glasses have smaller lenses, which is fine
when you are standing up looking straight
ahead, but when the head is at an angle, as when
mounting the gun, you can end up trying to look
through the frame of the glasses, and may lift the
head to compensate for this.
The solution is larger-lensed glasses. When I
used to shoot competitively, I got some
pantoscopic glasses made – the lenses tilt on
the arms so that even with the head down on the
gun you are looking straight through the centre of
the lens. They were originally designed for
snooker players.
Poor gunfit is another cause of head lifting. If
your comb is too low, you cannot see clearly
along the rib and may lift the head so that you
can. This, in turn, causes another problem – when
a gun recoils, it does so horizontally, rearwards,
and vertically, so that if your head is hovering
above the stock, you will get a smack on the face,
which results over time in a flinch. The
subconscious thinks “this is going to hurt”, so you
lift the head to avoid it. Usually a shooter is
unaware they do it – videoing them shooting is
helpful, it is a well-used tool in other sports, not so
much in shotgun shooting. A flinch is really
difficult to correct, so avoid developing one at all
costs. Get your gun fitted!
Missing behind
The cry of “you’re behind it” is heard so often,
sometimes correctly, but often not. I have stood at
many a shoot and watched some poor chap
shooting further and further in front of a bird,
egged on by his mates to “give it another yard”.
Again, there are a number of potential causes
for missing behind a target. A right-handed
shooter consistently missing targets moving from
the left to the right may be doing so because of an
eye dominance issue – he or she may have a left
master eye or central vision.
It may be because their gunfit is poor, so once
again they cannot see the target because the
barrels and rib are blocking the view from that
eye. Incidentally, standing in front of a mirror and
mounting the gun to check is of very limited use;
you will mount very differently to how you do
when you are really shooting, trust me. It may be
that you have set your feet up so that at the point
of pulling the trigger you have run out of
movement or rolled off the line of the target. A
target moving from right to left may be missed
because the shooter thinks he is giving it X but
because of the master eye issue he is actually
giving it X plus 50%, missing in front but being
told he is behind by his mates!Diagnosis and correction
So how do we diagnose the problem and then
correct it? You need a good professional coach,who can watch you shoot a few clays, start to
work out the problems and help you solve them
one at a time. It will likely take a few sessions – it
is not a one-off magic bullet. There are a lot of
coaches out there, some good, some not. Be
prepared to spend some money, as they will need
access to and experience of how to use a pattern
plate and a try gun, as well as a large variety of
targets and a lot of experience.
A parting thought: if you needed bowel surgery,
would you go to a plumber who does a bit of
bowel surgery at the weekends? LIFTING YOUR HEAD
DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM
WITH YOUR TECHNIQUE?
Write to us or send us an email telling us
what you’ve been struggling with, and we
can ask Steve or one of our experts to
cover the subject in a future issue.Email: [email protected]Mail: Sporting Shooter,
Evolution House,
2-6 Easthampstead Road,
Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 2EGIf, as you pull the trigger, your head comes up off the stock like this, you will stop moving, probably get a sore
face and miss over the top!COME OFF IT!
Your gun should be in this position before, during and after pulling the trigger (the follow through). Time spent
with a professional coach honing this skill could be a great investment.KEEP A COOL HEAD!