Shooting practice on the river

[Richard Flanders]

Couldn't help myself. Had to get out and try my new battery powered Champion clay thrower on a sand bar on the Tanana River 13miles downstream of my house. This is the first time I've used it and it worked well. I may actually burn up all the 5-gal buckets of target reloads I have after all. I sure need the practice at this left-handed thing. I picked a spot where I could fetch the clays that I missed, which was more than I'll admit in print, and reuse them. I took my 26" 1-frame damascus GHE12 along for a gun. Life could be worse, I can tell you!

[Keith Sirmans]

Wow! I am envious for sure. That looks like my grandfather's life

[Gary Laudermilch]

I love to shoot clays but your twist on the game adds a whole new dimension. Thanks for posting.

[Southpaw]

I'm probably missing something, why you going southpaw?. I did it as kid since dad recognized I had an eye dominance issue and made me shoot lefty. Me tryng to shoot righty now is about as graceful looking as swinging a football bat.

[Richard Flanders]

Right eye doesn't work any more.

[charlie cleveland]

richard that is some shooting field you have there...what happened to the neighbors....thanks for the photos...charlie

[Southpaw]

Originally Posted by Richard Flanders

Right eye doesn't work any more.

A minor inconvenience. Shooters, shoot. You will adapt and overcome. You do it enough and focus on the footwork and gun mount references, I'll bet you will be tearing it up in no time.

I knew a fella that lost an eye to cancer and had a prosthetic glass eye. You could not tell unless you really looked close and even then it was near impossible to notice unless you had a staring contest and noticed one eye did not move. He had to switch to lefty and he said it made him actually a better shot because it broke old habits. He was now more technically sound focusing on proper footwork and gun mount for every shot plus now he focused more on one bird.

Btw welcome to world of disenfranchised lefty shooters. Go buy yourself some lefty shooting shirts or a jacket, though it is a lot better now than it used to be. Thankfully most Parker's are neutral stocks and not cast on or off, so that is a benefit.

[Bill Murphy]

My right eye gave up several years ago. I was shooting NSSA skeet at the time. I switched to lefty, and, by the end of my first lefty season, I had a 98 in 12 gauge and a 95 in .410. It took a lot of practice and a lot of competition to get there. The next year, I tried a different solution.

[RedRiverII]

Shooting lefty for two months now and I find it easier to take instruction because I know I'm not shooting well. All of a sudden it's the Indian and not the arrows. I had one of the moments where you imagine you had a shotgun in your hands and followed an actual bird in flight. Well I brought it up lefty and had to smile because 'By George, I think he's got it."

Terrific photos by the way.

[Southpaw]

Originally Posted by Alexander Sharpe

Shooting lefty for two months now and I find it easier to take instruction because I know I'm not shooting well. All of a sudden it's the Indian and not the arrows. I had one of the moments where you imagine you had a shotgun in your hands and followed an actual bird in flight. Well I brought it up lefty and had to smile because 'By George, I think he's got it."

Terrific photos by the way.

Sounds like you hit the tipping point of function and muscle memory.

I have learned a few things offhanded but not forced to try shooting yet. Son is a pretty good lacrosse player so throwing the ball around with him learned to throw and catch on both sides. I have not and probably never will play a game but I am dang good at slinging and catching that ball no matter which side. It still feels unnatural on offside but I can throw it just as hard and accurate as onside.