Don’t look at the gun once it is at your cheek and shoulder. All of your attention must be on the target as you pull the trigger. Mount the shotgun to your cheek and eye, not to your shoulder. If you are standing correctly with a well-practised gun mount and the…
Improve your shooting
Have you just started shooting and need some guidance? Or are you a seasoned shot and want to know how you can improve your accuracy? We have all the tips, tricks, skills and expert advice to ensure that your shooting gets better every time you’re in the field or at the clay ground.
How to mount your gun
The mount is a crucial part of your shooting technique and knowing how to mount your gun correctly can quite easily be the difference between hitting or missing a target. Where to start When you begin shooting it is quite normal to start in the shoulder, but as soon as…
How to improve the accuracy of your air rifle
Most shooters want to be able to shoot more accurately and there are lots of things you can do to improve the precision of the average airgun. Serious geeks take it to the absolute extreme. While “dark arts” such as tuning a gun’s internals and washing and weighing pellets can…
Techniques for mastering a flightpond at dusk
Graham Brown’s student Giacomo Drax is lucky enough to have access to a flight pond that he occasionally shoots with his father Jeremy. Shooting ducks at dusk or in darkness that are responding to decoys around a pond requires a well-fitting gun and steady nerves. With an evening flight on…
A sure-fire way to improve your shooting skills
I have recommended Skeet before as a great discipline to help hone our shooting skills. It offers a wide variation of angles with predictable target speeds and trajectories, which are so important to help us learn and practice. After all, there is little point in using targets that vary and…
Tips on high-driven birds
A high driven target is quite straightforward, the shooter moving the gun on the same line as the target and giving the required lead and follow-through. But there are a few mistakes to watch out for. Easiest place to shoot high-driven birds The easiest place to shoot a high driven…
Where I should place my hand on the fore-end of a shotgun? (And other related questions)
I have just come in to shooting and I am getting a bit confused about where I should place my hand on the fore-end wood? I have seen shooters holding it at the front, while others hold it quite close to the back.
How to make your rifle shoot straight
One of the most common causes of damage to a scope is that of poorly made or misaligned scope mounts.
How to nail shooting doubles
SHOOTING TIPS: Left & rights: Mark from Grimsthorpe Shooting Ground shows you how to tackle those elusive left and rights.
Shooting lessons: How to shoot a right and left!
In game shooting terms a right and left is where you successfully kill a bird with each barrel, in quick succession.
Grouse shooting lessons – practise on clays
Coach Mark Russell of Grimsthorpe Shooting Ground gives us a guide to shooting grouse targets.
Would a lighter load improve your shooting standard?
Having taught hundreds of new and experienced shooters over the years, I’ve seen lots of examples of how excessive and unnecessary recoil can adversely affect some people. In many cases (particularly with long-term shooters) these can often go unnoticed or, worse, become accepted as part of the sport and a…
I want to become a loader. Should I do a course?
I have loaded for some years, and although competent, I decided it was time to get a qualification in the subject. Why is a loading course a good idea? One of the significant reasons for picking up a loading qualification is for health and safety purposes. Shoots and estates have…
Trigger freeze – or the ‘flinch effect’. Here’s how to cure it
A disconcerting affliction for many shooters
What exactly is eye dominance and why is it so important?
Eye dominance, sometimes referred to as “master eye”, is the tendency to subconsciously prefer visual input from one eye to the other while maintaining the value of binocular vision. First, let’s clearly understand that shooting well with a shotgun is an art form and not a calculated sport, unlike that…
Can’t stop stopping my gun
Q: How do I stop myself stopping the gun when I shoot? A: Tony says: Stopping the gun as you shoot can be down to a number of factors. Let’s assume that the gun fits, as an incorrectly fitted gun can cause all sorts of problems – especially to your…
Footwork and how it affects your success when shooting
Most Guns don’t understand how footwork helps them, and when asked will probably answer along the lines of killing the bird wherever your front foot is, or something to that effect. Here’s why good shooting footwork is essential Your shooting stance gives you the platform from which to mount your…
Air rifles – does more power mean greater range?
When set up properly, legal-limit air rifles are extremely accurate tools, and that precision can more than compensate for their modest power when coupled with a sound knowledge of fieldcraft. Get in close and shoot with precision, and delivering a lethal strike to the small kill zones presented by typical…
Swinging the gun – how to improve your technique
This month I’d like to look at all things swing related - and how getting it right can increase the number of targets you hit.