Albert William Money, Arthur Corbin Gould,
Pigeon Shooting: With instructions for beginners and suggestions for those who participate in the sport of pigeon shooting, 1896
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In the course of the last twenty-five years, I have met and known intimately most of the best known trap shots. I am one who believes that the longer I live the more I can learn, and that other people's opinions are always worth considering, and perhaps adopting, if, on careful consideration they are found to be based on facts and good judgment.
Stand with the left foot thrown forward, the body upright, and the feet slightly apart; in fact, very much in the attitude of a boxer. The higher the gun is held, the quicker you will get your aim on the bird; therefore, hold it as nearly up to the shoulder as you can, the left hand well extended, but not to its full length, or you will be hampered in shooting a bird coming straight toward you. Take care that there is nothing stiff or rigid about your body, arms, legs or head; grasp the gun very firmly with both hands.
Capt. Money's Position at the Traps
I would lay great stress on the necessity of concentrating your whole thought and attention on the shot. I have for many years past, known all the best pigeon shots, both amateur and professional, who have made their mark on either side of the water, and I have seen the very best of them miss comparatively easy birds, because their thought for the moment was on something else; some one, perhaps, having made a remark as they went to the score and so called off their attention from what they were doing.
Next to this I would advise keeping a cool and equable temperament. Never allow yourself to be upset or put out by anything that may occur. If a miss comes, take it philosophically; we all miss at times. Don't lose your temper and blame your gun, or shells, or anything but your own want of holding straight. Note in what direction the bird was flying when you missed it, and what trap it came out of, so as to discover your weak point as soon as possible, and take measures to correct it. If you keep on missing, and cannot account for it, get someone who is an old shot to stand directly behind you when you shoot, and tell you where you shoot. Strange as it may seem, he can see the direction of your gun at moment of firing better than you can. Do not, however, believe what everyone tells you in that respect. Many men who are not standing in a proper position to see, or are not carefully noting the direction of your gun and the bird at the moment, will say, “You shot over or under, behind or in front of that bird.” They are false prophets, and sometimes are wolves in sheep's clothing.
The question of cast-off in the stock of a gun is a most important one. When a shooter throws his gun quickly to his shoulder, pointing it at some near object, and finds, on closing his left eye and glancing with the right along the rib, that he is looking along the center, he may consider that he has a gun with the right amount of cast-off; that is to say, the heel of the stock has a slight bend away from the body. Few guns are made with a perfectly straight stock. I have, however, advocated them for many years, and I see that gun makers are putting far less cast-off to the stocks now than formerly.
The Winchester, Burgess, and Spencer magazine, or pump guns, as they are generally called, which in the hands of such men as Rolla O. Heikes, Van Dyke, Jack Parker, Capt. B.A. Bartlett and scores of others, are doing such wonderful shooting, are all built without any cast-off whatever.
There is a matter of the very greatest importance that I should like to urge upon all pigeon shooters, old, experienced hands as well as the young beginners; that is, care in handling a loaded gun. At all good clubs there are rules regarding this, which are in the right direction, but they do not go far enough. I advise pigeon shooters to make these rules: First, never to snap your gun shut, but close it gently; secondly, lift the stock up to the barrels, not the barrels to the stock; thirdly, while closing your gun after putting in shells, hold it firmly, so that if one barrel should explode, the gun will not fall out of your hands.
Every shooter should study to get both to perfection, and nothing but practice will do it. As the gun is thrown to the shoulder, instinctively the shooter moves or swings the muzzle, to keep pace with the flight of the object at which he is shooting; but if he does no more, when he pulls the trigger his shot will pass behind the bird. He therefore must make the muzzle, pass ahead of the bird at the moment of firing, and he must take care that in pulling the trigger he does not stop his swing.
As regards the cheek, there is nothing like having a small pad of soft, smooth leather, with some stuffing underneath, let into the gun stock at the spot which touches the face. In many cases I have known this pad to very much improve a man's shooting, even when his face had not been hurt by the recoil, as it takes off the jar caused by recoil of first barrel, and enables a man to use his second quicker and with greater precision.
There are three arguments used by many trap shooters in favor of the smaller charge, which is usually put at 1 1/8 oz. First, that the full charge of 1 1/4 oz. does not travel so rapidly through the air as 1 1/8 oz. of shot, and therefore the shooter has to lead a crossing bird more, and has not such a good chance with a fast direct driver; secondly, that the full charge causes too much recoil, and by throwing the gun off the line of flight of the bird when first barrel is fired, makes it harder to put in as speedy and efficient a second; thirdly, that the outside pellets of the charge with the heavier load have little penetration, travel up slowly, and are practically useless. All of these objections are urged by men who have had much experience and are good judges. There is also a fourth argument, which, however, does not always apply, and that is, that some guns shoot a poor pattern with 1 1/4 oz. of shot, while making a good one with less.
He will most likely shoot better if he watches each bird that his opponent shoots at, so as to keep his eye accustomed to the flight of the birds, as well as the light. If any one of my readers happens to be a cricket player, he will know that leaving the wicket, and especially leaving the ground when he is batting, takes his eye off and makes him far more likely to miss the next good ball he gets; and so it is with pigeon shooting; the eye gets used to instinctively following the flight of the birds, and gauging the direction and velocity of each one. He will also, if he is a good shot himself, see why his antagonist has missed, and avoid, perhaps, committing the same error.