Why cant i hit the damm pigeons ?

[mjr88 50]

Hi all

 

As a complete newbie to pigeon shooting i was just wondering if any of you experts out there could give me a few tips.

 

Basically , although i've hit a few i am definately missing more .

Could anybody tell me ( as a rough guide as course ) that when faced with a fast flying bird accross in front of you at a distance of about 25 to 30 yards , how much lead do i need to allow ? a pigeon lengh ? more ? less ?

 

Also any tips on birds flying directly towards you will be greatly appreciated as i missed 2 of the buggers earlier today down the farm.

 

I think that my main problem is that i still think that i'm shooting a rifle and aiming at the bird and also not following through once the trigger is pulled ,

 

Still , i suppose practice makes perfect ,

 

John

[wild dog 9]

the best thing to do john is do some clay pigion shooting at a club

it will teach you to get your eye in and keep your gun moving throu the shot don't practice on live one yet

[mjr88 50]

the best thing to do john is do some clay pigion shooting at a club

it will teach you to get your eye in and keep your gun moving throu the shot don't practice on live one yet

 

Thanks for your reply wild dog

 

I have done a bit of clay pigeon over the years with , what can i say , reasonable results.

But like the majority of people on this site , i enjoy going out out with my rimmy or shotgun to do some vermin control.

 

What i'm trying to say is , i find that trying to hit a pigeon in full flight seems completely different than hitting a clay , and i was just asking for some tips on how to improve ,

 

John

[the Verminator 0]

the best thing to do john is do some clay pigion shooting at a club

it will teach you to get your eye in and keep your gun moving throu the shot don't practice on live one yet

 

Thanks for your reply wild dog

 

I have done a bit of clay pigeon over the years with , what can i say , reasonable results.

But like the majority of people on this site , i enjoy going out out with my rimmy or shotgun to do some vermin control.

 

What i'm trying to say is , i find that trying to hit a pigeon in full flight seems completely different than hitting a clay , and i was just asking for some tips on how to improve ,

 

John

 

yes clays are differnet to pigeons. there are the same basics though, BST; balance, stance & posture. you need to have your weight slight biased on the frount foot, stance; set your self up so you are coumftable where you are going to kill most of you birds, in the middle of you decoy setup, posture;you need to be stood tall and most importantly keep you head still, have you ever tried watching tv with you head moving up and down?

 

as for lead, as a member of the great britian and england shooting teams i dont shoot lead. just stare at you target and your brain will work it out for you, and as you mentioned earlier you do need to keep the gun moving after taking the shot, to do this, imagine there is another bird in frount and you have to keep moving to get to that one.

 

good luck and hope this helps

[Hunting-top-shots 2]

Hi [bANNED TEXT]

 

insted of looking at the body of the bird try and consentrate on the tip of the beak, that will give you about 20 cm more head start than you have at the moment, this is what my grandfahter told me and then think that the beak is as long as that of a heron.

 

basics if the bird is about 20-25 yards about 50 cm is enough further away or in high winds then the lead needs to get bigger some times you are looking at 2 m or more. if you are knocking feathers out of the birds then the lead needs to be lengthend by the length of the bird! most of the shots are behind or low.

 

I also have the same problem with shooting oncomeing birds espeshally if they are low so i stand up and lift the gun this will make the bird turn to one side or the other meaning an easy shot.

 

hope that helps give it a go and let me know.

 

Cheers

HTS

[bignoel 14]

B-bum B-belly B-beak B- bang the follow throu .try it

[ellir0305 9]

BST !!!!!

 

since when has posture began with a T

[the Verminator 0]

BST !!!!!

 

since when has posture began with a T

 

duno, lol

[Geoff.C 0]

Many years ago, when I had just started rough shooting, a pair of crows came by. Crossing left to right and about 35 yards out. I swung through the leading bird and pulled the trigger, BANG!! The 2nd bird, about 15 feet behind, folded up and hit the grass!! I learned a lot about leading the target from that. For birds coming straight at you, the shot will go behind them if you shoot at them. Lift the gun and after the incomer has disappeared behind the barrels, pull the trigger and keep the gun moving. Usually, if you can still see an incomer over the barrels, you will miss behind.

[mjr88 50]

Thanks for all your tips folks they are greatly appreciated ,

 

John

[bosco 3]

good info i too also had the problem of shootting behind the bird everything goes that quick will have to give it a try.

 

cheers lad not long now till the frist barleys cut good few around my way nice and coloured hopeful al go well

 

mickey

[Denny essex 15]

good info i too also had the problem of shootting behind the bird everything goes that quick will have to give it a try.

 

cheers lad not long now till the frist barleys cut good few around my way nice and coloured hopeful al go well

 

mickey

 

 

i was taught with a bird comming head on to blank it out with the barrel, a bird going directly away point at its feet, important for all shots to keep the gun on the move with the flight of the bird and follow through, works for me, ok most of the time

[John-B 4]

good info i too also had the problem of shootting behind the bird everything goes that quick will have to give it a try.

 

cheers lad not long now till the frist barleys cut good few around my way nice and coloured hopeful al go well

 

mickey

 

 

i was taught with a bird comming head on to blank it out with the barrel, a bird going directly away point at its feet, important for all shots to keep the gun on the move with the flight of the bird and follow through, works for me, ok most of the time

 

 

Exactly the same as what I used to do mate.

 

I had a lot of problems with birds crossing left to right or right to left I used to miss probably 95% of them and my confidence took a massive blow, what i did was join the local clay pigeon clubs and speak to the owner/whoever runs it and tell them your situation and ask if they could set up a stand especially for these targets and if you could spend some time on it, after a couple of hundred shots and a few visits i found I was hitting them consistantly, my problem was I was shooting high, the way I think of my targets to explain to someone is like the face of a clock with only the hour hand, so where I was aining was roughly where the hour hand would be between 8 and 9 o clock with a little bit of lead, managed to even win a few trophies and plaques on the clay grounds, its all practice practice practice and don't lose confidence or it will spiral out of control. Good luck mate...

[v-max 2]

Hi get a book & read it i have Breaking clays by Chris Batha which covers the principles of shotgun shooting. I have shot for 21yrs & am a good shot on pigeon/rabbits/game etc but i have never done much clays & dont bother with it due to expence of it. Dispite my years of experiance & abilaty there is room for improvement & to learn & it is the BEST thing i done to do read the book it has taught me so much more on reading the target & mantally to attack the target & i have slightly improved for the better & its true its 90%mental 10% physical.

[the white bhunter 0]

IF A BIRD IS COMING DIRECTLY TOWARDS YOU IT SHOULD BE AN EASY SHOT AS SOMEONE SAID BEFORE AIM FOR THE BEAK TIP IT SHOULD COME INTO THE SHOT

TRY LETTING THE BIRDS COME IN OVER THE DECOYS LET THE FIRST ONE LAND HIT THE SECOND ONE AS IT IS JUST FEATHERING DOWN THEN YOU WILL GET A GOOD CHANCE OF HITTING THE FIRST ONE ALSO THAT WILL GET YOUR EYE IN AFTER A WHILE THEN START TAKING THEM A BIT FURTHER OUT AS YOUR CONFIDENCE GROWS YOU WILL SOON BE HITTING THEM GOOD PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AS THE SAYING GOES HOPE THIS HAS HELPED YOU A BIT

Edited July 25, 2009 by the white bhunter