Posted on

Ask the Instructor: All About Combs- Part 1

All About Combs- Part 1

 

Can you explain why an angled comb makes sense? Why wouldn’t everyone want a parallel comb? Parallel combs are being offered on more sporting clays guns. And no, I can’t buy the idea that drop is a good idea for correcting a sloppy technique on low and/or high targets.

 

Historically, shotgun stocks have been angled, which means they are higher at the peak of the comb (front end, toward receiver) and lower at the heel of the comb (back end, toward the butt). The reason behind this, as with almost everything shotgun related, has its historical origins in English-style shooting. Whether shooting game or targets, shooters did not premount the shotgun (unless you include pigeon/box shooting). For shooters who initiate the gun mount to the cheek and shoulder after the bird becomes visible — as in game shooting, FITASC and international skeet — the sloped comb makes for a more successful mount and more consistent cheek/stock connection. Since mounting a shotgun is dynamic instead of static, as it is with premounted shooting, the shooter can much more consistently “slide into” the comb and make a good cheek/comb connection. For the disciplines of American trap and American skeet, premounting is commonplace. The mount is completed prior to calling for the target, and thus an angled comb is of less importance. This is why we see more parallel combs in these disciplines.

There are two commonly held misconceptions about combs: 1) Parallel combs result in a more consistent cheek weld (placement of the cheek to the gun). Again, this is only true if the shooter premounts or has highly aggressive mount mechanics. 2) Angled combs are more likely to cause cheek bruising. This is also not true. To cause cheek bruising, the shooter must either cram his head into the gun with great force during shot execution or lift his head off the stock as he executes the shot, causing the recoil to force the gun into the cheek. As with high-rib shotguns, parallel combs are not for everyone. Each shooter has to weigh the advantages and disadvantages against their style of shooting.

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.

Posted on

Ask the Instructor: New Guns

New Guns

 

I plan to buy a new shotgun soon. Assuming that I’m looking for an over-and-under shotgun, what are the most important factors I should consider?

 

As a dealer, importer and gun fitter, I often get asked, “What gun should I buy?” I usually respond with “it depends.” Below are the five criteria I use to narrow down my clients’ preferences. I don’t use the answers as a checklist necessarily, but I ask my clients questions around these five areas in order to determine the best solution for their individual needs and wants. Before pulling out your credit card, you might want to think through your answers to these questions.

1) Utility – What do you plan on shooting with this new gun? Are you going to shoot clays or birds? If you are going to shoot mostly birds, what species of bird, where and under what conditions?
2) Budget – I usually try to understand the general budget range of the client. My advice: Buy the best quality gun you can afford.
3) Fit – Spending a lot of money on the purchase of a gun, only to find out afterwards that the gun does not fit, can be a heartbreaking experience. In many cases, the sales person selling a shotgun is not a gun fitter and has no idea if the gun fits you or not.
4) “Pointability” – How does the gun feel? Where is the balance point? How does it move for you? If possible, handle and shoot many guns before making a buying decision. If you ask nicely, most shooters at a sporting clays course are more than happy to let you shoot their gun at a few targets.
5) Aesthetics – Some gun buyers care more about functionality (that’s me). On the other hand, some believe the look of the gun is of equal importance.

Before buying your next shotgun, you might want to think through the answers to these questions. Good luck in purchasing your new gun!

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.

Posted on

Ask the Instructor: Hitting Kill Spots

Hitting Kill Spots

 

My break points tend to vary a bit. I usually break the targets in the same general area, but I tend to pull the trigger when everything feels and looks right. Is that okay? Shouldn’t I put more emphasis on focusing on the target rather than breaking the target in a certain place?

 

Commitment to break point is one of the essential requirements of consistency in sporting clays. If, at a particular sporting clays station, you break the first target of a pair in a different place each time, then you are shooting a different target each time. If your break points are inconsistent and random, the target will likely be at a different angle, different distance, different trajectory or possibly at a different speed when you pull the trigger. As such, you will need to change another aspect of your move to compensate for the different break point.

The key to consistency in sporting clays is to break all target pairs at a given station the same way and in the same place every time. Committing to your chosen break points starts with sound break point selection. Develop your plan for engaging the targets as you always do, ensuring that you landmark your break point. As you visualize the flight of the target, select a point along the flight line, just before the break point, at which you will apply acute focus to the target. Consistent timing of your focus is another essential element of consistency. Make sure that your interval of intense focus is relatively short (no more than 1 to 1.5 seconds) and that you can maintain sharp visual focus through the break point and shot execution. On targets with a longer flight time, timing your focus becomes an important factor in ensuring that your eyes don’t relax or “give up” on the target by the time it reaches the break point. “Dragging” the barrel past your break point or “riding the target” in an effort to measure and make the shot look perfect will weaken your commitment to break points and detract from your consistency.

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.

Posted on

Ask the Instructor: FITASC Mount

FITASC Mount

 

In FITASC, is the first move to the target a bayonet move, or is the first move a lift with both hands to the cheek and break point as you match gun speed to target speed?

 

I don’t like the term “bayonet move” because it implies that we should thrust our shotgun at the target and shift our balance to the front foot — which is ill-advised. Allow me to rephrase your question to the following: As we mount the shotgun in FITASC, should we mount and move simultaneously using both hands to move to the cheek and break point, or should we use a more aggressive, one-handed move? The answer is, it depends.

In FITASC, a shooter can use one of several techniques to break any given target. Each move must be initiated from a “legal” low-gun ready position. As a FITASC shooter, we may have to use a technique that differs from the move we would use in sporting clays in order to adapt to this limitation. For example, if we are presented with a crossing target with a long window, we would not need to adjust much from our default technique for engaging crossing targets, whether we use pull-away or sustained lead. In this case, we would assume a good ready position, call for the target, then mount and move to the cheek and target (or insert point) with both hands moving equally and together.

What if, on the other hand, we are presented with a fast trap-like target thrown from a trap machine 20 yards in front of us? In sporting clays, we might choose a pre-mounted ready position, but in FITASC we might opt to hold our muzzle at the same level as the break point and primarily use the back hand to get the gun to the cheek and shoulder, using the muzzle bead as a hinge, so to speak. While we can’t vary our draw length in FITASC (distance between the comb and the cheek), we can adapt our move to the character of the 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.

Posted on

Ask the Instructor: Barrel Length

Barrel Length

 

When I first started shooting skeet 40 years ago, everyone shot a 26-inch barrel. Now 28-, 30-, 32- and even 34-inch are the popular lengths. My sporting clays guns have 28- and 30-inch barrels. What is the difference in breaking targets? My 28-inch will reach out as far as needed for standard targets. Is the sighting plane or lead different with a longer barrel?

 

Ballistically speaking, there is no difference in shooting a shotgun with a 28-inch barrel length versus a 34-inch barrel except that the wad and shot exit the barrel 6 inches earlier. The decision on barrel length is situational and should be based on three factors in order of descending importance:

  1. Proportionality and balance of your shotgun. Balance is important because it determines how your shotgun moves. A properly balanced shotgun puts the shotgun’s center of gravity between your hands, usually at the hinge pin. Shooting with a well-balanced shotgun will enable you to move the gun more naturally and efficiently to the target with less physical effort.
  2. Your chosen shooting discipline. If you are more of a skeet shooter or quail hunter, you may want to consider shorter barrels (28 inches, for example). A shorter barrel is slightly easier to swing for closer or less predictable targets. Barrel lengths tend to be longer in sporting clays, driven bird, duck and goose hunting than in skeet or quail hunting, for example.
  3. What you are accustomed to. Here is where the discussion of sight plane and sight picture arises. Even though we don’t look at the rib or consciously aim our shotgun at moving targets, every shooter has a subconscious sight picture — the brain’s subconscious view of the barrel-target relationship. Throughout our years of shooting a shotgun at moving targets, our brain amasses a subconscious database of images with different barrel-target relationships at different target speeds and distances. If you decide to change shotguns or barrel length, you will need to allow your brain time to adapt.

So, increase your practice time and shoot lots of targets for the first couple of months after changing guns or barrel length.

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.