Instinctive ahooting

[Richard Flanders]

If you read "Churchill's Shotgun Book" that is precisely what his method teaches. Everything is done low gun and by pointing with the left hand vs the shooting eye, usually the right. I decided, after a few too many decades of barely being able to hit a bird perched on a fence post much less one flying, to try his method and the results were astounding. When I'd find myself missing I'd stop and just go back to his basics on foot and hand positions and stance and bingo, I'd start hitting again right away. You do exactly as he prescribes and your shooting score will improve instantly. For me it was a true epiphany. My field and range scores jumped dramatically, at least for a while. Well, now I have a right eye issue that has me trying to shoot left handed and, guess what? I can still shoot live birds and clays right handed, despite my right eye barely working at all, but only if I do exactly as Churchill prescribes. My best pheasant shot in S Dakota last fall was shot right handed. I also hit a couple left handed but it's still very awkward for me. I don't shoot near as well right handed these days but if I could practice enough could likely shoot that way for all my hunting and do acceptably well. With enough practice I could also just shoot left handed all the time and mostly not embarrass myself too much. Switching is not easy but is also not as hard as most would think as long as you get it into your head that "I can do this" and just do it. I'd strongly advise everyone to acquire and read Churchill's book no matter how or how well they shoot a shotgun. It's my bible, period.

[C grade]

Richard
I completely agree!! I attended an Orvis shooting school and that is what they teach and it works.
David

[10 bore]

For the most part, when my gun hits my shoulder ,I am shooting. some times it works and some times it doesn't. but when it does ,watch out.
scott

[Dean Romig]

He's not lyin' - I've watched Scott shoot... and he breaks a lot more clays than most shooters do.





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[6pt-Sika]

In my competitive skeet shooting days there was a gentleman at Fairfax R&G named Willie Finch who I am sad to say is no longer with us . Anyway many many times I saw him stand at station four on the skeet field usually bare footed I might add , holding the gun on his hip he'd call for a pair and shoot the pair with the gun on his hip 90% of the time breaking the pair I might add .

I could do it fairly regularly at stations 1 , 2 , 6 and 7 . But not so much in the middle stations or on 8 .

[Bill Murphy]

Willie Finch was a legend. He shot all over and always had a good time. A field at Fairfax is named for him. What is the silly game he played? He shot trap and skeet. What a great guy.

[Researcher]

Ahh.... Fond memories of Fabulous Willie's Station Nine!!

Back in my college days I watched Jim Gregg, then the manager at Seattle Skeet & Trap Club at Redmond, Washington, go 23 out of 25 in a round of skeet never bringing the butt of his Model 12 above his elbow.

http://jimgregg.net/index.html

[Bill Murphy]

Dave, not "Fabulous Willie's" but "Famous Willie's". When you visit back East, you and I and Kevin should visit Fairfax Rod and Gun and go over old times. Yes, I can get us in.

[Dean Romig]

There's a seventy-odd year old fellow who shoots at my skeet club sometimes. He shoots an old 20 ga. Model 32 from the hip. I've seen him clean the course about five times. The other times he dropped one or two. He says there's nothin' to it... course, he's been shooting skeet since he was fourteen.





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[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

There's a seventy-odd year old fellow who shoots at my skeet club sometimes. He shoots an old 20 ga. Model 32 from the hip. I've seen him clean the course about five times. The other times he dropped one or two. He says there's nothin' to it... course, he's been shooting skeet since he was fourteen.





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By no means am I trying to make less of your friends accomplishments with his Remington 32 but I failed to mention it in the other post . When Willie shot doubles at 4 from the hip 9 times outta 10 he was shooting a 410 . I agree with your friend about it being "relatively" easy on the end stations but my hand to eye coordination kinda left me a bit in the middle stations and on 8 !