Can't hit s---.

V

vega

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From my teens until about the age of Forty when I live on the coast it was mostly shotguns most of the time with me and I was a fair shot, put a lot of birds in the freezer and won my share of turkeys.

Then I moved to the Interior of B.C. and for the last twenty years it has been all rifles all the time on big game. But now I'm getting too old and beat for packing big heavy hunks of meat out of the bush so I'm back to smooth bores, have put together a few nice doubles again. Unfortunately I can no longer hit anything. I mean nuthin'. My old hunting buddy who has thrown the clays for me cannot tell me what I'm doing wrong, and I cannot tell what I'm doing wrong, and unfortunately in my tiny burg there's no shotgun shootists I can go to for help.

Any tips from you guys on how I might self-diagnose my mistakes and hit the occasional bird? I glue my head to the stock, I don't flinch, I keep my eyes on the rock - and miss, miss, miss. At this rate there's gonna be a good few more grouse and ducks for everybody else, and they've already got their share. Help!
 
Most common error is not following through after pulling the trigger. Movement must continue through the shot or you will shoot where they were instead of where they are.
 
Have someone video you shooting some clays .you can then review the video and may be able to pick up on what you are doing wrong.
 
I like the old english practice, butt, belly, beak, BANG! I've taught a few to shoot that way and unless your talking long shots it works well on sideways flying game. Myself I prefer the sustained lead by just holding in front of the target or an all out snap shot as they present themselves. But you may have some issues. Does your gun fit you right? Are you comfortable behind it? Are your problems on all angles or just a few? A bird flying dead away from you is a pretty easy shot compared to others, can you hit those? If not I'm gonna guess your shooting high or low.

Don't feel too bad. I have a friend who's a pretty good shot with a rifle. I once watched him shoot a bird out of the air 50 yards away with a .22 mag. Give him a shotgun and he can't hit s**t. One time he jumped a whole flock of huns, not one came down. :D
 
Have you tried more than one of your shotguns?

I once had a Browning Auto-5 that I could not hit anything with. I switched to a Beretta and the birds started to fall like rain.
 
Make sure there is a round in the chamber! :)

Maybe try shooting at a board first then to the moving targets to see if there may be something there. I also like the video taping yourself Idea mentioned by rembolt.
 
It appears the answer is in your question.

You aim rifles; you point shotguns. Aiming a shotgun most often results in the shooter stopping the swing motion at the instant one pulls the trigger. I'd imagine all those years of rifle shooting have left you with a well-developed bad habit (from a shotgunning point of view)

Try mounting the gun and aiming down the rib at a point below where the target will come out (so you can see the target at all times and you're accelerating the swing toward the target as you catch up to it). Once this is done, without moving anything but your eyes, look up higher to a point above where the target exits. From this point forward, look only at the target - do not focus back on the gun. Call for the bird and follow it with your eyes and let your hands follow the flight of the target. You'll instinctively pull the trigger as the barrels pass the bird and the swinging motion along the flight path will take care of the necessary lead without even thinking about it.

This is an oversimplification of the technique, but it should get you dusting a few and I'm confident you'll pick up the finer points once you can tell where you're hitting.
 
Rifle shooting and shotgunning are two different activities and opposite in many respects.

In rifle shooting you look at the sights. In shotgunning you look at the target.

Good rifle shooting is about being still at the moment the trigger breaks. Good shotgunning is about movement. Follow through is important because if you stop the shotgun you will shoot behind.

In shotgunning the "rear sight" is your eye. The gun needs to fit so it shoots where you look. The cheek must be solidly placed against the stock. The shotgun must be brought to your face instead of your face being brought to the shotgun.

Look at the target. Keep your face on the stock. Do not stop your gun until after it has fired.
 
Hey, thanks very much all of you. Most of what you guys say I remember from my shotgun days, even taught a few to shoot. I am trying to do all those good things you say, mentally rehearsing them before shooting. I've also tried several guns, all of which fit pretty well based on old knowledge. Back in the day I shot muzzleloaders, pumps, autos, o/u's and doubles and could hit even without optimal gun fit if I had time to set up before the bird. I found that good fit was most important on live birds where things happen fast and unpredictably. I know it's some "bad" habit I've picked up from aiming rifles. I've just gotta find out what it is. The video idea is a great one, will see if I can put that together, in the meantime I'll work some more on follow thru, keeping my head glued to the wood, and all the rest. I hope I get it pretty soon though because between the embarrassment and frustration, I'm getting kinda embarrassed and frustrated. If my old bird hunting friends could see me now, they'd laugh their asses off.
 
Do you have a trap? Shooting straight-aways should be fairly easy, then you can start increasing the angle of your shots and learning as you go, re-creating that muscle memory of where you need to hold/be when you take the shot.

Also, a note on ammunition: the speed of most shotshells, even cheap lead shells, is a fair bit faster then 20 years ago. Most steel shells are 50% faster then their old lead counterparts. Try to use just one type of shell (i.e. steel) until you get it figured out, and then try something else if you want; but there is no point practicing with lead trap loads doing 1080 or 1150 fps and then trying to shoot ducks or geese with shot doing 1550 to 1675 fps.
 
"for the last twenty years it has been all rifles all the time on big game"

The only thing that will help you is practise. You've got 20 years of mental training to undo. All the above replies are correct - wingshooting is entirely different from rifle shooting.
 
Could be that your shotgun simply doesn't fit you properly, at least not as good as it once did 20 years ago.

Unfortunately, as many get older they may put on extra weight, or even shrink in height.

I'd suggest that you take yourself and your shotgun to a good smith and have him measure both you and the stock for proper "length of pull".

Few other things can affect ability to hit anything as much as this.

Almost all rifles and shotguns are made to a standard "one size fits all" pattern...and more or less this works.

Until it doesn't.

Adjustment for this is generally inexpensive. Too short, they will install a new recoil pad and/or shim behind it. Too long, and they will shorten stock and/or install a new recoil pad.

Believe it, this can make all the difference in the world!!!

Unlike rifles, shotgunning is a somewhat quick and reflexive point and shoot affair. Thus, it is far more critical that a shotgun fits you properly than it might be for a rifle.

I inherited my Dad's ol' Ithaca Model 37. He shortened the stock and installed a recoil pad to suit him. It was a nightmare for me to shoot, hardly hit anything. And driving my fingers that wrapped the grip into my face, with the fat (and bleeding) lip that ensued, definitely was not helping the cause, either!!!
 
I might add...

There's probably half a dozen wrong ways to measure for length of pull, and only one right way.

A good smith will know the right way. Best by far to let him sort it out.
 
If your friend is hand throwing the clays, try getting him to throw them at a very high angle to reduce the apparent movement. You'll start breaking a few, and can work it out from there. I just did a guy's first clay shooting day, and this was how he broke his first birds when he couldn't get the reachier shots. Got his confidence up, and gave him a base to work forward from. After that, I can only reiterate what others have said in that learning to look, follow, and shoot as a whole body movement instead of controlled aiming is what you need to relearn. Good luck! Look forward to hearing the updates. I find static clays on the ground counter-productive, as it only reinforces rifle habits.

Zner said:
maybe you should take up basket weaving instead of hunting haha
Click to expand...

You can always tell who's the teenager.
 
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