Inconsistency

 

One thing that drives me crazy on any clays course is the inconsistency of my shooting. I never know how I am going to shoot until I begin shooting. I practice as much as I can afford, but I can’t seem to break the cycle or whatever you would call it.

 

We all have our great days and our not-so-great days. With that said, inconsistency in performance is often tied to inconsistency in process. Misses typically fall into one of three categories: technical misses, planning misses and mental misses. A technical miss occurs when a target is beyond your technical ability to break. The solution here is simply to master this target presentation in practice so that it is within your technical ability at the next tournament. Then there is the planning miss. You had the wrong plan as you stepped into the shooting stand, sometimes caused by a failure to recognize what the target is doing at the break point. Then there is the mental miss, which is always tied to process, otherwise known as your pre-shot routine. If, after you finish a tournament, you can look back and say that your planning was flawless and all targets were within your technical ability to break, that only leaves your pre-shot routine as the cause of your inconsistency.

The three elements of a good pre-shot routine are: visualization, deep breathing and a visual cue. As you step into the shooting stand, visualize what it will look like, and imagine what it will feel like, to execute the shot pair. As you run through your visualization, load the gun and inhale/exhale at least twice. Close your gun and, as you assume a good ready position and move your shotgun to the hold point, remind yourself to focus on the specific focal points on each target. For example, “dome and 4 o’clock.” “PULL!” Running through this pre-shot routine on each and every pair will ensure a few things: 1) your conscious mind will be filled with constructive thoughts just prior to execution, 2) your body will be well oxygenated, with a lower heart rate, and 3) you will have reminded yourself of your most important job after calling for the targets: FOCUS.

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.

Flinching

 

I’m a C-class shooter and shoot regularly. Periodically, I’ll flinch on a shot and have no idea why. While I can’t detect a pattern, it tends to happen more often on the first target of a pair. Do you know of any research on why we flinch, and do you have any suggestions on ways to eliminate it?

 

There is no mistaking a flinch — that momentary “hiccup” as you are about to pull the trigger of your shotgun. The most commonly held misconception is that a flinch is an anticipation of recoil caused by shooting heavy loads. It has been my experience that this is rarely the cause. Instead, it is caused by a sudden interruption of the acute visual connection between the target and the dominant eye. When this happens, your brain experiences a moment of visual confusion, causing the flinch. The cause of this visual disconnection is most often one of the following:

1) Improper gun fit: For a shooter with a high cheekbone or smaller facial structure, the dominant eye may wind up below the rib of the shotgun when the shotgun is fully mounted and the shot is executed. With this shooter, a higher comb is the solution. Have an adjustable comb installed or use a comb riser product like the Beartooth Comb Riser.

2) Spoiling the line: When the movement of your gun to the break point is such that the muzzle gets between your eye and the target, you inadvertently block your visual connection with the target as you execute the shot. This most often happens on targets that are descending at the break point. It also happens when a shooter is not committed to a break point and “rides the target.”

3) Gun mount: I have often worked with shooters who press their head into the gun at the end of the move, even if their gun fit and movement to the target is perfect. This positions the eye below the rib and blocks the shooter’s visual connection with the target. Your best path to flinchless shooting is to seek the assistance of an experienced instructor who can diagnose and help you resolve your flinch.

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.

Technical Targets

 

In sporting clays, I often hear the term “technical targets.” What does this mean?

 

A “technical target” refers to the way in which a target is presented or thrown and is characterized by inconsistent speed or line through the natural break area. A skeet or trap target would not be considered a technical target, as the speed and line are fairly consistent through the break area. With a technical target, the target’s line and speed are less well defined and often deceptive with subtle changes in line and speed through the area where most shooters would choose to break the target. Any target that is losing its line, losing speed or transitioning in a way that is deceiving is considered a technical target.

In the early days of sporting clays, most all presentations were straightforward. After all, sporting clays was originally intended as a means to maintain one’s bird-hunting skill in the off season, with most presentations mimicking birds in the wild. The incredible advancement in trap technology over the last 10 years, and the corresponding sophistication and creativity of target setters, has led to an increase in technical targets and therefore a rise in the difficulty of your average registered tournament course. The increase in technical targets has also led to the more frequent use of movement techniques beyond the traditional methods of sustained lead, pull-away and swing-through. Often, less gun movement and techniques such as intercept and diminishing lead are more effective on technical targets. The most talented target setters, regularly engaged for the National Championship, U.S. Open and other major events, can make targets fly in a way that baffles and deceives. The best way to combat a technical target is to observe all targets carefully during pre-shot planning in an effort to uncover the subtle changes in line and speed throughout a target’s flight path.

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.

Occlusion

 

I’m having a terrible time with transitioning targets that are falling or descending at the break point. I feel like I am seeing the barrel. Do you have a suggestion of how to remove the barrel from the sight picture and improve the focus on the target?

 

A very common cause of a miss is “spoiling the line” — when the shooter’s gun gets between the shooting eye and the target. In these cases, the gun blocks, or occludes, the shooter’s view of the target through the break point. This can easily happen with a target that is transitioning (changing speed and/or direction) at the break point. The visual connection between the non-shooting eye and the target through the break point often leaves the shooter a bit confused as to why the target didn’t break, because the shooter feels as if he was visually connected to the target through the break point. In fact, he was.

He was just seeing the target with the wrong eye.

For some targets, like a driven target (incoming overhead) or an outgoing teal target, the shooter is forced to insert behind and move through the target to break it. In almost all other cases, however, you should avoid placing the barrel between the shooting eye and the target before or through the break point, thus “spoiling the line.”

So, how do you avoid spoiling the line on a target that is transitioning at the break point? The most common remedy is to move your hold point a bit closer to the break point and a bit further away (or offset) from the target line so that your move to the break point is at an angle to the target line. This is commonly known as an “intercept,” “direct intercept” or “cutoff.” This offset angle of approach to the break point makes it less likely that you will occlude the target before reaching the break point. With this technique, ensure your movement from hold point to break point is a straight line. Curling or looping the muzzle into the breakpoint can cause the barrel to occlude the target. The intercept technique is a valuable tool for any target that is transitioning at the break point.

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.

The Best Instructors

 

Who’s better, pro instructors or certified instructors?

 

Making general statements about either group is a bit dangerous, as there is a variety of experience and skill among instructors in both camps. There are also a number of great shots who are certified instructors.

With that said, pro shooters who instruct have a great deal of shooting and competitive experience and bring that experience to their teaching. Pro shooters who instruct also tend to teach a single technique that has proven most effective for them in competition. Most of the pro shooters who teach lack formal training on how to teach. In contrast, a certified NSCA Level III instructor might be less likely to win a Big Blast championship, but he or she has a minimum of seven years of shooting experience and five years of experience as an instructor, has taught a minimum of 2,000 hours and has been through a minimum of three instructor courses totaling 10 days of education. He has learned how to teach, diagnose and communicate with students. In addition to the education received, a Level III instructor has been evaluated by certifying instructors at both the Level II and Level III Courses to ensure he meets the proficiency requirements. Historically, the pass rate is about 50 percent for the NSCA Level III Instructor Course and 75 percent for the Level II Course, so certification at these levels is not a guarantee.

Certified instructors tend to be more proficient diagnosticians. They tend to teach multiple techniques as appropriate for the shooter and are better able to teach at all levels as well as identify and solve a variety of shooting problems. They also tend not to be as dogmatic about a single technique.

Ultimately, who you engage as an instructor should be based on what you hope to gain out of your relationship with that instructor and the instructor’s style of communication.

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.