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Hold Points

Hold Points

 

“I’ve been taught the right way to shoot a report pair is to landmark the hold  point and break point for both birds. After breaking the first, go to the hold point for the second, not just to the second bird. Makes sense. But what about a true pair? The second bird is long past its hold point by the time you get there.”

 

You will often encounter a true pair at a given station that is difficult, if not impossible, to engage with the same set of techniques that you would use if the two targets were presented as a report pair. For example, if you had a pair of quartering targets on report, the first one outgoing from the left and the second outgoing from the right, you might decide to engage both of these with a quartering move (come to the gun, then accelerate) or perhaps sustained lead. Either way might work well. However, if presented as a true pair, there would be insufficient time for you to get back to the proper second hold point to execute a sustained-lead or quartering move on the second outgoing bird after engaging the first target.

Herein lies the main reason that we, as higher-performing sporting clays shooters, must have more than one “stroke” in our repertoire of techniques. Golfers never play a round with only one club or stroke in their bag, and neither should you as a sporting clays shooter. We discuss this extensively in the “Target Tactics” DVD and in Chapter 16 of Mastering Sporting Clays.

In the above hypothetical true pair, you would be forced to change your technique on one or both targets. You could use an intercept (aka “cutoff and collapse”) on both targets or a combination of intercept on one target and sustained lead on the other. In this instance, pull-away might not be ideal, as you would have too much gun momentum at the end of your move on the first target to efficiently collapse the second target. As a sporting clays shooter shooting today’s technical targets, you must be proficient with multiple techniques and adapt your plan and technique to the unique character of a given target or target pair.

Don Currie is NSCA’s Chief Instructor, an Orvis Wingshooting School instructor, and Master Class competitor. To get free shooting tips and videos, sign up for his monthly newsletter. You can also see more tips from Currie at www.doncurrie.com.

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Ask the Instructor: Hold Points

Hold Points

 

Is the recommended hold point for crossing targets of two-thirds back from the break point towards the visual pick-up point equally suitable for both maintained lead and pull-away styles, or is an adjustment needed?

 

The short answer is, it depends. For planning purposes, a hold point that is two-thirds of the way back from the break point toward the trap is a good start for a flat-trajectory crossing target, regardless of your engagement technique. The speed, distance and engagement window of a target and pair may, however, require that you adjust your hold point closer to the breakpoint. Use your outstretched front hand to test your plan and see if a hold point adjustment is necessary.

With that said, and very generally speaking, you will need a bit less “runway” to execute a sustained-lead move on a crossing target, and thus can usually move your hold point closer to the break point. When using pull-away on a crossing target, the two-thirds rule is still applicable; however, you may find that a hold point that is halfway back from the break point is adequate when using sustained lead. With sustained lead, you are inserting to the lead and executing the shot ó whereas with pull-away, you must first insert to the target then separate from the target prior to executing the shot. Shooters tend to ignore a target’s transition point when selecting the break point and engagement technique. Almost all targets will transition, or change speed and direction, at some point along the flight path as the target succumbs to gravity. If the target is transitioning at the chosen break point, it is much more likely that you will occlude the target with the barrel and miss high and in front ó particularly if using pull-away. This is why I advocate that a shooter possess a handful of techniques to draw from and select the technique and hold point that is appropriate for each target.

Don Currie is NSCA’s Chief Instructor, an Orvis Wingshooting School instructor, and Master Class competitor. To get free shooting tips and videos, sign up for his monthly newsletter.  You can also see more tips from Currie at www.doncurrie.com.