Shooting School

RM Anderson

RM Anderson

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Everybody learns differently and I have always felt blessed that picking up new information by reading books has worked well for me. One example of that is learning to shoot; grateful because I cannot afford a shooting school. For the past few years I have endeavored to erase 45 years of poor shotgun shooting habits. They say it takes 10,000 repetitions to create muscle memory and by my count I should be nearing it. A half dozen books have been studied in the process but the one that encapsulated it best for me was Gil Ash's book, "If It Ain't Broke Fix It". Recommended reading for anyone interested in taking this same journey.
RM

If It Ain't Broke, FIX IT! (Lessons in Shotgunning (and Life)): Gil Ash, Vicki Ash, Ty Adams: 9780976020400: Amazon.com: Books

If It Ain't Broke, FIX IT! (Lessons in Shotgunning (and Life)) [Gil Ash, Vicki Ash, Ty Adams] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. If It Ain't Broke, FIX IT! (Lessons in Shotgunning (and Life))
www.amazon.com
 
Thanks Richard, will check it out.

Brister's book on shotgunning was one of the most influential for me on the general topic, though less about the art of shooting.

More recently I read Currie's book on shotgun fitting...

I suspect like you, I mainly learned by shooting. Over time, I became a better than average live bird shooter, though a long way from being a good shot - mainly due to inconsistency at times. But with thousands of rounds, I'd figured out the cues... if I got a bruise in a certain spot or if my cheek wasn't a little sore after a full day, I'd know why I wasn't hitting consistently that day.

Then a close friend was fitted for a gun and got deep into the art and science, and recommended this book - and I realized a major contributor was gun fit, and started to understand the interactions between fit, recoil, and point of aim. Just adding 3/4" to length of pull made a major difference to how my guns shoulder and fit and as a result, immediate improvement in mounting/shooting consistency and major felt recoil reduction. While I'd still benefit from a real fitting and modified stock, it's all but eliminated cheek slap.

I also learned about the impact of eye dominance, and how that is so much more than simply right or left. Though I'm technically right eye dominant, in reality that dominance is very centralized, just barely to the right of the bridge of my nose. A properly fit gun would likely help in a big way, but as I'm not likely to make that investment, understanding this has helped me get over a desire to try to shoot with both eyes open as it is just physically impossible with a stock gun given my condition.
 
Another great book that I found to be quite instructional is John Bidwell's book, "Move Mount Shoot". Both books are roughly the same in terms of technique. Personally I give the edge to Gill Ash for communicating it in away that I could visualize. RM

Move, Mount, Shoot: Crowood Press: 9781852233006: Amazon.com: Books

Move, Mount, Shoot [Crowood Press] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Move, Mount, Shoot
www.amazon.com
 
Gun fit is 90% of the accuracy equation. The rest is 5% pattern testing and 5% practice

Let's face it the vast majority of waterfowl hunters or to lazy too fit their gun to themselves or do pattern testing. That's why the national average is something like 5 shots to kill a bird.
 
Fortunately for me, standard stock dimensions fit me quite well. That said, by following the advice in these two books, I was able to increase my hits by 20% in the past month alone. I started this journey studying the Churchill method of shooting which helped my gun mount immensely. It is hard to fit a shotgun without first developing a good mount. RM

 
I'm no expert but hold your gun at your hip and pick an object in the distance. Close your eyes and throw the gun up and pretend you're going to shoot that object (point at it). Then open your eyes and see if the gun is mounted correctly. It doesn't matter if you are pointed exactly at the target but it does matter that your eye is positioned exactly in the middle of the rib and at the correct height (not looking down on it or with a hidden bead). If it's not right then you need changes.
 
While I shot rifle competitively in college, I was a terrible shot with a shotgun until two things changed:
1. Got glasses around age 30.
2. Found a shotgun that just fit and a load it liked.
After glasses AND buying my Beretta 390 in 2003 and shooting 1 1/4 oz #3s, my shooting on live birds improved exponentially.
Still to this day can’t hit a clay pigeon to save my life.
But in the last 10 years I hunted, I rarely missed.
I attest that to the Right gun, load and improved confidence.
So Find a gun that you like, points like it’s part of you, and you have confidence in. And get your eyes checked!
 
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