotgun Life was invited to attend the instruction areas of the Shotgun Classic. The event focused on the teaching skills of wingshooting by top instructors from around the world, including Chris Batha, Keith Lupton, John Higgins, and Roddy Watson and Alan Rose from the West London Shooting School.

We are privileged to offer you notes from these esteemed instructors over the coming weeks. In this issue of the Sandanona Chronicles we focus on Keith Lupton.

Keith conducted his lesson on the wobble trap field that threw long shots of 30-40 yards. As it turned out, his session was attended by seasoned shooters looking to fine tune their skills (including one gentleman who shot a vintage .410 quite successfully).

Keith started with a few warm-up shots, primarily to determine the skill level of his students. As part of his warm-up, he would hand-throw a target and have the shooters follow them up and down with their index finger to improve their focus. Keith noted his instructions were for two-eyed shooters.

There were six students. Keith’s approach was to have them shoot different targets and then comment on their performance for the entire group. Each shooter’s success or failure became a topic of discussion and served as an object lesson in the fine art of wingshooting.

Here are excerpts from Keith’s session:

The biggest part about hitting a target is the approach -- how to focus on the target.

• You only have to take your eye off the target for a split second before it gets away from you.
• When shooting low gun, by the time your gun hits your shoulder it should get you synchronized with the target. You should be close to the target but not above it.
• There is no best way to succeed at upland shooting. The successful shooter will incorporate all three of the primary methods: swing through, sustained lead and pull-away.
• When presented with a pair of targets, always shoot the straight-away first. The straight-away is the hardest target to come back to.
• When you miss a target, you tend to think you were above it because the target drops. However, you’re probably behind it or under it.
• On a report pair, you can drop your gun down a couple of inches to use your peripheral vision to establish the second target -- with your eyes looking over the shotgun.
• Where your eyes go, so goes the muzzle of the barrel.
• Regarding your stance, leaning forward makes you feel more aggressive. Don’t slouch.
• In pairs, you need to break one target at a time. Focus on that first target before moving to the second. Don’t let the first one get away because you’re thinking of the second. Trust your ability to focus on the target.
• When mounting the gun, many shooters make the mistake of raising it with their right hand. By doing that, as you move the stock to your shoulder, you also tend to drop the muzzle. Your lead hand should be the left one, with the right placing the stock to your shoulder instead of driving the stock to your shoulder.
• If you’re “thinking” about the target you’re missing it. Wingshooting should be instinctive.
  

You can arrange a private lesson at the Orvis Wingshooting School at schools@orvis.com or by calling 1-800-235-9763. You can also visit the Orvis Sandanona web site at www.orvis.com/sandanona.