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Hartmann’s Hints: Skeet Instructors

Skeet Instructors

During the last several years I’ve had the honor and privilege of being one of the NSSA Zone Instructors.

I was able to work with and learn many of the finer nuances of coaching shooters from the NSSA Chief Instructor, Ralph Aaron, as well as from the many other instructors of all levels that I met and worked with in San Antonio and in the classes I taught here in the NSSA Zone 6. I’ve lost count of how many Level 1 instructors I helped certify, but the total number is close to 75.

I recently resigned from being the Zone 6 Chief Instructor, due primarily to my age and the stress of traveling.

I spent a few days in early March on a trip to Barksdale Air Force Base’s Red Chute Shotgun Sports Club in Bossier City, Louisiana, where I trained seven new Level 1 instructors. One of these was Doug Frey, the publisher of Red Chute Gazette, a fantastic newsletter devoted to all things related to skeet shooting. Google it; I think you’ll like it.

The Red Chute club is a nice place to shoot with some really nice people shooting and running the facility. Because the club is on Barksdale Air Force Base, you have to get with the club prior to attending a shoot in order to get cleared to enter the base. Doug Frey is a good contact to use to gain access to the base.

As I’ve written before, I have really enjoyed my years as the Zone Instructor, and I’ve learned from all of the people that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and instructing.

If you think you’d like to become a instructor, go to MyNSSA.com and check out the Instructor section. You’ll learn a lot and have a little fun, too.

Stay safe,

Barry Hartmann

Barry Hartmann is an NSSA Master Level and NRA Certified shotgun instructor who teaches American skeet and wingshooting. You can contact Barry at threeat8@aol.com or 918-803-2393.

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Hartmann’s Hints: Choosing an Instructor

Choosing an Instructor

 

 

A few days ago, I was practicing with a friend who is an NSSA Certified Instructor, and during a short break, he told me of a gentleman he’s been coaching.

His student took lessons about a year ago from a so-called instructor that set him up on a path toward failure. It has taken this new instructor several lessons for the student to un-learn much of what this previous person had tried to teach him.

It always surprises me when a new or even an experienced shotgun shooter doesn’t at least ask others about the capability of the person he’s selecting to teach him the clay target sports.

If we’re going to get work done on our home or our automobiles and we don’t know someone that can do the work, we ask people we know for references and also ask for references from whomever we think might be able to do the work. We don’t blindly accept the person’s skill based on their word alone.

Why, then, do we accept an instructor without looking at his credentials and asking for a few references that we can contact and validate their skill as an instructor?

That’s what this gentleman did. He blindly accepted the first person he found that said he was an instructor and that he could help him.

He could have gone to the NSSA-NSCA website and found names of certified instructors in his area, and he could have determined their level of certification to make sure their skills matched his level as a shooter. He would have found instructors who have been taught how to instruct and troubleshoot students’ problems. He could also have asked for references and contacted some of the instructor’s previous clients.

Don’t accept someone because they talk a good game; check their credentials and their references first, so you can learn the game faster and at less cost.

Stay safe,
Barry Hartmann

Barry Hartmann is an NSSA Master Level and NRA Certified shotgun instructor who teaches American skeet and wingshooting. You can contact Barry at threeat8@aol.com or 918-803-2393.

 

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Hartmann’s Hint #53: Too Many Instructors

Too Many Instructors

 

Today I was helping a man who is an A-class skeet shooter. He was using the same gun that he has shot some good scores with. He has recently started missing some shots that used to be easy for him. He had recently sought help from some other instructors and each of them had told him something a little different.

I asked the student if he had patterned his shotgun. He stated he had, and that it shot 50/50.

I furthermore asked him if he had patterned it from a steady rest; his answer was no, he had just stood there and shot at a piece of paper. I’m a firm believer in patterning all shotguns and doing so from a steady rest so the shooter has confidence in where the shot gun shoots. He will now be patterning his gun from a steady rest, and we’ll see if it has a more normal distribution.

The next thing I did was look at his gun mount and stance which looked reasonably good. What I did see was that he was mounting the gun relatively low on his shoulder, which made it possible for him to raise his head on some of his shots.

After that I looked at his eye alignment to his rib, and I noticed that he was looking at the back of the breach, so we raised his comb to better align his eyes with the rib.

I believe that he may have consulted too many instructors trying to solve his problem.

The point I’m trying to make is that he may have TOO MANY different people trying to help him. While all of them may have good intentions and may be able to help him in some way, they may also give conflicting information to the student, and they may miss the root cause(s) of his or her misses.

I believe that people seeking instruction on shotgun shooting should go to one, and only one, instructor until that instructor’s helpful knowledge limit is reached. After that, seek a higher level instructor and follow their instructions.

Stay safe,

Barry Hartmann

Barry Hartmann is an NSSA Master Level and NRA Certified shotgun instructor who can help you improve your skills at American Skeet and wingshooting. To contact Barry, email him at threeat8@aol.com or give him a call at (918)803-2393.