58 Sporting gun m ay 2019 http://www.shootinguk.co.uk
usablegun.Myfirstover-and-underwas
a 101withknurledmultichokesthatprotruded
noticeablyfromthebarrelends.The 101 was
a 28in-barrelledgunandmanyofthetopclay
Shotsofthetimeshota 101.Sincethen30in
barrelshavebecomethefashion,with32in
oreven34inoftenfavouredbythebigboys.
Foryourfirstgun,however,buya 28inor
30inthatfeelsnicelybalancedbetweenyour
hands.Thisshouldbewhenthehingeofthe
actionisapproximatelymidwaybetweenyour
handonthestockandyourforwardhandon
thefore-end.Because28in-barrelledguns
areratheroutoffashiontheyareoftenpriced
veryreasonablyonthesecondhandmarket.
Astheactresssaidtothebishop,“sizedoesn’t
matter, it ’s the way you use it that scores”.
Allchokedup
Fartoomanypeopleworryfartoomuchabout
chokes.Protrudingchokesarefashionable
atthemoment,particularlyif theyarein
a varietyofanodisedcolours.I thinkI would
gopurpleandrose,but I have no idea what
goodit woulddo.
Themeasurementofperformanceof
a shotgunbarrelhastraditionallybeendone
byassessingthenumberofpelletshitting
a 30incircleona patternplateat 40 yards.
Thisnumberiscomparedwiththenumber
ofpelletsoriginallyloadedintothecartridge.
Togetanaverage,thecontentsofsayfiveor
10 cartridgesarecountedandthepatternsof
fiveor 10 shotsareassessed with cartridges
fromthesamebox.
Foranyboreofshotgun,12-,20-or28-
bore,a “truecylinder ”barrelshouldput 40
percentoftheshot-loadinthe30incircle.
This,ofcourse,meansthat 60 percentof
theshot-loadisoutsideof the circle and
quite widely spread.
A 10-thousandthofaninchchoke
constrictionatthebarrelendofa 12-boreis
definedas“quarterchoke”andshouldplace
55 percentoftheshotinthe30incircle.
“Fullchoke”is40-thousandthconstriction
ona 12-borebarrel,butthatonlyputs 70
percentoftheshotinthe30incircle.There
is,youwillsee,a lawofdiminishingreturns
andgoingforverytightchokesdoes not help
muchandcanincreaserecoil.
A goodall-purposechokingis,say,quarter
andquarterineachbarrel,orhalfandhalf.
Browning’sstandardfixed-chokecombination
hastraditionallybeena quarterandthree-
quartercombination.Sosticktothemiddle
groundonchokesandforgetthemandfocus
insteadonyourtechniqueasa routetohitting
moretargets.Buya gunwithmultichokesfor
flexibilityif youwish,butdon’tkeepchanging
them in the hope of great success.Sowhatisimportant?
Surprise,surprise,it iswhereyoushootthe
gun.Thegunmustshootwhereyoulookand
it isimportantthatif youareright-handed,
shootingwiththeguninyourrightshoulder,
yourrighteyemustcontrolthegun.Your
righteyemustpointthegunwhereyourright
eyeislooking.If yourlefteyeisdominantin
yourperceptionoftheworld,youwillshoot
theguninthewrongdirection. Your shooting
coachcanhelpwiththis.
Thelineofsightofyoureyeabovetherib
oftheshotgunmustjustgrazetherib.If you
arelookingintothebackofthetopleverof
thegunyoureyeistoolow.If youareseeing
a lotofthetopriblikea motorwayrunning
awayfromyou,youreyeistoohigh.Ensuring
thatyoumountthegunconsistentlytoyour
cheektogetthisgunpositionisabsolutely
key. The gun that allows you to do this isa goodfitforyou.Eliteshotgunperformers
traintogetthisgun-mountcorrect.
Theheightofthecombonthetopofthe
stockisthecriticalmeasurementingetting
thiscorrectgun-mount.Adjustablestockscan
beusefulforpeoplewhohaveslightlyoutof
theordinarylengthofneckorstockybuild,
forexample.Butingeneral,thoughdifferent
makesofgundohaveslightlydifferentheight
ofcombmeasurements,mostgunsdofitmost
peoplewellenough,particularly at this early
stageofa shootingcareer.
Thewaytocheckthatyouaregettingthe
guntotheright“touchposition”onyour
cheekistocloseyoureyes,mountthegun
andcheckthatyoureyehasthecorrectsight
positiondowntheribofthegun.Makesure
youdoit consistently.Mountthegunto
yourcheekandeyewithbothyoureyesas
horizontalaspossible.Trytoavoid canting
yourheadoverthestock.
Stocklengthisa rathersecond-order
measurementcomparedwithcombheight.
Thelongerthestock,themoretheweightof
thegunis pushedforwardandawayfromyour
body,makingit moredifficulttoaccurately
pointthegun.Witha veryshortstockthereis
a dangerthatthethumbknuckleofyourrear,
trigger,handwillbumpintotheendofyour
nosewhenthegunrecoils.Mostfinda gap
ofabout1½inbetweentheendofyournose
andyourthumbknuckleisa goodposition.
Sotherewehaveit:over-and-under,good
barrellength,chokesselectedandforgotten,
mountthegunproperly,pointthegunwhere
youarelookingandplacetheshotpattern
where you want it to go. Bingo!instruction
Buying your first gunSticktothemiddleground
onchokesandforgetthem
— focus more on techniqueDrMalcolmPlantischairman
oftheInstituteofClayShooting
Instructorsanda ClayPigeon
ShootingAssociationseniorcoach.
TheInstituteofClayShootingInstructors
wasformedinthe1980stoprovide
qualifiedcoacheswithopportunitiesfor
furtherprofessionaldevelopment,bythe
provisionofseminars,workshops,practical
activitiesandeducationalvisits.ICSI
coaches can be found at http://www.ICSI.org.uk