After a long absence I got back to shooting sporting clays. The rules have changed and I have noticed that many but not all shooters mount their gun before calling for the target. Is this rule universal in North America? Does it apply to 5 stand as well? In Southern Alberta I have noticed there seems to be an equal mix or both gun up and gun down and some use both. The fellow who wins most registered shoot is our area nearly always starts with a pre mounted gun. I am interested to know what is happening in other areas and what is preferred. I shoot about 90% from a very ready position but the butt down.
sporting clays pre mount or not?
- Thread starter Covey Ridge
- Start date
NSCA allows free mount, ie: premounted is ok. It only gives one an advantge on trap style shots. A mount, slightly below the armpit while forward, will help in a good follow through. By dropping the but even lower to the hip, will help in a fast and close crosser. The best shots in the World, George Digweed, Richard Faulds (Olympian GOLD), Ben Husthwait all use gun down even on trap shots. I have seen them shoot! GD won the World AllRound last year, gun down!
Personally, I have done some practice on Bunker and Oympic trap. I do get better results with the but down, even on American trap! I shot my first 25 on American trap, gun down!
I do prefer to shoot Parcours de Chasse FITASC over repetetive sporting! When hunting, one is never mounted! But "swing through" sure gets the grouse down!
Best regrds,
Henry
Personally, I have done some practice on Bunker and Oympic trap. I do get better results with the but down, even on American trap! I shot my first 25 on American trap, gun down!
I do prefer to shoot Parcours de Chasse FITASC over repetetive sporting! When hunting, one is never mounted! But "swing through" sure gets the grouse down!
Best regrds,
Henry
It depends on the target. If it is going away like a trap target, a teal or a rabbit I'll pre-mount. For crossers or birds that come from behind I'll shoot low gun. What's important to me is seeing the bird and if I can see the bird sooner with a low gun then that's how I'll shoot it.
Where I am shooters vary. Some shoot gun down all the time, some of the time or none of the time.
At our club the five-stand is random. There's no menu to let you know which birds you are going to get. Gun down is much better when you don't know where the bird is coming from.
I like shooting gun down even for skeet. It just feels more like shooting than a pre-mounted gun.
beretta boy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Orillia, Ontario
F.I.T.A.S.C. and International (I.S.S.F.) Skeet are, as far as I know, the only shooting disciplines still requiring an unmounted gun. North American Skeet (NSSA) & Sporting (NSCA) were both originally shot "gun down" .
I guess the "best" method is whatever works best for you, but I don't accept the argument that it's "more like hunting" ... the gun down, "ready" position for clay target shooting doesn't come remotely close to how hunters carry their guns afield.
Shooting gun down does put a considerable premium on gun fit, balance and overall shooting technique... if you're going to be consistant. A smooth mount each and every time is critical to good scores.
A low gun for Sporting, I think, helps with most target ptresentations for no reason other than to gain a better focus on the target ... which is sometimes hard to do with the gun up ( the barrel may obscure the target for a good part of it's flight ) Most top shooters concur however, that the least amount of overall gun movement is preferrable. This helps to avoid "see-sawing" the muzzle and over-swinging on many target presentations.
The vast majority of top North American Trap & Skeet shooters favour a pre-mounted gun.
I guess the "best" method is whatever works best for you, but I don't accept the argument that it's "more like hunting" ... the gun down, "ready" position for clay target shooting doesn't come remotely close to how hunters carry their guns afield.
Shooting gun down does put a considerable premium on gun fit, balance and overall shooting technique... if you're going to be consistant. A smooth mount each and every time is critical to good scores.
A low gun for Sporting, I think, helps with most target ptresentations for no reason other than to gain a better focus on the target ... which is sometimes hard to do with the gun up ( the barrel may obscure the target for a good part of it's flight ) Most top shooters concur however, that the least amount of overall gun movement is preferrable. This helps to avoid "see-sawing" the muzzle and over-swinging on many target presentations.
The vast majority of top North American Trap & Skeet shooters favour a pre-mounted gun.
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X2. An instructor taught me to use a full length mirror to practice mounts. Watch the reflection of the muzzle and if it see-saws then you are using too much back hand in your mount. The forward hand mounts and steers the gun while the back hand pulls the trigger.
In Nova Scotia the majority of the clubs that host Sporting clay shoots came to an agreement a few years ago to use a form of gun down to try and keep some of what was ment to be practice for hunting.
So that it didn't become a ref nightmare, the wording was to the effect that, the comb of the gun had to be below your arm pit when calling for the bird.
After calling you could do what you wanted as far as when you mounted the gun,ie right after calling for the bird or when you felt it was best suited for that presentation.
This forced a gun mount and as it works out that long slow developing shots are the last place you want to be rushing a mount and tracking a bird. The close shots. if your first thoughts are about your gun mount you are already in trouble
So that it didn't become a ref nightmare, the wording was to the effect that, the comb of the gun had to be below your arm pit when calling for the bird.
After calling you could do what you wanted as far as when you mounted the gun,ie right after calling for the bird or when you felt it was best suited for that presentation.
This forced a gun mount and as it works out that long slow developing shots are the last place you want to be rushing a mount and tracking a bird. The close shots. if your first thoughts are about your gun mount you are already in trouble
beretta boy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Orillia, Ontario
Covey Ridge
Good target setters, whether at the Club or Tounament level generally strive to present targets that may well be challenging, but they should NEVER be a "trick" shot or an "eye test" either.
Like Forest Gump says "Stupid is as Stupid does" ... if a target is that ridiculous, just walk away from it. However, if it's plainly in range, visible while it develops through it''s target path and not in an impossibly short window, learn to read and track it ... you'll soon learn "how" to hit it.
Good target setters, whether at the Club or Tounament level generally strive to present targets that may well be challenging, but they should NEVER be a "trick" shot or an "eye test" either.
Like Forest Gump says "Stupid is as Stupid does" ... if a target is that ridiculous, just walk away from it. However, if it's plainly in range, visible while it develops through it''s target path and not in an impossibly short window, learn to read and track it ... you'll soon learn "how" to hit it.
