In the second part of the Shooting Times series on how to become the Shot you’ve always wanted to be, in association with Hull Cartridge, Tom Payne looks at the holy grail of straight shooting – how to achieve a perfect gun mount. Videoed at the Royal Berkshire Shooting School…
Improve your shooting
Want to improve your shooting? It is something we all aim for and every shooter could learn something new to refine their technique.
We asked Mark Heath, head instructor at West London Shooting School for some top tips. He has taught hundreds of people to shoot, both beginners and those who have been out in the field for years but who have fallen into bad habits along the way.
He says:
- Don’t underestimate the need for concentration when shooting, as opposed to aggressive speed and lack of focus. Lacking concentration will not get you anywhere.
- Shooting large amounts of cartridges can become expensive. Instead invest in a couple of lessons with an instructor who can analysis your faults and correct them for the future. This will result in less cartridges being used to perfect your shot.
- Having a well fitted gun is essential for this sport. If your gun is not shooting where you are looking you are playing shooting roulette. You may win and you may not.
- Follow a pre-shot routine that works for you, allowing you to build up your confidence and perfect your routine.
- Find a cartridge that you have confidence in and stick to it! If you keep changing and are swayed by the latest trend this will not help keep your consistency.
Read through the following articles for more tips on becoming a better Shot.
Walked-up shooting and the going away bird
For clay pigeon shooting enthusiasts and game shooters alike, walked-up shooting is making more and more sense in these financially difficult times. Mark tells you how to prepare for typical going away targets.
How to become the Shot you’ve always wanted to be – episode 1
In episode one of ‘How to be a better Shot’, instructor Tom Payne gives Patrick Galbraith, editor of Shooting Times, a step-by-step tutorial on how a gun works and eye dominance. If you often head home after a day’s shooting with a pile of spent cartridges and not much to…
Will I always need a patch for my left-eye dominance?
I'm a lady gun and have just begun shooting. I'm left-eye dominant and my instructor demonstrated that a small patch or piece of tape on the lens of my safety glasses would help with this problem.
The most common mistakes on the shooting ground (and how to correct them)
Sometimes we need a reminder to correct our shooting by looking at common shooting mistakes often made. Best feet forward Footwork in shooting is crucial to the movement of our body, as it is in any sport. It enables us to have a free moving swing and move the gun…
This is how to analyse your shooting (and become a better Shot)
Eyes If you are right-handed it is crucial that your right eye controls the direction in which the gun is pointing. Or your left eye, for the left-handers who shoot with the gun in the left shoulder. When the opposing eye takes over control of the pointing activity, the shot…
Why do multi-shot airguns cost more?
Paying more for a pre-charged airgun with a magazine-fed firing cycle is probably justified if you intend to use it for hunting. When a fast second shot is required to finish off wounded quarry, the extra speed of being able to cock and reload the gun with the throw of…
How to improve your shooting footwork
As with any sport, when you want to get better at it you have to go back to basics to ensure that you have a good enough grounding. Shooting footwork tips A crucial point with shooting is having your feet in the right place. The reason for this is so…
How to improve your visual focus on the clay target
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…
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.