DRIVEN
SHOOTING

SHOTGUNS & SHOTGUN FIT

Instruction & Fit

Much of the little shooting prowess I possess I owe to the great instructors from whom I've taken lessons. Some of these gents are world famous, Smoker Smith (“think out the station to make the shot as easy as possible”),and Mike Rose(“to be fast, move slowly”), for example, while others like Gary Herman (“challenge the target, never let the bird beat the barrel”), and Keith Lupton are best known in America where they are based. Others with whom I've worked include Mickey Rouse, Rex Gage, and Ken Davies.  Instruction is a very personal thing and a rapport is of great importance. For this and other reasons I would have to say that I learned much more from some than others.

It is indeed true that to achieve one's potential; one will probably need more than one instructor. A friend of mine, Bill Steinkraus, writing about riding suggests that one needs three instructors to reach one's full potential. The first must instill enthusiasm and love for the sport while simultaneously not creating bad habits. (All three coaches must be technically correct.) The first must also be someone who gets on well with beginners. The next instructor takes one to the intermediate or advanced stage; while the third must be a true master to take one to the highest level. (This instructor probably never spends any time with beginners.) Also, the instructor that can turn you into a whiz at sporting clays may not be the best man for driven game. There are two other factors that are of importance as well. Does the instructor communicate in a way that makes things clear for you? When he says something do you understand it and are you able to implement it? Sometimes body types are important as well. If you are 6’6” and thin, and the instructor is just a hair over 5 feet and stocky, what has worked for him may well not work for you.  After we shoot for a while, we all develop habits. If these habits are good, and technically correct, we call it style. Many people achieve good success in spite of some bad habits. The question is, if they did things in it technically more correct way, would they have achieved more?

I have a friend, we will call him Bob as that is his name, who has amazingly fast reflexes. Bob is quite a good sporting clay shot. But he has two fiendishly bad habits. The first is that he boxes his mount. Instead of move-mount-shoot, he mounts, he moves, and then he fires. The other habit which does not serve him well is that instead of turning or pivoting through his waist, he sways. His swaying has a rainbowing effect. And while he does often shoot brilliantly, I am convinced this habit has cost a couple of birds at most competitions.

In my hubris, I mistakenly thought that I could shoot most guns. The truth is that the better a shot I've become, the more gun fit matters to me. Last May I traveled to Africa and decided that instead of taking my good guns with me, I would borrow one of the camps guns. The gun, an autoloader, had no cast and was way too short for me, and my shot to bird ratio was horrific. Luckily, they had another gun a bit more to my liking, and while I certainly would not have one any prizes with it, the disgrace was slightly less.