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I have now been shooting for a little over eighteen months, not long in the scheme of things. During that time however, I have kept my eyes and ears open and have taken lessons with some of the top shots in the country such as Mickey Rouse, Stuart Clarke and Carl Bloxham, as well as Ed Solomons.

The main point that is always stressed by all instructors is without doubt how you should set yourself up for the target. Two main points are firstly Gun fit, followed by reading the target and setting up correctly. Gun fit is vital because unless your gun fits you perfectly you will struggle to consistently hit targets. Your eye needs to naturally run up the rib of the barrel, and if it is high or low from this point you will forever shoot over or under the target. Any good gun shop will be able to assess your gun for you and make any necessary adjustments you require.

The next point that many shooters tend to become blasé about after a while is correctly reading each target. It is probably the most important part of the shot as everything depends upon getting this part right.

Firstly you need to look at the target and ask where is the trap and where does the clay land. This will give you an approximate range. Next, where is the target easiest to kill, sometimes an edge on target will turn to show you a face later in its flight thus making it easier to kill at that point. For each target, look to see where your eye first picks up the clay, then decide upon your kill point and set your body facing towards the kill point, 60% of your weight on your front leg. Then wind your body back to the trap to your gun start point which will mostly be a little after you first catch sight of the clay. Then take your eyes back from the gun to the pick up point.

The point that you choose as the gun start point will vary from target to target as well as depending upon your shooting method, be it coming from behind, constant lead etc, but fundamentally the technique is the same for everyone. Even though it may not look like it to you, all the best shots go through the same set up process as we do, it is just subconscious second nature to them.

Once you call pull, pick up the clay with your eyes, which will swing through with the gun naturally tracking the clay. Stare at the clay, not the lead or your gun. At the kill point squeeze the trigger making sure to keep the gun moving as you swing through the shot. Watch the clay break, it is very important.

Most misses are down to not paying attention to the basics, make sure that your gun fits, and that if you shoot “gun down” that your mount is consistent. Many people shoot “gun up” in order to minimise any possible errors with “gun down” mount. Once your gun mount is sorted, the next most common problem is with correctly reading each target, and correctly setting up a compromise stance for a tricky pair. This I am assured comes with time, but learning from the best is a great way of becoming alert to everything that is required in order to shoot at the top level.

Quite often we make an easy shot hard for ourselves by reading the target incorrectly and then setting up badly for it. With more thought and application a seemingly hard target can be made far easier just by addressing it correctly. We have all had targets that we thought we would struggle with before we entered the cage, but then hit without any trouble, could it be that on that occasion we happened to be set up in the perfect place thus making it easy for ourselves. The same thing applies when we miss seemingly easy targets, did we make it too difficult by setting up badly?

It is my belief that by concentrating on reading each target and then considering the three critical points of the shot, pick up, gun start and kill point, we can add significantly to our shooting scores.

This routine will also help greatly with consistency.