Gun Speed

Its odd how the learning process works. In the beginning I had to learn how to do the basics and in the process I was told about gun speed. At the time I wasn't really ready to listen and preferred to apply physics to the task.

As time rolls on and I have learnt more about the intricacy's of clay pigeon shooting I have begun to realise the point of what I was repeatedly told!

I am at a point and in reality have been for a while now whereby I enter a stand and quite often I will kill the first birds, even if they look fast and tricky. This often happens when they take me by surprise and I have to rush to catch up with the target. In this situation I clearly sweep through the target, using gun speed and hand eye coordination to kill the target. On the next target however I "see" the same picture as I saw in shot 1, but without the same gun speed so as a result I miss.

In my head gun speed has the result of "flicking" the shot as it leaves the gun, almost spraying it in a horizontal cigar pattern. Whether this actually happens or not I am still not totally sure, but that is what I feel happens. As a consequence it has got to be easier to kill targets as your shot is spread over a larger area. This is perhaps why it sometimes feels like I killed a target I didn't even see properly...... though perhaps not!

When I "do the maths" and apply physics to shooting I have far less gun speed so I need to be far more accurate as my shot is flying in a much tighter ball than if it was flicked with gun speed................ this might be pure conjecture on my part?!

My goal is going to be to concentrate on pushing through a shot with my shoulder and right arm in order to increase my gun speed where required. When I am coached, the times when I have hit birds when told to push with my shoulder and "attack" the bird means that it is something that I need to practice more. I need to lose some of my analytical approach on faster birds. The trick I suppose is knowing which targets to use which technique on.